Color, 1973, 104 mins. / Directed by Douglas Hickox / Starring Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Robert Coote, Dennis Price, Milo O'Shea, Robert Morley / Music by Michael J. Lewis / Written by Anthony Greville-Bell/ Cinematography by Wolfgang Suschitzky Format: DVD - MGM (MSRP $14.98) / Letterboxed (1.66:1) / Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
After reinventing himself once again as a horror icon for the '70s with The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Vincent Price returned to the theme of systematic literary
On the Ides of March, newspaper theater critic George Maxwell is summoned to a piece of decrepit property he owns in London, only to be brutally beaten to death by a band of tramps. The assault is led by Edward Lionheart (Price), a Shakespearean actor presumed dead after flinging himself into the Thames, who now resides in an abandoned theater where he plots revenge against his critic with the aid of a pack of indigents. Meanwhile Lionheart's daughter, Edwina (Diana Rigg), becomes both a likely suspect in the murders and the confidant of Devlin (Ian Hendry), the primary critic responsible for denying Lionheart the coveted Critics' Circle Award which led to the actor's dramatic "suicide." One by one the members of the circle are dispatched in scenarios derived
Resolutely British in tone, Theater of Blood brings together a once in a lifetime cast of veteran thespians, including Coral Browne (Price's real life wife), Milo O'Shea as a perplexed inspector, Euro starlet Diana Dors in a funny twist on Othello, beloved Miss Marple actress Joan Hickson, and most memorably, Robert Morley as a poodle lover dragged into a berserk modern version of Titus Andronicus. The lavish production design and razor sharp script allow Price and Rigg to storm through the proceedings in a delicious array of disguises, such as a '70s-styled hairdresser, a television host, a masseuse, and a wine-tasting expert, to name but a few. Special notice should also go to the lyrical, poignant score by Michael J. Lewis, which kicks off with a poetic credits sequence cut together from Shakespeare
Released twice on laserdisc by Image/MGM, the MGM DVD uses the same transfer used for the second, widescreen release. The moderate 1.66:1 letterboxing looks correct, matting out a bit of excess vertical information compared to the first, open matte disc. While a new anamorphic transfer would have no doubt added some sparkle to the image, visual quality is satisfying and colorful considering the '70s origin of the original source material. The DVD omits the isolated music and effects track present on the laserdisc, though this loss is not so severe since Lewis' score has since been issued in stereo on CD. The disc also includes the long theatrical trailer, which admirably sums up the basics of the plot without spoiling too much of the fun apart from a few too many shots from the fiery climax.
revenge with one of his finest films, Theater of Blood. A rare horror effort cherished even by those who normally turn their noses up to the genre, this mixture of Shakespeare, riotous gore, and biting comedy still stands up as an ideal showcase for Price's wonderfully melodramatic horror persona.
from the Bard's plays, and the police find themselves unable to outwit a mad actor intent on bringing his gruesome onstage antics into the real world.
silents but eventually becomes hysterically ironic, as in the Cymbeline/medical operation scene.
