|
|
 |
 |
[Click To Enlarge]
Email A Friend - Gift Reminder |
The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft
Availability:
In Stock
Price:
$20.00
$10.58*
|
| Part No: | B000BQTC98 |
| Manufacturer: | Microcinema DVD |
| MFG Part: | D664D |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
|
|
Written in 1926, just before the advent of "talking" pictures, The Call of Cthulhu is one of the most famous and influential tales of H.P. Lovecraft, the father of gothic horror. Now the story is brought richly to life in the style of a classic 1920s silent movie, with a haunting original symphonic score. Using the "Mythoscope" process a mix of modern and vintage techniques, the HPLHS has worked to create the most authentic and faithful screen adaptation of a Lovecraft story yet attempted.
From the cultists of the Louisana bayous to the man-eating non-euclidean geometry of R'lyeh, the HPLHS brings Cthulhu to the screen as it was meant to be seen. Eighteen months of production and a cast of more than 50 actors went into making this film a period spectacle that must seen to be believed.
The DVD includes The Call of Cthulhu (47 minutes, black and white), the high-fidelity and "Mythophonic" soundtracks, a 25 minute "making-of" documentary featurette, two slide shows, deleted footage, a prop PDF of the Sydney Bulletin and more.
To appeal to Lovecraft fans throughout across the globe, this DVD provides intertitles in 24 languages including: Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Euskera, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Lithuanian, Luxmbourgish, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Welsh. These aren't just subtitles either they are the real title cards rendered tastefully in each language. If you thought the story was scary before, wait until you see it in Welsh!
| For those who believe silent film is a relic of the past. | 2009-01-05 | 4 / 5 |
| "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."
One thing that "The Call of Cthulhu has going for it as a modern silent film adaptation of the celebrated work by H.P. Lovecraft is that the author's mind-bending prose simply would not translate into spoken dialogue or voiceover. Indeed, the only man worthy to speak such words aloud passed on many years ago. But even if Vincent Price were still with us, seeing Lovecraft's genius plastered across the screen in black and white accompanied by a lush classical soundtrack just seems the perfect way to pay homage to a master. Indeed, every frame of this film is a labor of love. Love for the author, love for classic science fiction and horror, love for the tried-and-true filmmaking techniques that have thrilled us since the advent of cinema. After all, what could be more true to a work of fiction than to adapt it using the same techniques available at the time it was written (1926)? Consider this a must-see for fans of the old-school or students of cinema.
The story revolves around a bizarre cult worshiping a deity named (can you guess?) Cthulhu. The protagonists investigate and wind up setting sail for the source. What they find is a living, breathing nightmare. Fans of stop-motion animation, brace yourselves for a nerdgasm because King Kong ain't got sh!+ on him. But for as low-budget as this production is, it works on most every level assuming you are not a heathen who sniffs at the thought of a black-and-white film with dialogue cards.
The film is a very short 47 minutes. While this is a perfect length to avoid padding the story, it does make for a poor bargain as far as DVD prices go. Thankfully, there are some killer bonus features. First off: several deleted shots featuring mighty Cthulhu in glorious full-color. It's like porn for stop-motion animation fans and every shot's a money shot. Sorry, was that too gross? Moving on. There is also a color version of a ranting scene with full audio to capture the actual performance of the actors. This is made awesome by the fact that the ranting actor is not speaking lines from "The Call of Cthulhu" at all, but reciting Dwight Frye's dialogue from the original Dracula. God, I love the people who made this film.
So gather around, kiddies, and let uncle trashy tell you about the good old days before directors had to rely on CG, vapid celebrities, and shameless sex appeal to cover up their shortcomings as filmmakers. They used to have things called "ideas" and "creativity". There even used to be people who made the kind of movies they actually wanted to see just because they liked to; not only so that they could make 100 million dollars on opening weekend. I know this is all long ago and far away, but it's great to be reminded of those times now and again. "Call of Cthulhu" does exactly that. |
| While H.P. Lovecraft is one of the 20th Century's most respected horror writers even though his acclaim took decades to materialize, there are a suprisingly small number of films that are based on his work. He is quite simply not a very filmable writer because much of his work is devoted to monstrosities that the feeble human mind cannot comprehend without going insane. Anyone who tries to make a movie with that in mind is setting themselves up for failure with at least half the audience - and possibly a tar and feathering from the other half. And let's face it, some of these Lovecraft fans are fanatical.
Yet sometimes fanatics are the only people for the job. Take the Howard Phillips Lovecraft Historical Society. On paper, they are rank amateurs when it comes to filmmaking. Worse than that, they have no studio backing for production and promotion. Sounds like a recipe for disaster except for a couple of added ingredients - love and determination. Seeing their treatment of the classic HPL story is yet another reminder of why I can't stand much of Hollywood tries to pass of as horror nowadays. Rarely have I seen anything so respectful of the source material.
What they did was film the story like a 1920s silent movie with subtitles. Considering the almost nonexistent resources the crew had to work with when you compare it to the umpteenth-thousandth PG-13 remake, the results are staggering. Some modern audiences who have been spoiled by all the CGI may be little miffed by the stop-motion Cthulhu, but I thought it was neat how they envisioned how a 1920s filmmaker would do ol' Tentacle Face. I'm not going to describe the special effects or set design processes since that would spoil the mystery for potential viewers, but what I will say that it makes me respect the old-school effects crews that much more for their imagination and hard work. I also thought the sound track was amazing by being majestic, hypnotic, and bone chilling. It stinks that it isn't for sale anywhere that I know of.
This is what the moviemaking world needs more of - people who love what they do. It probably won't put a stop to all the PG13 remakes made by accountants who's idea of horror is golfing a bad game in front of the studio head. What it is however is one film that can't be put into the watered down filth genre we have been subjected to for years. One film may not sound like much, but when the right thing is done - that one film gets my respect. |
| Best Lovecraft Film Ever | 2008-11-17 | 5 / 5 |
| | This is by far the best film adaptation of Lovecraft's fiction I've ever seen. It's done in the manner of black & white silent films but with better quality than that era could manage. The story was stuck to religiously and nothing was added for profit motive. My only suggestion would be to put two stories per disc since they're short. That might help more people than just hardcore Lovecraft fans decide to buy them. |
| The only way this story could be put to film | 2008-10-23 | 5 / 5 |
| Being a long-time fan of the Lovecraft stories, I have been nothing but disappointed with the attempts by Hollywood and others to put HPL's stories into celluloid (except for "Dagon", and even that is a little short of the mark). I was given this DVD as a gift, and have to say that I was skeptical of what I would find inside. But, after reviewing all the content on the DVD, and watching the film, I saw what I know many other reviewers see here. This film was nothing short of a labor of love from a group of dedicated HPL fans.
To me, as a fan of sci-fi and some horror genres, sometimes the only way you get a film that stands up is to have people with dedication to the original material be involved, and have control of what actually ends up in the release.
This film is an example of that.
So, while my review is short compared to some, I can say this. If you are a fan of indie film, and also a fan of HPL and his works, this film will not disappoint you in any way. It is true to the story, and the delivery of the story on film is nothing short of inspired.
Enjoy!! |
| | One of the best Cthulhu movies I have ever seen. It manages to catch the feel and look of Lovecraft and combine it with a silent film. I highly recommend this DVD. |
* Current Price/Avail/Qty displayed on website may be delayed by up to 24 hours. Items added to cart and into the checkout process will reflect current price and status of product. |
|
 |
|
)
