The Poe Cycle is hard to top. The Poe subject, Vincent Price, and the higher budgets and color instilled a grandeur and refinement seldom matched in the rest of Corman. Directorally speaking these are his finest hour. House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1962), The Raven (1963), and The Masque of the Red Death (1964) push the envelope, heighten the bar, and coax Corman into another gear never seen outside of them. Red Death bears an artistry akin to Bergman and an intensity grown out of Roger’s own passion for Poe. These are in a world unto to themselves and age spectacularly well. Corman spared some expense which helped too.
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Unfortunately for him, he got into some bad financial trouble (he lost between $50-75mil in a ponzi scheme) and Shout! bought most of his catalog (270 of his films) in 2018 when he needed some cash.
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I love Bucket Of Blood
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Monte Hellman and Roger Corman on The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind.
I just want to comment on The Raven, which is out of place in the Poe series by being a comedy starring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, the surprisingly funny Peter Lorre, and a very young nobody named Jack Nicholson. Red Death is probably the best film in the Corman catalogue, but The Raven is just Corman’s gothic horror team having fun.
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The Raven (1963) rules. It is Corman’s The Magic Sword (1962). Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson. George Lucas is certainly a fan. Force Lightning may have originated here. You are so right in giving this the spotlight. It might be the wittiest film of Roger’s filmography. Author Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay and it shows.
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It may not be my favorite Corman, but I remember liking this one quite a lot, even though I have not seen it since the '80s. It is technically a post apocalyptic sci-fi flick, which is my favorite genre of cheesy movie, but it is just so weird.
I think The Little Shop of Horrors is my favorite for being the quintessential Corman film, shot in 2 days on a shoe string budget, but just an amazingly good dark comedy. The Poe films are great as well, they just feel less Coman-y to me.
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It’s post-apocalyptic, but everyone seems pretty cool with the situation.
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I did. This beauty. Starcrash (1978). Somehow I missed this when corraling Cormans films together. It is a New World Picture. How did I not see it? The Corman factor is certainly there.
How Roger Corman was inspired by The Pit and Pendulum (1961).
This seemed to hit upon what you were saying. Filmmaker Roger Corman’s dream-like world of Edgar Allan Poe.
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Roger Corman and Ron Howard on Corman’s Career.
Roger Corman on his film Naked Paradise (1957).
Roger Corman on his film She Gods of Shark Reef (1958).
Roger Corman on Gunslinger (1956).
Trailer of The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).
Joe Dante on The Little Shop of Horrors.
