Review of Raven, The

Introduction

"The Raven" (1963 - same vintage as me, cool.) is a joyously camp piece of spoofery of Edgar Allan Poe`s immortal poem. Produced and directed by Roger Corman from a script by Richard Matheson, the story is played for laughs more than scares. It stars a triumvirate of horror greats in the shape of Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff.

Vincent Price plays Erasmus, wizardly widower pining for his lost love Lenore (Hazel Court). He makes the acquaintance of a raven which turns out to be a transmogrified fellow wizard (Peter Lorre). Discovering from his new-found friend that his late wife is alive and well and living with his father`s mortal enemy (Boris Karloff), he sets off to confront the old wizard. The stage is set for the best wizarding duel since Merlin kicked Mad Madam Mimm`s ass in "Sword In The Stone".

An extraordinarily young and shiny Jack Nicholson makes an appearance as Lorre`s son and the romantic lead in the piece. This does not stop him going completely Tonto at the controls of a coach and horses on the way to Karloff`s castle.

Video

Shot in gaudy Pathecolor and Panavision, the movie is presented in glorious 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colours are very bright but not oversaturated, contrast is excellent and apart from a little wear and tear everything is fine. If you have "Fall of the House of Usher" (1960), you`ll recognise the stock shots of the burning roof falling in at the climax of the movie.

Audio

Gloriously shrill mono reproduced in DD2.0

Features

Only a badly worn theatrical trailer in anamorphic 2.35:1 and full subtitles on the main feature.

Conclusion

Don`t turn your nose up at this for the lack of features. The movie itself is a blast and shows more inspiration in wizard duelling than Harry Potter did - and on a lot smaller budget. Buy it if only for the glory of watching Price, Lorre and Karloff working off each other.