The Fall of the House of Usher Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Fall of the House of Usher Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 28, 2013

Roger Corman's "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1960) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; specially-commissioned video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns; archival interview with the great Vincent Price; video interview with Gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby; video interview with director Joe Dante; and an audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman. The release also arrives with a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and critic Tim Lucas and an extract from Vincent Price’s long out of print autobiography, illustrated with original archive stills and posters. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The mansion

The Fall of the House of Usher was the first of eight films director Roger Corman shot using stories by the legendary writer Edgar Allen Poe. This film was also the director’s first collaboration with the great Vincent Price.

The young and handsome Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon, Black Sabbath, Dead Men Don't Count) arrives at the Ushers’ mansion to meet Madeline (Myrna Fahey, TV's Perry Mason, TV's 77 Sunset Strip), the woman he intends to marry. Much to his surprise, however, her brother Roderick (Vincent Price, Witchfinder General) informs him that she cannot possibly go back to Boston with him because she is seriously ill.

While waiting for Madeline to recover, Phillip is intrigued by the strange noises the mansion frequently produces. While discussing Madeline’s sickness with Roderick, Philip also comes to realize that his future brother-in-law might have more than a few good reasons to keep his sister inside the mansion. Visibly frustrated and confused by Roderick’s behavior, Phillip decides to find out why he is pushed away from Madeline.

Despite being shot with a very small budget The Fall of the House of Usher looks terrific. Cinematographer Floyd Crosby’s (High Noon, The Wonderful Country) careful framing and use of light and color give the film a wonderful Gothic flavor that makes it easy for the viewer to accept that the mansion is a central character in the story. The noises and the moving long shadows, in particular, are very effectively recorded and filmed to enhance the creepiest sequences in the film.

What gives the film its class and quality, however, is Price’s presence. He truly does look like a hopelessly delusional aristocrat who would do anything to prove that he is right, and his determination is indeed seriously unsettling. During the second half, when he delivers the important revelations about the Ushers the calmness in his voice is particularly chilling.

Unfortunately, Damon’s performance does not exude the same confidence. His actions often feel forced or simply too melodramatic while his lines are frequently delivered with a tone that makes select sequences look faintly risible. Obviously his character’s emotions are very different, but the artificiality in them is nevertheless too obvious.

Fahey looks appropriately disillusioned at first and later on terrified (with the different close-ups of her pale but very beautiful face effectively adding plenty to the Gothic flavor). Her reappearance is undoubtedly one of the big highlights in the film.

Ultimately, Corman’s The Fall of the House of Usher is a genre film that does not break any new boundaries -- the only notable exception probably being the fact that it was the first American horror film to be shot in Eastman Color and CinemaScope -- but what it manages to accomplish with very little is indeed impossible not to admire. The film has its own identity yet it retains the original quality of Poe’s story.

In 2005, The Fall of the House of Usher was selected for preservation and listed with the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

The Fall of the House of Usher Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roger Corman's The Fall of the House of Usher arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The Fall of the House of Usher was transferred from a 35mm interpositive. The was transferred in HD on a Spirit DataCine at Deluxe Digital Median in Sherman Oaks, California. Restoration was performed at Deluxe, removing instances of dirt, debris and scratches, using Reneat and DRS. Audio was transferred from a 35mm mono mag. The colorist was Kevin O'Connor and the project was managed by Chris Lane of MGM."

The film has a very solid organic look. Where light is not restricted depth is quite impressive. Clarity is also very pleasing. Colors are lush and vibrant, never appearing artificially boosted. Some stabilization adjustments have also been applied to give the film a better balanced look. There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. Problematic sharpening adjustments have not been performed either. This being said, during select frame transitions some minor sharpness and contrast fluctuations are present, but it is obvious that these fluctuations are indeed inherited (screencapture #10 is one such transition). Lastly, there are no large cuts, debris, splices, stains, or warps, but there are a few very tiny flecks that pop up. All in all, considering the materials that were used to produce the high-definition transfer, the final result is indeed very pleasing. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Fall of the House of Usher Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The lossless track is outstanding. Les Baxter's score atmospheric score benefits the most from the lossless treatment, but the dialog also has wonderful depth. Listening to Vincent Price's calm but spooky voice is quite a treat. Overall dynamic movement is also very good for a mono track. For the record, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

The Fall of the House of Usher Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Fall of the House of Usher. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Fragments of The House of Usher - in this specially-commissioned video essay, critic and filmmaker David Cairns discusses the unique style of Roger Corman's film, Richard Matheson's script, Vincent Price's terrific performance, etc. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Trailer - original trailer for The Fall of the House of Usher. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Vincent Price - this very entertaining archival video interview, the great Vincent Price discusses his time in the "business" and the many different characters he played during the years. The interview was originally recorded in Malibu in July 1986 and was conducted by Claude Ventura. It was first broadcast on French television on November 18, 1986. In English and French, with imposed French subtitles for the English dialog, and optional English subtitles for the French dialog. (12 min).

• Jonathan Rigby - in this long video interview, Gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic and American Gothic, discusses The Fall of the House of Usher and its production history. In English, not subtitled. (33 min).

• Joe Dante - in this video interview, director Joe Dante (Matinee, Piranha) talks about the impact Roger Corman and his work had on his career as a filmmaker, and discusses the unique qualities of The Fall of the House of Usher. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

• Commentary - this is the same audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman that was initially included on MGM's R1 DVD release of The Fall of the House of Usher.

• Booklet - collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and critic Tim Lucas and an extract from Vincent Price's long out of print autobiography, illustrated with original archive stills and posters.

The Fall of the House of Usher Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Fall of the House of Usher is yet another very solid Blu-ray release from the folks at Arrow Video. I think that at this point it is fair to say that this year they have been responsible for some of the most exciting releases to be produced in the United Kingdom. Well done. Buy with confidence, folks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.