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Product Description
Fellini's film is an adaptation set in contemporary Rome of Poe's Never Bet the Devil Your Head published in 1841. Poe's work is a brief comic satire of the transcendentalist movements that were then popular in Europe and America. Fellini's work takes two elements from Poe's story: First the plot of a drunk who confronts a mysterious stranger on a bridge and bets him his head; the man fails to see that the stranger is the devil who subsequently wins the bet. Second Fellini takes the name Toby Dammit, Toby being an English slang term for ass in Poe's time. (1) In short Toby Dammit is a dammed ass.
Included is the 2008, Toby Dammit cinema version restored under the personal supervision of its renowned cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno. Screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it was widely acclaimed by the press as a lost Fellini masterpiece.
Special Features:
- Brand new transfer of Spirits of the Dead from a new HD restoration of the original negative
- Alternative English audio for Metzengerstein and William Wilson, English and Italian audio for Toby Dammit as well the French dubbed version
- Brand new English subtitle translation on all versions
- Rare Vincent Price voice over narration used for the US theatrical version
- 60 page booklet featuring Edgar Allan Poe s original short stories Metzengerstein, William Wilson and Never Bet the Devil Your Head (Toby Dammit)
- 'Spirits of the Dead Revisited' essay by critic and author Tim Lucas
- 'Literature and Cinema' essay by scholar and author Peter Bondanella on Toby Dammit
- Re-prints of original lobby cards and posters
Product Description
United Kingdom released, Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Booklet, Interactive Menu, Posters, Remastered, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: "Metzengerstein": the bored and corrupt medieval countess Frederica spends her futile life in orgies and cruelties. When she moves with her friends to one of her castles nearby the lands of her poor cousin Baron Wilhelm, she desires him but is not corresponded. When one of her minions burns the stable, Wilhelm dies trying to rescues his stallion and Federica is haunted by her lost cousin. "William Wilson": the sadistic and cruel soldier of the Austrian army William Wilson confesses to a priest the cruelties he committed along his sinful life and the participation of his double also called William Wilson in specific moments of his dreadful life. "Toby Dammit": the cynical alcoholic and decadent English actor Toby Dammit travels to Rome to make a Catholic Western, but only interested in receiving the Ferrari promised by the production. ...Spirits Of The Dead (1968) ( Histoires extraordinaires ) ( Tales of Mystery and Imagination ) (Blu-Ray)
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Spirits of the Dead (as AIP re-titled it) is quite an unusual anthology horror movie from the later 60s, featuring three, almost experimental, adaptations of Poe stories from three well known European directors (Vadim, Malle, Fellini respectively). They're not particularly horrifying but there is an air of mystery about them, and they're particularly artistic explorations of Poe's tales of the weird and supernatural. Vadim's story is sexy (featuring Jane Fonda in an array of rather amazing costumes) but somewhat wayward, disjointed and long; Malle's segment is an intriguing look at a sadistic man with an apparent doppelganger that appears whenever his cruel nature reaches excessive heights; Fellini's final piece is a tale about a man who loses his head to the devil (famously showcasing Terence Stamp's convincingly deranged performance as a lost, cynical drunk).
An important film such as this is embellished with a superb transfer for the Arrow Blu-ray Disc - periodically grainy, often exhibiting fantastic clarity. There are a couple of audio language options for each segment and you may wish to flip between these depending on the tale (the first and third tales I believe work better in English due to the fact that the main characters are portrayed by English speaking actors who dubbed their own voices). The fact that Arrow has provided such an array of options is incredibly thoughtful and as a result this release blows the previous video/DVD/laserdisc editions away. The entire French language version is available as a separate entity (can be chosen from the brilliantly designed main menu) but the picture quality is not up the standard of the main presentation (though still probably better than DVD quality), plus the colours are very different. The AIP commissioned Vincent Price voiceover is available as a short extra too.
The main bonus is a 60 page booklet containing reprints of the three Poe stories that make up the film, plus two essays, one of which is the excellent Tim Lucas study of the film (originally from Video Watchdog in the late 90s). The presentation of this book is very professional and grants a great backdrop with which to understand the film. The Blu-ray Disc is encased in a thin Blu-ray case adorned with poster artwork on every side, and the book plus case are housed in a sturdy cardboard outer case making the whole package supremely attractive. Something I'd give 4.5 stars (though the film does take more effort than your average horror), this is an essential buy for fans of historical horror and foreign cinema and Arrow are to be congratulated - hopefully this, along with their other releases this year, is a sign of things to come.
An important film such as this is embellished with a superb transfer for the Arrow Blu-ray Disc - periodically grainy, often exhibiting fantastic clarity. There are a couple of audio language options for each segment and you may wish to flip between these depending on the tale (the first and third tales I believe work better in English due to the fact that the main characters are portrayed by English speaking actors who dubbed their own voices). The fact that Arrow has provided such an array of options is incredibly thoughtful and as a result this release blows the previous video/DVD/laserdisc editions away. The entire French language version is available as a separate entity (can be chosen from the brilliantly designed main menu) but the picture quality is not up the standard of the main presentation (though still probably better than DVD quality), plus the colours are very different. The AIP commissioned Vincent Price voiceover is available as a short extra too.
The main bonus is a 60 page booklet containing reprints of the three Poe stories that make up the film, plus two essays, one of which is the excellent Tim Lucas study of the film (originally from Video Watchdog in the late 90s). The presentation of this book is very professional and grants a great backdrop with which to understand the film. The Blu-ray Disc is encased in a thin Blu-ray case adorned with poster artwork on every side, and the book plus case are housed in a sturdy cardboard outer case making the whole package supremely attractive. Something I'd give 4.5 stars (though the film does take more effort than your average horror), this is an essential buy for fans of historical horror and foreign cinema and Arrow are to be congratulated - hopefully this, along with their other releases this year, is a sign of things to come.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Its an odd film this ... Vadim's section is bizarre and looks like it stole the costumes from the Barbarella set ... Also it has the brother and sister Fondas playing lovers which is a bit peculiar : )) ... Then Malle's section is really quite dull and forgettable and totally wastes Bardot and Delon like nobody else ever has ... Then there's Fellini's "Toby Dammit" which is just great ... Fellini at full throttle with Terrence Stamp giving the most memorable role of his career ... You may well find the rest of the film boring , but Toby Dammit is a masterpiece
As for the blu ray ... Its pretty bare bones but the transfer is very good and well worth it just for Fellini and Stamp
P.S The 5 stars are for Toby Dammit as you'll have guessed
As for the blu ray ... Its pretty bare bones but the transfer is very good and well worth it just for Fellini and Stamp
P.S The 5 stars are for Toby Dammit as you'll have guessed
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Having seen this on TV years ago and also having two versions on vhs, it is now a pleasure and a thrill to see this film transferred to Blu-ray and looking incredible. My favourite is still the Fellini segment but what is usually described as the weakest story, Metzengerstein, benefits from the crisp, colourful transfer making it so good to look at that one can almost forgive it's weaknesses...
Also includes a French Language version which shows the vast improvements made to the look of the restored print.
If you love this film, you'll want this Blu-ray.
Also includes a French Language version which shows the vast improvements made to the look of the restored print.
If you love this film, you'll want this Blu-ray.
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BD details
Cover data given "Aspect ratio: 1.85:1" incorrect
Film: 6,5/10
Picture Quality: 8,5/10
Aspect ratio: 1,75:1 (orig. Read more
Film: 6,5/10
Picture Quality: 8,5/10
Aspect ratio: 1,75:1 (orig. Read more
Published 15 months ago by mickey_one
Spirits of the Dead Boring
Spirits of the Dead is an oddity. It is a bit creepy having real life brother and sister, Jane and Peter Fonda, playing lovers. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Corky
"Horror and fatality have been stalking abroad in all ages."
Blu-Ray review. If you are reading this for the DVD version, some of this information may not be accurate.
Film: 4/5, Video Quality: 4.5/5, Audio Quality: 3. Read more
Film: 4/5, Video Quality: 4.5/5, Audio Quality: 3. Read more
Published 16 months ago by AMP
FINALLY Original ENGLISH TRACK for TOBY DAMMIT!
First the UK released a VHS for Spirits of the Dead, looked horrible, the US released a forced subtitled, 4:3 non remastered version but WITH the English/Italian soundtrack no... Read more
Published 20 months ago by HH
TOBY DAMMIT in ENGLISH
Yes, there is an english-language version of the "TOBY DAMMIT" segment of this 3 story film. The IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT region 1 release has this as an option on the menu,BUT the... Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2008 by C. Porter
NOT ENLGISH LANGUAGE VERSION!!!
There IS an English language version of the film "Toby Dammit", and this one is NOT it!!! To miss out on Terence Stamps ACTUAL performance in favor of some VERY poor overdubbing is... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2008 by Bennett
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