THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH

"Why should you be afraid to die? Your soul has been dead for a long time."

Sometimes we need our faith in cinema renewed, even if the film that accomplishes this is from 1964. I have seen The Masque of the Red Death before -- at Toronto's "B-Movie Festival" back in 1991. I liked it very much then even if the screening was done with a 16 mm television print (4 x 3 ratio). The image was nice but a lot of the frame was missing since Masque was shot in anamorphic widescreen (2.35 : 1).

What I watched tonight was a nice widescreen image courtesy of DVD. Now I think this is a great film. Director Roger Corman and lighting cameraman Nicolas Roeg created a feast for the eyes, shooting Masque back in the day when compromising the framing for later television showings was not in the cards... they composed for the full widescreen. The use of colour is well integrated with the story.

The cast: Well, how do I put this? Vincent Price makes much of the already well drawn character of Prince Prospero. And a very sadistic character at that. After witnessing a case of the Red Death in a peasant's village, he first orders it to be burned to the ground then takes local noble folk into his castle to protect them from the plague. His protection goes as far as ordering the deaths of those who try to enter his real estate -- the story inside these walls is beautifully told. Price is class, and so is the whole cast.

Corman proves here that he is an outstanding filmmaker. This fact was displayed also in his feature film, The Intruder, two years earlier. Masque shows off the Bergman in him.

Masque displays class in many of the filmmaking disciplines but I should make note of Daniel Haller's excellent sets (and use of the scene dock), and composer David Lee's impressive score which comes across as Igor Stravinsky by-way-of William Walton. His music scoring for a certain dream sequence is of demonstration quality.

I would have no problem watching The Masque of the Red Death again, very soon. I cannot boast that too often.

... Sumptuous.