SYNOPSICS
Theater of Blood (1973) is a English movie. Douglas Hickox has directed this movie. Vincent Price,Diana Rigg,Ian Hendry,Harry Andrews are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1973. Theater of Blood (1973) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama,Horror movie in India and around the world.
Edward Kendal Sheridan Lionheart (Vincent Price) is a matinèe favorite Shakespearean actor of the old school, finding difficulty coping with new theater roles, who wreaks revenge on on the theater critics who give their annual Guild's "Best Actor" award to a new and upcoming actor rather than him. Incensed by their choice, he does this in the most ingenious and disturbing ways by imitating death scenes taken from his final repertoire of his beloved Bard's tales. Vincent Price is well supported by Dame Diana Rigg, as his dutiful daughter Edwina, and a bevy of the cream of British character actors, including; Ian Hendry, Sir Michael Hordern, Dennis Price, Robert Morley, and Arthur Lowe.
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Theater of Blood (1973) Reviews
Very creative death scenes, gory and funny - and absolutely beautifully acted by Vincent Price
* Some mild spoilers ahead * Vincent Price, the star of countless B-Movies from the fifties to the seventies, in his perhaps best role ever. This movie is wicked fun; a failed Shakespeare-actor brutally settles the score with all his critics - but they all meet their demise by having to "act" a part in the plays of the great bard. Very creative death scenes, gory and funny - and absolutely beautifully acted by Price and an ensemble of many greats of British cinema and theatre. Funny enough, there are many parallels between Price's own career and his character's (maybe that's exactly why the director chose him for this part), for Price also failed to get the recognition he deserved until very late in his life and felt unfairly treated by critics. Although many of his films are now regarded as classics, for the most part of his life his films and his (indeed rather Shakespearian) approach to his roles was often ridiculed. Around the time of this film though, critics started to take Price seriously (probably out of fear, LOL). But this film is also interesting for another reason: despite the obvious black comedy it looks almost like a blueprint for a certain category of horror films to come, and films like 'Seven' and 'Saw' owe perhaps a little debt to 'Theatre of Blood'. Highly recommended. 8 stars out of 10. Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/ Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/ Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/ Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/
A nasty and witty treat
Vincent Price is at his extravagant best in this splendidly black comedy in which some complacent critics receive a cunning come-uppance from the dreadful actor who they drove to suicide. Some brilliantly staged imaginative deaths are the icing on the cake, making this a bit like a very camp "Friday The 13th". But who wouldn't rather watch Vincent at his best than boring old Jason ?
A hilarious spoof....Vincent Price rules!
Vincent Price is one of the best actors of all time, and this is a SUPERB film! Theatre of Blood follows much the same plot formula as Price's earlier success, The Abominable Dr Phibes, only this time instead of playing a deranged madman; Price plays a self-parody of himself. Edward Lionheart is an over the top version of Price in all but name, and it's clear that the great Vincent Price is the only man that could have lead this film. This macabre film depicts what, I'm sure, many actors would like to engage in; the brutal punishment of less than impressed critics. And these punishments aren't just brutal - Price murders his victims in the style of the Shakespeare plays that they lambasted, and the result is a high camp and very fun little horror comedy. The deaths are all violent, but also very playful and inventive. We see people being drowned in a vat of wine, waking up next to their dead husband, being electrocuted, eating their pets and more! And it's all done with such a big sly grin that the result is practically impossible not to go along with. Being a British made film, Theatre of Blood utilises that great British style that the Hammer films did so well, and this massively adds to the fun camp element of the movie. We've got all sorts of things from everyone speaking in a thick London accents to the bumbling policed force that made The Abominable Dr Phibes so hilarious. The movie starts of ridiculously, with Price hamming it up to the max, and then it just continues to get more and more ridiculous; with the final two death scenes being beyond the stupidity of anything else Price ever did. Being a self-parody, the impact of this film increases ten fold if you've seen a lot of Price's other work. It's all good though, and despite being knowingly hammy; Price really shows his worth as an actor as he dons all sorts of different disguises. It's hard to mask the Vincent Price persona, but the great thespian manages it a few times in this film. Films of this nature; i.e. ones where a bunch of people get murdered in a certain way, tend to be quite monotonous; but thanks to the superior handling, this one is never dull. Far from it, in fact! Overall, Theatre of Blood, despite often being overlooked, is a great film and one of the best Price ever made. HIGHLY recommended!
The film which sends poodles into a total funk!
"Reasonbran 234" (Nov 6 2001) takes out the award here for the most literate, apt and concise review of Theater of Blood. This WAS Vincent Price's finest screen moment and I recall clearly at the time, one particular UK critic who suggested "This brilliant film will probably require a generation before it can ever be held in the esteem to which it is entitled!" Way too literate for mainstream horror fans' taste - it was so much more. Few had the theatrical flourish of Vincent Price and he was just so perfectly cast as the acting-legend-in-his-own-mind disfavored by a cross section of critics that may otherwise have steered his career on to the rocks. Taking "tragedy" to a new level, he REALLY silencies his critics once and for all, taking them out one by one in escalatingly appropriate Shakespearean circumstances. Black black dialog with the Bard's turn of a phrase pervades the entire film. Yeah its gory - so's Macbeth! It is also one of the greatest horror comedies ever devised, with A-List acting credits. Quite simply, NOT to be missed!
Easily one of Price's best
Vincent Price plays Edward Lionheart, a Shakesprean actor that the critics hate (one calls him a "ham sandwich"). Enraged by their reviews of his works he commits suicide. But, unknown to everybody else, he survives and decides to kill off his critics one by one using methods described in Shakespeare's plays. A lot of people have called this "The Abominable Dr. Phibes Part 3". They're not too off the mark--the plot lines are very similar. Still this is better than the Phibes films. It moves quickly, has a large cast of excellent British actors (unknown over here) and some of the deaths are much gorier (this has an R rating--Phibes was PG). If you look very closely at the plot there are huge loopholes and some unlikely situations but it still is a huge amount of fun. There's also a truly incredible saber fight between two men. This must have been a dream role for Price--he gets to preform Shakespeare and wear a variety of disguises to become different characters. He's just great (as always). Diana Rigg pops up as his daughter--she's not given much to do but looks fantastic. The critics are all well-played by a very talented roster of British actors--I really do wonder how they got some of them to do this (it's pretty bloody). The most outlandish portrayal is by Robert Morley as a gay critic with (sigh) two poodles. It might be offensive if this were a serious movie. Also Price met Coral Browne here and married her in 1974--and stayed married till she passed away. This, oddly, remains unknown even to Price fans. That's a shame--it's one of his best. Horror, humor and Shakespeare--what more do you need? A 10 all the way.