The raven - duel of the magicians
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The raven - duel of the magicians |
| Original title | The Raven |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1963 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Roger Corman |
| script | Richard Matheson |
| production | Roger Corman |
| music | Les Baxter |
| camera | Floyd Crosby |
| cut | Ronald Sinclair |
| occupation | |
| |
Der Raven - Duel der Zauberer is an American horror comedy from 1963. Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay for the film based on the poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe . The film was only shown on German cinema screens on July 4, 1980, and was first released on DVD on October 6, 2003. The film is about the power struggle of the magicians Craven and Scarabus.
action
In his misty castle, the wizard Craven mourns his beloved Lenore at night and entertains himself with all sorts of magic tricks. When there is a knock on the window, Craven is amazed, because a talking raven comes in. This raven is the wizard Bedlo, who was in a fight with Dr. Scarabus, also a wizard, got the short straw. After a few unsuccessful attempts, which Bedlo comments accordingly, Craven manages to restore Bedlo to his original form. Craven learns from Bedlo that Scarabus is holding his beloved Lenore prisoner, whom Craven thinks long dead.
Together with his daughter Estelle, Dr. Bedlo and his son Rexford, Craven sets out to free Lenore from Scarabus' hands. Arriving at Scarabus, Dr. Craven that Lenore is by no means held captive by Scarabus, but is his lover. Scarabus is friendly at first, but it soon turns out that he wants to discover the secret of Craven's magic power and shows his true colors. At first it is believed that the wizard Bedlo was killed by Scarabus, but this later turns out to be a mistake. Scarabus brings Estelle, Craven's daughter, into his power and threatens to torture her if Craven does not reveal his secret. But Erasmus Craven, the only wizard who does not belong to the brotherhood, does not give up. It comes to a duel between Craven and Scarabus, good versus evil. The two use all their magical abilities to defeat each other. After a fight with fireballs, monsters, magic rays and storms, Craven wins the duel, Scarabus Castle falls victim to the flames. Craven casts away the renegade Lenore and flees the castle with Bedlo, who has since been turned back into a raven, Rexford and Estelle. With the last of his strength, Scarabus prevents Lenore from escaping as well.
When the smoke clears, the two free themselves from the ruins of the castle, and Scarabus discovers that he has lost his magic. Bedlo, in the form of the raven, makes it clear that Craven can now become the Grand Master of the Brotherhood after Scarabus is out of the way, of course with Bedlo as the right hand once Craven has transformed him back. Erasmus Craven, who now realizes that Bedlos intrigues are responsible for the events, robs the raven of the ability to speak with the words "Did the raven never speak".
background
- The Raven - Duel of the Wizards was filmed within 16 days on a budget of approximately 300,000 US dollars. Since there were still 3 of the estimated 19 days of shooting and Boris Karloff's contract was for 19 days, Roger Corman shot the film The Terror within just 3 days . In the same sets and with the participation of large parts of the staff and cast of The Raven , Corman himself, Francis Ford Coppola and Jack Nicholson directed; the latter also played the main role.
- Although Vincent Price and Peter Lorre set highlights with their mostly improvised dialogues, the film flopped in the USA.
- The German dubbing was not made until 1980. Christian Rode spoke for Vincent Price, Friedrich W. Bauschulte for Boris Karloff, Herbert Stass for Peter Lorre and Joachim Tennstedt for Jack Nicholson.
Reviews
“The imaginative, creepy and hilarious film full of surprises is, not least because of its unique cast, a classic of the high-quality horror cinema. (Rating: 3 out of 4 possible stars - very good.) "
“Atmospheric horror film based on a poem by EA Poe. Director Corman confidently parodies the clichés of the genre, offers an abundance of ironic gags and technical cabinet pieces - and a reunion with veterans of horror films. "
“Roger Corman satirizes the horror film genre in his amusing horror comedy. [...] With The Raven, Corman enraged many Poe supporters who no longer wanted to recognize their master in the carefree, silly farce. "
DVD release
- The Raven. MGM Home Entertainment 2004.
literature
- Lucy Chase Williams: The Complete Films of Vincent Price. Citadel Press (Carol Communications), New York / Secaucus 1995, ISBN 0-8065-1600-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thomas Bräutigam : Lexicon of film and television synchronization. More than 2000 films and series with their German voice actors etc. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-289-X , p. 298.
- ^ Adolf Heinzlmeier, Berndt Schulz: Lexicon "Films on TV" . Extended new edition. Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 662.
- ^ "Lexicon of International Films" (CD-ROM edition), Systhema, Munich 1997.
- ↑ Der Rabe - Duel der Zauberer at prisma-online.de; Retrieved November 1, 2008.
Web links
- The Raven - Duel of the Wizards in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Raven - Duel of the Wizards at Rotten Tomatoes (English)