100 Years of Horror

Starring:Christopher Lee, Brinke Stevens, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Boris Karloff, Dick Miller, Peter Cushing, Bela Lugosi Jr., Vincent Price, Sara Karloff, Fred Olen Ray, Hugh M. Hefner
Director: Ted Newsom
Studio: PASSPORT VIDEO
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
"What frightens me is not so much the obvious monster. What frightens me is the unknown, the fear that my mind is not in control, that there is something out there that nobody knows about." So says Roger Corman, king of the B picture, helping to set the tone for this richly detailed survey of the horror film. Introduced and hosted by veteran horror actor Christopher Lee, and written and directed by Ted Newsom (the director of Ed Wood--Look Back in Angora), this documentary is clearly a labor of love. There is on view a "blood feast" of film clips and sometimes priceless interviews with filmmakers. As our host, Christopher Lee offers up funny anecdotes about his days at Hammer Studios; you might be interested in knowing why being The Mummy was a literal pain. Exploitation film director Herschell G. Lewis is hilarious on why you shouldn't worry about opening gory films in Peoria, and how the censor board was stymied by the bloodiest of films. And John Carpenter tells how Suspiria director Dario Argento worked from his dreams like Luis Bunuel. Notably missing is any mention of Stephen King, Brian De Palma, or Sam Raimi. Raimi alone could have been the focus of a whole section devoted to the influence of H.P. Lovecraft on modern horror films. Also, the filmmakers seem less interested in the sections on science fiction for some reason, despite critics' estimates that half of all science fiction films fall clearly in the horror genre. Nevertheless, the interviews and film clips make this disc worth the price of admission. --Jim Gay
Description
100 YEARS OF HORROR is the first show of its kind ever produced; chronicling the history of movie horror from the earliest experimental chillers through the unforgettable "golden age of movie monsters," and on through today's terrifying fright films.

Hosted by Christopher Lee, the screen's legendary King of Horror, the show features appearances by Robert De Niro, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hugh Hefner, Charlton Heston, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Dante, and many more. Also featured are fascinating interviews with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Claude Rains. Included as a special bonus are never-before-seen interviews with the friends and families of the legendary names of horror such as Bela Lugosi, Jr.; Boris Karloff's daughter, Sarah Karloff; Claude Rains' daughter, Jessica Rains, and more.

"100 Years of Horor" also highlights rare and chilling scenes from current films such as Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, Halloween, Poltergeist, and The Haunting, to classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Phantom Of The Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, and The Body Snatchers. Also included are rare photographs from private collections, home movies from the sets of horror classics, as well as outtakes, screen tests, previously "lost" films, and other exciting surprises. Each episode offers unique production sidelights and insights to make 100 YEARS OF HORROR the most interesting and informative horror chronology ever assembled.

Amazon.com

"What frightens me is not so much the obvious monster. What frightens me is the unknown, the fear that my mind is not in control, that there is something out there that nobody knows about." So says Roger Corman, king of the B picture, helping to set the tone for this richly detailed survey of the horror film. Introduced and hosted by veteran horror actor Christopher Lee, and written and directed by Ted Newsom (the director of Ed Wood--Look Back in Angora), this documentary is clearly a labor of love. There is on view a "blood feast" of film clips and sometimes priceless interviews with filmmakers. As our host, Christopher Lee offers up funny anecdotes about his days at Hammer Studios; you might be interested in knowing why being The Mummy was a literal pain. Exploitation film director Herschell G. Lewis is hilarious on why you shouldn't worry about opening gory films in Peoria, and how the censor board was stymied by the bloodiest of films. And John Carpenter tells how Suspiria director Dario Argento worked from his dreams like Luis Bunuel. Notably missing is any mention of Stephen King, Brian De Palma, or Sam Raimi. Raimi alone could have been the focus of a whole section devoted to the influence of H.P. Lovecraft on modern horror films. Also, the filmmakers seem less interested in the sections on science fiction for some reason, despite critics' estimates that half of all science fiction films fall clearly in the horror genre. Nevertheless, the interviews and film clips make this disc worth the price of admission. --Jim Gay

Description

This frightfully fascinating five-DVD set chronicles the history of movie horror from the earliest experimental chillers through the unforgettable "golden age of movie monsters" and on through today's graphic horror films in 26 horrific, half-hour shows. Hosted by Christopher Lee, the screen's legendary King of Horror, the series features appearances by Robert De Niro, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hugh Hefner, Charlton Heston, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Dante, and many more.

Also featured are rare interviews with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Claude Rains. Included as a special bonus are never-before-seen interviews with the friends and families of the legendary names of horror such as Bela Lugosi, Jr.; Boris Karloff's daughter, Sarah Karloff; Claude Rains' daughter, Jessica Rains, and more.

The collection also includes chilling scenes from such classics as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Phantom Of The Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers as well as more recent chillers such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Halloween, Poltergeist, and The Haunting. Plus home movies from the sets of horror classics, outtakes, screen tests, previously "lost" films, and other exciting surprises. Easily the most interesting and informative horror chronology ever assembled.

DISC ONE

Dracula and His Disciples - There's more to Dracula than just Bela Lugosi, as the cinema's various incarnations of the carnal count are examined.

Blood-Drinking Beings - Dracula wasn't the only blood-sucker immortalized on film. Here is some of his "competition."

Frankenstein's Friends - Karloff's career was defined by his sympathetic portrayal of "the monster," but others took on this challenging role over the years. This fascinating installment tells the story behind Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's timeless tale.

Baron Frankenstein - Hammer Films "reanimated" the Frankenstein franchise in the 1950s with its terrifying teaming of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as doctor and "patient." Take a look at how this classic story changed in the '50s, '60s - and beyond.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of good and evil has been a filmic favorite since early silent days. Various portrayals of the dual doctor are examined.

DISC TWO

Werewolves - Of course there's Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man, but other films have featured werewolves in surprising ways over the years.

Bela Lugosi - Lugosi was much more than Count Dracula, as you'll see in this fascinating salute to this complex Hungarian actor.

Boris Karloff - Perhaps horror's greatest star, Karloff, of course, played the Frankenstein monster. But there's so much more to tell. Here's an affectionate look at this cultured Englishman.

Ghosts - Nothing like a good ghost story - except a century's worth of films filled with more ghost stories!

Phantoms - Lon Chaney Sr. was the original Phantom of the Opera, but there have been other notable portrayals - and other notable phantoms!

DISC THREE

Witches - Witches have been a favorite of fairy tales - and fright films - for centuries. Here's a wicked look at a coven's worth of portrayals.

Demons - More than just the Devil (although The Prince of Darkness has certainly figured into quite a few motion pictures), demons have been a mainstay of horror films since the silent days.

Mutants - Abominable snowmen, mole people, creatures from black lagoons. All these half-human/half-beast "hybrids" are here - and more!

Freaks - Horror films have been peppered with people who didn't need makeup and were actually born disfigured, most notably in the film Freaks. Take a look at those who managed to turn their misfortune into something of a career.

Scream Queens - King Kong's Fay Wray is probably the most famous scream queen of the horror genre, but you'll be surprised to see who else made the list!

DISC FOUR

Girl Ghouls - Men didn't have a lock on the horror movie. There were plenty of frightful females to go around, as you'll see in this salute to demonic dames.

Maniacs - Ax-murderers, chainsaw-wielding madmen, serial killers, cannibals - they're all here - and more!

Gory Gimmicks - An affectionate salute to the great showmen of yesteryear who figured out all sorts of gory gimmicks to keep audiences glued to their seats - and away from their TV sets!

Sorcerers - A holdover from ancient tales, sorcerers have long fascinated movie audiences with their powerful use of black magic to achieve their evil goals.

Aliens - Creatures from "out there" have captured the imagination of everyone from H.G. Wells to Steven Spielberg. Here's a look at some out-of-this-world intergalactic beings.

DISC FIVE

Mummies - Karloff's parchment-skin portrayal of Imhotep set the standard for mummy movies, but many others have gotten "wrapped up" in their work over the years, as you'll see.

Zombies - The walking dead have been a mainstay of horror films for decades. Although usually confined to the West Indies, Hollywood has made sure audiences will fear zombies anywhere and everywhere.

Mad Doctors - How many times did Karloff and Lugosi play mad doctors? (And what were they mad at?) Many horror legends have taken their turn playing sinister scientists and frightful physicians, as you'll see.

Man-Made Monsters - Frankenstein is probably the most famous example of a man-made monster, but a great many other creepy creations have been fashioned by men, either by accident or on purpose, as this fun-filled episode illustrates.

Giants - Another idea borrowed from the world of fairy tales, giants have been found in stories from Jack and the Beanstalk to Jack the Giant Killer and beyond.

Dinosaurs - Long before Jurassic Park, dinosaurs roamed thru a variety of horror films, going all the way back to The Lost World in 1925.

Total Running Time: Approx. 676 mins.

Customer Reviews:

Can't get the movie rights? Buy the trailer!.......2007-05-08

I don't know where this series originally appeared, but its safe to assume it was not initially made for US consumption. The 5 disc set is actually 26 half-hour long episodes. Each episode features a specific topic such as vampires, mad scientists, the Frankenstein monster, et al. I was surprised the transfer wasn't better since this project is only 10 years old (The copyright says 1996).

The series spends more time on the roots of the subject in the episode. That is to say the zombie episode focuses on White Zombie but barely foot notes a classic like Dawn Of The Dead. This could be because the research on this multi-part documentary seems to peter out around 1985. Or maybe the producers believed the meat of the meal was in the creation of the genre topic and not in the recent trends.

The true genius of this series is the fact that it draws its visual representations from the movie trailers and not clips from the movie itself. For those who don't know, it is much easier to go to a "trailer house" and buy the rights to use their pre-movie trailers and TV commercials library then to negotiate with each studio for those impact clips that cost an arm and a leg. As a result of doing this "on the cheap", we get to see the campaigns of how these movies were marketed to their audience. I find it a fascinating look at how they advertised a movie like Night Of The Living Dead then have to watch the same old archival clips you've seen on a dozen other retrospectives.

My only complaint is that you have to manually select each episode and each episode has a synopsis screen which you have to thumb your way back through to get back to the main screen to get to the next episode. There is no "Play All" feature and it gets a little irritating. However, its nice to know Passport Video corrected this oversight with their future offerings like A Century Of Science Fiction documentary.

So, if you want approximately 13 hours of easily portioned horror then this is the documentary for you. Besides, it is more than reasonably priced for a 5 disc set (Although the actual DVD case has a funky storage system which leads me back to the non-US comsumption theory).

Christopher Lee at your service.......2004-03-15

"call them fantasy films...but please don't call them horror" is one of the lines given by the host, Christopher Lee, jokingly looking in utter disgust that the public would call these films 'horror'. his performance is hilarious because of his sophisticated and always serious approach to acting and yet he's offering a self-parody much in the tradition of Vincent Price. although he doesn't go over-the-top, Lee's participation/narration was vital for this program's legitimacy. clips of horror and Sci-Fi films are shown throughout...there's also clips of interviews with Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Roger Corman among others...the so-called drive-in horror titans of the '60s are also spotlighted: American International and Hammer, the two companies that were responsible for 90% of the horror output in the '50s, '60s, and early '70s. this is a great look at horror films and Lee's commanding voice and screen appearances keep it from being too tedious, as it may have been had a contemporary hot shot with little to no affiliation with the genre narrated the show.

Bad Beginning but the middle and the end are really good........2003-04-14

Don't turn it off! But first you need to watch at least five of these movies to enjoy it. With Christopher Lee being your host this makes the movie very fun. It talks about little trivia and cool things to know about tese films.->

1. Halloween
2. Frankenstein, 1931
3. Dracula, 1931
4. The Mummy, 1959
5. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
6. Psycho, 1960
7. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein
8. Mummy's Hand
9. Nightmare On Elm Street
10. The Bride of Frankenstein
11. House of Frankenstein

12. House of Dracula
13. The Lost World, 1925
14. The Mummy's Tomb
15. Tales of Tomorrow: Frankenstein
16. Phantom of The Opera
17. Mystery of The Wax Museum
18. Curse of Frankenstein
19. Werewolf of London
20. 1,000,000 Years B.C.

Only for The Most Desperate of "Horror" Fans.......2001-01-04

Unfortunately, the folks who put this "documentary" together seem to think horror is confined to cheezy Grade Z movies full of excessive "knife across the eyeball" style gore. A somewhat comatose Christopher Lee seems ashamed to be hosting this mess.

Great documentary (saw the DVD version)!.......1999-12-13

I saw the DVD version of this video and, being a horror film buff, found it very entertaining. The problem with documentaries like these, however, is that they do tend to get sort of dated in just a few years (e.g. although fairly recent films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jurrasic Park and Wolf were discussed, more recent films such as the Mummy remake were not) especially in this genre wherein advances in make-up and special effects play an important role. Still, I would recommend this series to any serious horror film afficionado. Unlike many documentaries which seem to be made up of 90% interviews and 10% (movie) scenes, this is composed primarily of scenes with Christopher Lee's voice-over, interspersed with a few interviews. Notable highlights include hilarious outtakes from the film Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein as well as footage from obscure movies such as the 1960 version of Lost World. There are also interviews with John Carpenter, Peter Cushing and Claude Rains. I found this very enjoyable, although I'm giving just 4 stars for the DVD version since the sound quality was not very good for this medium (for VHS I'd probably let it off with 5 stars).

Average customer rating:

Can't get the movie rights? Buy the trailer!
Christopher Lee at your service
Bad Beginning but the middle and the end are really good.
Only for The Most Desperate of "Horror" Fans
Great documentary (saw the DVD version)!

100 Years of Horror
Starring: Christopher Lee , Brinke Stevens , Herschell Gordon Lewis , Peter Cushing , and Vincent Price
Director: Ted Newsom
Manufacturer: PASSPORT VIDEO
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

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The Asylum

ASIN: 6304841000
Release Date: 1998-01-06