PETER CUSHING CHRISTOPHER LEE FLYING CARPETS AND EMMA SAMMS!

SYNOPSIS:

Set in the Arabian city of Jadur in mystical times past. The three principal characters in this adventure are the evil magician Caliph Alquazar who lives in the palace; Majeed, a poor young Arab boy who arrives in the city looking for water; and Prince Hasan of Baghdad who comes to the city hoping to meet the beautiful Princess Zuleira who lives in the palace. Majeed and the Prince briefly meet up and exchange kindnesses before going their separate ways.

Alquazar is Princess Zuleira's stepfather who has become corrupted by evil and made the once benevolently ruled city a harsh place to live. Alquazar has a secret chamber in which he keeps a magic mirror which enables him to remotely view any location. Alquazar's aspiration is to possess the fabled Rose of Ilil, a talisman so powerful it will enable him to rule the world - but because of his evil he cannot fetch it for himself, it must be delivered to him by someone noble of purpose.

The mirror alerts him that the very person has arrived in the city and shows him an image of Prince Hasan in the company of a young Arab boy. Alquazar sends his guards to capture the Prince - not an easy task because the Prince is a valiant fighter, but eventually he is apprehended. Alquazar says he will permit Hasan to marry Zuleira if he first goes on a quest to bring back the Rose of Ilil. Hasan agrees and Alquazar sends him away on a magic carpet. Along the way Hasan is unexpectedly joined by Majeed who is transported to the carpet by his guardian angel genie Vahishta as a way of evading some city ruffians.

The carpet delivers them to the island of Ilil where there are a number of dangers to overcome as they encounter various protectors of the Rose. Eventually they find the magical Rose but it turns out to be young Majeed who was the noble one that the mirror was showing as able to pluck the glowing crystalline Rose.

The travellers return to Jadur but it soon becomes clear that evil Alquazar is not intending to honour his bargain and is planning to kill them once the Rose is handed over. Majeed works out what to do to defeat the wizard and throws the Rose of Ilil into Alquazar's magic mirror which sucks the evil one inside and reverses all his evil spells.

The kingdom is restored to its previous happy glory and the deposed former ruler is released from the dungeons to reign again. Prince Hasan and Princess Zuleira are married.

COMMENTARY:

This is a movie about the classic 1001 Nights. It was very much overlooked at the time it came out and still is, I guess. For a British low-budget movie it had a big cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Capucine, Mickey Rooney, Milo O'Shea, Emma Sams, Oliver Tobias (well, some of them are or were big). Most of all, this is a tribute from Christopher Lee to Conrad Veidt in The Thief of Bagdad (1940). And he does a marvelous job, clad in black and looking as sinister as in his best Dracula- or Fu Manchu-movies.

Peter Cushing could be called mostly waisted in a small cameo-part, but that was his choice to sign up for a part in it anyway I guess; Mickey Rooney does his usual buffoonery but not totally out-of-place in this movie. The special effects vary from shoddy to amazing. The mechanical fire-breathing monsters don't look too convincing.

The flying carpet-scenes on the other hand are very well executed, in some moments even breath-taking (considering this movie was made in 1979, 2 years after Star Wars and clearly some of the flying carpet-scenes were executed with the knowledge they had already learned from Star Wars). If one compares this movie with the original The Thief of Bagdad from 1940, of course the special effects in An Arabian Adventure are better, even on a small budget. It is a children's-movie, for most parts. Or a family-movie. Not a masterpiece, but very entertaining in its own right.

PETER CUSHING: 'THE VAMPIRE LOVERS' MGM MIDNITE MOVIES DVD / LOBBY STILLS

"Think me not cruel because I obey the irresistible law of my strength and weakness; if your dear heart is wounded, my wild heart bleeds with yours. In the rapture of my enormous humiliation I live in your warm life, and you shall die – die, sweetly die – into mine. I cannot help it." Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla (1872)

By the early 1970s, England's Hammer Films needed to rejuvenate their gothic horror cycle and were ready to supplement their successful Christopher Lee Draculas with a new series of vampire stories. Outside producers Harry Fine and Michael Style brought Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu's novelette Carmilla to Hammer's attention, and the rather erotic subject matter made a perfect vehicle for Polish-born beauty Ingrid Pitt, who was being molded as their latest femme fatale. THE VAMPIRE LOVERS was a big success, and shortly thereafter, Pitt was offered the even more challenging role of COUNTESS DRACULA.

In THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, Pitt plays Carmilla (also using the name Mircalla and Marcilla), a centuries-old vampire who has retained her youth and beauty. Governed by Countess Karnstein (Dawn Addams) and a mysterious Dracula-like fellow known as the Man in Black (John Forbes-Robertson), Carmilla becomes a houseguest of General Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing) and his young niece, Laura (Pippa Steele). Laura grows increasingly ill and eventually dies, while a local doctor (Ferdy Mayne) discovers bite marks on her bosom. Carmilla then seems to vanish into thin air.

Next stop for Carmilla is the home of Mr. Morton (George Cole), and his innocent daughter Emma (Madeline Smith). Carmilla becomes obsessed with Emma, wanting her to love only her, and when Mr. Morton leaves town for a while, the seductive vampiress turns the whole house upside down. Not only does Emma fall victim to Carmilla's prolonged bloodletting and seduction, but so does the governess (Kate O'Mara) and the butler (Harvey Hall). When Mr. Morton returns, he is convinced that the ailing Emma is suffering from vampirism, but General Spielsdorf has coincidentally brought back Barton Hartog (Douglas Wilmer), who had hunted down the bloodthirsty Karnsteins years ago. With the help of young heroic Carl Ebhardt (Jon Finch), the men set out to uncover Carmilla's crypt and destroy her once and for all.

THE VAMPIRE LOVERS carried Hammer into the 70s with a gothic, poetic masterpiece of erotic horror and doomed love. The stunning Ingrid Pitt is one of the screen's finest vamps, and her portrayal of Carmilla is sympathetic and passionate, while cold and calculated at the same time. Her strong performance is supported by a wonderful cast and the atmospheric direction by veteran Roy Ward Baker, delivering his first full-fledged horror film. Peter Cushing's role is small but momentous, as his familiar vampire-slaying antics play a key role here. Cushing's involvement was reportedly demanded by American International Pictures (AIP) who co-produced the film, and released it in the U.S. with an "R" rating, and it's one of the first, if not the first, horror film to land such a label. Two sequels were produced (LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, TWINS OF EVIL), and although Pitt did not return in either one, she did come back as COUNTESS DRACULA for Hammer.

MGM's new DVD transfer of THE VAMPIRE LOVERS comes off as a great success. For once, the title is shown in its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio (with anamorphic enhancement), finally giving the film the composition it clearly lacked in past video transfers. The picture is virtually flawless, as the pristine source material manifests rich, distinct colors, strong clarity and nice detail. Darker scenes are never too dark and always clear, while day-for-night shots look like nighttime without having their images obscured. The mono sound is clean, with dialog, music and sound effects all emerging clearly. This DVD of THE VAMPIRE LOVERS also restores an often censored frontal shot of a fully nude Ingrid Pitt getting out of a tub, and this is the first time this has been witnessed on home video. MGM's DVD also restores several graphic and essential decapitations and stakings that were cut from the U.S. theatrical print, which ran only 89 minutes. The DVD presents the film at its full 91 minutes.

With the excellent transfer at hand, MGM has also opted to give us a commentary with director Baker, star Pitt and writer Tudor Gates. Moderated by Jonathan Sothcott, this is a wonderful treat for Hammerheads and horror historians alike. Although Pitt was very ill when the commentary was recorded, she is still very passionate about her role and what this film meant to her career, while the ever-spry Baker and Gates provide a lot of info on Hammer head Jimmy Carreas, the producers of the film, as well as sequence which was eliminated against their wishes. Sothcott keeps things interesting by asking about specific cast members and other topics concerning the film. Features for the VAMPIRE LOVERS are rounded out by the original AIP theatrical trailer, as well as passages from Carmilla (12 minutes) read by Ingrid Pitt herself, accompanied by a video montage of rare color photos from the film. A great idea, and nicely executed.

MGM is the first studio outside Anchor Bay to release Hammer films with audio commentaries, so this disc marks a landmark release of sorts. A lot of care an preparation obviously when into restoring the films and producing the extras, so kudos to MGM for giving us one of their best horror DVD releases yet.

review: GEORGE R. REIS.

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Images: MARCUS BROOKS