thu 14/11/2024

DVD: Theatre of Blood | reviews, news & interviews

DVD: Theatre of Blood

DVD: Theatre of Blood

Vincent Price vehicle is a rare successful blend of horror with humour

Vincent Price as Edward Lionheart in 'Theatre of Blood': do not give him a bad review

Many films fuse humour with horror and many of those fail to be accomplished in either genre. Bringing fun to the scary often results in a clunkiness which neither raises laughs or goosebumps. The worst example might be the utterly awful Bloodbath at the House of Death, a 1984 film which teamed all-round showbiz eccentric Kenny Everett with veteran actor Vincent Price.

What Price thought as he navigated his way through this stinker is not a matter of record, but he may have ruefully cast his mind back a decade to the contrastingly wonderful Theatre of Blood. Released in 1973, it is one of the few great comedic horror films. Its success rests entirely on Price’s stately and delightful shoulders.

It helped that Price played actor Edward Lionheart, which meant his character could assume roles within the film. The arch and hammy were exempt from criticism as that is what Lionheart took to his Shakespeare-inspired murders. Lionheart had had it with bad reviews so, with helpful daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg), he offed his negative critics. With a supporting cast of British greats including Harry Andrews, Diana Dors, Jack Hawkins, Ian Hendry, Joan Hickson, Arthur Lowe and Robert Morley, Theatre of Blood was a consummate roll-call of honour for a fast-vanishing era of British drama.

This package, on Blu-ray only, is an equally excellent release. The image restoration is fantastic, as is the sound. The well-illustrated booklet’s essay is in depth. The extras on the disc include shorts on the music, an archive reminiscence from Price, appreciations of the film by knowledgeable experts and more. Best of all is the enthusiastic commentary from committed fans and The League of Gentleman quartet Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. More than an archive curiosity, Theatre of Blood resonates in the work of all four whether together or apart. This is a textbook example of how to do this sort release properly.

Visit Kieron Tyler’s blog

Overleaf: watch the trailer for the Blu-ray release of Theatre of Blood

The cast of 'Theatre of Blood' was a roll-call of honour for a fast-vanishing era of British drama

rating

Editor Rating: 
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters