The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film in Panavision and Pathécolor directed by Roger Corman. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was loosely inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s 1842 short story of the same name. The story is about a young Englishman who visits a forbidding castle to investigate his sister’s mysterious death. The movie was a critical and box-office hit, and is considered one of the best horror films of the 20th century.
About The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) in brief
The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film in Panavision and Pathécolor directed by Roger Corman. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was loosely inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s 1842 short story of the same name. Set in sixteenth-century Spain, the story is about a young Englishman who visits a forbidding castle to investigate his sister’s mysterious death. After a series of horrific revelations, apparently ghostly appearances and violent deaths, the young man becomes strapped to the titular torture device by his lunatic brother-in-law. The film was the second title in the popular series of Poe-based movies released by American International Pictures, the first having been Corman’s House of Usher released the previous year. Like House, the film features widescreen cinematography by Floyd Crosby, sets designed by art director Daniel Haller, and a film score composed by Les Baxter. Stephen King has described one of Pit’s major shock sequences as being among the most important moments in post-1960 horror film. Pit’s success convinced AIP and Corman to continue adapting Poe stories for another six films, five of them starring Vincent Price. The series ended in 1965 with the release of The Tomb of Ligeia. The film’s strong influence on numerous subsequent Italian thrillers, from Mario Bava’s The Whip and the Body to Dario Argento’s Deep Red, has been noted by both Ernesto Gastaldi and Tim Lucas.
The movie was a critical and box-office hit, and is considered one of the best horror films of the 20th century. It was released in the United States on November 14, 1961, and in the UK on November 17, 1961. It is still available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Blu-Ray 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, as well as on DVD in the U.S. and Canada. It has been released in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The UK version was released on November 25, 2011. It also has a UK release on November 28, 2011, and Canada on November 29, 2012, and Australia on November 30, 2013. The U.K. release was on November 31, 2013, and July 28, 2014, and Japan on July 29, 2014. The US release is on November 27, 2013 and July 30, 2015, and Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2016, and Amsterdam, Netherlands on July 28 and Amsterdam on July 8, 2015. The British release is available on DVD, Blu- ray 3, 6 and 7, and Germany on July 9, 2015 and Poland on July 10, 2016. The UK release is also available in the US and the Netherlands on August 14, 2013; the UK release date is August 8, 2014; and the US release date on August 13, 2015; and it will be available in Australia on August 28, 2016; and in Germany on August 29, 2016 .
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