classicsoncall The quote in my summary line was spoken by the 'good' Wilson to the 'bad' Wilson (Alain Delon portrayed both) in the second chapter of this Poe based trilogy, so if you saw it you know what it means. It was the single sentiment that had application to each of the stories presented here because death was involved in each one. Reading a handful of other reviews for the picture here, it appears that many of them simply dismiss the first two segments and favor the 'Toby Dammit' piece directed by Federico Fellini. For myself, I found all three chapters to be about equally worthy.With the piece on 'Metzengerstein' however, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have had those flagrant, colorful costumes in whatever era the story represented. They're primarily used to augment Jane Fonda's physical assets, who a couple of times provides her own interpretation of riding bareback. No surprise there, as this was directed by Fonda's husband at the time, Roger Vadim, who utilized a similar soft porn technique in the same year's "Barbarella", also starring Fonda. If I had been in charge of the story, my twist ending would have had Peter Fonda's character emerge once again after the Countess (Jane) perishes. I'm sure they could have worked that out.The piece on William Wilson (Delon) and his doppelganger who kept showing up during stages of his life was an interesting concept. I don't know about Brigitte Bardot as a dark haired beauty though, that was a distraction. Keep an eye on that final card game when Giuseppina (Bardot) loses it all, Wilson deals himself two cards in a row during the final hand. Why wouldn't she call him on it? The 'Toby Dammit' chapter was based on Poe's novel 'Don't Wager Your Head to the Devil" which makes every bit of sense at the final scene. What I was more concerned about was they never got around to filming that Catholic Western Toby (Terrence Stamp) traveled to Rome for. I thought there was some potential there. Toby himself is an arrogant, spiteful, condescending and neurotic actor who hates his audience, making me wonder why he was treated like such a super star. Served him right at the end of the story when he crashed his Ferrari off the bridge at the behest of his friendly and joyful devil. It wouldn't be the first time a guy lost his head over a pretty young thing.

LCShackley There's not much Poe here, except his name. Roger Corman did a better job of sticking to the original stories than this trio of "stellar" directors: Vadim, Malle, and Fellini.In the spirit of the indulgent 60s, these three auteurs twisted Poe into the shape of their own imagination, rewriting and "sexing up" the stories to appeal to the pompous art-house crowd. There are some beautiful locations and striking visuals, to be sure...plus long, long stretches of boredom (Jane Fonda playing with a horse, Terence Stamp driving drunk). The music is also dated and laughable, especially Nino Rota's pop dreck under the Fellini segment.Trivia: be on the lookout for Andreas Voutsinas as a bearded courtier in the Vadim segment. He was Jane Fonda's acting coach, but best-known to American audiences as the creepy Carmen Ghia in Mel Brooks's original "The Producers" (released the same year as this film).

The_Void Spirits of the Dead is an anthology based on the writing of the great Edgar Allen Poe; but anyone going into this expecting something as entertaining as Roger Corman's Poe films is liable to be sorely disappointed as entertainment was clearly not high on the filmmakers' list of priorities. The film is split into three stories; each of them directed by one of the 'greats' of international cinema. While I'm a big fan of any film that bears his name in the writing credits; I do have to admit that aside from a couple of poems, I have not read anything by the great writer. However, from the films I have seen; I do have a very good idea of Poe's style - yet this film really doesn't encompass that at all and in fact, I was really surprised to find that this film is often labelled as 'horror', as while some of the stories in this anthology are slightly unsettling; the film is more of an arty drama on the whole and despite the fact that it's based on Poe's writings; it's not a must see for horror followers.Apparently, there's an American and International version of this film; and unfortunately I saw the International version so I missed the narration by the great Vincent Price. The first of the three stories is entitled "Metzengerstein" and directed by Roger Vadim; from whom the disappointing Blood and Roses is the only film I've seen. The most interesting thing about this story is the casting; with the director's then wife Jane Fonda starring alongside her brother Peter Fonda. The story concerns a cold and unflinching baroness falling in love with cousin. The story doesn't get boring really; but it is very slow. The second story is the most disappointing; directed by Louis Malle; it's a weird story of dual identities, made interesting only by the ending and the casting of Brigitte Bardot. Fellini's segment is the final one and probably the best of the three, although it's not the director's best work by a long shot. Terence Stamp gives a chilling portrayal at least. Overall, this film may appeal to art house fans; although there's better art house films than this and horror fans will get their kicks elsewhere too.

Claudio Carvalho "Metzengerstein": the bored and corrupt medieval countess Frederica (Jane Fonda) spends her futile life in orgies and cruelties. When she moves with her friends to one of her castles nearby the lands of her poor cousin Baron Wilhelm (Peter Fonda), she desires him but is not corresponded. When one of her minions burns the stable, Wilhelm dies trying to rescues his stallion and Federica is haunted by her lost cousin.This erotic female version of Caligula shows the delicious Jane Fonda, who was married to Roger Vadim at that time, wearing sexy costumes very similar to "Barbarella" (of the same year). But the story is weak. My vote is five."William Wilson": the sadistic and cruel soldier of the Austrian army William Wilson (Alain Delon) confesses to a priest the cruelties he committed along his sinful life and the participation of his double also called William Wilson in specific moments of his dreadful life.This short directed by Louis Malle is the certainly the best segment of these adaptations, showing the fight between the dark side and the human part of the same character. Brigitte Bardot is very different with black hair. My vote is six."Toby Dammit": the cynical alcoholic and decadent English actor Toby Dammit (Terence Stamp) travels to Rome to make a Catholic Western, but only interested in receiving the Ferrari promised by the production.This messy segment directed by Federico Fellini uses stylish images and a great performance of Terence Stamp, but the story is confused and the boring conclusion is too long. My vote is four.My global vote for these adaptations is five.Title (Brazil): "Histórias Extraordinárias" ("Extraordinaries Stories")