Murders in the Rue Morgue
From The Grindhouse Cinema Database
- Contents: Watch Trailer | Blu Ray
- Featured in: 42nd Street Forever: Volume 2 - The Deuce
Main Details
- Released in 1971 | Color
- Running time: 87 min / 98 min restored director's cut
- Distribution Co: American International Pictures
- Directed by Gordon Hessler
- Produced by Louis M. Heyward
- Written by Edgar Allan Poe (story), Christopher Wicking, Henry Slesar
- Starring Jason Robards, Herbert Lom, Christine Kaufmann, Adolfo Celi, Maria Perschy, Lilli Palmer, Michael Dunn
- Music by Waldo de los Ríos
- Cinematography by Manuel Berenguer
- Edited by Max Benedict
Synopsis
Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1971 American horror film directed by Gordon Hessler, starring Jason Robards and Herbert Lom. It is ostensibly an adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name, although it departs from the story in several significant aspects, at times more resembling Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. In an interview on the film's DVD, Hessler said that he thought everyone already knew the ending of the story, so he felt it necessary to reinvent the plot. According to IMDB.com, the film was banned in Finland in 1972. American International Pictures cut the film against Gordon Hessler's wishes, removing 11 minutes of footage and adding color tints to the flash forwards and flashbacks. The ending was also slightly altered. In 2002, a director's cut appeared on American cable television, restoring the missing footage and the film's ending. The MGM DVD release of the film is in the restored director's cut format. A featurette is included with director Hessler describing filming, working with the actors, restoration, etc. (Wikipedia)
