Castle Of The Living Dead

Castle Of The Living Dead is a interesting piece of gothic Italian horror from 1964. Starring Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland. Its the 19th century and somewhere in France a band of gypsy circus performers travel to a old castle to entertain for the Count there. One by one Count Drago kills off the group for his own experiments in preserving the dead without chemicals or traditional mummification, using a black magic of sorts.The movie isn't so much about the plot as it is the strange and interesting characters. You have Donald Sutherland playing two different roles. One, a old hag/witch who pop ups throughout the film spouting off cryptic warnings and second, a French police Sgt who is humorous in his mannerism and dialog.Then you have the band of gypsiesmade up of a dwarf, a mute, a harlequin, a beautiful woman and several other performers who all seem to have their own quirky personality.And of course, there is the great Christopher Lee as Count Drago who is always fun to watch and is as evil as ever.The film has that gothic look that only Italian films seemed to be able to achieve back then and a charm onto itself. Its not one of Christopher Lee better known film nor his best, but its worth buying this and has a great re-watch factor.

I like this movie a lot. I ordered it because I'm a big Christopher Lee fan since he was young and I was just a kid. Also there's another film made in the early 1990's at this same castle with the large crazy statuary on the grounds. This was also Donald Sutherland's first movie. He plays both an old witch and a policeman in it. I definitely prefered him as the witch, reminded me of something out of Monty Python. The little dwarf was cool, too, as was the cute kitty who likes to drink cognac. I'd love someday to see this movie cleaned up and made to fit modern t.v. screens. But it still was a real pleasure I've watched it several times.

This Italian-French co-production falls into the so-bad-it's good category. It stars Christopher Lee (as Count Drago) and was Donald Sutherland’s first feature. The Canadian actor has a triple role!The co-director and co-scriptwriter was Warren Kiefer. (Yes, Kiefer Sutherland was named after him.)Circa 1815 in Italy, a troupe of five traveling players is commissioned for a private performance at “scientist” Drago’s castle, where they are shocked to discover an incredible petrified world.Sutherland is credited in IMDb as “Sgt. Paul / The witch / The old man.” Paul is a dimwitted provincial police officer, and Sutherland’s own voice is overdubbed. Of course, for the witch role, he cross-dresses and wears the requisite false nose and warts. A woman’s voice is overdubbed, and her lines are entirely in rhyme. But who is “the old man”? The only point where I can figure that Sutherland could be in this role is at the very beginning, where he may be briefly playing a highwayman, with his back to the camera, in a long shot. (Of course, some scenes may be missing from the version I watched on Amazon Instant Video.)Lee, wearing what may be the shabbiest-looking makeup of his entire career, also overdubbed his own voice. His reading of the biblical funeral liturgy at one point is, to say the least, eye-popping.Actors Philippe Leroy and Luciano Pigozzi are also familiar faces. The latter will at least be recognizable to genre fans.Another among three co-directors was Michael Reeves, who -- before dying of a barbiturate O.D. at age 25 -- also helmed She-Beast, The Sorcerers, and his masterpiece, The Conqueror Worm.In between making pedestrian movies like Castle of the Living Dead, cinematographer Aldo Tonti also worked with Fellini, Huston, Rossellini, King Vidor, and Visconti.CotLD was made in central Italy at the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle and among the huge, grotesque 16th-century stone statues of the Bomarzo Monster Garden.Christopher Lee once said in an interview: “It was a very surrealist type of picture.”

This seems like a copy someone made themselves and burned to DVD. This has to be the worst presentation of any film I've ever seen. That's really unfortunate because the movie is actually quite good.The DVD boots to a low quality static menu listing the contents of the disc. I'm guessing most folks that aren't too tech savvy will be stumped at this point. It's not clear which entry is the movie at first. The movie is actually the last entry.The video quality is almost unwatchable. My wife and I enjoy watching these old films and call this type of presentation a "crinkly crack" since that's what you get on the screen or thru the speakers and sometimes both.The movie itself is a pleasant surprise for Christopher Lee Fans.

Other than bela lagosi , Christopher lee is the best, very timeless movie, great price fast shipping, thanks

Someone in a forum helped me remember the title. Nice memories from my youth, watching it again.

as advertised

this is the film that gave Donald Sutherland his break. He plays a dual role in this. He named his son after the director for giving him the break.

Just after the Napoleonic wars, a troupe of travelling players accept an invitation to perform at the castle of Count Drago - a sinister nobleman who has allowed his embalming hobby to get somewhat out of hand...Another recent release from Odeon Entertainment, this turns out to be surprisingly good in many ways and should be a real treat for vintage horror fans. The black-and-white photography, art direction, locations and musical score are all splendidly atmospheric. Donald Sutherland makes an intriguing film debut in two roles - he plays both a police sergeant and an old witch straight out of Macbeth who even speaks in rhyming couplets! Christopher Lee as Drago (with goatee and dark circles around his eyes) is his usual imposing presence. The script has some nice touches but misses an obvious opportunity to make Drago a more complex, interesting character. The film was shot in Italy with all of the dialogue dubbed on later; it has to be said that the dubbing is not terribly well done and also features a peculiar mixture of accents. The good news is that the film has been digitally remastered for this release and presented in its original aspect ratio. The cover has Michael Reeves (of Witchfinder General fame) prominently credited as Second Unit Director, which seems a little desperate. The only extra is the original trailer.All in all, I found this film to be much better than I had expected and I would urge anyone interested not to let the previous review put you off.

HMMM! Not sure how to describe this one, like another reviewer said (Keith Naylor) the plot is a bit hard to explain, the film never really explains why what's going on IS going on. Other than its a Nobleman who's hobby is Taxidermy and takes it to the extreme and uses people (living ones at that) instead of animals.However the picture quality is excellent when you consider this is a very obscure Euro Horror 'B' flick from the 60's some of the over voice dubbing leaves a little bit to be desired but overall doesn't ruin the film.Its not the worst film I've ever seen NOT by a long chalk but as a stand alone DVD unless your a Christopher Lee completest you may want to give it a miss this, Surprised its not been released by someone as part of a film compilation set which is really where it deserves to be.

I am no expert on Euro Horror so I can not comment on the completeness on this version. As I understand these films often have various run times and are often edited. I can comment on the visual quality and the sound, which were very good. No problems there. The actual film is pretty good, although no masterpiece. Lee is strong as always, Sutherland is good in dual roles and there are some genuinely creepy moments. Some of the outdoor scene provoke a sense of dread. I was happy with the purchase.

CASTLE OF THE UNEVENTFUL - three times I persevered with this movie trying to find something of interest, some storyline. On the third time I managed to avoid falling asleep and see the movie through to the end, and I would find it impossible to explain the story, if there is one, to any other person. I can usually get some enjoyment from all kinds of movies, including b&w early dubbed horrors, but this with regret, was a complete waste of nearly 90 mins of my life.

very clever introduction-circus hanging pity it was black white.christopher lee trying to escape his dracula roles in some films very successful.a tale of two cities,the devil rides out,to the devil a daughter,man with the golden gun. i would like to see how he performed as karswell in night/curse of the demon and brams stokers the judges house.donald sutherland also appears.

Excellent acting by Sir Christopher Lee and Donald Sutherland a interesting story.

I am a huge fan of peter cushing and Christopher lee. I've got to be honest and say I was disappointed in this film. Not one of Mr Lee's best.

Another Christopher lee horror very good in its storylinewell worth a watch and the valuea twist every where you turn

as advertised thank you

the flim was good l really enjoyed it lee was evil as always playing bad to he was good the way he acted it

All good

Very good film

A very cool, atmospheric horror film shot on stunning locations. Very creepy with a wild cast of actors and characters. A very nice widescreen DVD. The best quality I've seen on this title yet.

CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD is another one of several Euro-Gothic horrors that I first encountered at my local drive-in theater in Greenville, South Carolina. I don't remember what I saw it with (this was over 40 years ago) but I remember it standing out because it was in black & white. I had recently seen Cocteau's BEAUTY & THE BEAST and was struck by some of the visual similarities as well as a general sense of unease about the whole film. The stone monsters on the castle grounds (a real place in Bomarzo, Italy) and Christopher Lee's collection of instantly embalmed creatures made quite an impression. So did Donald Sutherland's grotesque witch even though I didn't know who Sutherland was at the time. I later saw it a couple of times on TV but the print was terrible (16mm) and the framing was wrong but I still enjoyed it anyway.A few years back I purchased a DVD-R version of the film but it was the same substandard American International TV print but it was all there was. Until now. Having read about this version being taken from a 35mm print was enough for me to order a copy. Even though I live in the States, I have a region free DVD player so that I can watch movies from all over the world. As soon as it arrived I popped it in and was blown away by the quality of the print. Not only is it in the proper ratio but it looks and sounds as if it were shot yesterday. This apparently is the original Tigon U.K. release and it couldn't be better. Now more than ever it resembles Cocteau's BEAUTY & THE BEAST with a little of THE SEVENTH SEAL thrown in for good measure. This time I noticed that the menacing servant walks like Max Schreck in NOSFERATU.This film will not appeal to today's hardcore horror fans. It is creepy and disturbing in an old fashioned way without a lot of violence and no sex (this was shot in 1964). Many will find it slow and boring after the opening scene but stick with it. It has the real but unreal quality of a nightmare and you may be surprised by the number of images that stay with you. Much has been made of Michael Reeves' connection with the film (his name is listed on the cover) but just how much he actually contributed is uncertain. He can be briefly glimpsed standing by his girlfriend in the Count's embalmed menagerie. In addition to the outstanding visual quality of the print, an inside booklet gives the history of the film and its participants. Not a great movie but a strangely memorable one in a remarkable release.

Yes, I am afraid sarcasm is intended. Reeves name features above the DVD title and 3 times on the reverse. (Lee is mentioned twice). What was it really and truly that seems to excite so many serious writers to scribe lengthy tomes about him? Sorry...but even the informative booklet goes on and on...Which leads me on to ask why ODEON goes to such trouble to a) Issue a digitally remastered Picture enhanced copy, and b) produce an interesting 7 page booklet for this particular film?? This always was an obscure "Italian" genre horror, and whilst I did enjoy a lot of it, does it really merit such attention? The DVD itself is fine picture wise, but the dubbing, except for Lee, is poor. The actress who dubbed heroine Gaia Germani is almost unintellagable and even Sutherland's witch suffers. I think Lee saves this rather dull film from complete failure. Even tho I must sound terribly negative (and apologies to Reeves' supporters), I did think this film worth seeing, and for Lee completists and lovers of the genre I recomend it (with the above reservations).