Search - The Abominable Dr. Phibes on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children Movie Release: 1971 DVD Release: 02/20/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 11 Genres: Horror, Master Criminal Films, Costume Horror

Long thought dead, the victim of a horrible accident, Dr. Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) still lives, surrounded by art-deco bric-a-brac and attended by mute beauty Vulnavia (Virginia North). Outwardly normal in appearance, Phibes actually wears a rubber mask, covering his hideously deformed countenance; giving away the artifice is the fact that, when he dines, he takes his food through his neck rather than his mouth. Able to speak only when plugging a wire into his damaged vocal chords, Phibes elucidates his plan to murder the medical team whom he holds responsible for the death of his wife. Each of the killings is patterned after the ten deadly plagues. Phibes saves his worst for last: trapping chief surgeon Dr. Vesalius in his lair, Phibes forces the hapless medico into a race against time to save the life of his own son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vincent Price - Dr. Anton Phibes
Joseph Cotten - Dr. Vesalius
Virginia North - Vulnavia
Terry-Thomas - Dr. Longstreet
Hugh Griffith - Rabbi

Even reviewers that didn't like horror films expressed a grudging respect for The Abominable Dr. Phibes. The movie was so stylishly designed and shot that it was a pleasure to behold -- even many of the nastiest scenes of murder; of course, the latter are presented with such a spirit of humor and campy inventiveness, that it's easy not to take any of it very seriously; and parts of it are so funny that they anticipate the work of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Vincent Price, in a role that hearkens back to his character in House of Wax, plays a disfigured musician in 1920s London who avenges the death of his wife by killing the surgeons whom he holds responsible, using the ten curses of the pharaohs (involving bees, bats, frogs, etc.) as the basis for their deaths. Peter Jeffrey turns in a good starring performance as the police inspector who is always a step behind the killer, and Hugh Griffith is excellent in a short appearance as a rabbi who helps the police unravel the case, but Joseph Cotten seems a little lost in a very underwritten part.
The movie is so beautifully transferred that it's a delight to look at -- not just to watch, but to look at. The production design by Brian Eatwell mixes 19th century antiquity and art deco designs. Eatwell uses art deco as the basis for contrasting his two antagonists, Joseph Cotten's glib surgeon living in a normal, very bright white, glass setting, while Vincent Price's mad murderer resides in a dark, richly colored fantasy world. The digital video transfer illuminates Norman Warwick's cinematography, bringing it to life as it hasn't been seen since the very first run, and it's arguable that even the first run didn't look as good as this DVD. Not all of the action makes sense, but on a disc that looks this good, it doesn't have to -- one just wants to sit back and enjoy it. The movie comes with an original trailer, which opens with an animation sequence that looks like a cross between the work of Terry Gilliam and Peter Max. The film is broken into 16 chapters, all accessible on a menu that pops up automatically when the disc starts up. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide