Search - The Devil Rides Out/Rasputin the Mad Monk on DVD

This double DVD set is worth conjuring up!

Valentina Chimino | California | 03/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a review of the set and not the movies. You can find them elsewhere. This is more about the quality picturewise of the DVDs in this set and the extras.Unlike my other review of the double offering by Anchor Bay (The Satanic Rites of Dracula/Dracula, Prince of Darkness) this one is sure to please. One sided disks instead of easily scratched two sided ones, contains two non repeating World Of Hammer episodes and commentary on both films! :) Much better than the other one.The only problem I had with this was that one of the poster cards contained in the DVD set was cut too big for the case and was bent. I cut it to fit, but I don't know if this was only my DVD or many were made like this. The poster/chapter cards are one of the best things about this set and to have one bent is disappointing. But both movies play well with no weird cuts or anything (unlike Rites/Darkness--read my review) and it definately superior to the other releases as far as content and quality of the movies."

Christopher Lee double bill

D. I. Shipley | KENT United Kingdom | 09/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Devil Rides Out is probably the best known book that Dennis Wheatley ever wrote. The Hammer film adaptation is pretty faithful to the book. The film version sees Christopher Lee (cast against type) as the heroic Duc de Richelieu fighting a coven of Satanists, led by Charles Gray's evil and sinister Mocata. The film is both eerie and frightening (the encounter with the Ab Human entity in the darkened house being a very good example) as the powers of Light and Darkness lock horns via their respective proxys...
Christopher Lee turns in a superlative performance as De Richelieu and Charles Gray is equally good as his Satanic nemesis - Mocata.
They receive sterling support from the rest of the cast who include Patrick Mower and Barbara Shelley.
Among occult movies, The Devil Rides Out stands out as one of the very best. It remains one of my all time faves and is highly recommended to anyone who has not seen it yet.

Rasputin The Mad Monk sees Christopher Lee back in more familiar territory ie. playing a villainous role. historically not very accurate this is nonetheless a film of colour and panache. Lee is superb in the title role as the greedy, psychotic, yet powerful Rasputin who is unashamedly ruthless and ambitious. Before long he has an unhealthy influence over the Tsarina and the Russian Royal Court because he appears to be able to ease the suffering of the haemophiliac boy prince - Nicky.
Visually stunning and with a great score to boot, Rasputin The Mad Monk makes a very good companion to the Devil Rides Out, on this Hammer double bill."

Damaged?

Wayne A. | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 10/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All three reviews by the individual below--from Italy--complain about "damaged" DVDs, way too dang many of them. I encourage customers to ignore these writings as it seems she may be ordering DVDs for the wrong DVD region; in one case she writes that it plays "black" and that sure as heck sounds like the problem. Of course she might be putting these in her CD player too. I've ordered plenty of stuff from Amazon and if anything they arrive almost too well packed and totally undamaged. Sorry, I've been encountering customer service complaints, often really stupid ones, turning up in the review section a bit too much lately and it's really starting to annoy me.

Great CDs, a great combo, and lots of fun. The Devil Rides Out is a classic adaptation of a novel by a fellow named Wheatley or something--wrote a lot of stories in the 30s about Satan worshippers. The Rasputin film is just a hoot, as one might well imagine from Hammer. I miss this company and I wish they could reform to do campy stuff (their movies weren't campy when new) nowadays. There's plenty of hard-gore and shock out there now, I'd like to see something stylish and fun."

Two Hammer classics

www.DavidLRattigan.com | United Kingdom | 02/25/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Rasputin, the Mad Monk is easily the lesser of the two films, but is still a minor classic by Hammer standards. Historical accuracy is secondary to suspense and thrills, as you would expect. Christopher Lee turns in one of his best performances in the title role.

The Devil Rides Out is one of Terence Fisher's finest films. It's an intense occult thriller, genuinely terrifying at times, and featuring another excellent performance from Lee, in an untypical role."