The Fall of the Louse of Usher: A Gothic Tale for the 21st Century
- 2002
- 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
4.3/10
372
YOUR RATING
Rock star Roddy Usher's wife is murdered and Rod is sent to a lunatic asylum in this gothic-comedy-horror-musical.Rock star Roddy Usher's wife is murdered and Rod is sent to a lunatic asylum in this gothic-comedy-horror-musical.Rock star Roddy Usher's wife is murdered and Rod is sent to a lunatic asylum in this gothic-comedy-horror-musical.
Elize Tribble Russell
- Madeline Usher
- (as Elize Russell)
- …
Lesley Nunnerley
- Berenice
- (as Lesley Nunnerly)
Pete Mastin
- Ernest Valdemar
- (as Peter Mastin)
Mediaeval Baebes
- Unholy Revellers
- (as Medieval Babes)
- Director
- Writers
- Edgar Allan Poe(uncredited)
- Ken Russell
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaShot on camcorder in director Ken Russell's garage/studio, with a cast made up of friends and neighbors.
- ConnectionsVersion of The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
- SoundtracksTolling of the Bells
Music by James Johnston
Words by Edgar Allan Poe (as E.A. Poe)
Performed by Gallon Drunk
Featured review
Movie history is made - in Russell's personal madhouse.
I've just had the pleasure of seeing the premiere of this extraordinary movie in London - it's a trashy, hallucinatory riot that just proves what can be done with a shoestring budget and lots of enthusiasm.
It's rare to see any movie these days without having been exposed to a large amount of hype, reviews etc, before even entering the cinema. Here, I had no idea what to expect. In some ways it's a shame that this film is likely to receive the critical acclaim and cinema release it deserves: but this also helps to keep it a delicious underground secret. Search it out and enjoy.
The rarest thing of all is to see a cinematic genius and artistic visionary like Ken Russell take full command of a movie, shooting it at home on digital video without interference (or budget) from a studio.
There are several ways that people have attempted this in the past: we have Lars von Trier's Dogme manifesto that used video to create a documentary-style gritty realism. Then there was the Blair Witch, which was more an exercise in clever marketing than a real innovation: the video medium was used - as in von Trier's movies - to convince the audience of the reality of the situation. Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh's recent 'Anniversary Party' was shot on DV but pretended to be celluloid, showing that a low-budget video could look like a much more expensive affair.
But with the Louse of Usher, Russell goes with the video grain, revelling in the cheap nasty look of DV, and creates a hallucinatory world from deliberately cheapo blow-up toys, joke-shop props and even bouncy castles. The ugly, contrasty look of DV enhances the crumbling white makeup and tombstone teeth of the characters. Far from the documentary-style realism of Dogme, Russell creates moments of decadent synthetic visual madness that fully suit the video medium.
It's hard to imagine that this project was initially intended to be a studio-funded, medium budget film: the whole concept is so suited to the bargain-basement production values. The deliberate use of cheap blow-up plastic toys reminds me of how John Carpenter used a beach-ball for the alien in 'Dark Star'... instead of trying for something a bit more realistic and expensive looking, both directors choose to use their low budget to humorous effect by exaggerating the cheapness of the props.
Then there's the plot... oh yes, the plot.. umm... poaching Poe's plots and themes and whipping them up alongside fetishy gore-trash and terrible double-entendre jokes hardly makes for coherency. Other wild Russell films have much in common with this movie in its crazed mess of a plot... but that's not what we're here for. In fact, the disorientation is deliberate - we're being shown the muddled state of a crazed musician's mind, in great style and humour.
The cast (an a-z of 'underground') and all who took part were contributing their free time at weekends, and clearly having a huge laugh in the process. Tulip Junkie as Nurse ABC Smith stood out especially- a gorgeous, kinky, trashy presence. Russell's own performance as the deranged Dr. Caligari is, of course, hilarious - and central to the manic feel of the film.
Essentially an art movie put together with all the enthusiasm and messy imagination of a home movie, the fusion creates something entirely new, totally tripped-out and hopefully a great inspiration to any film-makers who worry that DV can't be used artistically, stylishly. Bravo Ken.
It's rare to see any movie these days without having been exposed to a large amount of hype, reviews etc, before even entering the cinema. Here, I had no idea what to expect. In some ways it's a shame that this film is likely to receive the critical acclaim and cinema release it deserves: but this also helps to keep it a delicious underground secret. Search it out and enjoy.
The rarest thing of all is to see a cinematic genius and artistic visionary like Ken Russell take full command of a movie, shooting it at home on digital video without interference (or budget) from a studio.
There are several ways that people have attempted this in the past: we have Lars von Trier's Dogme manifesto that used video to create a documentary-style gritty realism. Then there was the Blair Witch, which was more an exercise in clever marketing than a real innovation: the video medium was used - as in von Trier's movies - to convince the audience of the reality of the situation. Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh's recent 'Anniversary Party' was shot on DV but pretended to be celluloid, showing that a low-budget video could look like a much more expensive affair.
But with the Louse of Usher, Russell goes with the video grain, revelling in the cheap nasty look of DV, and creates a hallucinatory world from deliberately cheapo blow-up toys, joke-shop props and even bouncy castles. The ugly, contrasty look of DV enhances the crumbling white makeup and tombstone teeth of the characters. Far from the documentary-style realism of Dogme, Russell creates moments of decadent synthetic visual madness that fully suit the video medium.
It's hard to imagine that this project was initially intended to be a studio-funded, medium budget film: the whole concept is so suited to the bargain-basement production values. The deliberate use of cheap blow-up plastic toys reminds me of how John Carpenter used a beach-ball for the alien in 'Dark Star'... instead of trying for something a bit more realistic and expensive looking, both directors choose to use their low budget to humorous effect by exaggerating the cheapness of the props.
Then there's the plot... oh yes, the plot.. umm... poaching Poe's plots and themes and whipping them up alongside fetishy gore-trash and terrible double-entendre jokes hardly makes for coherency. Other wild Russell films have much in common with this movie in its crazed mess of a plot... but that's not what we're here for. In fact, the disorientation is deliberate - we're being shown the muddled state of a crazed musician's mind, in great style and humour.
The cast (an a-z of 'underground') and all who took part were contributing their free time at weekends, and clearly having a huge laugh in the process. Tulip Junkie as Nurse ABC Smith stood out especially- a gorgeous, kinky, trashy presence. Russell's own performance as the deranged Dr. Caligari is, of course, hilarious - and central to the manic feel of the film.
Essentially an art movie put together with all the enthusiasm and messy imagination of a home movie, the fusion creates something entirely new, totally tripped-out and hopefully a great inspiration to any film-makers who worry that DV can't be used artistically, stylishly. Bravo Ken.
helpful•104
- theo_amsterdam
- Feb 2, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Падение дома Ашеров
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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By what name was The Fall of the Louse of Usher: A Gothic Tale for the 21st Century (2002) officially released in Canada in English?
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