Customer Reviews

The Devil Rides Out/Rasputin the Mad Monk

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT is a wicked tale of devil worship and black magic, brought to life through another commanding role given to the great Christopher Lee. In it, two close friends must stop the young Simon from dedicating his soul to the devil under the guidance of a satanic cult. Charles Gray plays opposite of Lee in role of the evil cult leader Mocata, whose mesmerizing stares lend to his chilling performance. DEVIL is filled with strong visual motifs that add to the implied terrors found within the picture. Hammer favorite Terence Fischer reserves his close-shots as a metaphor for possession and mind-control, while using the intensity of the lighting to demonstrate the presence of evil on-screen. A number of striking images also add to the overall effect and mood, including the horned Goat of Mendes that appears at the black mass, a giant tarantula, and the armored figure of death set atop a jet-black steed that attempts to break the cleansing ritual. Despite these ghastly apparitions, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT relies far less on its visual appeal than it does on its keen scripting, and the film succeeds most in its brooding dialog and winning performances.

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

You know Anchor Bay Has Been Delighted to present us with a collection of Hammer Films on DVD and then when the movies go oop they put them in a Double Bill DVD Set for instance like Dracula Prince of Darkness that was one of the early releases by anchor bay so it became a Double Bill DVD with The Satanic Rites of Dracula But Now that you think about it Thats oop Also anyway to this Here we have The Devil Rides Out Possibly one of the finest hammer movies ever made, for once Christopher Lee plays a good guy i mean you know we have usually seen Christopher Lee for Hammer As Count Dracula,Frankenstein's Monster,The Mummy anyways here is a rare viewing Christopher Lee a Good Guy Highly reccomended onto Rasputin The Mad Monk which by the way was filmed back to back with Dracula Prince of Darkness using the same cast and sets here Christopher Lee is Evil but in one of his rare roles for hammer Great Double Feature

This collection is worth the price for the Devil rides out alone.... not that Rasputin the mad monk isn't a great film as well, its just that this and the other Hammer Wheatly adaptation, To the Devil.... a daughter are two of my favorite non-dracula horror films. The awesome goat makeup is worth the view alone! plus Lee plays a "Good Guy" rare for him, a treat for us.

First off this is a great deal for the price. I mean 2 fine Hammer films with Christopher Lee are just wonderful to have.
Devil Rides Out is a great film and should be watched by serious horror film enthusiasts. The wonderful Terence Fisher is the director and Chris is the hero for a change.Unlike a lot of Hammer films this one is subtle which adds too the thrills.
Rasputin was made right after Dracula Price of Darkness and has the same cast. Christopher Lee gives a masterful performance as Rasputin which holds this whole film together. It was the script which doomed the production and that was done in by threats of lawsuits over the movie. The end film drags a bit but it is still worth seeing.
Both movies will make a fine evenings entertainment. The commentaries are alot of fun too.

I bought "The Devil Rides Out" from sheer nostalgia. As a teenager I loved Dennis Wheatley novels, and saw the movie at the drive-in. Yes, the nostalgia value was there. But poor Christopher Lee, a legend in his own lifetime, was stuck with more patronising lines than he deserved. He came across as a smart-alec folklore geek, though he did his best with the material. But it's a Hammer film, and their horror movies were pure entertainment, an adventure with a few spooky overtones. Mostly the Satanic manifestations looked cheep and comical, at least by modern standards, and Hammer have done much better.

With "Rasputin", they, and Christopher Lee, did do better. Given a complex story of an historic figure had to be condensed to around their usual hour and a half, the movie worked. Lee was at his best portraying the dissolute, self-seeking monk. "Mad Monk" is a misnomer - he was a political game player, and insanity would not have helped him succeed! He'd have survived well in a modern capitalist society, never mind Tsarist Russia.

At the price, you've lost nothing with this double pack. You may enjoy "The Devil Rides Out" but if you don't, "Rasputin" picks up the slack.

This movie above came in good condition, fortunately, however, several itens that I have ordered before this one came damaged, I have had many problems with Amazon com lately, unfortunately. I really would like to know why this is taking place, really. The collection called "Hammer Horror Collection" that has 6 movies came completely damaged, 100% damaged twice to me and when I ordered three of the movies separately (suggested by the represantive) "taste the blood of Dracula", "Dracula has risen from the grave" and "The Horror of Dracula", the three of them, even though they were sold separately, they came to me DAMAGED, I returned them and Amazon com decided to send me something for free here in Italy after all I went through, but, even the free purchases, one of movies, came DAMAGED, the movie that came damaged is called "The Hound of Baskerville" with Peter Cushing, it came damaged twice actually, now, I do not know what to substitue that one for, and besides I am in a different hotel now. I do not know WHY you are selling so many movies that are DAMAGED, NOT WORKING, with BLACK SCREEN, specially the one called "hammer horror collection" PLease analise and study this. THank you.
JAcqueline Grecco