Product Details

• Writers: H.P. Lovecraft
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Microcinema
• DVD Release Date: May 27, 2008
• Run Time: 140 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0015U0QNK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,313 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The H.P. Lovecraft Collection on DVD brings together for the first time films screened over the last 10 years at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. The first volume is Cool Air, based on Lovecraft's famous short story, and follows Randolph Carter as he moves into a squalid boarding house in the summer of 1925. There he becomes friends with a mysterious doctor who revives him after a near-fatal heart attack. Soon after Carter discovers the awful truth about the doctor, and the fragile line that separates life and death. Cool Air features a stellar performance by Jack Donner (Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Stigmata) as Dr. Munoz, and remains a haunting reminder of the power of the human will. The volume also includes the following short films: Nyarlathotep, The Hound, An Imperfect Solution, and The Hapless Antiquarian, in addition to exclusive interviews with the cast & crew of Cool Air, and an interview with author and scholar S.T. Joshi.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Feast of Lovecraft material! November 8, 2004

By Peter West

Format:DVD

The Story:

Renting a small one room apartment Randolph Carter continues his writing of short stories for pulp magazines. Suddenly he is stricken by a heart attack and seeks assistance from Dr. Muñoz, his upstairs neighbor. Once a prominent physician Dr. Muñoz leads a hermit like existencein a artificially cooled room. While recovering from the attack, Carter learns more and more the secrets of the mysterious doctor and why he has the need for "cool air".

The winner of the 1999 H.P. Lovecraft film festival, Bryan Moore's Cool Air is now available on DVD thanks to Lurker Films.

The Picture:

Cool Air is presented in a full frame 1.37:1 aspect, identical to what it would have been if it was filmed in 1925. Shot on 16mm film, Cool Air has all of the visuals that you would expect from a film of that period. Imperfections are intentional, the film is light and grainy. Since this film was intentionally shot to look like it was 75 years old. I'll give a perfect score for accomplishing it tremendously!

The Sound:

A Dolby 2.0 mono track that is again period driven. You get the feeling that you're thrown back to the era of the silent films and early talkies.

Extras:

Here's where this DVD becomes a invaluable treasure for any H.P. Lovecraft fan! Included are the following:

Christian Matzke's An Imperfection Solution (a short film taken from Herbert West: Re-Animator) and Nyarlathotep (told in Lovecraft's first person narrative style, a story of a prophet with visions into the future).

Anthony Penta's The Hound (a grave robbery unleashes a hound from Hell) and The Hapless Antiquarian (it's not always easy to get rid of the most evil book in the world)....

A cast and crew interview about the making of Cool Air.

An informative interview with Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi.

An eight page booklet on Lovecraft and these films.

Two opening ads for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.

Put together with the extra's Cool Air becomes a 140 minute plus jammed packed DVD!

Summary:

If you're not familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's influence on the genre of horror, it's about time you learned! A writer in the 20s and 30s, Lovecraft penned short stories for publications such as Weird Tales and Astounding Stories. Dying at a young age, Lovecraft's body of work is becoming more and more appreciated with every new generation. The most famous adaptations of his work have been brought to the big screen by Stuart Gordon with Re-Animator and From Beyond. Other notable Lovecraft adaptations have been The Dunwich Horror and The Terror. Still in print to this day, you can find all of his works in hardcover at Arkham House Publishers.

Cool Air is the start of a multi volume series called "The H.P. Lovecraft Collection". This series will contain the best of the films submitted at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, now entering it's twelve year. Bryan Moore has given this short tale a treatment that is heads above anything previously submitted. From choosing renown actor Jack Donner (Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Stigmata, and Exorcism) to play Dr. Muñoz, to his decision to shoot this on 16mm film, Moore has brought Lovecraft's story to life in a wonderful way! The other shorts included in the collection all reflect the period which they were written realistically thus creating a Lovecraft fan feast of material.

I anxiously await the subsequent volumes and encourage hardcore Lovecraft fans and even novices to buy this collection. If you're not familiar with Lovecraft's works, visit arkhamhouse.com and buy the books. If you're just a fan of the Stuart Gordon treatments, enrich yourself further with this fine collection! Read more ›

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why am I Afraid of a Draught of Cool Air? December 23, 2008

By Michael R Gates VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

The works of venerable horror writer H.P. Lovecraft have, in many ways, become the backbone of the genre, especially cinematic horror. An astonishing number of relatively contemporary horror flicks and genre TV shows--everything from 1965's DIE, MONSTER, DIE through Rod Serling's series THE NIGHT GALLERY (1970s) to Sam Raimi's THE EVIL DEAD (1981)--have either borrowed elements from Lovecraft's literary mythos or attempted to adapt one of his stories. But in spite of the writer's influence on horror cinema, few filmmakers have been able to accurately or faithfully translate Lovecraft's works to either the small or large screen. At best, most attempts to adapt Lovecraft either vaguely evoke the nihilistic subtext of the author's work (e.g., Stuart Gordon's 1985 classic RE-ANIMATOR) or pay simple homage by making a reference or two (as Raimi does by building his EVIL DEAD stories around Lovecraft's ubiquitous fictional book of the occult, the Necronomicon). Bryan Moore's COOL AIR is a standout exception to this rule.

Set sometime around the 1920s, COOL AIR tells the story of a young writer who befriends a mysterious and reclusive physician, Dr. Muñoz, who resides in his same tenement house. Though Muñoz has a medical condition that requires him to remain in his constantly frigid apartment, the two men visit together often and become very close. But when something happens to the cooling unit that controls the temperature in good doctor's apartment, the writer learns more about his friend's condition than perhaps he ever wanted to know....

Although the original story is devoid of any real dialogue--indeed, the Lovecraft's narrator recounts his experience in what is very nearly a straight soliloquy--the filmmakers, out of dramatic necessity, use dialogue to reinterpret portions of Lovecraft's written word. Still, the film is not dialogue heavy. The filmmakers also skillfully employ unusual camera angles, light and shadow, sound design, and music to skillfully recreate all of the subtle, almost intangible uneasiness--and, ultimately, the horrible denouement--of the Lovecraft work.

Of course, the actors also aid immensely in conveying both the art and horror of the original story. Vera Lockwood is delightful as the curmudgeonly landlady of the tenement house. And as the young writer who befriends the mysterious Dr. Muñoz, Bryan Moore--who also wrote the script and directed--creates a thoroughly convincing sense of credulity and naiveté. But it is the venerable Jack Donner, portraying Dr. Muñoz, who steals the show. Donner has created numerous characters over the years on everything from classic STAR TREK to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER to a recurring role on the soap GENERAL HOSPITAL, and here he uses those skills to adeptly convey the grandfatherly and cultured facets of Muñoz while simultaneously maintaining the sense that something horrifying lurks just beneath the facade.

The DVD edition of Moore's COOL AIR is well worth the price of admission. It features a pristine copy of the film--be aware that the film as shot in black-and white, and faux scratches and grain were deliberately added to give the sense that the film was actually shot in the era in which the story is set--in its original Academy aspect ratio (essentially 1.33:1), and the soundtrack (in Pro Logic two-channel surround) is very crisp and clear. The disc is also chock-full of extras, including four other short films inspired by Lovecraft works, a making-of featurette entitled BEHIND THE MACHINE, an interview with Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi, and more. A must-have for Lovecraft fans and those who appreciate well-crafted, "old-school" horror cinema. Read more ›

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent horror movies! November 3, 2004

By Aaron Vanek

Format:DVD

It took me a while to view my copy of "The HP Lovecraft Collection Vol. 1" featuring "Cool Air", but I am so glad I did. The packaging and design of the disk, including the supplemental booklet (laid out as an 18th century pamphlet), are exceptionally classy and informative. The disk itself contains the featurette, "Cool Air", which is a very moving adaptation of Lovecraft's story of the same name and starring Jack Donner ("Star Trek", "Man from U.N.C.L.E", many others) and shot on black and white 16mm film. The amazing set, costumes, writing and acting, led by Bryan Moore (writer/director, and playing lead Randolph Carter) will show you what can be done with a little amount of money and a large amount of talent. The "making of" bonus materials explain how much went into completing the film; that in and of itself is a tear-wrenching story.

There are four other short films on the disk, including two by Christian Matzke, called "An Imperfect Solution" and "Nyarlathotep." Both are great period adaptations of two of Lovecraft's stories, and "Solution" manages to do the "Herbert West: Re-Animator" story seriously, as opposed to Stuart Gordon's over-the-top satirical feature. There are also two dark gems by Tony Penta: "The Hound" (based on Lovecraft's story) and "The Hapless Antiquarian", which is a funny homage to Edward Gorey's "The Gashlycrumb Tinies". There's also an interview with Lovecraft scholar ST Joshi on the disk.

The DVD is not only entertaining, emotionally powerful (and creepy!), but educational as well. Any fan of H.P. Lovecraft, non-splatter horror films (although "An Imperfect Solution" has some very gory bits), and atmospheric "weird tales" will love this....

There's no nudity or swearing in any of the shorts (although one of the actors from "Cool Air" uses some profanity in the making of material), and only "An Imperfect Solution" has serious gore, so this DVD would also make a great gift for a teenager who likes gothic movies or literature (adults will love the seriousness as well).

If you're sick and tired of the same ol' cheesy makeup and CG effects from non-sensical Hollywood horror movies, but you still want to be spooked late at night when the lights are out, be sure to pick this one up. Read more ›