Product Details

• Actors: Christopher Lee, Lon Chaney, Peter Cushing, Hugh M. Hefner, Boris Karloff
• Directors: Ted Newsom
• Writers: Ted Newsom, Jeff Forrester
• Producers: Dante J. Pugliese
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 13
• Studio: Passport
• VHS Release Date: May 16, 2000
• Run Time: 343 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304842899
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,105 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
"What frightens me is not so much the obvious monster. What frightens me is the unknown, the fear that my mind is not in control, that there is something out there that nobody knows about." So says Roger Corman, king of the B picture, helping to set the tone for this richly detailed survey of the horror film. Introduced and hosted by veteran horror actor Christopher Lee, and written and directed by Ted Newsom (the director of Ed Wood--Look Back in Angora), this documentary is clearly a labor of love. There is on view a "blood feast" of film clips and sometimes priceless interviews with filmmakers. As our host, Christopher Lee offers up funny anecdotes about his days at Hammer Studios; you might be interested in knowing why being The Mummy was a literal pain. Exploitation film director Herschell G. Lewis is hilarious on why you shouldn't worry about opening gory films in Peoria, and how the censor board was stymied by the bloodiest of films. And John Carpenter tells how Suspiria director Dario Argento worked from his dreams like Luis Bunuel. Notably missing is any mention of Stephen King, Brian De Palma, or Sam Raimi. Raimi alone could have been the focus of a whole section devoted to the influence of H.P. Lovecraft on modern horror films. Also, the filmmakers seem less interested in the sections on science fiction for some reason, despite critics' estimates that half of all science fiction films fall clearly in the horror genre. Nevertheless, the interviews and film clips make this disc worth the price of admission. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christopher Lee at your service, March 14, 2004

By	Jerry McDaniel (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 100 Years of Horror (VHS Tape)

"call them fantasy films...but please don't call them horror" is one of the lines given by the host, Christopher Lee, jokingly looking in utter disgust that the public would call these films 'horror'. his performance is hilarious because of his sophisticated and always serious approach to acting and yet he's offering a self-parody much in the tradition of Vincent Price. although he doesn't go over-the-top, Lee's participation/narration was vital for this program's legitimacy. clips of horror and Sci-Fi films are shown throughout...there's also clips of interviews with Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Roger Corman among others...the so-called drive-in horror titans of the '60s are also spotlighted: American International and Hammer, the two companies that were responsible for 90% of the horror output in the '50s, '60s, and early '70s. this is a great look at horror films and Lee's commanding voice and screen appearances keep it from being too tedious, as it may have been had a contemporary hot shot with little to no affiliation with the genre narrated the show.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great documentary (saw the DVD version)!, December 12, 1999

By	"jackvaldez" (Muntinlupa, Metro Manila Philippines) - See all my reviews

I saw the DVD version of this video and, being a horror film buff, found it very entertaining. The problem with documentaries like these, however, is that they do tend to get sort of dated in just a few years (e.g. although fairly recent films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jurrasic Park and Wolf were discussed, more recent films such as the Mummy remake were not) especially in this genre wherein advances in make-up and special effects play an important role. Still, I would recommend this series to any serious horror film afficionado. Unlike many documentaries which seem to be made up of 90% interviews and 10% (movie) scenes, this is composed primarily of scenes with Christopher Lee's voice-over, interspersed with a few interviews. Notable highlights include hilarious outtakes from the film Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein as well as footage from obscure movies such as the 1960 version of Lost World. There are also interviews with John Carpenter, Peter Cushing and Claude Rains. I found this very enjoyable, although I'm giving just 4 stars for the DVD version since the sound quality was not very good for this medium (for VHS I'd probably let it off with 5 stars).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A survey of film's scariest and best...a pure cinematic delight, September 16, 2007

By	DanD - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: 100 Years of Horror (DVD)

Christopher Lee is delightful as the host of this program, which explores pretty much every aspect of the horror movie, from the nineteen twenties to the early nineties. His anecdotal stories and whitty narration keeps things moving along at a splendid pace. The material itself is top-notch, featuring interviews with everyone from John Carpenter, to Dick Miller, to Roger Corman, to Ray Bradbury, to Richard Matheson, to Robert De Niro, to Vincent Price, to Hugh Hefner (those are obviously my personal favorites; there are many, many more interviewees whom you'll know). The program deals with all aspects of the horror genre in cinema, from sections devoted entirely to Bela Legosi and Boris Karloff, to a survey of the roles of women, to detailed histories of certain monsters, to the use of subliminal advertising (Lee's comment: "As you can see, subliminal advertisements DO have an effect--they are very annoying"). If it CAN be discussed, it IS discussed (with the exception of creature features; no "Jaws" here, except for a very brief nautical clip not attributed to the film). True, more time could've been devoted to Stephen King, Brian DePalma, and a few others (though they are mentioned here and there), but this the most thorough account of the genre I have come across yet. Not only is it detailed, but it's ENTERTAINING; I wasn't once bored, despite frequent repitition of scenes and commentary.

Let me explain the four stars. I dropped a star for one reason only: this DVD collection is poorly edited. Sometimes, when a segment ends, Christopher Lee gets cut off mid-sentence. At other times, the screen is split (i.e., it is not formatted to "fit this screen"). These are trivial things, however; don't worry, you'll still enjoy this unique, superb, and purely enjoyable survey of cinema's scariest and best.