Product Details

• Actors: Mediaeval Baebes, James Johnson (II), Tulip Junkie, Pete Mastin, Emma Millions
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000A0DTO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #120,597 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Fall of the Louse of Usher" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

From outrageous director Ken Russell (Tommy, Altered States) comes this weirdly inventive film ripped screaming from the pages of Edgar Allan Poe! Russell adds his own unique brand of humor, twisted vision and musical genius to the legendary eerie tale. Found guilty of murdering his wife, rock star Roderick Usher is sent to an asylum where, in a padded cell, he's at the mercy of Dr. Calahari (Russell himself!), whose mind-blowing shock treatments set off a series of bizarre, nightmarish adventures. As Roderick undergoes the mind-bending therapy, Dr. Calahari and the luscious but strange Nurse Smith unravel the shocking truth behind the Louse of Usher!

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Horror
Rating: UN
Release Date: 26-AUG-2003
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Russell-ific, September 19, 2003

By	Michael Thomas Roe (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

I was super curious waiting for this one. How was Ken Russell going to pull off his newly found freedom, that of taking digital camera in hand and filming friends and cohorts in his back garden in loosley structured ten minute bits, stringing it all together, finding wide release and perhaps regaining the acclaim that has been missing him all these years? How? With skill, as simple as that. There is, as Russell-ites know, more skill in this man's pinky toe than all of Hollywood. And beginner film makers should take note. There is a world of possibilities in cinema. They are as limited as your imagination. "Louse" is wildly inventive and has all the great Russell trademarks: shock editing, surrealistic sets, costumes and make-up. And I'll be darned if their aren't some fabulous music videos with soulful music and classic Russell-ian touches: lovers by the sea side, a dancer on a gravestone to name a few. And since this is a horror movie, don't forget, be prepared for some pretty unsettling images. The humour is droll and Ken Russell acts through out. I was, quited frankly, impressed by the quality of the images. There may be some noticeable budgetary restraints, but after you settle in to the movie, you'll be back in Russell land. Ahhhh. It's been a long time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Celebration of the Perverse, March 20, 2008

By	Paul Ess. (Holywell, N.Wales,UK.) - See all my reviews

Filmed in his garden on a digi-cam, Ken Russell's 'FOTLOU' is a bonkers, inventive charmer guaranteed in no way to re-endear him to the likes of David Puttnam, Bryan Forbes and all the other unimaginative prigs in the hallowed halls of the British Film Industry.

He may be shorn of budget but the plus side of that of course, is there's no studio interference. No restraint being yelled by BFI yes-men which allows Ken free reign to deliver a lesson in guerilla film-making.
Grueling and unpleasant but mind-bogglingly entertaining, Russell is having a picnic to remember with his neighbours, family members and clapped-out UGLY rockers pillaging and plundering Poe til only entrails remain.

Ken himself plays the obviously looney psychiatrist/patient Dr Calihari. Who, when he's not eating lumps of his own ear-wax or trying to grope the excellent Nurse ABC Smith, is attempting to 'cure' rock-star Roddy Usher of his own insanity and also find out if he's murdered anyone or not.

Ok, as plots go it's a bit basic, but this slight premise allows Russell cart-blanch to go rooting and digging in man's darkest extremes, stopping to absorb deliriously each atrocity as he passes it by, giving the viewer a lascivious glimpse before dashing off to the next one.

Aided and abetted by the magnificent Nurse Smith, lucky old Ken somehow makes it to the end of the flick intact, though rambling and ranting in abject response to his own failures and punishments. Clever and funny, in a lewd, peep-show sense, 'FOTLOU' is admirable and satisfying BECAUSE of it.

Obviously it can't compare to 'the Music Lovers' or 'the Devils', but it does show the maniac Russell is still the most mind-rippingly, coarse-humoured, garishly coloured loose-cannon in town - and where's his MBE? (That'll be the day. Not enough sucking up!)

Wicked, profane and elatedly perverse, 'FOTLOU' is acid medicine to the saccharine excesses of mainstream cinema not only in dusty old Blighty, but also narcoleptic Hollywood and across the world.

We'll be sorry when he's gone.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Film That Dares You To Watch It, February 11, 2009

By	Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

"The Fall of the Louse of Usher" is a zero budget adaptation of Poe for insufferable self-absorbed film school dropouts. It is unspeakably wretched, and shows the delirium of a once hot box office property in the throes of professional ruin. Ken Russell made and stars in this vehicle that redefines the phrase "low production values." It is stylistically over the top, which is one of Russell's prime appeals, but is self-indulgent, vapid, and incoherent.

Frequently resorting to shock for shock's sake, the film is ostensibly about a rock star, Roderick Usher (James Johnston), who is incarcerated in an asylum after being suspected of murder. The details are unimportant, as they just serve as a platform to allow Russell to overact deliriously as Dr. Calahari. Don't miss such great cinematic moments as the banana eating scene, inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex therapy, Dr. Calahari's interesting choice of eyewear and nasal appliance, and my personal favorite scene, which involves a talking fish channeling a deceased Egyptian deity, a slinky, and a Ouija board. The only entertainment I got from the film was reading the credits on the DVD box. While the film says the character of Nurse A. B. C. Smith was played by Marie Findley, the box credits "Tulip Junkie," and notes that Gory the Gorilla was played by Alex Alien.

The film begs to be fast forwarded, but if you stick it out you will also be rewarded with some of the worst failed attempts at music video production ever released on DVD. I am normally quite interested in novel and independent films, and frequently decry the lack of talent and originality in Hollywood and elsewhere. Going into this, therefore, I expected to conclude that it's a shame that Russell can't get funding for his films anymore. After watching it, however, I'm just relieved.