Extraordinary Tales (2013)

Edgar Allan Poe is one of those names everyone knows on some level.  For most people, it’s probably from having to read one of his stories in high school.  Works like The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart are known by enough people that references can be found in popular culture.  His is exactly the sort of work you could make a short film from.

Extraordinary Tales takes five of Poe’s works and makes them into animated shorts.  Their tied together by scenes of a raven, representing Poe, in a graveyard, which represents Death.  Before each segment, Poe and Death have a conversation which leads into the various stories.

The first is The Fall of the House of Usher, narrated by Christopher Lee.  Of the five stories, this is the only one I remember having to read in school.  From what I remember, the segment follows the story pretty closely.  The animation tended to be pretty angular, but was done well.

The second segment was Bela Lugosi reciting The Tell-Tale Heart.  Yes, this is the same Bela Lugosi that was almost featured in Plan 9 from Outer Space.  Given the quality of the audio and that Lugosi died years prior to the release of the film, I’d assume that it was simply a lucky coincidence that someone had him on tape.  The animation here is strictly black and white.

The Facts of the Case of M. Valtemar is narrated by Julian Sands.  This one was set up more like a comic book.  It’s also one of the more eerie ones, about a doctor who tries to study death with unintended consequences.   I think of the five stories, this might be the most scary to children, as it deals with someone on the verge of death.

Guillermo del Toro provides the narration for The Pit and the Pendulum, which is about a condemned prisoner.  This one was probably the most realistic of the five segments.  It looks almost like they shot actual actors and applied some sort of special effect to make it look like animation.

The last segment is The Mask of the Red Death and features one line of dialogue spoken by Roger Corman.  Other than that, it’s silent.  This one also might be too much for children, as it features people suddenly experiencing pain.  Then again, this is Edgar Allan Poe.  I don’t know that there’s any real expectation that any of them will be suitable for children.

Most of the names are ones that I recognize.  Julian Sands was the only one of the narrators I had to look up; he’s been in things like 24 and Stargate: The Ark of Truth.  (If you go to his IMDb page, you might recognize the face.)  Roger Corman is recognizable only in that he’s a prolific producer.  (I’ll be using his name as a tag.  It should be associated with a few other titles that I’ve reviewed.)  Similarly, I know Guillermo del Toro as a director.

Stephen Hughes voiced the Raven and Cornelia Funke voiced Death.  Neither is a name I recognized.  Hughes has other acting credits, but I don’t recognize any of the titles.  This is Funke’s only acting credit; most of her credits are for writing or as herself.  The interstitial segments weren’t great, but they didn’t really take away from the movie at all.  It was something to introduce the next segment.

I would say that the most recognizable name would belong to Edgar Allan Poe.  If you’re reading this review, that’s probably how you got here.  I would say that the movie is going for a more common audience.  It seems like it’s meant for people that aren’t part of the literary scene, but may know of his work.  It’s the kind of thing that a high-school teacher or college professor might show in class.  At 73 minutes, it’s just short enough that you could squeeze it into a single class period.

IMDb page

Glen or Glenda (1953)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Yahoo! Articles account.

In looking for bad movies, I came across Glen or Glenda. Glen or Glenda was the first feature-length movie directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The movie starts with The Scientist, played by Bela Lugosi, setting up the story. The story starts with the suicide of a transvestite who had been arrested several times for dressing in women's clothing. According to his suicide note, he couldn't bare the thought of going to jail again. One of the officers investigating the suicide seeks the advice of Dr. Alton to better understand what a transvestite is.

Dr. Alton starts by explaining that transvestites, transsexuals, hermaphrodites and homosexuals are all different things. It's possible for a man to want to wear women's clothes without actually being attracted to men. While it's possible that a transvestite may be a hermaphrodite, there are also other causes. Dr. Alton gives the case of Glen as an example. 

Glen is to be married to Barbara. He likes wearing women's clothing and even goes out as Glenda, but is very much in love with Barbara. This causes him a great deal of conflict. He wants to tell her and knows that she deserves full disclosure, but fears that she'll reject him. If he keeps the information from her until after the marriage, he risks making it worse. Worse yet, she's starting to notice signs like his long fingernails. It's only a matter of time before she figures it out.

Dr. Alton also briefly uses the example of Alan, who is actually a pseudohermaphrodite. (A true hermaphrodite has both sets of organs fully developed; a pseudohermaphrodite has one fully developed while the other is partially developed.) Alan grew up as a man, but would dress up as a woman and do housework. He was even sent off to war. When he came back, his true nature was discovered. Alan had surgery to become Anne.

Glen or Glenda is said to be one of the worst movies of all time. While I wouldn't say that it's the worst, it's definitely far from the best. While watching the movie, I wondered if any psychologists or transvestites watched the movie and said, "What a load of crap. Transvestites aren't like that at all." Yes, I know that our understanding of sex and sexual identity change, but it's hard to take the movie seriously. (If anyone would like to comment, I'd live to know the opinion of an actual transvestite about this movie. Also, is that the preferred term?)

Wood, who was himself actually a thing for angora sweaters, seemed to want to paint transvestites in a positive light. Those that don't fit into society's gender roles often face prejudice and persecution. Here, Dr. Alton simply tries to tell it like it is in harsh clinical terms. I can't help but think that the movie could have had more of an impact if it was actually done well. 

The movie was short at 65 minutes and even then had a lot of stock footage. Scenes of traffic were used a lot and lightening bolts were used randomly. There was also a very bizarre dream sequence involving what I assume is the devil. The Scientist also makes a lot of random statements. ("Beware. Beware. Beware of the big, green dragon that sits on your doorstep.") Had a lot of this been taken out, the movie would have been very short, but I think it would have been a lot less confusing.

I do have to give Wood credit for making films that he wanted to make despite not getting much respect in his own time. He made several feature-length films, at least two of which (This one and Plan 9 From Outer Space) were considered to be among the worst of all time. Laugh as you may, here we are more than 50 years later still watching them. I'd say that there's some merit to the films, even as an example of what not to do. At the very least, he had given work to several actors including Bela Lugosi, who apparently wasn't getting much work at the time that this movie was made. 

I'd recommend the movie to someone only to know what they think. I'd love to know what the movie would have been like if it had been properly made. 

Trailer

IMDb page