La Casa de las Sombras del Pasado 1983 House of the Long Shadows

**************************************************************************************************- - Reminder: Amazon lumps Beta-Max/VHS/LVD/CD/DVD/BD reviews [of the same title] together... and for as long as 20+years! - -**************************************************************************************************The RECENT---(September 2015)--- Blu-Ray disc, is wonderful! It is so clear in the "old dark house" I was actually wondering WHYyou could see all t-h-a-t detail without any candles and flashlights.Excellent transfer a-n-d Vincent Price, Christoper Lee, Peter Cushing, David Carradine's dad, and Lucille Ball's son, Desi, Junior.How can you go wrong?Kino Lorber bought the rights and had promised to re-master their Blu Ray release.

HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS is a 1983 horror parody that should be appreciated for what it is. It is not a serious horror film and one figures this out not long into the film. A young writer, Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnaz Jr.) bets he can write an amazing opus within 24 hours, and to set the mood goes to an isolated Welsh manor. Before long, he discovers that he is not the sole occupant of the manor, and as the evening progresses, more visitors pop in.This film may not be great but what makes it eminently watchable is the performance of the mostly all-star cast - my favorite horror icons are in this, such as Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Vincent Prince, and also there's John Carradine. They are amazing as always, and considering this is more of a parody that a true horror film, I had great fun watching their performances and I can't help but think they had a grand old time as well.The score reminds me of those cheesy 80s horror flicks, but the lighting is truly awful. I watched this as a Prime Instant Watch and was appalled at how dark the film was. I hope something can be done about this and perhaps a better print quality will be available in the future. Final verdict - recommended for those who enjoy watching anything with Lee, Cushing, or Price in it.

Like you, I wish Amazon would break up the VHS, DVD, and Blu Ray reviews- BUT HERE WE ARE!First of all let me assure you I am not involved with Amazon, or the movie industry in any way, nor have I ever been. Have NO hesitation about ordering the Blu Ray disk, it is spectacular!I first spotted this classic on Netflix with Vincent Price, Christoper Lee, Peter Cushing, and John Carradine how could I go wrong? Well I'll tell you, It was so dark that 10 to 20% of the movie was completely blacked out. I searched it out on line and that version was worst. Then I thought I'll buy the "official" MGM version on DVD here at Amazon, still as dark or darker than Netflix.I had read that Kino Lorber had bought the rights and had promised to "Lighten" up the film with their Blu Ray release and let me tell you that now you can enjoy every frame. Many thanks to Kino Lorber for this fantastic release (on Blu Ray) of this classic dark house mystery/ horror film.

I agree with other viewers who reviewed this film on the video quality; whatever print they did the video transfer from was muddy and horrible. It might as well have been called House of Total Darkness in that regard. The movie itself, however, was alot of fun. There's the slightly flawed premise of a writer trying to write an entire novel in 24 hours for the viewer to deal with. Stephen King, one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century (what's he up to now, 50 novels?), a workaholic and a fast writer, said in several interviews that he writes on average 8 to 12 pages a day, 15 if he's really hot with an idea. Even a short novel would be a minimum of about 150 pages, so the whole novel in 24 hours idea is ludicrous. But once you get past that, the movie sucks you in. Desi Arnaz, Jr. wouldn't be my first pick as a leading actor, but his brisk, prone-to-action young American persona is a good counterfoil to the more staid English actors. Julie Peasgood was charming and sexy in an endearing, frightened doe kind of way as the love interest. Then there are the greats: Chrisopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, and John Carradine. Lee, Cushing, and Price all knew one another as young actors in London in the 1930s, and Carradine was a pal of theirs in New York; that long standing friendship shows through in alot of places during the film, and you get the sense that they're all having a great time acting together. Their characters are set pieces that veteran actors of their background could do in their sleep [Lee is mysterious and menacing, Price is the slightly eccentric, urbane aristocrat, Cushing does a nicely underplayed performance as the weak, ineffectually genteel younger brother, and Carradine steps out of his dotty old codger persona to be commanding as Lord Grisbane], but they do them well. The ending was a little hokey, but still lended to the 'it's all in good fun' vibe you get from the actors. All in all, I'm not disappointed that I saw it.

This movie is not high art or cinema that is going to go down into legend. It's partly 1983 standard fare, and it's partly grand horror movie nostalgia. Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, John Carradine, and Christopher Lee doing what they do best is always a pleasure to see. Golan and Globus made a lot of dogs during the late '70s and throughout the '80s, but this is not one of them. Sure, Desi Arnaz, Jr. is B-level at best, but he does the job as Leading Man in this movie in a movie that's really a light send-up and huge love note to classic horror movies.I remember seeing this movie on video and on HBO when I was a kid, and I wish they could've gotten a better quality print of the movie for streaming. This print here is darker than dark. That's my only problem with the whole thing as presented here on Amazon. I had a copy of it on VHS, one I bought from a video store back in the mid-90s, but of course my VCR died several years ago, and before that the tape wore out from all the viewings. I hope someone will release a good copy of the movie on DVD or Blu-Ray, because I'll order it, for myself and as gifts for friends.It's a good little movie and worth watching.

very good film

A weird film but good, the only thing I hate about it is that it is one of those films to watch in the dark in order to see what is happening in some of those scenes?

Good

Dvd received in perfect condition .. Good description included on sellers sight of what film was about

Great fun with a twist in the tail. Easy watching on a wet day.