THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

US, 1980, 101 minutes, Colour.
Martin Landau, Robert Hays, Ray Walston, Charlene Tilton.
Directed by James L.Conway.

The Fall of the House of Usher is Edgar Allen Poe's classic tale of horror. It was filmed in the '60s by Roger Corman, standing out in a series of small-budget but effective versions of Poe's stories, principally with Vincent Price. This is a briefer, more melodramatic, television treatment of the story which capitalises on the talents of Martin Landau.

1.The American tradition of Edgar Allen Poe and his 19th century horror stories? They continue to appeal to cinema audiences? The tradition of Poe films, their style, colourful with the touch of the lurid?

2.Sun classics and their adaptations, adaptation for the wide television audience, the television style with the emphasis on touches of shock and atmosphere of horror?

3.The background, New England, the 19th century, the sets and decor, costumes? The open road and the coach? The house? The special effects and the fall? Musical score?

4.The background of Jonathan, his wife, travelling to the house, the journey, the inn, the warnings, their arrival, the dog? The creation of atmosphere rather than the development of characters?

5.Roderick and Martin Landau's screen presence? Madeleine and the ambiguities? The past, illness, the nature of Roderick's sensitivity? The violence? Yet the politeness and decorum? The butler? The fixing of the house? The growing clashes, the danger? The emphasis on the atmosphere within the house?

6.The fixing of the house, Jonathan and his reaction, the wife and her fear?

7.The build-up to the climax, the chase, Madeleine and her sensitivity, madness? Destruction?

8.Roderick and his fighting Madeleine - and the relationship to the actual collapse of the house?

9.The treatment of the relationship between Roderick and Madeleine, a sense of evil, a sense of doom, a sense of destruction?