The Death of Poe (2006)

A dramatic retelling of the last weeks in the life of poet Edgar Allan Poe with theories about the cause of his mental breakdown and premature death in 1849 Baltimore.

Director:

Mark Redfield

Writers:

Mark Redfield, Stuart Voytilla

Stars:

Mark Redfield, Kevin G. Shinnick, Jennifer Rouse

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Redfield	...	Edgar Allan Poe
Kevin G. Shinnick	...	Dr. John Moran
Jennifer Rouse	...	Mrs. Moran
Tony Tsendeas	...	Neilson Poe
Kimberly Hannold	...	Virginia Clemm
Wayne Shipley	...	Henry Herring
Jonathon Ruckman	...	Joseph Walker
George Stover	...	Thadeus Wainwright / Zacharlah Wainwright
J.R. Lyston	...	The Irishman
Curt Boushel	...	The Proud Father (as Kurt Bouschell)
Sandra Lynn O'Brien	...	The Talented Daughter
Chuck Richards	...	The Stranger in Richmond
Deborah L. Murphy	...	Maria Clemm (as Debra Murphy)
Dave Ellis	...	Cornelius Ryan (as David Ellis)
Jimmyo Burril	...	Election Gang Leader

Storyline

In late September 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was bound on a trip to New York City. Mysteriously, he was discovered several days later, raving and incoherent, in a Baltimore gutter. For three days he lay delirious in a hospital (renowned for body snatching) and there he died. To this day, the cause of his death remains a mystery. Mixing authentic recreations of Poe's life and last days with terrifying imagery from his stories, THE DEATH OF POE is a cinematic chronicle of the great writer's final journey into madness and fear.

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Plot Keywords:

death | surrealism | 1840s | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Redfield Arts

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Redfield Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

"There are worse things than death"...

Let's be honest. As a film school project, made without budget and "real" actors, this is a passably interesting film. As something to be released on DVD for an innocent viewer, it's a very poorly produced product. If I would be idly changing channels and happened to catch this film accidentally, it would probably arrest my eye and attention for a while. As a person who bought this DVD under the impression that I would be getting a proper cinematic product, i.e. a film, I feel deeply disappointed. It's a videotaped TV play, something along the line of old sixties serials, but without that certain charm. Aside from the leading man Mr Redfield (who also is the director), the other actors seem to be either chaps from the campus (a bit too old for that actually), or members of the director's household, who appear before the camera without any help from not only the acting couches, but also the make-up artist or hairdresser (a bonnet over outgrown permanent bangs or a top hat over mullet is a very long way from creating 1840s). It's all shot using a motionless mounted camera in a small, bare studio, sometimes using blue screen for outdoors backgrounds. Synthesizer generated uninspired score of lame "period" inspired romantic karaoke insults the viewers ears on more than one occasion. The film attempts to be "dreamlike", whereas in fact it's merely conceptionless collage of those shots that made it to the editing (and believe me, the standards weren't too high to start with). There are interesting dialogs every now and then, but overall it's pretty lame and two-dimensional production in more than one way with no flashes of genius from either the director or any members of the crew. That's how "artsy" films attempted to look in the 80s. Mr Redfield does a much better job as an actor than the director.