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Storyline
Three directors each adapt a Poe short story to the screen: "Toby Dammit" features a disheveled, drugged and drunk English movie star who nods acceptance in the Italian press and his producers fawn over him. "Metzengerstein" features a medieval countess who has a love-hate relationship with a black stallion - who, it turns out, is really her dead lover. "William Wilson" tells the story of a sadistic Austrian student with an exact double whom he later kills.
Written by
alfiehitchie
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Taglines:
the ultimate orgy of evil
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Did You Know?
Goofs
During the final card game between Wilson (Alain Delon) and Giuseppina (Brigitte Bardot), Wilson deals himself two cards in a row during the final hand. He should have dealt Giuseppina a fifth card first before taking his.
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Quotes
Actress (segment "Toby Dammit"):
Don't be afraid anymore. I'll take care of you. Always. Yes, always. I understand you. I know you. I've always known you. You won't be alone any more, because I'll be with you always. Whenever you put out your hand, you will find my hand. You are no longer shipwrecked, no longer a fugitive. No more loneliness. No more selfishness. We will share a life of serenity and devotion. The one you and I were waiting for. You had no faith, but you trusted and found me. I am the one you were waiting for. ...
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Alternate Versions
The whipping of Giuseppina was cut in the original 1973 UK cinema release (titled "Tales of Mystery"), and subsequent releases were also edited. The 15-rated 1986 video (as "Powers of Evil") completely missed the entire 'William Wilson' story, and the 18-rated 1990 French Collection VHS (titled "Histoires Extraordinaires: Tales of Mystery and Imagination") received over a minute of cuts to the whipping scene and shots of Wilson caressing a girl with a scalpel. The Arrow blu-ray release (titled "Spirits of the Dead") is the full uncut version.
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Connections
Featured in
Cinemacabre TV Trailers (1993)
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Soundtracks
Ruby
Sung by
Ray Charles
Lyrics by
Mitchell Parish
Music by
Heinz Roemheld See more »
Three separate stories:
The third story makes the film. It's "Fellini-esque"! Fellini's wild imagery makes narrative sense (well, sort of), when applied to the story of an addled English actor stumbling around Rome at breakneck speed. The segment also features a startlingly original image of evil (an "Anglican devil," I think that's the Terence Stamp character's phrase). Maybe it's just me, but the segment's conception of the devil is among the spookiest things I've ever seen on film; and when you get right down to it, it makes a lot more theological sense then ugly, scaly guys with tails.