IMDb RATING
6.4/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
A trio of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations about a cruel countess haunted by her cousin's stallion, a sadistic soldier haunted by his doppelgänger, and an alcoholic actor haunted by the Devil.A trio of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations about a cruel countess haunted by her cousin's stallion, a sadistic soldier haunted by his doppelgänger, and an alcoholic actor haunted by the Devil.A trio of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations about a cruel countess haunted by her cousin's stallion, a sadistic soldier haunted by his doppelgänger, and an alcoholic actor haunted by the Devil.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Françoise Prévost
- Friend of Countess (segment "Metzengerstein")
- (as Francoise Prevost)
Marie-Ange Aniès
- A courtesan (segment "Metzengerstein")
- (as Marie-Ange Anies)
Katia Christine
- Young girl on the dissection table (segment "William Wilson")
- (as Katia Christina)
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsToby is offered a magazine pictorial in which he is to portray "the young Greek god Mars" (as translated in captions). Mars was the Roman god of war. The Greek god of war was Ares.
- Quotes
Giuseppina (segment "William Wilson"): The card-player resembles the lover. He gets tired. No staying power, my dear.
- Crazy creditsAfter the opening title credits, the following handwritten text (from Edgar Allan Poe's first published story, "Metzengerstein" - which is also adapted as the first story of this film) is displayed: "'Horror and fatality have been stalking abroad in all ages. Why then give a date to the story I have to tell?' Edgar Allan Poe."
- Alternate versionsThe 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 1984 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Toby Dammit (1968)
- SoundtracksRuby
Sung by Ray Charles
Lyrics by Mitchell Parish
Music by Heinz Roemheld
Published by Miller Music Corporation, represented by Curci
Featured review
My vote of 9 is only for Fellini's entry, Toby Dammit. The other two are below the level of the average Twilight Zone, in my opinion. But Toby is so fine that I wish it could have been expanded to feature length. Perhaps the tone of agonized despair wouldn't have held up for 90 minutes but it certainly is great for 40. Stamp is superb. His role isn't easy, he's in every scene and has to descend from a very low point to an even lower one. Terence is completely believable the entire time. I'm not a fan of Fellini but perhaps he found his metier in humanistic horror.
- How long is Spirits of the Dead?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Historias extraordinarias
- Filming locations
- Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Lazio, Italy(segment "Toby Dammit")
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 hours 1 minute
- Aspect ratio
- 1.75 : 1
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