The Mask (1961 film)
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Director Julian Roffman Genre Horror Country Canada | 5.8/10 IMDb Duration Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date November 1, 1961 (U.S.) Writer Frank Taubes (script by), Sandy Haver (script by), Franklin Delessert (script by), Slavko Vorkapich (dream sequences) Cast (Doctor Allan Barnes), (Pam Albright), Anne Collings (Miss Goodrich), Bill Walker (Lieutenant Martin), Martin Lavut (Michael Radin), Leo Leyden (Doctor Soames)Similar movies The Hunger Games: Catching Fire , No One Lives , The Rage: Carrie 2 , The Broken , Looper , Lost Highway Tagline Look through the mask...if you can't take it...take it off! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Julian roffman s the mask 1961 mask display at tiff bell lighthouse
The Mask (re-released as Eyes of Hell) is a 1961 Canadian horror film produced in 3-D by Warner Bros. It was directed by Julian Roffman, and stars Paul Stevens, Claudette Nevins, and Bill Walker. It was shot in Toronto, Ontario and is the first Canadian horror film.
Contents
- Julian roffman s the mask 1961 mask display at tiff bell lighthouse
- Plot
- Cinematography
- Video release
- Soundtrack release
- References
Plot
The story concerns a psychiatrist, Dr. Allen Barnes (Stevens), who obtains a mysterious ancient tribal mask. Whenever he puts on the mask, Barnes experiences dream-like visions which become increasingly disturbing and violent. The visions begin to alter Barnes' personality, and eventually drive him insane.
Cinematography
The Mask is notable chiefly for its surreal use of 3-D cinematography.
Most of the story is presented in conventional black-and-white. However, whenever Dr. Barnes is about to put on the mask, Barnes' voice urges the viewer to, "Put the mask on, NOW!" This was the cue for theatre-goers to don the 3-D glasses (originally shaped like masks) which they were given upon entering the theatre. The terrifying visions experienced by Dr. Barnes were then presented in anaglyphic 3-D.
The 3-D sequences, three in all, last 14.65 minutes (879 s). They were designed by montage expert Slavko Vorkapich, and feature an array of distinctively psychedelic visuals, some of which are mildly gruesome. A pioneering electronic music score (billed as "Electro Magic Sound" in publicity materials) enhances the strangeness of the 3-D scenes.
Video release
The 3-D effects in The Mask come across unusually well when shown on television, making it one of the better examples of anaglyphic 3-D video available.
The Mask was frequently exhibited in 3-D on US broadcast and cable TV in the 1980s. It has also been issued in 3-D on both VHS and LaserDisc home video formats. In 2015, "The Mask" was restored by TIFF and copyright holders 3-D Film Archive for theatrical and 3-D Blu-ray/DVD release from Kino Lorber. The 3-D segments have been mastered for the first time from original 35mm left/right elements. The stereoscopic quality is vastly superior to all previous anaglyphic presentations.
Soundtrack release
The original soundtrack to the film was released for the first time on 'Ondes Positives Recordings' in December 2015. The release features the 3-D 'Mask' sequences from the film, along with a re-score of these sequences by the band 'Larva'.
References
The Mask (1961 film) WikipediaThe Mask (1961 film) IMDb The Mask (1961 film) themoviedb.org