Naturally, he was my God in high school.
One of 'em.
Certainly in English class.
His stuff was about the only thing with any bite to it they'd let you fuckin' read.
Fuckin' school....
So, the chronology roughly goes, Mary Shelly, then Poe, then Bram Stoker, then H.G. Wells, then we're pretty much into the modern era after that.
Then, movies kick in, and they adapt Poe, and here we go...
The Raven (1915)
A silent film.
Really, the biography of Poe with that name slapped on.
They do ultimately re-enact the poem though.
Murders In The Rue Morgue (1932)
See here.
The Black Cat (1934)
See here.
Maniac (1934)
See here.
Again, not this one.
Veeery loosely based on "The Black Cat".
The Crime Of Dr. Crespi (1935)
Loosely based on "The Premature Burial".
The Raven (1935)
See here.
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942)
Another biography.
This time, the talkie version.
The Man With A Cloak (1951)
Treachery is afoot over an old man's will.
Poe spends the film disguised as "Dupin", the titular man with the cloak.
The Tell-Tale Heart (1953)
An animated version that nails the story perfectly.
Narrated by James Mason.
If you want to physically own it, it's a bonus feature on the "Hellboy", DVD.
Or, for instant gratification, you could watch it right here!
The Corman Poe Cycle (1960-1965)
See here, and here.
Torture Garden (1967)
A horror anthology scripted by Robert Bloch (of "Psycho", fame).
Starring Burgess Meredith, Jack Palance, and Peter Cushing.
Palance plays a collector of everything Poe, who has the ultimate collectible...Poe himself!
The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)
A loose adaptation that has more in common with "The Phantom Of The Opera".
Gas-s-s-s (1971)
See here.
Poe shows up riding a motorcycle.
The Spectre Of Edgar Allan Poe (1974)
A mish-mash of Poe's real life, and his stories, much like "Shakespeare In Love".
Done by the company that did "Tales From The Crypt", and "Vault Of Horror", so it's 70's exploitation cheese at its best, and worst.
Stars Cesar Romero, and Robert Walker Jr. as Poe.
Vincent (1982)
See here.
Heavy use of Poe imagery.
Treehouse Of Horror (1990)
Come on, ever since you saw this, you hear James Earl Jones every time you think of the poem.
We all do.
Beetlejuice (1991)
Poe shows up in the ghost world weeping for Lenore, and tossing away his money.
Beetlejuice keeps him depressed to keep the money flowing.
As foolish as it sounds.
The Pit And The Pendulum (1991)
Directed by Stuart Gordon.
An amalgam of several Poe short stories.
The Death Of Poe (2006)
Exactly what the title says.
Well, if there are people who want to see the final moments of Jesus having the shit beaten out of him, why not the death rattles of Poe?
*Shrug*
The Venture Bros. (2006)
Brock Sampson goes back in time, and puts Poe in a headlock.
The rest of us live the dream through him.
The Raven (2012)
John Cusack plays Poe.
An insane fanboy is killing people with themes based on Poe's stories, and Poe is trying to figure out who it is to stop him.
Wasn't well received, and barely made its money back.
I liked the idea of of it, and part of me would still like to check it out.
South Park (2013)
Just last week!
Someone is turning the goth kids into emos, so the goths are forced to ally with the vampire kids to summon the ghost of Poe to help them.
Poe is so goth, he sees all the sub-cliques as posers.
It was beautiful.
And finally, Sylvester Stallone has been trying to do the definitive Poe biopic forever, and has hinted he may at last be close to getting it funded, like, maybe 2014-15 close.
So...we'll see.
And, that's the majority chunk of Poe in cinema/television.
Tomorrow, I wrap this thing up with H.P. Lovecraft.
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