March 27, 2022
The Masque Of The Red Death is based on The Masque Of The Red Death
and
Hop-Frog
poems made by Edgar Allan Poe, and
Tortue By Hope
a poem made for Auguste Villiers de L'Isle-Adam. Before the involvement of Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campell, the director, Roger Corman, had trouble finding a good screenplay with John Carter, Robert Towne, and Borboura Morris.
The beginning perfectly sets a mysterious tone. In the dark and foggy sky, an elderly woman picks up sticks until a man in a red hood calls her to come closer. Then, he turns a white flower into red, and he tells her to spread the news to her village, Catatonia. Red symbolizes blood and death, foreshadowing a future danger.
Prince Prospero is the best antagonist because of his power, wealth, influence, and death. He is a ruthless and wealthy ruler who steals most of the crops from the poor. His power is subtly shown with the villagers, being dirty in an area with dying trees and broken wooden houses while he arrives with a group of soldiers and horses in gold. Gold symbolizes wealth and influence. The black village symbolizes a loss of hope caused by tyranny. When citizens threaten his power, he could not let his hands get dirty but send his soldiers to kill them. His influence is his best strength. He tricks his guests to stay at his castle by convincing them the place protects them from the Red Death. He forces his guest to satisfy his needs. He can get the attention of the elites when the bells ring. He humiliates the elites by convincing them to act like animals like a pig, a worm, a donkey, and others. His intelligence is his strongest weapon. Since Gino and Ludovico are unwilling to kill each other, he plans to have five daggers, one of them being poisonous. He forces them to cut their forearms with the daggers. The scene is amazing because it builds suspense with the slow pacing. After each man cuts their forearms, the elites wait for five seconds to see if they use the poisonous dagger. The audience does not know whether Gino and Ludovico die unlit Gino uses the last nonpoisonous dagger. When Ludovico finds out, he tries to kill Prince Prospero, but Prince Prospero stabs him. Prince Prospero has the best death scene because it is ironic that the man in the red hood kills him. The caste cannot protect him represents wealth and power cannot save anyone from their demise.
The Red Death is threatening conflict. The first reason is that the Red Death is mysterious because nobody knows how the plague spread. When the first victim dies, the audience hears her scream in pain and her face covered in blood. Even though Prince Prospero states the castle would protect them from the disease, everyone in the castle dies. The second reason is Red Death scares everyone. The villagers ask Prince Prospero for forgiveness for protection as they bring a wagon full of dead bodies. Scarlatti, an elite, begs and lets Prince Prospero sleep with his wife for access to the castle.
The movie discusses the theme of hope and death with religion. Francesca being a Christian, allows her to believe God rules with love and hope. Prince Prospero being a Satanist causes him to believe famine, pestilence, war, disease, and death
rules the world. The movie demonstrates that hope is superior to despair. Satanism corrupts Prince Prospero causing him to enjoy the sufferings of others. In the end, the man in the red hood proves Satan would not protect Prince Prospero because everyone believes in a god. When Prince Prospero unmasks the man, Prince Prospero sees his face making him fear a greater power which is a perfect example that death is inevitable to everyone, even the most powerful.
Resources
Corman, Roger, director. The Masque of the Red Death. YouTube, Alta Vista Production, 1964, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkt0h0qM1Iw. Accessed 26 Mar. 2022.
De L'lsle, Villiers. A Torture By Hope.
Translated by M.P. Shiel, Blackmask, Blackmask Online, 2001, http://public-library.uk/ebooks/99/11.pdf.
'Hop Frog' by Edgar Allan Poe | Classic Horror Audiobook (Chilling Tales for Dark Nights).
YouTube, Chilling Tales for Dark Nights, 23 Mar. 2016,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNMwR05MzKA. Accessed 26 Mar. 2022.
Pfeiffer, Lee. Masque of the Red Death, the Film by Corman [1964].
Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Masque-of-the-Red-Death-film-1964.
The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allan Poe.
YouTube, Halloways, 18 Jan. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FskFXD-SQpI. Accessed 26 Mar. 2022.
The Masque of the Red Death.
Moviepedia, https://movies.fandom.com/wiki/The_Masque_of_the_Red_Death.