Spirits of the Dead

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Spirits of the Dead

R

1968

1h 57m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

In one chapter of this three-in-one feature inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's tales, a countess (Jane Fonda), shunned by a horseman (Peter Fonda), kills the man and his animals yet pays dearly for her deadly act. Another focuses on a religious man (Alain Delon) who seeks absolution for a murder only to find that his violent impulses come rushing back. The third is about a boozing actor (Terence Stamp) who accepts a car as compensation for a role, but is ultimately defeated by addiction.

Critics Consensus

Three auteurs descend on the works of Poe, each putting on a ghoulish show -- adapting The Tomahawk Man's tales of dreams and fright, with Fellini's segment particularly out of sight.

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William Thomas

Empire Magazine

09/25/2007

4/5

Intriguing and mostly successful.

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Chris Petit

Time Out

02/09/2006

Only Fellini (Toby Dammit) really manages to make much of his source.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

05/09/2005

[Toby Dammit] is marvelous: a short movie but a major one. The Vadim is as overdecorated and shrill as a drag ball, but still quite fun, and the Malle, based on one of Poe's best stories, is simply tedious.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Aug 17

5/5

…Federico Fellini’s Toby Dammit segment is a rather wild bit of film, massively self-indulgent for sure, but Fellini conjures the media as villains with ease, and his portrait of a maddened, noxious, faithless world still has plenty of juice in it….

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Harvey G. Cox

Tempo (National Council of Churches)

01/07/2021

All the directors are competent. Poe was a genius. The program looks promising. But it fails.

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Ronald Bergan

Radio Times

10/18/2016

4/5

Out of the three episodes based on the macabre tales by Edgar Allan Poe, the third -- the only modern-day one, directed by Federico Fellini -- is far and away the best.

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Shioka O

11/16/2022

Give stars for only Fellini. He used his cliche and successfully managed to use the English actor Terrence Stamp. I think this is an entertaining short though not as great as 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita, of course. The other two was boring almost slept.

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s r

@ScottR 11/12/2020

Nothing too compelling to see here, an interesting cast and Fellini to boot! Saw it on TCM.

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05/27/2020

All of the stars are for the Fellini story, which was expertly made. The other two stories don't light a candle to his.

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04/22/2020

Lo mejor la secuencia de Fellini, las escenas de aeropuerto.

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09/25/2019

Let us get him out of the way - Roger Vadim was a pretentious horny goat who treated Jane Fonda as Bo Derek. You are better off with Jean Rollin - at least he has a heart. Louis Malle was a director of the humanist Truffautian variety. Not really comfortable showing Alain Delon lashing out atrocities. Around this time, as censorship all but collapsed, America reached for the bullets, while Europe went flog-happy. Good times, eh? A director such as Ken Russell would have made this a more poignant entry about class and privilege. This segment could be renamed "I`ll blink when I`m dead". Fellini`s effort has a great airport-as-the-entrance-to-hell start, and a terrific high-strung ending. In the middle you must endure the usual parade of uncanny characters, and a parodic movie awards ceremony. This is basically 8 1/2 cranked up to 11. Satyricon aside, Fellini never made a horror film. Pity.

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ashley h

@ashleyhobgood87 12/21/2018

Spirits of the Dead is a fantastic film. It is about a cruel princess who is haunted by a ghostly horse, a sadistic young man who is haunted by his double, and an alcoholic actor who is haunted by the Devil. Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot give excellent performances. The screenplay is well written. Louis Malle did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the mystery and fantasy. Spirits of the Dead is a must see.

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Roger Vadim

Director

Louis Malle

Director

Federico Fellini

Director

Jane Fonda

Contessa Frederique de Metzengerstein

Brigitte Bardot

Giuseppina

Terence Stamp

Toby Dammit

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Synopsis

In one chapter of this three-in-one feature inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's tales, a countess (Jane Fonda), shunned by a horseman (Peter Fonda), kills the man and his animals yet pays dearly for her deadly act. Another focuses on a religious man (Alain Delon) who seeks absolution for a murder only to find that his violent impulses come rushing back. The third is about a boozing actor (Terence Stamp) who accepts a car as compensation for a role, but is ultimately defeated by addiction.

Director: Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, Federico Fellini
Production Co: Les Films Marceau
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (DVD): Aug 10, 2005
Runtime: 1h 57m