Someone requested The Mansion of Madness back during "Fuck You Tarantino!" Week, when we posted another Moctezuma film, Alucarda. It took some searching to find, but here it is, complete with custom Russian overdub track, in case you'd prefer to hear all of the parts voiced by a single Russian man.
While the story may not be as followable, per se, as Alucarda, this film has some beautifully set-up shots and is well worth the download.
Besides, I'm pretty sure the official FTD stance is that follow-ability is overrated.
From Rod Barnett at Eccentric Cinema:
Juan López Moctezuma only directed a handful of films, none of which made money or were widely seen, but his influence on Mexican cinema is still felt today. First working on the stage, in radio and television he branched into film in the '60s and became an assistant to legendary Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky. After helping produce Fando & Lis and El Topo, Moctezuma made his first film — The Mansion of Madness. Being a fan of horror and fantasy tales he chose an Edgar Allan Poe story as the basis for Mansion but imbued it with his own ideas and odd vision. Moctezuma shares with Jodorowsky a love of surreal images, symbolic stories and a fierce independence that makes his movies true auteur pieces.
In the mid 1800s, journalist Gaston Leblanc (Athur Hansel) travels to the French country estate of Dr. Maillard (Santo in the Wax Museum's Claudio Brook) to learn about his methods of treating mental illness. Maillard has converted his palatial home into a private institute for the mad and claims to have made great leaps in treating various diseases. Leblanc is carried to the mansion by Julien Couvier (Martin Lasalle) and his wife (Mónica Serna); as the couple leaves, patients dressed as soldiers attack their carriage and take them and their coachman captive. Unaware of this, Leblanc is given a lengthy tour of the place and shown dozens of patients who seem to be living with little or no supervision. Maillard explains his "soothing method" by which he claims to harness the inmate's madness and control it. Leblanc sees chaos and torture instead of healing and says so. Maillard is only amused. Finally the doctor introduces him to Eugénie (Ellen Sherman), who dances to entertain the men, but at the climax of her performance she tries to stab Maillard. Outraged at the treatment of the girl (and enamored of her as well), Lablanc can only barely be calmed and persuaded to retire for the evening. Upon escaping from his locked room he discovers Eugénie about to be killed as part of some strange ritualistic ceremony. Rescuing her he learns that she's the daughter of the real Dr. Maillard... The man masquerading as the doctor is actually named Fragonard, a madman who thinks he can rule the world. Recaptured by the inmates, Leblanc must find a way to stop Fragonard and save Eugénie before he, too, is driven insane.
Mansion of Madness is not a great film by any stretch but it has its points of interest. More a series of strange scenes, odd moments and surrealist visions of mad people doing weird things, it's ripe for discovery by fans of Moctezuma's mentor Jodorowsky. Indeed, some segments of this movie recalled to mind scenes in Jodorowsky's amazing 1989 film Sante Sangre as well as El Topo. Even with a meandering story and a certain lack of forward momentum, Mansion Of Madness has so many striking images that it exerts an odd effect not unlike being mesmerized. The film is able to establish a dreamlike feel that slowly seeps into the (patient) viewer and pulls you along — its not the most exciting movie but if you can accept its quirks you'll find a thoughtful exercise in style. Moctezuma seems to be commenting on society's mad blind spots and rigid systems, but although he sometimes ties his ideas together mostly he's just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. The most irritating moments are the pointless shifts in tone such as several comic scenes with accompanying 'funny' music that destroy whatever sense of dread or importance that had been building. The first of these comes on the heels of a brief instance of implied rape, so is jarring to say the least. It's a beautiful movie but an unfocused one — or if it is focused I must have missed the moment that made its aim clear. I much prefer Moctezuma's third film, Alucarda (1978), with its fantastic story of religious possession being much more haunting and satisfying. Mansion is a mess of a film but one that I'm glad I finally got to see for myself... Your reaction my differ significantly.
Technical Information:
Title: La Mansion de la Locura/The Mansion of Madness
Year: 1973
Country: Mexico
Director: Juan López Moctezuma
Source: DVD9 Retail
DVD Format: NTSC
Container: .iso + mds
Size: 4.35 GB
Length: 1:23:35
Programs used: Unknown
Resolution: 720x480
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Video: MPEG2 @ ~7500 kb/s
Frame Rate: 29.97
Audio 1: Spanish- Dolby AC3 Mono @ 448 kb/s
Audio 2: English- Dolby AC3 Mono @ 448 kb/s
Audio 3: Russian Overdub- Dolby AC3 Mono @ 192 kb/s
Subtitles: English
Menu: Yes
Video: Shrunk very slightly from 4.85 GB to 4.35 GB
DVD Extras:
- Theatrical Trailer
- Featurette: Juan Lopez Moctezuma: A Cultural Maverick
- Guillerom del Toro Interview
- Moctezuma: Biography, Filmography, Text Interview
- About the Film
- Stills Gallery
(Use JDownloader to speed up downloading and avoid file stalls.)
La Mansion de la Locura Megaupload Links