Movies - The Pit and the Pendulum

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"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The story is about the torments endured by one prisoner of the revived Spanish Inquisition; it is considered one of the classic stories of the horror genre.

Several film adaptations of the story have been produced, most notably a 1961 American International Pictures release directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price and Barbara Steele. More than the other installments in the Corman/Price "Poe Cycle", the screenplay bears minimal resemblance to the Poe story: the torture apparatus of the title makes its appearance only in the final 10 minutes of the film.

Czech surrealist animator Jan Svankmajer made a movie short called The Pit, the Pendulum and the Hope, loosely based on this story.

In 1990, a film version of the story, directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Lance Henriksen, was released.

Summary

A prisoner of the Inquisition is confined in a dark dungeon, which he explores, finding it to be square, iron-walled, and with a pit in the centre. He falls asleep, and wakes up bound to a framework with a swinging pendulum blade slowly descending. His captors gave him a chance to throw himself into the pit - ending his life quickly - but he instead chose the slow way. As it nears his chest, he manages to escape by rubbing his bonds with the grease from his last meal, hungry rats gnawing through the rope. Though free, he finds that the dungeon walls are becoming hot and are also closing in, forcing him toward the pit. At the last instant when he starts to fall in, he is rescued by General Lasalle.

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Movies - The Pit and the Pendulum

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