The Man and the Monster
by Rafael Baledón
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Abel Salazar, Ana Laura Baledon, Enrique Rambal, Martha Roth, Ofelia GuilmáinDirector: Rafael Baledón
Brand: Ryko Distribution
Producer: Abel Salazar
Cinematographer: Raúl Martínez Solares
Editor: Carlos Savage
Writer: Alfredo Salazar
Writer: Raúl Zenteno
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Original Language); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 78 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-04-24
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Casanegra Ent
Movie Reviews of The Man and the Monster
Movie Review: CasaNegra really takes the cake with Mexican classics...
Summary: 5 Stars
The Man and the Monster is actually a really good classic horror film. Visually and stylistically it borrows from the elements of other Mexican horror classics such as The Vampire and Curse of the Crying Woman. Most of these classic Mexican horror films were shot on the same sets however with each film the sets are manipulated and added to, subtracted from to make it look quite different and provide unique levels of atmosphere in each movie. The scenes shot in the Hacienda courtyard where Rambal's monstrous character lives are beautifully composed and deliciously lit. Director Baledon does a great job directing this film. People who have seen this film agree the monster is not terribly "monstrous" and is more funny to look at then scary but for me it does not detract from what a good film it really is. The film as a whole is quite an accomplishment with excellent acting and wonderful direction and photography. The film is pristine and probably even looks better then when people first saw it back in the 50s. The restoration on the DVD is absolutely perfect and on par with previous CasaNegra releases. A key feature of the DVD is a really fantastic Mexican Horror Poster slideshow set to music from the film which I also thought was really great.
Summary of The Man and the Monster
AKA: El Hombre y el Monstruo.Gothic horror special effects and an inventive re-thinking of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story converge in The Man and The Monster one of the most chilling and exciting classics in the annals of Mexico's supernatural thrillers. Enrique Rambal portrays Samuel a pianist so ambitious that he sells his soul to Satan in exchange for musical greatness. Every time Samuel plays the composition that wins him fame fortune and adulation he turns into a hideous beast with a lust for murder.Special Features:Original Uncut VersionCompletely Re-Mastered Picture & Sound from Newly Restored Vault ElementsBilingual Menus in English & SpanishExclusive Classic Mexican Horror Movie Poster SlideshowOriginal U.S. Theatrical Release Radio SpotCast BiographiesPoster and Stills GalleryFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: UNRATED UPC: 883164900993 Manufacturer No: 99Casa Negra's latest Mexican horror re-release, The Man and The Monster, is a direct hybrid of Phantom of the Opera, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Wolf Man. Professor Samuel Magno (Enrique Rambal), cursed by his decision to exchange his soul for being the world's best pianist, plans to heal himself by passing the torch to Laura, his student prodigy. Laura happens to be a doppelganger of Magno's former competitor, Alejandra, who he killed and has stored in his closet. Alejandra's rotting face looks uncannily like Barbara Steele's in Black Sunday, leaving one to wonder if this film inspired Bava's puncture-wound look. The crux of the tragedy occurs when Magno's curse takes effect, whereby he can play piano gorgeously but not without turning into a hideous, hairy, wolf-like monster. The Man and the Monster is all about the transformation scenes, time-lapsing hair, fangs, and facial crags that are as humorous as they are scary. Made the year after El Vampiro, director Rafael Baledón's film could possibly share castle sets. It relies on the same narrative trope in which an outsider, Ricardo Souto (Abel Salazar, who also played the similar character in El Vampiro), intervenes to solve the mystery and rescue the woman. However, there is always room for more cinema investigating Faustian bargains. --Trinie Dalton
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