The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) on Netflix
In 1492 Spain, Grand Inquisitor Torquemada rules through terror. When Maria speaks out against the torture, she is accused of witchcraft, and her husband Antonio tries to rescue her.
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- Rotten Tomatoes50%
Trailer
Plot summary
Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, holds Spain in a reign of terror in 1492, condemning the accused to torture in the name of the Church. He believes God speaks to him directly and answers to no one, not even the Pope. At a public execution, Maria protests the cruelty of the proceedings, and the Inquisitor, stirred by her beauty, atones for his desire through acts of self-torture. He has her accused of witchcraft and sentenced to torture until she confesses. Held in the castle, Maria shares a cell with a woman who has already confessed to witchcraft, and the pair look for a way out. Maria's husband Antonio breaks in to carry his innocent wife away.
Cast
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Peter O'Toole was cast as Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, but a custody arrangement over his son barred him from leaving England in certain months, so the entire production relocated to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate his travel restrictions.
- Although Peter O'Toole never ended up playing Torquemada, Stuart Gordon said the filmmakers used his ideas for the character, playing him as a driven man who sees himself on a mission from God.
- Stuart Gordon and Dennis Paoli expanded Poe's 15-page story into a feature by folding in elements of Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" and adding material on Torquemada drawn from his books on the rules of torture and transcripts of the trials he oversaw.
