Ghost Stories

[Caligula]

Volume 2 is up for pre-order at Amazon, with specs as follows:

GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS VOL. 2 (3 x Blu-ray)
Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark

Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series was a fixture of the seasonal schedules throughout the 1970s and spawned a long tradition of chilling tales, which terrified yuletide viewers for decades to come.

After the best-selling release of Volume One last year, this much-requested follow-up gives five more festive landmarks their Blu-ray debut, having been newly remastered by the BFI from original film materials. As well as two MR James adaptations, the series includes the celebrated version of Charles Dicken’s The Signalman starring Denholm Elliot, as well as specially written stories set in the contemporary 1970s. These influential films, all but one directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, were written by some of the best scriptwriters working in British TV in the 1970s: John Bowen, David Rudkin, Andrew Davies and Clive Exton.

The Films:

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974, 37 min)
The Ash Tree (1975, 32 min)
The Signalman (1976, 39 min)
Stigma (1977, 32 min)
The Ice House (1978, 34 min)
Extras:

A View From a Hill (2005, 39 mins): a young museum curator, Fanshawe finds himself in possession of a pair of binoculars that grant him a strange new ability. Ignoring all warnings about their necromantic creator, Fanshawe carries out his research, but the bloody past of the area is best left undisturbed…
Number 13 (2006, 40 mins): infuriated by the ghoulish noises made nightly by his neighbour, Professor Anderson is soon driven to investigate the diabolical secrets of the old hotel and its mysteriously vanishing room 13.
Newly recorded audio commentary on The Treasure of Abbot Thomas by TV historian Simon Farquhar
Newly recorded audio commentary on The Ash Tree by author Johnny Mains
Newly recorded audio commentary on The Signalman by TV historian Jon Dear
Newly recorded audio commentaries on Stigma and The Ice House by Kim Newman and Sean Hogan
Ghost Stories for Christmas With Christopher Lee (2000, 30 mins): Ronald Frame's adaptation is brought to life by horror maestro Christopher Lee
Introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 39 mins): the director introduces The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The Ash Tree, The Signalman and Stigma
Illustrated booklet with archival essays by Alex Davidson, Dick Fiddy, Matthew Sweet, and Helen Wheatley

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced for volume 2:

GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS
VOLUME 2

3-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray box set released on 20 November 2023

Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series was a fixture of the seasonal schedules throughout the 1970s and spawned a long tradition of chilling tales, which terrified yuletide viewers for decades to come. For many fans, they are still a traditional Christmas-time watch. Volume 2 contains the remaining original instalments – The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The Ash Tree, The Signalman, Stigma and The Ice House – all newly remastered from original film materials and presented on Blu-ray for the first time. Later adaptations of A View From a Hill and Number 13 are also included, plus new and archive extras and a booklet.

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by MR James, starring Sheila Dunn, Anne Blake, Frank Mills

The Ash Tree (1975): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by MR James, starring Edward Petherbridge, Preston Lockwood, Barbara Ewing

The Signalman (1976): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by Charles Dickens, starring Denholm Elliott, Bernard Lloyd, Reginald Jessup

Stigma (1977): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by Clive Exton, starring Kate Binchy, Peter Bowles, Maxine Gordon

The Ice House (1978): directed by Derek Lister, original story by John Bowen, starring John Stride, Elizabeth Romilly, Geoffrey Burridge

Special features
• Newly remastered by the BFI
• Newly recorded audio commentary for The Treasure of Abbot Thomas by writer and broadcaster Simon Farquhar
• Newly recorded audio commentary for The Ash Tree by writer and TV historian Jon Dear, incorporating material from author and editor Johnny Mains
• Newly recorded audio commentary for The Signalman by Jon Dear and actor and writer Mark Gatiss
• Newly recorded audio commentaries for Stigma and The Ice House by writer Kim Newman and writer and filmmaker Sean Hogan
• A View From a Hill (2005, 39 mins, SD)
• Number 13 (2006, 40 mins)
• Spectres, Spirits & Haunted Treasure: Adapting M R James (2023, 17 mins): newly commissioned video essay by Nic Wassell exploring some of the classic BBC adaptations
• Introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 39 mins total): the director of seven of the BBC’s classic A Ghost Story for Christmas episodes discusses his part in the last four instalments he directed
• Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – Number 13 (2000, 30 mins): Ronald Frame’s adaptation of MR James’s story is brought to life by the horror maestro
• ***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet with essays by Alex Davidson, Dick Fiddy, Simon Farquhar and Helen Wheatley; credits and notes on the special features

Product details
RRP: £29.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1500 / 15
UK / 1974-1978 / colour / 173 minutes (+ extras) / English language, with optional descriptive subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / 3 x BD50: 1080p/50i, 25fps, mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

[Paul Moran]

Still only £21.72 on rarewaves.com. Pre-ordered mine on August 12th (using 500 points = £5).

[Thornycroft]

Beaver Stories for Christmas Vol. 2

Even taking the caps with a grain of salt this looks like a stunning upgrade in image quality. Really looking forward to revisiting these.