Hammer Films

[domino harvey]

I imagine the legit edition it received in the states, as part of the VCI Hammer Noir DVD sets, isn’t much better

[Dr Amicus]

Stolen Face is one of Fisher’s early works that traditionally got attention because the benefit of hindsight shows possible links to the later gothics. It’s also a decent film in its own right.
Other Hammer news, John Gore Studios have acquired the Tyburn library, including The Creeping Flesh and Legend of the Werewolf, which will involve 4k restorations and releases, which is great news.

[Orlac]

Stolen Face is one of Fisher’s early works that traditionally got attention because the benefit of hindsight shows possible links to the later gothics. It’s also a decent film in its own right.
Other Hammer news, John Gore Studios have acquired the Tyburn library, including The Creeping Flesh and Legend of the Werewolf, which will involve 4k restorations and releases, which is great news.

The Tyburn titles have been out of circulation for so long, this is very welcome news!

[MichaelB]

Not least for other labels, as it means people will finally stop wanging on about them. If I had a penny for every time someone had brought up the Tyburn titles over the years, I wouldn’t have been able to afford the catalogue but I’d have at least been able to eat for the better part of a week.

[Orlac]

Not least for other labels, as it means people will finally stop wanging on about them. If I had a penny for every time someone had brought up the Tyburn titles over the years, I wouldn’t have been able to afford the catalogue but I’d have at least been able to eat for the better part of a week.

Creeping Flesh always slightly baffled me as I thought it was a Tigon film, and it did have a UK DVD at one point - in the US, Sony seems to own it outright.

I had a Telstar VHS of Legend of the Werewolf that I got from a jumble sale at a blind home in 2004...and let me tell you, crappy VHS did not agree with the red-filter used for the werewolf vision!

[MichaelB]

As with The Masque of the Red Death (which is why it wasn't included in Arrow's Corman/Poe box but was included in the US equivalent, where they were all MGM titles), the rights were split across different territories, no doubt as a by-product of original co-production agreements.

But I gather Tyburn did indeed own The Creeping Flesh in the UK, which is why that DVD was prematurely withdrawn.

[Tuppence]

Cry of the Banshee Blu-ray and 4K editions announced for pre-order.

Looks like they're branching out into releasing Hammer-adjacent horror as well as their own catalogue.

[MichaelB]

I suspect this is a sensible marketing decision to get around the fact that Hammer owns very few of its own horror films—as the line-up of Hammer's own releases rather gives away!

[Dr Amicus]

The section on their website also mentions Crucible of Horror / The Corpse as coming soon as well. The range will be “almost monthly”, the main Hammer range will remain monthly. Also, implies that they’ll go back to the 30s which could be interesting.

[Dr Amicus]

And their next film in the main range is Spaceways, an interesting science fiction tinged noirish mystery directed by Terence Fisher. The genre mix, and it being based on a radio show, makes it an historically important stage in Hammer history.

It’s quite fun too, especially when Alan Wheatley’s detective turns up.
Looking forward to seeing what the extras are going to be and who’s involved.

[Finch]

This limited collector's edition comprises:
Both Mantrap and its US version Man in Hiding, with supporting material on two discs in a stylish digipak and rigid box: one UHD and one Blu-ray, with the content duplicated across both formats.
English, French, Italian, Spanish and German subtitles on each version of the film.

The discs feature:
New commentary with Film Noir UK co-director James Harrison and film/TV historian and podcaster Sergio Angelini.
New commentary with cult movie expert Toby Roan and Cereal at Midnight podcaster Heath Holland.
**Title TBC: Film Noir experts Imogen Sara Smith and Sergio Angelini, along with Hammer scholar Wayne Kinsey, discuss Hammer's Brit Noir output and its relationship with pure American Noir.
What's in a Name: Writers Martin Edwards, Mike Ripley and Barry Forshaw profile author Elleston Trevor, on whose Queen in Danger book Mantrap is based.
Caught in the Act: A handsome leading man during the silent film era, John Stuart latterly appeared in several Hammer films in supporting roles. Jonathan Croall, Stuart's son, discusses his father and his work.
**Title TBC: Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey joins Dark Corners Reviews' Robin Bailes for a tour of Mantrap's London locations.
Len Harris interview: an audio interview with the Hammer crew mainstay, recorded in 1991 by the BEHP.
Len Harris Behind-the-Scenes Footage: candid, mute 8mm footage taken at Bray during the shooting of Mantrap.
A gallery of stills and publicity material alongside tracks from Doreen Carwithen’s score
The booklet features:
Article by Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey examining the making of this classy adaptation.
New article by Miriam Balanescu, who examines how crime became a key narrative driver in British films of the post-war period.
New article by Pamela Hutchinson on Kay Kendall, an accomplished actor and comedian.
New article by Neil Sinyard, who shines a light on the strange career path of producer Alexander Paal.
New article by Sarah Morgan, who profiles Paul Henreid – a great actor with a strong set of principles.
New article by Sergio Angelini, who explores the literary origins of chess-loving amateur sleuth Hugo Bishop and his adventures on radio.
Reproduction production paperwork.

Directed with verve by Terence Fisher and showcasing Lois Maxwell as a woman on the edge, Mantrap has been painstakingly restored by Hammer in 4K from the original film negatives.

Lawyer Hugo Bishop is shocked when an old friend asks him to track down an escaped murderer and prove the man's innocence. With a police dragnet closing in and the escapee's wife in a state of distress, Bishop must use all his cunning to find the real murderer and clear the man's name.

[Dr Amicus]

Another solid noirish B, this is at the upper end (for me) of the pre-Quatermass films. Nothing remarkable, but very watchable. Frankly for many of these sets, the extras are more interesting than the films, and the effort Hammer have put into such frankly minor films is extraordinary. The booklets that come with them are superb.

Waiting for Cloudburst and The Glass Cage, my favourites of the cycle though.

[colinr0380]

Here's the Mantrap trailer

Also Demons of the Mind and Blood From The Mummy's Tomb are getting UHD editions through Studio Canal in April too. Blood From The Mummy's Tomb was the one that was famously remade by Mike Newell with the Charlton Heston-starring The Awakening (and Fulci's Manhattan Baby is kind of the basic premise of that mixed with the random deaths aspect of The Omen).

[domino harvey]

Looks interesting. Don’t think this one was in the VCI sets, was it?

[knives]

It didn’t make it no.

[colinr0380]

The next Hammer UHD pre-order is up, for film noir 36 Hours. Which co-stars Gudrun Ure, who began in film by doing the dubbed voice of Desdemona in the Orson Welles version of Othello, with 36 Hours being one of her earliest on screen appearances. Although as an 80s kid, I know her best for her late in life Children's TV role as the extremely Scottish Super Gran!

[domino harvey]

Not to be confused with the James Garner / Eva Marie Saint film!

[colinr0380]

I presume that's why it was titled changed to "Terror Street" in the US!

[What A Disgrace]

X: The Unknown is the next big release.



• New commentary with actor and comedian Toby Hadoke and Nigel Kneale’s biographer Andy Murray.
• New commentary with writer/producer Dr Steve Haberman and film-maker and film historian Constantine Nasr.
• New commentary with film historian David Kalat.
• Archive 2003 commentary featuring writer Jimmy Sangster and Hammer expert Marcus Hearn.
• New documentary on the making of X the Unknown, with contributions from Toby Hadoke, Andy Murray, Wayne Kinsey, Dick Klemensen and actor Frazer Hines.
• New documentary on special effects maestro Les Bowie, with contributions from Wayne Kinsey, Dick Klemensen, Mike Tilley and archive audio contributions from Christopher Lee, Ian Scoones and others.
• A Man on the Beach: a rare, early Hammer short film, written by Jimmy Sangster and directed by Joseph Losey (who was due to make X the Unknown).
• New commentary on A Man on the Beach by film expert Neil Sinyard.
• A documentary following the career of Joseph Losey - the original X the Unknown director who departed the project before shooting commenced - and his storied journey through Hollywood to Hammer films, via blacklisting and exile.
• Sidebar: X the Unknown. Film critic and writer Tim Lucas discusses X and similar films of the period with artist and film historian Stephen R. Bissette.
• Archive Jimmy Sangster interview from 2003.
• Original trailers, censor card and Super 8 cut-down version.
• Extensive image gallery of stills and publicity material.
• Displaced and Damned:
• Exploration of the groundbreaking work of special effects artist, Les Bowie, including archive audio interviews with fellow special effects technicians and audio from Christopher Lee.

And A 120-page booklet featuring new articles on the film's production, its relationship to the Quatermass films, cast and crew biographies, script comparisons, and more.

[Orlac]

Ooh, David Kalat!

That reminds me. Nasty horror author Shaun Huston wrote a novelisation of X about a decade ago. I've never read it but keep meaning to, just to see if he's managed to insert his trademark sleaze into it!

[TMDaines]

These are so expensive.

[What A Disgrace]

Hammer's own site sells them for ever more outrageous prices, but stateside DiabolikDVD has the LE for $64 and the SEs for $42 and $35. Still pricey, of course, but considerably less so.

[Dr Amicus]

The prices on their website jumped 20% a few weeks ago. I had been ordering direct from them, but that was the end of that.

X is a fun little film, a wannabe Quatermass (Kneale refused to let Hammer use the character for their own stories), which also feels like a Jon Pertwee Dr Who story. The package looks typically comprehensive, I’m particularly pleased to see the Losey short, which has been on my want to see list for ages.

Not previously highlighted, coming in June is the first The House of Hammer, a 2 disc and 120 page collection of, effectively, extra features with no film. Personally I think it looks great and will be preordering - one of the highlights is a 2 hour documentary on AIP (which is only part 1!).

[Tuppence]

Hammer has announced that previously-censored footage from Dracula has been located in Warner Bros vaults, and will be presented in a new 4K restoration theatrically (and presumably on disc) later this year. I would guess it'll be a big advance on the tatty Japanese print from over a decade ago.

[Stefan Andersson]

Hammer has announced that previously-censored footage from Dracula has been located in Warner Bros vaults, and will be presented in a new 4K restoration theatrically (and presumably on disc) later this year. I would guess it'll be a big advance on the tatty Japanese print from over a decade ago.

More discussion, facts and conjecture here:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/monster ... -s160.html