Well, that depends on how many Hammer films you already have. I haven't bought it since it duplicates many I already have, but some of the films have commentaries or documentaries which aren't on the stand-alone discs (although others miss those out- aggravatingly!*). Depends on the price being charged.
* eg, The Blu-Ray of The Devil Rides Out includes a commentary by Chris Lee & others, which isn't on the Ultimate set, while that set does include a commentary from Jimmy Sangster on Horror Of Frankenstein which isn't on the stand-alone. Grrr!
Well, that depends on how many Hammer films you already have. I haven't bought it since it duplicates many I already have, but some of the films have commentaries or documentaries which aren't on the stand-alone discs (although others miss those out- aggravatingly!*). Depends on the price being charged.
* eg, The Blu-Ray of The Devil Rides Out includes a commentary by Chris Lee & others, which isn't on the Ultimate set, while that set does include a commentary from Jimmy Sangster on Horror Of Frankenstein which isn't on the stand-alone. Grrr!
Thanks for the info Barbel. I don't have any of the 21 films and I can buy the collection for £35. Seems like a good deal and like you say some of these films have commentaries and documentaries which I enjoy. -{
Today I received my fifth Hammer film in one of the many Book-Blu-ray Special Editions I have ordered...very expensive and I'll live on crackers and water for some time )
It's The Reptile. These Mediabooks are done, unfortunately, only for the German language market with Code B Blu-rays. There are several out but they are limited to between 500 and 1000. Mostly they get released with different covers, each version receives the limitation. After they are sold, normal Blu-ray casings are available but without the books.
One I have watched it, I'll post one of my colourful reviews
This movie is ahead of its time. The blueprint for things I've seen like Netflix's Van Helsing, Blade (the katana sword) etc. Caroline Munro has the female lead, three years prior to her memorable appearance in The Spy Who Loved Me.
I'm sure I don't have to explain anything about this film to you. It's a unique one it seems and I have watched the Reunion of the actors and Brian Clemens in 2008 that is a Special Feature. Also there is a 73 minute ! Interview with Horst Janson.
I know Janson very well, he was a well known actor from the 70s and 80s, notably for me, in Sesame Street. He is widely loved.
Here are two lovely pictures of him, with a 40 year gap in between....
Forget Van Helsing. Captain Kronos is the great swashbuckling vampire hunter. Hard-faced Horst Janson is the brooding Kronos, a rangy, sword-wielding soldier who hunts the vampire scourge with his jovial hunchbacked partner, Grost (John Cater), and his earthy peasant girl lover, hazelnut eyed beauty Caroline Munro. Director-writer Brian Clemens, who so entertainingly put genres in the blender on the TV series The Avengers, imaginatively rewrites vampire lore from the film's haunting first scene: a shrouded, shadowy predator (looking more like death incarnate than a traditional vampire) drains a comely maiden of her very youth, leaving the girl an aged, wizened husk. Clemens lacks the budget and the cinematic snap to bring his visual ideas to full fruition, but his well-wrought characters, inspired ideas, and swashbuckling swordfights make this entertaining reinterpretation of the vampire movie a cult classic.
These Book-Blu-ray Boxes that are produced since 2015 mainly for the German language market are quite something. The booklets are extensive, some up to 30 pages. A lot of photos, information and curated by known Horror film experts.
Kronos features as well two audio commentary tracks, with about all the cast plus Brian Clemens. Honestly, that's fan service for you.
I totally love this film. It seems Hammer will become a part of my fandoms like Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Hitchcock, ITVs 60s/70s shows, Star Trek and DC Comics (notably Batman/Justice League).
So far I've seen: in this order: -The Hound Of The Baskervilles
-Dracula
-The Gorgon
-Taste Of Fear
-Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter
I also have seen Horror Express and Dr. Terror's House Of Horror which both feature Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
The whole Lee/Cushing universe is amazing too.
I love CAPTAIN KRONOS. It had been a film that eluded me for years. I can remember as a kid reading about it various horror film and Hammer film books, and lamenting it hadn't been available in the States on home video.
Eventually a cable station aired it when I was in my mid-twenties and like pretty much every Hammer horror I wanted to see, it lived up to it's expectations. Luckily it became readily available when DVDs hit the market.
I have been enjoying a few Hammer Horror films recently. Watching one a night after work and really enjoying them. Last night was Revenge of Frankenstein and I had completely forgotten that Eunice Gayson was in it (loved the film btw). Tonight it's The Mummy.
Interesting. On page 3 and 4 I did some reviews. I only discovered HAMMER last summer thanks to @ToTheRight
And I can't even remember having done those reviews now, my brain damage is a nuisance )
Yes I can crack jokes about my mishaps, at least on my good days
I've got a high stack of Hammer Blu-rays and some DVDs too. 42 films high....wow.
Well 2018 will definitely become my HAMMER year plus re-discovering all the Bond films.
Yes in fact the second film I watched since waking up in my new life is THE HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS
I was going to write a review but of course it's not a HAMMER film.
Lee, Cushing, Vincent Price and the relatively unknown (to the big audience) John Carradine.
It's got meta-humour of the best kind and is a mix of old-school horror and 80s cheese. And it works beautifully. It's also a murder mystery in an old house
HAMMER fans in the German and French language region get very spoiled recently. The films get restored and released since circa three, four years. Many get beautiful releases in so called Mediabooks or in normal Blu-ray cases but always with beautiful artwork.
Some of the other famous films of the well known horror actors get such releases too.
This is the mediabook of HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS, it's got a high quality 28 page booklet, written by renown German film historians/critics.
It's a DVD/Blu-ray combo set. Region 2 DVD and B Blu-ray. So it's playable in the UK for instance and throughout Europe.
Of course these things are expensive as most have limited number of prints. There are the normal versions available too, normal Blu-ray case and without the booklet obviously.
Anyone know the name of an early 70s Hammer
Dracula film. In which he's going to spread a virus
Across the world ?
I watched Dracula: AD 1972 last night thinking it was
It.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Anyone know the name of an early 70s Hammer
Dracula film. In which he's going to spread a virus
Across the world ?
I watched Dracula: AD 1972 last night thinking it was
It.
It's out of copyright (someone goofed) and should be easily and cheaply available, sometimes under different titles (eg "Count Dracula And His Vampire Bride" 8-) ), both as a DVD or whatever and online eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft8HP5-l1L4
{[] Just watched it, Great fun as always.
The titles using the wide angle lens, look the same as Dracula AD 1972
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
On the subject of asking about Hammer films...
Was it The Brides of Dracula that didn't actually feature Dracula at all?
I had a good old school friend who educated me (a bit) in the late 90s on Hammer and horror more generally and this was I think the one he mentioned. It kind of just traded off the Dracula name I guess to pursue a story all of its own.
Sadly, all these years later, I've still not seen any of the Hammer Dracula films and I probably need to ASAP!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Was it The Brides of Dracula that didn't actually feature Dracula at all?
Yes, it was. Here's the list:
DRACULA (1958) Known as Horror Of Dracula in the US, to avoid confusion with the old 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula which was on re-release. Christopher Lee as Dracula, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing.
BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) Cushing as Van Helsing, no Dracula (a "Baron Meinster" played by one David Peel was the vampire). Stories clash as to whether Lee refused to play Dracula or he wasn't asked.
DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966) Lee as Dracula, Cushing only in a flashback as Van Helsing. Personal favourite.
DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968) Lee as Dracula.
TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1970) Lee as Dracula.
SCARS OF DRACULA (1970) Lee as Dracula. Perhaps the weakest.
DRACULA AD 1972 (er... you can figure out the year) Lee as Dracula, Cushing as Van Helsing.
THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA (1973) Lee as Dracula, Cushing as Van Helsing.
THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974) Cushing as Van Helsing, John Forbes-Robertson (dubbed by Valentine Dyall) as Dracula owing to Christopher Lee running screaming from the room when shown the script. (I rather like this one)
Dracula is of course undead, but Van Helsing is a normal man so Peter Cushing plays various different generations of Van Helsings in the Hammer series as it moves through time. Throughout the series, Cushing is excellent (hell, he's excellent in anything) as is Lee when he's not gritting his teeth (metaphorically- wearing fangs is a bit restricting in that area) at the scripts.
plus
THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN (1969) A film starring Peter Sellers & Ringo Starr, in which Lee plays a very Dracula-like vampire (unnamed). Not Hammer. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpix0qgpOwA )
ONE MORE TIME (1970) A Sammy Davis Jr movie, in which Lee as Dracula and Cushing as Frankenstein have a one-scene guest appearance owing to Davis being a big fan of theirs. Not Hammer. (To save you watching this awful film, here is the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghAOsj6-VaA )
COUNT DRACULA (1970) Lee as Dracula, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing. Not Hammer. Not recommended either.
DRACULA AND SON (1976) Lee as Dracula. French horror comedy, Dracula Pere et Fils, not Hammer. I've only seen the English dub, which is terrible. Apparently the French version is ok.
Obviously many actors in the Hammer Dracula movies also appeared in the Bond series. A partial list includes Geoffrey Keen (TSWLM-TLD), Caroline Munro (TSWLM), Michael Kitchen (GE, TWINE), Christopher Neame (LTK), Joanna Lumley (OHMSS), Madeleine Smith (LALD) and Richard Vernon (GF). Plus Rory Kinnear's dad, Roy Kinnear. And a certain Sir.
Big fan of the Hammer films too. Something so nostalgic about them. Have so many in my collection. Good to see so many like minded individuals on this forum {[]
Bbc2 Saturday night horror double bill ( always loads
Of great Hammer films ) I remember being disturbed
By one particular death.
Some poor chap had a bus reverse over his head !
As a young kid, that scared the crap out of me. )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Comments
* eg, The Blu-Ray of The Devil Rides Out includes a commentary by Chris Lee & others, which isn't on the Ultimate set, while that set does include a commentary from Jimmy Sangster on Horror Of Frankenstein which isn't on the stand-alone. Grrr!
Thanks for the info Barbel. I don't have any of the 21 films and I can buy the collection for £35. Seems like a good deal and like you say some of these films have commentaries and documentaries which I enjoy. -{
It's The Reptile. These Mediabooks are done, unfortunately, only for the German language market with Code B Blu-rays. There are several out but they are limited to between 500 and 1000. Mostly they get released with different covers, each version receives the limitation. After they are sold, normal Blu-ray casings are available but without the books.
One I have watched it, I'll post one of my colourful reviews
I thought it too similar to "The Gorgon", which I much preferred.
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter
This movie is ahead of its time. The blueprint for things I've seen like Netflix's Van Helsing, Blade (the katana sword) etc.
Caroline Munro has the female lead, three years prior to her memorable appearance in The Spy Who Loved Me.
I'm sure I don't have to explain anything about this film to you. It's a unique one it seems and I have watched the Reunion of the actors and Brian Clemens in 2008 that is a Special Feature. Also there is a 73 minute ! Interview with Horst Janson.
I know Janson very well, he was a well known actor from the 70s and 80s, notably for me, in Sesame Street. He is widely loved.
Here are two lovely pictures of him, with a 40 year gap in between....
Forget Van Helsing. Captain Kronos is the great swashbuckling vampire hunter. Hard-faced Horst Janson is the brooding Kronos, a rangy, sword-wielding soldier who hunts the vampire scourge with his jovial hunchbacked partner, Grost (John Cater), and his earthy peasant girl lover, hazelnut eyed beauty Caroline Munro. Director-writer Brian Clemens, who so entertainingly put genres in the blender on the TV series The Avengers, imaginatively rewrites vampire lore from the film's haunting first scene: a shrouded, shadowy predator (looking more like death incarnate than a traditional vampire) drains a comely maiden of her very youth, leaving the girl an aged, wizened husk. Clemens lacks the budget and the cinematic snap to bring his visual ideas to full fruition, but his well-wrought characters, inspired ideas, and swashbuckling swordfights make this entertaining reinterpretation of the vampire movie a cult classic.
These Book-Blu-ray Boxes that are produced since 2015 mainly for the German language market are quite something. The booklets are extensive, some up to 30 pages. A lot of photos, information and curated by known Horror film experts.
Kronos features as well two audio commentary tracks, with about all the cast plus Brian Clemens. Honestly, that's fan service for you.
I totally love this film. It seems Hammer will become a part of my fandoms like Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Hitchcock, ITVs 60s/70s shows, Star Trek and DC Comics (notably Batman/Justice League).
So far I've seen: in this order:
-The Hound Of The Baskervilles
-Dracula
-The Gorgon
-Taste Of Fear
-Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter
I also have seen Horror Express and Dr. Terror's House Of Horror which both feature Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
The whole Lee/Cushing universe is amazing too.
Eventually a cable station aired it when I was in my mid-twenties and like pretty much every Hammer horror I wanted to see, it lived up to it's expectations. Luckily it became readily available when DVDs hit the market.
And I can't even remember having done those reviews now, my brain damage is a nuisance
Yes I can crack jokes about my mishaps, at least on my good days
I've got a high stack of Hammer Blu-rays and some DVDs too. 42 films high....wow.
Well 2018 will definitely become my HAMMER year plus re-discovering all the Bond films.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I was going to write a review but of course it's not a HAMMER film.
Lee, Cushing, Vincent Price and the relatively unknown (to the big audience) John Carradine.
It's got meta-humour of the best kind and is a mix of old-school horror and 80s cheese. And it works beautifully. It's also a murder mystery in an old house
Here's a nice pic:
Some of the other famous films of the well known horror actors get such releases too.
This is the mediabook of HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS, it's got a high quality 28 page booklet, written by renown German film historians/critics.
It's a DVD/Blu-ray combo set. Region 2 DVD and B Blu-ray. So it's playable in the UK for instance and throughout Europe.
Of course these things are expensive as most have limited number of prints. There are the normal versions available too, normal Blu-ray case and without the booklet obviously.
And here on amazon uk:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Long-Shadows-Vincent-Price/dp/B006O7G6LA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517919021&sr=8-1&keywords=house+of+the+long+shadows&dpID=51gQasclWaL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haus-langen-Schatten-Peter-Cushing/dp/B008HMPKYO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517919021&sr=8-2&keywords=house+of+the+long+shadows
My set
Dracula film. In which he's going to spread a virus
Across the world ?
I watched Dracula: AD 1972 last night thinking it was
It.
Satanic Rites of Dracula.
The titles using the wide angle lens, look the same as Dracula AD 1972
Was it The Brides of Dracula that didn't actually feature Dracula at all?
I had a good old school friend who educated me (a bit) in the late 90s on Hammer and horror more generally and this was I think the one he mentioned. It kind of just traded off the Dracula name I guess to pursue a story all of its own.
Sadly, all these years later, I've still not seen any of the Hammer Dracula films and I probably need to ASAP!
Yes, it was. Here's the list:
DRACULA (1958) Known as Horror Of Dracula in the US, to avoid confusion with the old 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula which was on re-release. Christopher Lee as Dracula, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing.
BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) Cushing as Van Helsing, no Dracula (a "Baron Meinster" played by one David Peel was the vampire). Stories clash as to whether Lee refused to play Dracula or he wasn't asked.
DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966) Lee as Dracula, Cushing only in a flashback as Van Helsing. Personal favourite.
DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968) Lee as Dracula.
TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1970) Lee as Dracula.
SCARS OF DRACULA (1970) Lee as Dracula. Perhaps the weakest.
DRACULA AD 1972 (er... you can figure out the year) Lee as Dracula, Cushing as Van Helsing.
THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA (1973) Lee as Dracula, Cushing as Van Helsing.
THE LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974) Cushing as Van Helsing, John Forbes-Robertson (dubbed by Valentine Dyall) as Dracula owing to Christopher Lee running screaming from the room when shown the script. (I rather like this one)
Dracula is of course undead, but Van Helsing is a normal man so Peter Cushing plays various different generations of Van Helsings in the Hammer series as it moves through time. Throughout the series, Cushing is excellent (hell, he's excellent in anything) as is Lee when he's not gritting his teeth (metaphorically- wearing fangs is a bit restricting in that area) at the scripts.
plus
THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN (1969) A film starring Peter Sellers & Ringo Starr, in which Lee plays a very Dracula-like vampire (unnamed). Not Hammer. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpix0qgpOwA )
ONE MORE TIME (1970) A Sammy Davis Jr movie, in which Lee as Dracula and Cushing as Frankenstein have a one-scene guest appearance owing to Davis being a big fan of theirs. Not Hammer. (To save you watching this awful film, here is the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghAOsj6-VaA )
COUNT DRACULA (1970) Lee as Dracula, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing. Not Hammer. Not recommended either.
DRACULA AND SON (1976) Lee as Dracula. French horror comedy, Dracula Pere et Fils, not Hammer. I've only seen the English dub, which is terrible. Apparently the French version is ok.
Obviously many actors in the Hammer Dracula movies also appeared in the Bond series. A partial list includes Geoffrey Keen (TSWLM-TLD), Caroline Munro (TSWLM), Michael Kitchen (GE, TWINE), Christopher Neame (LTK), Joanna Lumley (OHMSS), Madeleine Smith (LALD) and Richard Vernon (GF). Plus Rory Kinnear's dad, Roy Kinnear. And a certain Sir.
Bbc2 Saturday night horror double bill ( always loads
Of great Hammer films ) I remember being disturbed
By one particular death.
Some poor chap had a bus reverse over his head !
As a young kid, that scared the crap out of me.