Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts

Saturday 23 February 2019

THE LUCKY THIRTEEN! CAN YOU PICK YOUR FIVE ON THIS BIRTHDAY?


TODAY WE ARE MARKING THE BIRTHDAY of director TERENCE FISHER. He was a director who still, certainly needs no introduction to anyone who regularly visits this page. But when looking down the list of some of Cushing best Hammer films, it's Fisher's name that is usually attached to the finest. Fiher also believed that you should give audiences, opportunities to see beyond, what could be happening on the screen. His trade mark blend of fairy-tale, myth and sexuality, gave us some of Cushing's and Hammer films greatest hits. 'The Curse of Frankenstein', 'Dracula', 'The Mummy', 'The Gorgon', 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'..... and many, many others. All absolute gems. 


HERE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY, to try and pull from the list of THIRTEEN TITLES that Fisher made with Cushing, a 'must watch' FIVE. The idea of this task cmae from a personal experience during the holidays last Christmas, to treat myself to an indulgent  weekend, of movie watching. It wasn't easy, but it was very enjoyable! Over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE visitors and friends have started compiling and posting their TOP FIVE. Please feel free to join them, and help us mark the Birthday, of probably Hammer films, most popular director . . . 


Terence Fisher at home, with his wife, Morag!


Old Friends... Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing at the
Festival du Film Fantastique de Paris in 1974



PETER CUSHING and Martita Hunt in Terence Fisher's THE BRIDES OF DRACULA


TERENCE FISHER'S first film, for Hammer with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN


CUSHING AND THORLEY WALTERS in Fisher's THIRD Frankenstein for Hammer, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN 


PRUDENCE HYMAN AND PETER CUSHING in Hammer films THE GORGON



THE HEAT IS ON with Peter Cushing in Terence Fisher's  NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT


Wednesday 6 December 2017

HORRIBLE DEATH WEDNESDAY 2: WITH CALLUM MCKELVIE



SO TODAY is of course our new theme, ‘Horrible Death Wednesday’, where we highlight some of our favourite dispatches for a multitude of memorable characters in Cushing’s film. It’s a pretty good line-up if I say so myself, featuring one film I’ve regularly mentioned as a personal best, another that featured in my ‘Choicest Cushing’ article and one that I haven’t as of yet praised- but will shortly. 


FIRST UP is the aftermath of the titular creature’s death from ‘Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell’. During the final moments, the creature (having of course been on the rampage) is set upon by the inmates of the asylum and quite literally ripped apart. A particularly gruesome moment, it’s one of a number of gory sequences that feel at odds in what is essentially a throwback film. None the less, it feels right in what is an exceptionally dark film (even for the Hammer Frankenstein series) and a fitting end to one of the more sympathetic creatures in the series.


NEXT UP is a sequence from a film I’ve regularly mentioned to be a personal favourite, though haven’t as of yet written anything substantial on it. Christopher Lee’s death in The Skull has long been one of my favourites and I think it’s down to the very subtle elements of black comedy in the scene. Bar one sequence at the opening, Lee and Cushing only ever appear playing Billiards together, so it’s little surprise when Cushing batters Lee over the head with a ball. Unlike the above sequence, there’s very little on-screen gore but it’s the context that makes this particularly gruesome. Subotsky had a particular flare for introducing gruesome elements into his films, but somehow instructing directors to keep the high levels of violence off screen (the ‘Blind Man’ sequence in Tales from the Crypt springs to mind). This is a prime example. 


FINALLY we have a sequence from The Mummy. The Mummy is full of a number of great death sequences, Daddy Banning’s and Mehemet Bay’s spring to mind, but today’s is the death of Cushing’s uncle played by Raymond Huntley. Huntley is a familiar British character actor and he’s such a friendly and likable character that his death, strangled as Lee’s titular walking cadaver crashes through a door, proves to have something of a resonance to it.






IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA  . 

Tuesday 29 August 2017

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! ANANKA'S LIVE AND WELL AND RESTING IN . . .PERTH???


#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! When Hammer films and Lionsgate launched their UK release of the remastered blu ray of the Cushing / Lee Classic 'The Mummy' in 2013, it was the feather in the cap of three amazing releases and titles, titles that are sometimes considered to be, the the best from the cozy cottage studio on the Thames. Stepping out in glorious Eastman colour, cleaned up, crisp and looking much, much more than its estimated £125,000 budget, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and cast, have never looked better.


Everyone seemed to agree, whatever had happened with the previous remastered classics, this one...appeared to be spot on. Even the extras were very cool too. In one of the extra features, detailing the accuracy of the sets, the props and costumes, a suited expert tells us of a . . .' magnificent custom made sarcophagus that was lovingly built by the Bray studios craft, plaster and carpentry workshops...in fibre glass... and that it is now housed in the collection of the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland!' . . . . There follows a pause...


And then, he moves on...! Where one would have expected a photograph or a short clip of the final resting place of Ananka...nope. Not a Pharaohs Tut or Thank you. Just Nada of the Nile! That afternoon, and for quite sometime later, I looked everywhere for photo, a clip a drawing ...anything.  


Finally, some time later, it was left to Hammer historian Robert J E Simpson. . . to come up with the goodies. Yes, it's not in Egypt, or sadly in a Hammer films museum... it's in Perth, Scotland. And that, is as good a place as any. We are lucky it's anywhere! It looks just as impressive as it did, when John and Stephen Banning found it, all those years ago...! So, thank you Perth Museum for keeping the ol' gal safe... and thank you Robert, for taking that photograph. Now that...IS cool!


Robert J. E.  Simpson is a writer, director, Hammer film historian and archivist, who has provided several  works for inclusion on the official Hammer film blu rays including the media booklet which was part of the UK blu ray release of Hammer films, 'The Mummy' (1959). Robert has a presence on several social media platforms including INSTAGRAM  and  FACEBOOK



IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA   

Thursday 27 April 2017

#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY: SIX GREAT GIFS REQUESTED BY YOU!


#SILENTBUTDEADLY: Breaking into the first of our SIX REQUESTED GIFS is Kharis (Christopher Lee) dispatching Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) as the speechless Isoblel Banning (Yvonne Furneaux) looks on in horror in Hammer filmsThe Mummy (1959). This is one of those occasions where the soundtrack is as good as the visuals. A sickening crack and crunch, comes courtesy of the Hammer special effects dept, making this one of those golden but gut turning classic Hammer clips. Thanks to Colin Bond who requested this and our NEXT GIF today...   #hammerfilms #petercushing #christopherlee #themummy


YOU CAN REQUEST ANY GIF FROM A PETER CUSHING FILM FOR NEXT WEEK'S GALLERY, BY SIMPLY EMAIL US AT THE EMAIL BELOW OR COMING INTO OUR FACEBOOK Peter Cushing APPRECIATION Society Fan Page AND SEND US A MESSAGE USING THE 'MESSAGE / CONTACT US BUTTON!


#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY: Paul Beresford (Peter Cushing) looking very pleased with himself, as a Cybernaut delivers one of the scientists that will help him avenge his brothers death, from The Avengers episode "Return of the Cybernauts" . . . #petercushing #carolinemunro #dougmcclure


#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY: For Jenny Price. Dr. Abner Perry (Peter Cushing) getting 'mesmerized despite him being British!' from At The Earths Core (1976). A truly fun film, with all the cast, on top form and the rubber monsters just add to its charm! #petercushing #dougmcclure #carolinemunro #amicusfilms #attheearthscore


#SILENTBUTDEADLY: Silent, but just as effective, with the audio track. Peter Cushing as Osric from Laurence Olivier's 'HAMLET'. Cushing's foppish dandy makes an exit that's hard to forget! Thanks to Karl 'The Mangle' Broadshaw for this one!. 


#SILENTBUTDEADLY: This classic moment from ITC'S 'THE MUPPET SHOW' and Vincent Price's guest appearance. Much to Vinnie's horror, Kermit goes for the jugular. Many thanks to Ebony Hamilton, for reminding us about this moment. It's a great shame that neither Peter OR Christopher Lee go an invite to appear on the show, but Vincent Price, was a natural choice and a real hoot! 
#vincentprice #themuppets


#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY: AND FINALLY.. Mary Nichols from New York as requested the above GIF, explaining she had an idea that we had posted this GIF previously, but thought that it would have been long deleted. Well, here's the good news, here is the GIF you mentioned Mary, reposted for you. BUT, the original post WILL BE STILL UP here at this website. We NEVER delete past posts, photographs or features. You'll see we have a SEARCH BOX at the top right of this site, and all you have to do is enter in the KEY WORDS 'Peter Cushing From Beyond The Grave'..and this and many other posts will be loaded up onto your screen. So, easy to find, and you truly will never miss a thing we have posted over the last SEVEN YEARS! Thanks Mary! MORE REQUESTED GIFS, NEXT WEDNESDAY! #petercushing #frombeyondthegrave #amicusfilms


JOIN US FRIDAY FOR OUR WEEKLY FRIDAY THEMED POST DAY: #FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY! EVERYTHING IT SAYS ON THE BANNER. NOW IN IT'S SIXTH YEAR!


IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us reach our 30K following total for Peter Cushing BIRTHDAY on MAY 26th 2017 AND Help Keep The Memory Alive! 

Saturday 4 March 2017

#HAMMERFILMSSATURDAY : THE MUMMY FRONT OF HOUSE


#HAMMERSATURDAY THIS is one of my all time favorite Peter Cushing films. It has it all. Drama, horror, a love story and action! And this is also one of my fav front of house stills. Beautiful colour and action that leaps off the pic! DO YOU have a fav Cushing pic, photo still? Or is there one you have never seen here, that you would like me to post or 'dig up' for you? Let me know!



THE IMAGE that first appeared on some propose artwork for a campaign poster for THE MUMMY.... Cushing saw the light shining through the body of Kharis and asked, 'Is that in our script?' When he was told no, he invented the bit of biz where he shoves a harpoon through the chest of the Mummy Kharis... 'If it's on the poster, our public will expect to see it!' said Cushing




PLEASE COME JOIN US AT OUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE : HERE

Tuesday 4 March 2014

WATCH THE LEGEND OF HAMMER: MUMMIES HERE!


Donald Fearney's 'The Legend of Hammer: Mummies': For those of you who may missed this exclusive upload when it was shared on our UK Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page last weekend, here is another chance to catch it, this time on our pcasuk VIMEO account in HD. Enjoy!

 JUST CLICK ON THIS LINK:The Legend of Hammer: Mummies

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Saturday 31 August 2013

HAMMER FILMS 'THE MUMMY' PREMIERE AT BRITISH MUSEUM SCREENS CUSHING AND LEE CLASSIC



Screening as we post! This is the first opportunity to see the new cleaned up print of Hammer Films 'THE MUMMY' happening now at the British Museum's Monster Weekend, part of the BFI 'Gothic' season. THE MUMMY stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Yvonne Furneax. Directed by Terence Fisher.

More pics to come...

Thursday 3 January 2013

WHY HAMMER FILMS THE MUMMY MAYBE THE BEST OF THE BUNCH: PETER CUSHING CHRISTOPHER LEE PRESS STILLS GALLERY.


THE SHORT VERSION:
Hammer takes on another old school horror classic, and this is their best effort.
Christopher Lee’s turn under the bandages is simply brilliant. As is Peter Cushing’s in normal clothes; did you expect anything less? The flashback scenes are marvelously executed. This is the best mummy flick ever made; any classic horror fan should see The Mummy.


COMMENTARY:
In 1957, Hammer Studios revitalized the old school gothic horror genre by tapping into creature library made famous by Universal Studios in the 1930s, rewriting the stories, and putting the results up in brilliant color.  By 1959, Hammer had finally come to a formal arrangement with Universal, allowing them to work with a little more ease and not have to go to great lengths in order to avoid being sued.  The first result out of the gates was The Mummy, and it is some of the best stuff that Hammer ever produced; arguably, it may be the best.


The screenplay borrows much from the plots of several of the old Universal flicks.  Here, our story begins in Egypt in 1895.  Stephen Banning (Felix Aylmer, Becket) and Joseph Whemple (Raymond Huntley; Meet Mr. Lucifer) are two old English archaeologists. Together with Stephen’s son John (Peter Cushing, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed), they have found the entrance to an Ancient Egyptian tomb located far off the beaten track.  It is the tomb of Princess Ananka, High Priestess of the God Karnak.  As Stephen is about to enter, he is warned by an Egyptian named Mehmet Bey (George Pastell, From Russia With Love) to turn back before it is too late, but Stephen of course pays him no heed. Instead, he unhesitatingly steps inside, and discovers exactly the wonderful tomb he had been hoping for.  But then, something goes wrong. A scream is heard while Stephen is alone in the tomb, and when Joseph comes to see what’s wrong, he finds Stephen draped over the sarcophagus a gibbering wreck.



A year later, John has taken over the dig, and the audience watches as he re-seals the entrance to the tomb, though not before taking its treasures out for display at the British museum.  As John and Joseph leave, Mehmet Bey steps forth, and vows to get back into the tomb to recover the sacred instrument by which the long-buried Princess Ananka can be avenged for having her rest disturbed, regardless of how long it may take him to do so.  Once he has recovered that instrument, he further promises, he will go to the ends of the Earth to use it.

Flash forward to England, 1898.  Anyone care to guess where that instrument is going to end up being used, or what it might be?  You’ve read the title of the movie, haven’t you? Hammer’s take on The Mummy may borrow heavily from its Universal predecessors, but there can be no question that this film is superior to all of those that came before in every way.  Well told, tightly directed, and superbly acted, this movie comes as close to being perfect as one is ever going to find in mid-century horror.



It all starts with the reliable pen of Hammer favorite Jimmy Sangster.  Yes, the story he writes if a familiar one that any mummy movie fan has seen before, but he weaves its elements together so well that the audience doesn’t necessarily notice, and even if they do, what they notice is that be taking only the best of the old pieces and adding in a few of his own, he’s written a superior story.  Things are further helped along by Hammer’s other “old reliable,” Director Terence Fisher, here doing what may indeed be his finest work.  The pacing of The Mummy is constant: always in motion even when the action is at a break.  Thanks to the atmosphere that Fisher’s direction generates, even conversations held over a desk carry tension, and action sequences that could easily have gone wrong given that they involve a lumbering mummy and a man with a bum leg (very nice touch, that) instead carry a high level of thrill and excitement.  Fisher also has an excellent sense of when to pull that action trigger, knowing exactly how long to hold the anticipatory suspense before letting the audience have it for maximum effect.  Directorially speaking, The Mummy truly is flawless.


A particular treat comes during the film’s flashback sequences.  Normally, such sequences kill pacing for the greater good of telling the story, but here, no such pacing sacrifice is made; it all just flows.  They’re also quite gorgeous to look at, as the production design for The Mummy is first rate. Ananka’s tomb is wonderfully realized and appropriately filled with the treasures of a Princess (this absolutely does not look like some cheap, dusty old set), and as we see it during the flashback, exquisitely painted.  Also standing out is the view we have of Ananka as she lies freshly placed in her sarcophagus: she looks elegant, her death mask masterfully designed, and – most impressive to me as a detail – she is completely surrounded by flowers when many would have been happy just to have her lie in an empty box and be done with it.  It’s these little things that help to make good movies great.  When we see the tomb in “present” day, it is also wonderfully aged, maintaining all of its majesty while still clearly showing the ravages of time.  There’s just no such thing as sloppy work here.



Along with the look and the direction, another element that makes the flashbacks so compelling is that they get their supporting narration from Peter Cushing, who easily has one of the greatest voices in all of motion picture history.  As anyone at all familiar with the man’s work can expect, Cushing put in a marvelous performance throughout the entire film, not only carrying the audience to the past with his voice, but hold our attention in the present with his action.  Cushing is at his best here, breathing into his character the intellectual joy of an academic as well as the strength of purpose that all film heroes require.  (A particularly superb scene for showing off Cushing’s skills involves a rapid fire conversation between his character and Mehmet Bey about, among other things, the nature of archaeology, which actually sounds quite at home amidst modern academic debates on the subject.)  It’s also interesting to see how an actor famous for always being in motion handles the script challenge of a permanently injured leg, and the answer is: wonderfully.  He never forgets the injury and always plays it, but he doesn’t overplay it as so many others might, and if you’ve ever had an injured leg for any amount of time, you’ll also see that he makes his adaptations accurately.  He compels one’s attention every moment that he is on the screen.


Given how much power is conveyed by Christopher Lee’s voice and again by his facial features, one might wonder how much is sacrificed by the fact that in this role, he’s wrapped up almost entirely in bandages and unable to speak (his tongue is actually removed in one of the flashbacks, the prior to that, one does get to see and hear Lee unmummified), especially if one has already seen how things ended up when he took a turn as Frankenstein’s monster.  The answer is that nothing at all is sacrificed, and that indeed, this film’s mummy may be the finest of all of Christopher Lee’s Hammer monster performances, even rivaling his most famous role as Count Dracula.  This is a mummy with range, and Lee is able to convey that through both body language and the only part of his face left for the audience to see: his eyes.  When Kharis is wrapped in flashback and about to be entombed, Lee’s eyes convey not just fear, but absolute terror.  (And how often do you see a scared mummy?)  When Mehmet Bey pushes Kharis too far, Lee through his eyes alone expresses a face exploding with rage, and when Kharis sees Isobel (Yvonne Furneaux, Frankenstein’s Great Aunt Tillie) and sees in her the features of Ananka, the love there is unmistakable.  What’s most remarkable about all of this is that Lee is able to switch these expressions in a mere instant, which again without the benefit of a visible face is simply amazing.



Our mummy, though, is expressive with more than just his eyes; this mummy is violent.  Our first introduction to Kharis as a killer involves him having to get through three different layers of a sanatorium window, first bending back bars, then shattered glass, and then shoving free an interior grate.  The violence of this moment can only be described as explosive, and that’s before he comes in and actually gets down to the business of murder.  All in all, my reaction to this scene comes down to a single word: WOW.  This may be one of the most effective color-era classic horror monster moments ever, and incredibly, it’s followed up by another one later on when Kharis literally crashes through a door to reach his next victim.  [It is also a testament to Christopher Lee’s remarkable strength that this door was really bolted shut when he crashed through it.  That’s the take you really see on the screen.  It resulted in one of several injuries Lee suffered on the set, and yet, professional that he is, he acted through all of them.]  No mummy filmed before or since has been so effective as this one, and here, even Christopher Lee’s real-life next door neighbor, the great Boris Karloff, must bow to a superior performance.  This truly is a monster to be reckoned with.


One must also take a moment to recognize the look given to Lee’s mummy.  For many, a mummy is just bandages and go, but the costume department here recognized the costume as more than that.  The wrappings are wonderfully done, and the effects of age and being drenched in a bog are also gorgeously realized, which is especially challenging in the age of color.  Just enough strips are left hanging to give a notion of wear, and even though only the actor’s eyes are left exposed for him the express with, the facial bandages are wrapped in such a way that during a close up shot, it’s still possible to recognize that there is a real face beneath.  You won’t see an expression, but there’s just enough of a hint of real humanity there to give Kharis that much more life, and oh how that pays off.


After watching this movie again, it floors me to think that Hammer’s rendition of The Mummy doesn’t get nearly the same attention as its more prolific Dracula and Frankenstein films do.  This is easily the best of their original classic horror titles, and indeed may be their best horror film, period.  Wonderfully scripted, tightly directed, and amazingly acted, at the end of the day, The Mummy really is as close to perfect as one is ever likely to get on a Hammer budget.



Bottom line, Hammer’s The Mummy is arguably the finest film the studio ever produced; if it isn’t, it’s definitely top three.  It is also beyond doubt the finest mummy movie any studio has ever produced up through the present day, and for any fan of the genre, this movie is one that simply needs to be owned.  It’s just too good to stay in the tomb, and absolutely deserves to be rediscovered by the masses and given props as one of the true greats of classic horror.

REVIEW:HERE
IMAGES: MARCUS BROOKS 
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