Showing posts with label bruce hallenbeck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bruce hallenbeck. Show all posts

Tuesday 9 April 2019

REVIEWED! SCREAM FACTORY LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES BLU RAY RELEASED TODAY!


LIKE MANY HAMMER FILM and Peter Cushing fans, for the last few years, I've both a mental and physical 'wish list' of movies, |I have hoped would some day, get the remastering blu ray treatment. I am very happy to now look at my shelves and see most of those titles have not only received a re-release and remaster, but also 98% of them have been blessed with a remastering, quite beyond my expectation! It's wonderful to see many Cushing features, that for years looked destined to never be seen again, the way I had once watched them in the cinema. It took quite a while, with the arrival of DVD's to weed out the duds, and not fall foul of a 'bootlegged home made burned copy of a years old TV recorded copy of a VHS recording' to a legit marketed commercial DVD copy to arrive. For quite sometime, we were very happy with DVD quality, and then the sometimes sparkling definition of a BLU RAY! Could it ever get any better. we asked? 'Oh, Yes . . .', said the distributors, 'Take a look a this!' The REMASTERED 1080p high definition Blu Ray.... can be at times, quite thing of beauty. Sometimes if the copy house gets it wrong though, it can also become a never ending chorus of lethal barbs, personal opinions and wrath, at forums and internet groups. 



THANKFULLY, that has not happened too often with Cushing films. There will always be the wish and bucket list, of people who have high expectations and yet low funds and shallow pockets. The remastering process is an expensive business and in the current lolly-no-lolly climate, things tough. Though there will always be, the customer who also expects, a perk! Some of the better remasterings, have arrived without any extras. No new documentaries, no galleries of images and rare stills.. but the quality of what it offers on the label, is very, very high. The FILM is a knockout! And with that, I am happy to share that, SCREAM FACTORY has delivered a VERY nice release, that meets the standard we have come to expect and a much needed and very entertaining package of extras too, for a film that has been on THAT 'Wish List', for quite sometime . . .    


I AM NOT GOING TO BORE YOU with the story, plot details and 'CHOP' of Hammer films and Shaw Brothers, THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES. If you are a Cushing, Hammer or Horror film fan, you WILL know the plot like the contents of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, Issue ONE or page six of Alan Franks excellent, 1976 edition of The Movie Treasury of 'Monsters and Vampires!' If seeing Cushing play Van Helsing in a more traditional sense, rather than in 70's swinging London, as in the outstanding remasters from Warner Brothers of both 'Dracula AD 1972' and 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' However, if you NEED the plot, you may find a PCAS feature, with that and a whole skip full of stills, RIGHT HERE and HERE!.


THE TEC SPEC! 
AND SO TO THE LINE, that is the divider or decider in such releases as this. A title now arrives on blu ray, that most parties or individuals will probably already own and may have in several formats, purchased and added to those creeking shelves, over the years. The question: Is THIS release an improvement and worth parting with your hard earned lolly? The ANSWER is certainly! I have found over the years, it is the past reputations of such companies as Shout / Scream Factory, that will define if fans are going to cry, 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy' having been stung with past purchases, where the excitement and anticipation of a blu ray release worth having, following lots of promotion and word of mouth, sinks faster, after the opening credits than a trout with belly full lead! Scream Factory has an excellent record and this release again puts the seal of approval on they give what they promise. This release is 2.35:1 anamorphic and SCREAM FACTORY'S transfer presents visually a real bonus, to anyone who has seen the film before, and experienced not too sharp an image, to put it bluntly! The 50GB disc is an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer. Having said that, some would consider the transfer to not quite be of reference quality. AT LAST we can now see, what is happening CLEARLY, CRISPLY! Nothing that I could see in my TWO viewings of this release, dropped from an excellent clarity, a viewing of this film, I had never seen before. Blurring, sudden softness of what two seconds ago was a sharp image, with solid contrast of a shot, filmed in shadow, can be a real distraction, if seen too often while enjoying your recent purchase. 


WATCHING THIS RELEASE was full of visual surprises. Details in costumes, actors expressions and of course, the fight scenes, was a real treat! The transfer brings out so much detail compared to previous releases. The audio is DTS-HD MA Mono. The levels are clear and for some might hint at being TOO clear! All dialogue in Seven Golden Vampires, was created during ADR. It was very common practice in the industry in Hong Kong at this time, that little if anything that was recorded during production was used in the final theatrical release, everything was dubbed in post. So it's very fair to say, the levels are well balanced is free of any obvious or noticeable hiss problems or distortion. James Bernard's excellent score has never sounded better! Optional subtitles are provided in English only.



THE EXTRAS:
REGULARS TO HERE AT THE PCAS website and the PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE will not be strangers to the work of BRUCE G HALLENBECK. As well, as writing and publishing several very good books on Hammer and Amicus films, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and many many others, Bruce has also contributed several exclusive features and series about Cushing, Hammer / Amicus and many of Cushing's supporting casts and characters for this website. You find links to many on the right column of this site! Bruce contributes and narrates a very entertaining feature on this SCREAM FACTORY release. Lots of new factoids and details about Hammer films, the history of why Hammer made a 'Vampire / Kung Fu' features at a time when Hammer had long left his Dracula role and how it almost didn't get made, as Warner Bros threatened to pull their money, unless Dracula was included in the film. Well done, Bruce! 


A FEATURE WITH AUTHOR RICK BAKER, is also here if you have an interest in Kung Fu Cinema. 'KUNG FEAR' does a nice job of sharing the background of Hammer's partners in making 'Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' The Shaw Brothers. Baker who is author of several books on Hong Kong cinema shares his knowledge while 'Golden Vampires' co star David Chiang gives a neat little interview, with memories on working on the film and Peter Cushing! Also included is the 75 min 'alternative' edit of the film, re-titled 'The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula'. It's minus much of Cushing's Van Helsing footage and anything that didn't have the minimum at least five chops or three foot sockings! Interesting!

OVERALL

Scream Factory's REMASTERED Blu Ray release of Hammer Films 'The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' is a very nice and long awaited addition to my little collection. It's fabulous to watch Cushing in his last outing as Van Helsing, Julie Ege, Chiang and Robin Stewart are a great support also. John Forbes- Robertson is very entertaining to watch in a 'Hong Kong' swing of Dracula. Complete with THEIR nod to his make up and style, it answers the question of, what would a Dracula not played by Christopher Lee, in a Hammer film, look like! THIS release gets a BIG thumbs up and thank you from us all at PCAS!. .

SCREAM FACTORY REMASTER of LEGEND
OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES BLU RAY was REALASED TODAY APRIL 9th 2019 and is REGION A.
 

Friday 3 August 2018

CELEBRATING TWO CLASSIC HAMMER HORROR SCREAM QUEENS BIRTHDAYS TODAY!


PLEASE JOIN US IN WISHING MADELEINE SMITH a Very Happy Birthday today! She best known for her roles in three films for Hammer, Taste The Blood of Dracula (1970), The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974).


FEATURED IN OUR BANNER is what is probably one of her best performances as Sarah (The Angel) in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell co-starring Peter Cushing, and Shane Briant. Mind you, she was pretty good in the UK tv series, The Steam Video Company in the early 1980’s. She has a very good sense of humour and timing too!


PLEASE JOIN US in wishing SUSAN DENBERG a Very Happy Birthday today! She's best known for her role as Christina in ‪#‎hammerfilms‬ Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) with Peter Cushing and known to Star Trek fans as Magda Kovacs in the Original Series episode 'Mudd's Women' in 1966. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN... Wherever you are!
 

SUSAN WAS ONE  of several HAMMER SCREAM QUEENS, that were featured in our series 'THAT FEMIMNINE TOUCH' written by BRUCE HALLENBECK.  


FIND SUSAN IN PART FOUR by just clicking HERE! Each part come with individual backgrounds to the actress features, plus a gallery of rare images and gifs!



PLEASE FEEL FREE to come and join us at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE!

Wednesday 10 February 2016

HAZEL COURT REMEMBERED ON HER BIRTHDAY : AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY DETAILS


Today we remember the lovely Hazel Court who was born on this day, during her career she worked with several horror legends, Vincent Price in The Masque Of The Red Death (1964) , Boris Karloff and Vincent Price again in The Raven (1963) , Christopher Lee in Hammer's The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) and of course with Peter Cushing in The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) … What are some of your favourite performances of Hazel's?

 


ORDER YOUR COPY DIRECT FROM TOMAHAWK: HERE 

Her book 'Hazel Court- Horror Queen: An Autobiography' is a good read, not too deep or detailed, but with some very nice images through out. It took a while for this one to come round, health and time... also one image, that really put that cat among the pigeons..caused a certain amount of bad feeling, that made Court not so happy to explore the exposure of conventions and book promoting. In the Hammer films, The Man Who Could Cheat Death..a film that Cushing was originally slated to appear in... a shot of Court was filmed, topless...for inclusion in the famous, 'continental print'.. I am not sure of the history, if that shot ever was included in those prints, I am pretty sure it wasn't. There is a story that the footage was destroyed at the editing room, BUT a few frames were given to Court, as a memento.


 QUICK LINK: HAZEL COURT : WOMEN IN GOTHIC 
AND OTHER ACTRESSES IN OUR SERIES

Years later, some how one of these frames turns up in a certain fanzine... fill in the name here yourselves.... printed without consent from Court. She was furious. It wasn't the first time that this periodical had compromised individuals....in an interview with this magazine, a key player in the Star Wars saga had 'off the record' referred to another key players, 'silly facial hair', which as these things tend to, got back to that individual. They were not happy. Also the using of Roy Skeggs Hammer Films Ltd headed note paper as the header and title of a reworked version of the magazine, went down badly... but such is the world of fanzines, when you are trying to stand out from the crowd, give scoops and compete with others, in what was back then a crowded market, of good to very good fanzines, all competing and trying to make a name. But, eventually Court did come back to the frame, sadly...I think I am right in saying that the book was released posthumously, Court sadly leaving us in 2008, just months before the book was finally released...


IT'S OUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY PCAS 1956 -2016!

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Friday 28 August 2015

SUSAN DENBERG: THAT FEMININE TOUCH : WOMEN IN GOTHIC : PART FOUR FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN


The Baron's most physically perfect creation was undoubtedly Christina, played by the enchanting Susan Denberg, in Fisher's return to the series, Frankenstein Created Woman (1967). Born Deitlinde Zsechner in Bad Polzin, Germany - which is now Polczyn-Zdroj in Poland - Denberg was a gorgeous blonde who had been a chorus girl in both London and Las Vegas.


She was the daughter of Austrian and German parents, having been raised in Klagenfurt, Austria, before making her decision to go into show business. Having adopted the name Susan Denberg, she became the centrepiece of a nationwide contest in America during the production of a film called See You in Hell, Darling, (AKA An American Dream)  in which Warner Bros had offered a $500 prize in a publicity campaign to come up with a new name for the actress.


There were 5,000 entries in the contest, including the bizarre 'Norma Mailer,' but they were all rejected and she remained Susan Denberg.


Acting against such veterans as Cushing, Thorley Walters, Peter Blythe, Barry Warren and Peter Madden, Denberg held her own. Given her relative lack of acting experience - the only other performance she is remembered for is as one of Mudd's Women in a Star Trek episode - she is, in fact, something of a revelation.



FRANKENSTEIN CREATED
WOMAN ORIGINAL THEATRICAL
TRAILER


Although her voice was ultimately dubbed in the film by another actress, Denberg's natural talent shines through. She is just as convincing as the 'crippled' Christina as she is portraying the 'created' one, who receives not a brain transplant, but a 'soul transplant' from her dead boyfriend.

THE UNRAVELING



This was not an easy role for an ingenue, and indeed would have taxed a more experienced actress, but she brings it off with passion and grace. Of course, what made playing the dual roles even more difficult was that Christina, once 'reborn,' was possessed by the soul of a man! In a genuinely disturbing scene, and one which the censor objected to, Christina has the severed head of her lover Hans (Robert Morris) skewered on her bedpost so that she can commune with her - his? - former self.

HEAD IN A BOX!


Later in the film, she carries the head around in a hatbox, and after her final murder - in which she avenges herself upon the last of Hans' three killers - she pulls it from the hatbox and speaks to it in Hans' voice in a scene reminiscent of the classic ventriloquist sequence in Dead of Night (1945).

 

CHRISTINA AND HANS

Although publicity photographs for Frankenstein Created Woman featured Denberg in a kind of 'bikini bandage' outfit with Peter Cushing nearby, seemingly proud of his 'creation,' no such scene was in the film. Those who wanted to see 'more' of Denberg had to settle for her Playboy layout, which had already been published in August, 1966.


Unfortunately, the postscript to Denberg's life story after Frankenstein Created Woman was not a happy one. Her drug use caused her to have a nervous breakdown and she made only two more appearances, both on American television, before returning home to Klagenfort. Broadcast interviews of the time show an obviously depressed Denberg alongside her mother. Eventually, fans began to circulate rumours that the actress had taken her own life, but in fact, she still lives in Austria as of this date.


The reputation of Frankenstein Created Woman continues to grow, perhaps in part because of Denberg's 'mysterious' disappearance from public life. The highest praise for the film has come from none other than Martin Scorsese, the Oscar-winning director who chose Frankenstein Created Woman to show as part of a National Film Theatre series of his favourite films. Introducing the movie, Scorsese (who had once considered becoming a priest before he was a filmmaker) said: 'If I single this one out, it's because here they actually isolate the soul, a bright blue shining translucent ball. The implied metaphysics is close to something sublime.' 


BEHIND THE SCENES ON 
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN
AND PETER CUSHING ON HAMMER FILMS

 


More About SUSAN DENBERG in our Special Feature
'The Girl From Pomerania'
Here At The Website Quick Link: HERE


Did You Miss PART THREE of That Feminine Touch : Women In Gothic 
 The Evil Of Frankenstein: Featuring Katy Wild And Carol Gardner?
You Can QUICK LINK To It Right HERE 


Feature Written by: Bruce G Hallenbeck
Stills: Stephen Jones and Marcus Brooks
Feature Design: Jamie Somerville and Marcus Brooks


Join Us For Daily Updates, Pics, Features and 
Much More At Our Peter Cushing Facebook
Fan Page : HERE 
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