SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE REMEMBERED TODAY : FROM 2O15 FOUR YEARS ON . .

SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE remembered today. Four years on . . . It's still a little strange how there still isn't an official CHRISTOPHER LEE fan site on the net. Before his passing, there was an official site, that had slowed down, then a week after Lee's death, was closed to any updates and carried a banner of, being remodeled to re-appear soon. We are still waiting. Just two weeks ago, during the week of both Lee's and Cushing's birthday anniversaries, we shared the news of Lady Birgit Lee, donating several personal scrapbooks of rare photographs and clippings, from Sir Lee's archive to the British Film Institute.

MORE ON THE CHRISTOPHER LEE SCRAPBOOKS HERE! 

IN THE MEANTIME, I try to share something related, if only by a Cushing post. Plus we do have a Christopher Lee theme EVERY Saturday here! Posts about Christopher Lee here and at our PCAS Facebook Fan Page are always well received and supported. There are always lots of comments and text from followers and members, who still miss his presence and regularly watch the wealth of work, that we can always enjoy . . . in memory of one of the greatest!

ABOVE: The LATEST clip from the PCASUK series 'The Last Meeting of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee' posted to celebrate and mark the 106th anniversary of Peter Cushing birthday!

WIN SECOND SIGHT AMICUS BLU RAYS : LIMITED EDITION

BRACE YOURSELVES for the release of TWO CLASSIC AMICUS films released on BLU RAY for the first time in the UK and available for ORDER NOW!  and part of our EXCLUSIVE  Peter Cushing Appreciation Society COMPETITION!  LOOK OUT FOR DETAILS at our PCAS Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, Instagram and Twitter!

‘GLEEFULLY POISED on the border between silly and
scary…gripping till the last’ : FILM FOUR

‘DELICIOUSLY far-fetched…fun to watch…demented
camera angles…fast pacing…far more unsettling
than you might imagine.’ BBC ONLINE 

DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE PRIZES! Copies to be won of Second Light Limited Edition Blu Ray of Amicus Films Classic Cushing Chiller ASYLUM! First time on blu ray in the UK! NEW EXTRAS Limited Edition contents too, rigid slip case with art work cover by our very own Graham Humphreys, A 40 page booklet on the film and reversible poster featuring the new and original artwork PLUS Audio Commentary with Director Roy Ward Baker and Camera Operator Neil Binney ‘Two’s a Company’: 1972 On-set BBC report featuring interviews with Producer Milton Subotsky, Director Roy Ward Baker, Actors Charlotte Rampling, James Villiers, Megs Jenkins, Art Director Tony Curtis and Production Manager Teresa Bolland, ‘Screenwriter David J. Schow on Writer Robert Bloch, Fiona Subotsky Remembers Milton Subotsky, ‘Inside The Fear Factory’ Featurette with Directors Roy Ward Baker, Freddie Francis and Producer Max J. Rosenberg PLUS Theatrical Trailer REGION FREE this blu ray is released on JUNE 29th 2019. You can PRE ORDER HERE! LOOK OUT for details on this PCASUK special COMP. MISS it MISS OUT!

THE PLOT THAT LIVES WITHIN FOUR WALLS OF MADNESS!
FROM PSYCHO writer Robert Bloch and directed by Roy Ward Baker (A Night to Remember), iconic 1972 Amicus horror anthology Asylum is set for the Limited Edition Blu-ray treatment from Second Sight AND is also available as our PRIZES in EXCLUSIVE PCAS COMPETITION, coming here VERY soon! 

WHEN DOCTOR MARTIN (Robert Powell – The Italian Job, The Thirty Nine Steps) arrives for a job interview at a secluded asylum for the incurably insane, he must prove himself by listening to the macabre tales of four inmates to determine which is the former head of the asylum who experienced a breakdown. We join him on the investigation with these hair-raising horrors…Frozen Fear stars Barbara Parkins (Valley of the Dolls, Peyton Place) as Bonnie, who recounts her plot to murder her lover’s wife, whose talent for voodoo results in horrific repercussions after her dead body is dismembered. Legend of horror Peter Cushing (The Horror of Dracula, Star Wars) features as a client of The Weird Tailor, who requests a suit to be made of a mysterious scintillating fabric in order to reanimate his dead son. Charlotte Rampling (Never Let Me Go, Broadchurch) and Britt Ekland (The Man with the Golden Gun, Wicker Man) star in Lucy Comes to Stay as the ebullient Barbara, a frequent Asylum patient, and her mischievous friend Lucy whose visit upsets the fragile equilibrium in her mind. It all comes to a head in Mannikins of Horror as Dr Byron (Herbert Lom – The Phantom of the Opera,Spartacus) transfers his soul into an automaton and is determined to kill Dr Rutherford (Patrick Magee – A Clockwork Orange, Chariots of Fire)…but who is really in danger? The stories build towards a “tightly constructed and well-conceived climax” (Oh The Horror) that will keep you guessing until the very end. Experience the chilling and thrilling compendium of terror Asylum in this Limited Edition Blu-ray box set.

THIS HUGELY anticipated release starring a stellar cast will be presented in stunning rigid slipcase packaging featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys, and a 40-page booklet with new essays by Allan Bryce, Jon Towlson and Kat Ellinger, not to mention a whole host of special features including director commentaries and featurettes, THIS LIMITED EDITION is available from 29th July 2019 and is available for PRE-ORDER HERE NOW!.

'ONE OF THE BEST AMICUS ANTHOLOGY FILMS, this is an enjoyable affair full of affectionate horror homage! : EMPIRE MAGAZINE 

‘ROBERT BLOCH'S superior scripting abilities to fashion a chilling atmosphere of terror that has dated extremely well.’ FILM 4

'A MARVELOUS MOOD PIECE of chilling intensity…vigorous Grand Guignol fun!' TIME OUT

SEMINAL AMICUS horror 'The House that Dripped Blood', from Peter Duffell in his directorial debut and written by renowned screenwriter Robert Bloch (Psycho), is set for one of Second Sight’s renowned must-have Limited Edition Blu-ray releases this Summer. This star-studded anthology is presented in a stunning box set featuring original artwork from Graham Humphreys alongside a whole host of fantastic new special features including new essays from horror aficionados and a 40-page booklet and is available from 29th July 2019.

 

THE PLOT!

Scotland Yard’s Inspector Holloway (John Bennett – Watership Down, The Fifth Element) investigates a mysterious mansion with a ghoulish history and a chilling fate for its occupants in these four tales of terror… Method for Murder stars Denholm Elliott (Indiana Jones, A Room with a View) as a hack horror writer haunted by visions of the murderous, psychopathic central character of his latest novel. Peter Cushing (The Horror of Dracula, Star Wars) and Joss Ackland (The Hunt for Red October, Lethal Weapon 2) feature in Waxworks as a pair of friends fixated with a macabre museum that appears to contain a model of a woman they both knew. Horror icon Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man, Lord of the Rings) appears as a severe widower who appears to mistreat his young daughter in Sweets to the Sweet. But when a well-meaning teacher intervenes, will she realise her mistake in time? Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who, Carry on Cleo) plays a temperamental horror film actor in The Cloak. When he buys a cloak for his vampire costume from a mysterious local vendor, his co-star (Ingrid Pitt – The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula) soon notices its strange powers.

TERROR AWAITS you in every room of The House That Dripped Blood… Enter if you dare.

BOTH COMPETITIONS WILL BE launched soon on ALL PCASUK social media platforms. Just ONE question, ONE correct ANSWER and you could be a WINNER! You can also place YOUR PRE ORDER for BOTH films release on JULY 29TH  

REVIEW FEATURE: SCREAM FACTORY OVER HAULS HAMMER FILMS FRANKENSTEIN CREATION ON 2K SCAN BLU RAY

HAMMER FILMS, 1967 'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN' GETS A NEW 2K Scan 'Using The Original Film Elements' in impressive BLU RAY release FROM SCREAM FACTORY!

'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN' : HAMMER FILMS 1967

Director: Terence Fisher, Screenplay: John Elder [Anthony Hinds], Producer:  Anthony Nelson Keys, Photography: Arthur Grant, Music: James Bernard, Music Supervisor: Philip Martell, Special Effects: Les Bowie, Production Design: Bernard Robinson. Production Company: Hammer/Seven Arts

Synopsis
'She's a vision of loveliness ... with a murderous mission from beyond the grave!'

IN THIS MOST conceptually wild and out-rightly science-fictional of the Hammer Frankenstein films" (Moria Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review), Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) and Dr. Hertz (Thorley Walters) are embarking upon an experiment to capture the souls of the dead and impose them into other bodies. When their assistant, Hans (Robert Morris), is unjustly accused of murdering his girlfriend Christina's father and is himself put to death, the two men claim his body and trap his soul in their laboratory. Meanwhile, Christina (Susan Denberg) is consumed with grief over the death of her beloved Hans and commits suicide. Frankenstein and Dr. Hertz are able to transfer Hans' soul into Christina's healed body, which results in a vision of beauty. Their experiment appears successful until Frankenstein discovers that Christina's seductive appetites are being driven by the spirit of Hans and his passion for revenge ...

IF CRITICS AT THE TIME are time were to be believed, that hammer films were like the distant cousins of the Shepperton studios, 'Carry On films', 'made for the working classes, nothing too cerebral or intellectually demanding and with flashes of titillation to meet the demands of the lowest common denominator', then director Terence Fisher and script writer, Anthony Hinds over-stepped their remit and burnt out the brains of many an audience. 'CREATED WOMAN' follows a story track that leaves the concept of the Baron just rejuvenating sown and souring corpses, way behind. It soon becomes a quite interesting theoretical  essay and endeavor on the journey and existence of the soul! Judging by the box office, the 'classes' LOVED it! The whole thing is quite crazy, but it works. 

THE ARRIVAL OF HANS as a total gender swap, is interesting especially as her existence is all about REVENGE on men who abused and tormented her. Topical today or what? The relationship on screen between Thorley Walters and Peter Cushing is wonderful. Walters did the bumbling aged roles very well. The young snipes are cast well and our creation in, Susan Denberg, ticks all the boxes, for those who wanted more than the expected stitches and scars. The stitches here are broken, snapped and groaning under the weight of something that is certainly 'all women'  and reveal a creation, that would keep fans dribbling for many decades after the films release. The scar sadly, was something waiting in the wings for Denberg that would car crash her career and make her life something certainty more, than any nightmare, Hammer films could devise, for sure.

THE BLU RAY:
IF WE LOOK AT our blu ray shelf, it seems that Scream Factory has released Frankenstein Created Woman as the next part of their Hammer films Collector’s Edition series. This is a NEW 2k scan of the original film elements. A previously released blu ray from Millennium, thankfully quickly went out of reach for orders, and can now rest in the dust as THIS release leaves that memory fast fading, like it's visual quality at the time. Scream Factory has released the print that should have been delivered back then. SCREAM'S new transfer is visually superior, it's  vibrant, exposes those rich Hammer film colours and vibes, we know and look for, so well. There are no muddy, foggy textures here. The vision is much brighter, while not losing the density of shadows and the margins between black and grey.  The focus detail and depth of field in the focus can been seen through out and is not flat, as can often be the case in blu ray transfers. There are a few spots of damage to the print, but these are not distracting and were only spotted on the second viewing. The grain is in keeping with the film stock that Hammer used at this time. 

SCREAM FACTORY also presents this release in the film’s original 1.66:1 aspect ratio.  Frankenstein Created Woman is a very good film on a lot of levels, and visually the film has never looked this good in home cinema presentation. It's a great achievement that many fans of the film, I am sure will appreciate. The audio on this release is a DTS-HD MA mono track and both Anthony Hinds entertaining dialogue and the majestic film score sound is classic Hammer films! Terrific.

EXTRAS AND BONUS MATERIAL: 

• NEW 2K Scan From The Original Film Elements
• NEW Audio Commentary With Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman And Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr
• NEW Interview With Actor Robert Morris
• NEW Interview With Camera Assistant/Clapper Loader Eddie Collins And 2^nd Assistant Director Joe Marks
• Audio Commentary By Actors Derek Fowlds, Robert Morris, And Film Historian Jonathan Rigby
• World Of Hammer Episode The Curse Of Frankenstein
• World Of Hammer Episode Hammer Stars: Peter Cushing
• Hammer Glamour Featurette
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots
• Still Galleries – Movie Stills, Posters, And Lobby Cards

SO TO WRAP UP, what we have with this much welcomed released of one of Hammer and Cushing more interesting, Frankenstein films, is a vast improvement on what has gone before, you have the best of BOTH worlds, with EXTRAS and BONUS menu consisting of a number of features both very interesting and new, plus the best bits of previously seen material. It's a MUST for fans of the Hammer series and Peter Cushing! BUY IT and PRE ORDER HERE!
 

ASYLUM AND THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD LIMITED RELEASE ON FIRST TIME BLU RAY IN UK

NEWS: Announced today, is the news of the arrival of TWO Amicus Peter Cushing films being released as limited editions next month on blu ray  SECOND SIGHT FILMS  in the UK for the FIRST TIME on the 29th of JULY 2019! Both THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD and ASYLUM contain very neat menu of bonus extras, some new additions, some passed over from previous releases. but BOTH have exceptional cases artwork by my good mate, Graham Humphreys, plus both have supplement 40 page booklets on the movies too! Here is the run down on what each release is offering as a pretty neat package . . we'll be sharing a review on this release, the print and the contents very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. Meanwhile, you can place YOUR PRE ORDER HERE! 

THE AMICUS LIMITED EDITIONS of ASYLUM and THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD : THE CONTENTS and BONUS FEATURES are as follows:

ASYLUM Limited Edition Contents • Rigid Slipcase Featuring New Artwork by Graham Humphreys • 40 page booklet with new essays by Allan Bryce, Jon Towlson and Kat Ellinger Special Features • Audio Commentary with Director Roy Ward Baker and Camera Operator Neil Binney • ‘Two’s a Company’: 1972 On-set BBC report featuring interviews with Producer Milton Subotsky, Director Roy Ward Baker, Actors Charlotte Rampling, James Villiers, Megs Jenkins, Art Director Tony Curtis and Production Manager Teresa Bolland • Screenwriter David J. Schow on Writer Robert Bloch • Fiona Subotsky Remembers Milton Subotsky • Inside The Fear Factory Featurette with Directors Roy Ward Baker, Freddie Francis and Producer Max J. Rosenberg • Theatrical Trailer

THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD Limited Edition Contents • Rigid Slipcase Featuring New Artwork by Graham Humphreys • 40 page soft cover book with new essays by Allan Bryce, Jon Towlson and Kat Ellinger Special Features • Audio Commentary with Director Peter Duffell and Author Jonathan Rigby • Audio Commentary with Film Historian and Author Troy Howarth • Interview with Second Assistant Director Mike Higgins • A Rated Horror Film - Vintage featurette featuring interviews with Director Peter Duffell and Actors Geoffrey Bayldon, Ingrid Pitt and Chloe Franks • Theatrical Trailers • Amicus Radio Spots • Stills Gallery

THE STORY BEHIND Peter Cushing and his WAXWORKS in THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD HERE!

YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE AND READ UP ON BOTH ASYLUM and THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD in our PCASUK features, complete with galleries and rare images! HERE and HERE!

THE PREQUELS AND THE SEQUELS OF YOUR CHOICE!

A VERY POPULAR POST and question over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE today, that really is a #THROWBACK THURSDAY idea! Lots of interesting suggestions, even some people requesting not just a one off sequel, but PREQUELS and whole series of films! Below is the text that has accompanied the post on the page. Please feel free to click the blue link and join in with your suggestions 😉

#ThrowbackThursday! IT SEEMS THESE DAYS, that almost every other film that appears in the cinema today is either a sequel or a prequel, of an already existing successful box office film. If we had the power to revisit the times, when both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were still with us, and a magic wand, to indulge our tastes, which film that Lee and Cushing appeared in, would you command a SEQUEL go into production? Here is a list of the films that, you could choose from 😉 One choice, your choice 😉 - Marcus

BELOW: THE FANTASY FILMS OF PETER CUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE, for your consideration!

The Curse Of Frankenstein, Dracula/Horror Of Dracula, The Mummy, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, The Gorgon, Dr. Terrors House Of Horrors, She, The Skull, Night Of The Big Heat, Scream & Scream Again, I Monster, The House That Dripped Blood, Dracula AD 1972, The Creeping Flesh, The Satanic Rites Of Dracula, Horror Express, Nothing But The Night, Arabian Adventure, House Of The Long Shadows

THE 22 FILMS OF PETER CUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE: covers in detail all of the connected films in a SEVEN PART series with extensive photographs and images! PART ONE HERE! 

ABOVE: THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY, and in some cases, didn't even get past the 'nice idea at the time' Some surprises and some would have the potential to have maybe changed the direction of Cushing's and others careers! MARK IVESON's excellent feature is supplemented with several 'fake' blu ray cases and art work cover designs, that sometimes makes, the loss very frustrating, for sure! CLICK HERE! 

SO WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE?

WHAT WAS IT LIKE to be Christopher Lee? Well, if you watch this short, raw, unedited footage from a candid chat with Lee back in 2001, you get an idea! Being in the spotlight certainly exposes you to everyone and it seems, everyone wanted something! The press, weird attention, fans, critics and . . . babies? Poor Christopher got it all. Lots to hear and see here. Certainly worth your attention, if you ever wondered why Sir Christopher could be a little blunt or guarded . . now you KNOW why . . 
 

THE ABOVE IS FOR TERI SPEIRS in Grand Junction, CO US, here is a request she made yesterday at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE on Christopher Lee's Birthday, but we just didn't have time to fit in! Teri wanted anything that was from the 'staking scene' in Hammer films, Dracula Has Risen from The Grave' ... but if possible an 'on-set' shot, but not a dvd frame or press photograph 😩😫😂Ok, well I think this fits the bill! It's from a contact sheet, so never published, a little grainy, but look at THAT face! 😮 Hope this does the job, Teri - Marcusl

VINCENT PRICE AND CHRISTOPHER LEE BORN TODAY : BIRTHDAYS CELEBRATED!

TODAY we remember TWO gentlemen who were, as we all know, close friends to Peter Cushing. By a strange quirk of fate, they SHARED their birthday's today, on the 27th May. 😃 Christopher Lee and Vincent Price... Sadly, neither are no longer with us... Lee's passing was in June 2015. A sad loss even at his age...we just didn't want him to go. He was, Peter Cushing's closest friend . . celebrated and remembered here, almost as much as Peter. He had a career that stretched across almost every genre in the industry. His accomplishments were many, his skill as an actor even as he grew frail, never left him... and neither did we. Today, we mark his birthday and celebrate a remarkable career and life! Happy Birthday Christopher Lee!

A wonderful publicity photograph of both Peter Cushing and Vincent Price while recording the BBC radio serial 'ALIENS OF THE MIND' in 1977. Do you REMEMBER this radio series being broadcast?

SO, PETER YESTERDAY, Christopher Lee AND.... VINCENT PRICE today! Nothing I can say here that hasn't already been said about the versatile Vinnie... certainly a 'Man of the Arts', whose distinctive voice and excellent performances in fantasy films, made him a firm favourite for over 40 years! His career spanned other genres, including film noir, drama, mystery, thriller, and comedy. He appeared on stage, television, radio, and in over one hundred films.... a good friend of both Peter and Christopher, though only appeared on screen with them BOTH just the once, in 'The House of the Long Shadows' in 1983. He is still greatly missed, much and much celebrated, Vincent... a man and actor who could never be replaced... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Vincent Price!

PART ONE of an exclusive and rare gallery of on set and publicity photographs from the VINCENT PRICE and PETER CUSHING film, 'MADHOUSE' HERE!

 

 

THE BROTHER'S GRISBAINE Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, along with 'Father Figure' John Carradine in 'The House of the 

Long Shadows' (1984)