Showing posts with label donald pleasence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label donald pleasence. Show all posts

Monday 18 May 2020

DID YOU MISS THIS? NO PANIC THERE IS STILL TIME!



HAVE YOU MISSED THIS? It's still LIVE but time is ticking 😮 Here is director Joe Dante short review of the film 'The Flesh and the Fiends' which gives a little idea of really, how great this movie is! The trailer played in this clip is the US trailer, where the film was christened with the 'subtle' title of, 'The Fiendish Ghouls'. Hmm nice. It arrived on it's first outing as 'Mania', following the trend of 'one-word-titles' craze since the success of Hitchcock's 'Psycho'! As Dante says 'The film is greater than it's title, it's a pretty good movie and deserves better. One of the virtues of British horror movies at this time is, they are played as if they were Shakespeare. There's no winking or nodding or campy quality. The actors in this picture take everything seriously....' CLICK HERE! and enter! Good luck everyone 😁 Take care and look after one another 😉- Marcus

Wednesday 13 May 2020

COMPETITION! COME SNATCH AND WIN KINO'S REMASTERED 'THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS' BLU RAY HERE!


PCASUK 'THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS' KINO LORBER  BLU RAY
COMPETITION NOW LIVE @ FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE

OK! HERE! Here is another PCASUK COMPETITION for you. A little something  YOUR give a break from that knitting (!!) and maybe liven up your day!😉😉😀 Here is YOUR  chance to SNATCH yourself one of TWO copies we have up for grabs of KINO LOBER's SUPERB 2K REMASTERED BLU RAY of the 1960 British Peter Cushing Classic, 'The Flesh and the Fiends' aka 'Maniac'!  Starring Peter Cushing as Dr Alexander Knox, Donald Pleasence as William Hare, George Rose as William Burke, Billy Whitelaw, June Laverick and Melvyn Hayes, this film is one of a few little gems, that has somehow slip under the radar and well deserves its remastering and letting out of its cage! 


FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS RELEASE at our PCASUK NEWS and REVIEW post from APRIL 28th : CLICK HERE!

DIRECTED BY THE VERY TALENTED John Gilling, the film is based on a true story, set in 1828 Edinburgh, Scotland, and the 'work' of surgeon Dr. Knox who practices medical research (!!) with assistance from local murderers Burke and Hare. Hint : They are SNATCHERS, but they are NOT snatching purses or handbags! 😀 The film received some great reviews when released back in 1960, and still sends more than a chill, when watched even today! I'll be posting a review of Kino's blu ray in the next few days... 


THIS PCASUK COMPETITION is ONLY being held at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE and there is also a pretty neat EXTRA for one of the TWO LUCKY WINNERS! There is a DOUBLE PRIZE! One winner will be also getting a RARE and VINTAGE 'The Flesh and the Fiends' UK Press-book too! It MIGHT be YOU?


AS WITH ALL PCASUK COMPETITIONS this is OPEN to EVERYONE, whoever or wherever YOU are! THIS COMPETITION is LIVE NOW and OPEN until TUESDAY 19TH MAY 2020 MIDNIGHT GMT. WINNERS will be announced the following day Wednesday 20th May 2020. So, check in to see if you are a WINNER! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!  😀😉 - Marcus

Wednesday 22 April 2020

NEWS : KINO RELEASES ARTWORK FOR BLU RAY CASE OF 1960 'FLESH AND THE FIENDS' AKA 'MANIAC' BLU RAY!


NEWS: KINO has released artwork design for their much awaited first time blu ray release of a great Peter Cushing1960 film, 'Flesh and the Fiends'! What do you think? This film comes with some extras, but for me, just the chance to see this often forgotten little gem, on blu ray is a plus enough! Produced in what promises to be quite an experience in black and white, it carries a fabulous cast of actors, Cushing, Donald Pleasence, Billy Whitelaw and George Rose all at the top of their game and all giving their best supported by brilliant John Gilling's screenplay and direction. It's OUT on July 7th 2020 and like most KINO CLASSICS releases will be a 'Region A' blu ray. Taking pre-orders now, this one will sell like hot-cakes!


THIS UNDER-VALUED corker, has been struggling around in a very depressing state of ratty, scratched and dusty prints for far too long, so the news of this well timed blu ray release is quite wonderful. . . and here gem of a clip to show you why! Cushing was a master at such scenes as this one. If you like his turn in the 'Tongue slapping of the crusty and opinionated aged residents' in Hammer films, 1969 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'... you'll LIKE this clip which can be found at the =FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE TODAY! . . ! 😊Stay Well AND Dandy Everyone 😉 - Marcus


ABOVE : THE PCASUK FULL FEATURE AND STILLS GALLERY RIGHT HERE!

Thursday 14 November 2019

HIGHGATE CEMETERY : THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF DAN AND DAVID BARRATT : AMICUS FILMS : 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE'


THOSE OF YOU WHO ANSWERED 'Highgate' to our #WarnerBrothers / #PCAS Blu ray #competition last week, will recognize these really fabulous photographs 🙂 These stills were taken of Highgate Cemetery...located on Swain's Lane, Highgate, London . . by Dan and David Barratt 🙂 Dan is a friend and follower here on the PCAS facebook page, and kindly offered to share his photographs here . . for anyone to see, what an incredible and #magical place #HighgateCemetary truly is! Many, many of you recognized the location as the setting of the title sequence of #PeterCushing's 1974 #Amicusfilm, 'From Beyond The Grave' . . it was then and is now, such an incredible place, a location that needs NO dressing!! I wonder how many of you, reading this have visited there too? Any pics?? Many thanks to Dan and David for sharing these 🙂 What do you think? - Marcus

Those of you who may want to comment on the photographs below, can do so by clicking HERE and going to the Facebook PCAS Fan Page post of this feature! 












ORDER YOUR COPY of Amicus films, 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' remastered BLU RAY from WARNER BROTHERS ARCHIVE HERE TODAY! JUST CLICK HERE!


Sunday 10 November 2019

'THE NIGHT THEY TERRIFIED THE WHOLE COUNTRY' : BBC ORWELL'S 1984 INTERVIEWS



FROM 1960, Peter Cushing, Yvonne Mitchell, writer Nigel Kneale and director Rudolph Cartier reflect on the huge reaction to the live broadcast of the BBC Sunday Night Drama, '1984' aired 12th December 1954. For any television broadcast to prompt any reaction from the government at this time, was indeed quite rare. But watching Peter, Yvonne Mitchell and Morell here, gives a pretty good idea of THEIR fears too... To an extent it changed drama on the BBC and put Cushing into a another area of work all together, for many years to come... It's a short feature and certainly worth watching... 


Thursday 31 October 2019

NOW LIVE: WIN WARNER BROTHERS 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' BLU RAY : PCAS HALLOWEEN 019 COMPETITION


PETER CUSHING APPRECIATION SOCIETY HALLOWEEN 019 COMPETITION

THE COMPETITION!
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN and as usual, it's another PCAS competition, and a chance to bag yourself a Peter Cushing goody! Are you UP FOR IT? If so, if YOU are ready...here we go . . 😀


THE PRIZE!
THIS YEAR, thanks to the very generous team at Warner Brothers, we have A PAIR of fabulous remastered BLU RAYS to give away. No doubt you have seen our features on their superb and very recent release of Amicus Films 1974 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' . . the last of the portmanteau Amicus films series to finally get to Blu Ray.. and what an amazing job they have made of the release! TWO very lucky contenders have the chance of winning a copy.
The blu rays are REGION FREE.



ABOUT THE BLU RAY:
'From Beyond the Grave', boost quite an amazing cast including Peter Cushing, David Warner, Ian Bannen, Donald Pleasence, Lesley-Anne Down, Diana Dors, Margaret Leighton. Sadly, it was last of the Amicus multiple -story films when produced in 1974. Directed by horror director Kevin Connor, produced by Milton Subotsky and based on stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes, it is held together by what first appears to be simple frame work story Four customers purchase (or take) items from Temptations Limited, an antiques shop whose motto is "Offers You Cannot Resist". But, a nasty fate awaits those who try to cheat the shop's proprietor . . . Peter Cushing. 



 

 
HOW DO YOU ENTER?
All you have to do is ANSWER the Competition Question CORRECTLY and send your answer in a message to us, using the Facebook MESSAGE / Contact Button. You'll find it at the top of this page, on the RIGHT, under our main ID Banner. PLEASE do not send your answer on the thread or the comments thread under this post. Any entries / answers posted there will be deleted and the made void. This competition, like ALL PCAS Competitions is open to EVERYONE, who ever you are are, where ever you are !



THE QUESTION!

The title sequence and the trailer for 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' features a quite famous, actual cemetery. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THAT CEMETERY.

PICK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING ANSWERS:
A: THE DEAD CENTER OF LONDON
B: MILTONMAX CEMETERY
C: STOKERVILLE CEMETERY
D: HIGHGATE CEMETERY
F: HIGH PITCH CEMETERY

WHEN YOU HAVE CHOSEN YOUR ANSWER, PLEASE SEND IT TO US VIA OUR EMAIL ADDRESS: THEBLACKBOXCLUB@GMAIL.COM
 
WHEN IS TIME UP?
This Competition CLOSES on SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9TH at MIDNIGHT.
 


HOW WE PICK THE WINNERS!
All correct answers, will printed onto separate notes of paper, will be placed in a large top hat and the first two drawn from the hat will be declared the WINNERS! Both winners will be notified via facebook and names announced on our PCAS Facebook Fan Page on Sunday November 10th by mid day GMT.
 
CAN'T WAIT? WANT IT NOW?
YOU can purchase YOUR copy, direct from the Warner Brothers archive Store here: HERE!


WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR SPONSOR . .
Again many THANKS to Warner Brothers, in again supporting another PCAS Competition!
 

HAVE A SAFE AND FABULOUS HALLOWEEN!
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE 😀


Monday 14 October 2019

FULL REVIEW OF WARNER BROTHERS ARCHIVE COLLECTION : FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE BLU RAY



WHEN WATCHING WARNER'S release of 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' you get to realise very quickly, like all their other Cushing / Hammer releases, THIS isn't going to be giving you ANY annoying specks, audio cracks or visual blips. Again, Warner has delivered us THE print we were all hoping and waiting for. . . .


LIKE THEIR PREVIOUS BLU RAY releases of DRACULA AD 1972 and THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA, it's an excellent job, of a super-cleaned up blu ray. The smae must also be said of superb FOUR FILM selection of the HORROR CLASSICS COLLECTION BOX SET which includes  FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1968) in it's FIRST release on Blu Ray, THE MUMMY (1959) TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1970) and 'DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE' (1968). What we are getting, is a VERY good deal and when you think about it, how ALL remastered or cleaned up, restored BLU RAYS should be! If you are a Cushing, Pleasence or Amicus Horror films fan, this latest addition to the Warner Archive Collection and the Amicus portmanteau series is definitely one for your collection 😉


OUR PCAS FULL REVIEW of Warner Brothers Archive Collection of Hammer films 'DRACULA AD 1972' can be found HERE! 


THE PCAS FULL REVIEW of Warner Brothers Archive Collection of Hammer films 'THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA' can be found RIGHT HERE! 


OUR FULL PCAS FEATURE AND REVIEW OF 'WARNER BROTHERS : HORROR CLASSICS VOL ONE' you can find RIGHT HERE! 




SO WITH THAT BEING  SAID, I guess you can say we are VERY happy with the results of this release. The Warner Archive Collection release of this particular title, is the ONE all Amicus and Cushing fans have been awaiting on, a long time. THIS release, at last, completes the Amicus series of portmanteau films, available on blu ray. And WHAT A WAY to wrap it up!


THE VISUAL QUALITY: 
The good news is, as yet, the Warner Brothers Archive Collection of films that feature Peter Cushing, haven't put a foot or frame wrong. . . and I'll tell you why. Over the years, many a release on blu ray, just when the price, the anticipation and the viewing seems to be all that you wanted, the film begins a scene that suddenly, doesn't look right. It's a 'day for night' shot, and guess what ..  all the footage looks like it's mid day in Florida!! OR suddenly, the silent drama of the scene in the bedroom where, 'he's in the closet and he has a knife' is killed instead, by what sounds like someone has started frying eggs and bacon under the bed! You'll be pleased to read, that doesn't happen here. Great image quaily and no hiss, spit or crackle! Many of you regulars, will surprised that I haven't mentioned yet, one of my all time favorite scenes in an Amicus film. 


YES, 'THE DOOR'! 'From Beyond the Grave, features a story starring actor Ian Ogilvy and the wonderfully looking Lesley Anne-Down. . . They are great, look very good, but not as breathtaking as the lighting and sets of the tale. As I hoped for, Alan Hume whose cinematography would be later greatly appreciated on a series of Bond films and Return of the Jedi, looks breath-takingly good...and certainly several steps up from the familiar DVD quality. And it's the clarity again, like many of the Warner Archive Collection, that is so special. There is LOTS of detail, lots of props, bits and pieces, textures and some of it you will see for the first time. Take a look at what has been the soft bundles and piles of junk and antiques in Peter Cushing's 'Temptations Ltd' shop. You can see why now, people were incited to go inside! 😉 Simon Wakefield's set design decor LOOKS quite different and here is the reason why these days he works on films like 'Batman Begins', 'Casino Royale' ... The definition of light and shadow also works so well now, it all now helps to create the suspense and drama. In 1974 when 'From Beyond the Grave' was in production at Shepperton Studios . . producer Milton Subotsky's favorite haunt fr production of the Amicus films . . the UK film industry was on its knees. However, not for this film. The production values are quite different from say, 'Tales from the Crypt' or 'Vault of Horror'. I have no idea where then lolly came from, but NOW you can see, it's ALL up on the screen...as THEY intended 😀  This is the best the film has ever looked, and probably ever will look. It's ANOTHER outstanding job from the Warner Archive! 



THE AUDIO QUALITY: 
BACK IN 1974, mono audio on films like 'Beyond the Grave' was still all the rave! Hard to believe now. It's just as difficult to believe that the audio on this film truly is from a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio (Mono) track root! The film sounds unlike many you may be used to from this era. It's quite a feat to mix such a track and get what accompanies the beautiful visuals, so both compliment each other so well. But, Warner has indeed done that.  Douglas Gamley's music score, for the first time in my personal experience, has impact . . you can feel it! All shock sound effects and atmosphere enhancing sounds and notes, are just as you want them to be. HEARD, IN SYNC, MIXED and don't crackle or buzz! A supernatural event in itself, for a film of this age! The dialogue is very clear and crisp. Put your headphones on, you won't miss a trick. It's mono, but not as we know it, for sure!      





SO TO SUM UP. Warner has done an excellent job. One can only hope they have MORE Hammer, Amicus, Peter Cushing Christopher Lee titles in their locker. If they do, we are onto a winner. Good value for money, EXCELLENT results that would make the very dedicated and talent folk who produced these films, very proud indeed!


YOU CAN PLACE YOUR ORDER for Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu Ray release of Amicus films, 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' : CLICK AND ORDER HERE! 

The GIFS and images used in this feature do not contain footage from the Warner Brothers archive release . .


TEMPTED? IT'S COMING HERE SOON!

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