COMPETITION: WIN FOUR COPIES! LIMITED EDITION AMICUS BLU RAY 'ASYLUM'

HERE WE GO EVERYONE! Many thanks to Second Sight Films for their sponsoring of this and our last AMICUS CUSHING COMPETITION!... Asylum is one of my all time favorite Amicus / Peter Cushing films, and I think this release is going to go quite crackers and sell out very quickly on its release day 29th July2019. You CAN PREORDER NOW RIGHT HERE! THIS COMPETITION is now LIVE at the FACEBOOK PCAS FAN PAGE. IF you feel like giving yourself a go!? The last PCAS competition to win FOUR COPIES of SECOND SIGHT FILMS LIMITED EDITION OF ' 'THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD' was very popular and already it looks like THIS comp will make and hit some new numbers for our entries again!

THE SECOND SIGHT FILMS release not only presents us with a very neat and much improved print of the film, which stars some of the best of not only past Amicus casts but a neat crew in 'post production' and behind the camera too. The film has a pretty tight story and each of the four tales of terror skip along, just pausing for breath under Peter Tanner's editing. Tanner has a very good understanding of the pace needed for Brit Fantasy and strange stories, having edited some of the best of the TV series 'The Avengers' in nine episodes during 65 and 66. Tanner worked a few Amicus films and was in demand until 1998, sadly passing at the grand age of 88 in 2002. 



CAMERA OPERATOR NEIL BINNEY, who made a very firm mark of quality on several of Amicus films rival, Hammer films over the years, makes everything appear in the set design of the titled 'Asylum' building, look every inch clinical, but not-quite-in-the-world-of-the-real! Roy Ashton, provides his skilled eye and hand on the make up of everything from quite nasty scars to 'what is trying to break out of that manikin?'  plus Douglas Gamley -  The City Of The Dead (61) , The Road to Hong Kong (62),  A Shot In The Dark (63) The Land Thar Time Forgot (74)- and moves the scrapes, thuds and off time clanks of Elisabeth Lutyens. Gamley thankfully was yet to discover the art of naff 'The Beats Must Die' score and sets a terrific and powerful kick off bringing in his arrangement of Mussorgsky's 'Night On Bald Mountain' and pieces of his own making, to make a film that not only looks frightening but also rips a score, that gets the toes a curling! So much to watch and hear. Along with this we have a VERY nice assortment of goodies in the EXTRA FEATURES department . .  

ABOVE: JUST LIKE AMICUS, the art and timing of the 'good build-up' in how we set the scene, ready for the lauch of this the SECOND AMICUS PCAS and SECOND SIGHT FILMS competition, was about to go live on facebook, shortly . . 

OUR PART FIVE of the FILMS OF PETER CUSHING which includes ASYLUM complete with rare stills gallery : HERE! 

THE EXTRA VALUE OF EXTRAS!

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
Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys and original artwork
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
Reversible poster featuring new and original artwork 

DID YOU MISS our FIRST AMICUS BLU RAY competition? IF SO, grab your opportunity to catch this one, at the FACEBOOK FAN PAGE of the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society : RIGHT HERE!

CHRISTOPHER LEE TALKS BAND ON THE RUN PHOTO SESSION AND DARK PLACES FULL MOVIE!

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! A short video of Christopher Lee talking about the shooting of the iconic photograph that appears on the cover of the WINGS album, BAND ON THE RUN with footage from the photo session . . .

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAYS! There is MORE than death, waiting for you in DARK PLACES . . so the promo strap line said . . .If this is a new title to you or you have never watched it before, do yourself a favor ...and DON'T go looking for details before you watch it! DARK PLACES was one of the last 1970's Christopher Lee fantasy genre titles to make it to the domestic market. With a great Brit cast, old dark house, one of Hammer film directors and yet made somewhat, in the Amicus style . . so, avoid the spoilers and give-away pics scattered over the net, and settle back to watch, a bit of a treat!

REMEMBER! 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


 #petercushing #christopherlee #bandontherun #hammerfilms

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! IT HELPS TO BE MAD!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! THREE GIFTED gentlemen who knew the secret! Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing . . .

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

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: TERRIFYING VAMPIRES, SINISTER MR SMITH AND CREEPY OL DONALD

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: Timmy Jenkins requested this superb gif of Andre Melly as Gina in Hammer films, THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) Melly tops many Favorite Hammer Vampire lists. I have to admit, for a film made 56 years ago, it's a Peter Cushing film, that STILL gives chills . . .

You have a favorite shot, sequence, moment from a Peter Cushing film? Message us on our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE  or email us at petercushingappreciationsociety@gmail.com and gives us the details, and we'll post it here and our facebook page!

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY : REQUESTED BY MORGAN PEMBERRY:  BEWARE the smartly dressed gentlemen, with the gold ring and solemn presence. Peter Cushing as the mysterious Mr Smith in Amicus films, ASYLUM . Maybe he isn't all he seems to be. All he wants is a new suit...but NOT for himself.....! 

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: Tyler Henson thought the best story in the Amicus film, FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE  was without doubt story two, 'An Act of Kindness' with Donald and Angela Pleasence, and requested this amusing entrance of their characters, from the film. Creepy . . . 

MORE ON CUSHING'S APPEARANCE IN FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE AND OTHER AMICUS FILMS FROM THAT ERA : CLICK RIGHT HERE!

PLEASE KEEP THOSE REQUESTS COMING: remember the clips that make the BEST gifs are ones without dialogue or music, all gifs are silent!

JOIN US HERE FOR #THROWBACKTHURSDAY TOMORROW!

CRAZY AS A FOX AND PUSHED TO THE 'MAX' : ASYLUM (1972)

#GRABTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING... Here is the second of our SUNDAY posts under our new theme looking at some of the most frightening scenes from Peter Cushing films.... This week it's a clip from Amicus's Asylum (1972) SPOILERS...… In which Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) learns the truth about 'Max' (Geoffrey Bayldon)…. Always found that laugh particularly chilling…. How DOES THIS scene rate in your FAV CUSHING terror scenes???

THE CLIP ABOVE has stirred up some child-hood memories and revisited nightmares over at our PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE! Here are a small selections of comments from visitors:

W.SLEET:'The climax of 'Blind Alleys' from TALES FROM THE CRYPT was one of my most vivid childhood scares. Many of the Amicus films scared me more so than any of the Hammer films ever did - the combination of the contemporary setting (as opposed to costumed dramatics), plumby acTORs and gleeful gallows humour can be very unsettling - but, even now, this chilly little tale still makes me shudder!'

J.THORLEY: 'This was especially shocking when I was little, I expected a traditional happy ending. See also the hammer house of horror episode The Silent Scream! Really disturbing'.

J.MORROW: 'That last scene with that creepy laugh chilled me to the bone. Geoffrey Bayldon gave an unforgettable performance' 

P.DUFFUS: 'A classic..great music too...Mussorgsky..the PC story my favourite on this one with the suit..' 

D.FULCE: 'Spent a day with Geoffrey a few years back and told him I thought his laugh was on par with Dwight Frys in ' Dracula ' as most chilling ever !!'

B.MAIDMENT: ' I love this film and can watch it again and again. I cant decide
which story I like the best . Herbert Lom with his scary dolls or could it be Brit Eckland as Lucy. Peter Cushing with the suit but I know Geoffrey Bayldon out shines them all in this film Great acting.

C.CARLEY: Love Geoffrey Bayldon, he was magic as Catweazle and I loved that small role he had in Dracula

MORE CLIPS TO GET YOUR PULSES PUMPING AND FINGERS CUSHION CLUTCHING NEXT SUNDAY! RIGHT HERE!

COME AND JOIN US AT OUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE : JUST CLICK HERE

YOU REVIEW: MILL CREEK REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN DISAPPOINTMENT

THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN: Part of a TWO Hammer film package, with The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, released on blu ray by Mill Creek Entertainment September 2016. Mill Creek's double feature is currently the only way to own these films on BLU RAY:  They can be purchased  HERE

 *Deep, heavy sigh*

Where as Mill Creek Entertainment's blu ray release of The Gorgon I felt looked incredible for it's age and found very few flaws with the look and sound of the film, Revenge of Frankenstein looks as if it had been strained through a dirty wet sock. What a shame, for it is one of the better sequels, in the Hammer films Frankenstein series. Picking up precisely where The Curse of Frankenstein left off, Revenge is a brilliant journey into the twisted genius of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his machinations to reanimate a human life. Peter Cushing's performance is immaculate and his snark and slight tinge of madness portrayal of Frankenstein is among his finest.

That being said...

This blu ray looks awful. I mean if you told me that this was transferred from a used VHS tape, I wouldn't be hard pressed to believe you. Let's start with the egregious amount of scratches, dirt and vertical lines that mar this 58 year old film. Remember those awful film reels you used to have to watch in high school back in the day?  Well, it's not THAT bad, but the mere fact that I am using that as an example of how to represent the disrespect this transfer is to the film should show you how much of a lost opportunity this is and it's distracting to the enjoyment of viewing the film on this format. When the Columbia Pictures opening came up I let out an audible "Uh-oh." I knew I was in for a challenging viewing of Revenge of Frankenstein. Still, I adore this film and it's always a pleasure to revisit it but it deserves better. Much better.

Now, on to the color quality of this release. There isn't any. It's so diluted through the ravages of time that everything looks washed out. Peter's crystal blue eyes withstanding, it looks as if this was put through a soft filter with an eraser. Where in The Gorgon's colors popped, watching Revenge feels like someone turned off the color hue setting on my television. The 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio doesn't assist this situation in any way and may have been yet another hindrance to this struggling release. Also, the 25g blu ray as opposed to the normal 50g capacity blu ray further recedes the films chances of a successful viewing. If a character moves too fast on screen it gets blurry. That should never happen. I am not going to go into the sound as it is mono and was recorded as such in 1958. There's nothing any one can do about that and for what it is it sounds just fine.

I don't want to blame Mill Creek Entertainment for this transfer but I have to wonder if they a) did the best that they could do with the quality of the print they had access to or b) didn't try at all. With how incredible The Gorgon looked I am going to go by faith and choose answer A. However, I will be keeping an eye on the quality of any future releases along with the two films I have yet to watch from the Double Features. So Mill Creek is currently batting 500. They need to keep an eye on quality control on the text of the blu ray covers (Curese instead of Curse on Curse of The Mummy's Tomb and Gorgan instead of Gorgon.) However, I do look forward to any future Hammer releases from them.

The YOU REVIEW feature: All YOU REVIEW features are complete and unedited  written reviews  independently submitted by followers of the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society , it's website and Facebook Fan Page. The opinions here in, are solely the authors and are shared here with the purpose and intent of providing a guide to dvd's and blu rays recently released featuring the work of Peter Cushing.  All viewing equipment used for the reviews is domestic and typical of the range of players and tv monitors used in a domestic viewing environment.

 PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE! CLICK RIGHT HERE

#MONSTERMONDAY A MONSTER FROM HELL GIFS AND COLOUR PICS

And so, we start the week with our usual throwing a spotlight on a 'monster, creation, thing!' featured in a film of your choosing. This week's unthinkable, comes with it's reputation stamped firmly on the title of the film, in which it appeared... A Monster from Hell, the poster screamed. The monster, being the latest creation of Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein in his last outing as the Baron for Hammer films in 1974. As always, this feature is a request feature and also appears on our interactive thread on our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.. and Tim Johnson, has requested 'The Monster'...with the suggestion that we open this one also for a fair debate!

Tim feels Dave Prowse's role as the unfortunate creature, has been under valued, not given fair credit...so, that sounded good to me. So, I will post some cool pics of Dave as the 'Monster' in this thread, also share this post, as always on the website...and maybe you would like to share YOUR opinion... on this week's MONSTER? 'FEAR FILLED or FLOP?' A Trip to HELL? or A WALK in the Park? Did Dave Prose's MONSTER DO IT for you?

Many ask, 'Why the rubber mask and suit? Had Hammer not leaned from their mistakes with Kiwi Kingston in 'The Evil of Frankenstein'? Make up man, Eddie Knight, was faced with a dilemma. Knight also had make up duties on the previous Hammer / Cushing Frankenstein film, before this one, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. A problem with full body monsters in limited budget films, is time. Make up artist, Roy Ashton kin his interviews with PCAS always pressed the point, that many make ups could have been so much better had they given him more time. Time to research, prepare and on the actual studio floor during shooting. When it came to shooting Monster From Hell, it was decided to opt for the mask and suit...just like in Evil of Frankenstein...that would take as little time as possible to put on, apply and maintain during the days shooting. It may not have been the best make up, but it was the best solution...

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK HERE