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GRINDHOUSE 'CORRUPTION' BLU RAY RELEASE PRINT QUALITY TO DIE FOR

Very obviously inspired by Georges Franju’s classic Eyes Without A Face, Robert Hartford-Davis’ 1968 film Corruption (also known as Carnage) stars Peter Cushing as a surgeon named Sir John Rowan. When the movie begins, he and his fiancé, a model named Lynn Nolan (Sue Lloyd), are attending a party held by a photographer (Anthony Booth) friend of hers. It’s full of swinging sixties style beatniks shaking their rumps to the sounds of the day and it all seems to be going well until the photographer asks Lynn to pose for him. As he encourages her to sex it up a bit, she obliges but Rowan isn’t having any of this and before you know it he’s trying to pull the camera out of the photographer’s hands and in the ensuing skirmish, a flood light falls and lands on Lynn’s face.

Once she gets out of the hospital, she’s obviously got some serious burn wounds. Those flood lights run hot, but thankfully Rowan’s skills as a surgeon just might be able to provide a solution. He’s got access to a special laser that he uses on Lynn and before you know it, her face looks as lovely as ever. To celebrate they head to the coast but upon their return it seems that it didn’t work so well after all. As such, Rowan decides a skin graft is in order and so he sets out into the seedy side of town in search of supply which leads him to the apartment of a pretty blonde prostitute. She tells him he’s her last client of the evening and he cuts her up. After that, he does what he does and Lynn’s face is once again back to normal. Her sister, Val (Kate O’Mara), and her fiancé, a doctor named Harris (Noel Trevarthen), start to wonder just what exactly is going on but Rowan is clever and sneaky until Lynn’s face once again needs new flesh to retain its beauty. When the four of them head to the coast to relax, things go from bad to worse when Lynn once again needs new flesh and a young girl named Terry (Wendy Varnals) shows up just in time…

This one has got a bit of a reputation thanks in no small part to Cushing’s displeasure with the picture. This one, particularly in the seedier version presented here (more on that in a minute), is noticeable stronger than pretty much anything else you’re likely to see Peter Cushing in and the uncut murder of the prostitute finds him in a much nastier situation than he probably initially wanted to be. With that said, the movie is quite well made. Cushing’s performance here is a strong one. He’s classy in that way that he always was and you never get the impression that he’s treating the material as if it were beneath him. He shows genuine concern for his (much younger) ladyfriend when she gets injured and he’s also mature and sophisticated enough that we can completely buy him in the role of an ace surgeon. Sue Lloyd also does fine work here. She’s sexy and confident initially but after her injury it becomes increasingly obvious that more than just her skin was damaged. Her psyche starts to show signs of cracking and this in turn spurns Rowan ever forward in his increasingly grisly attempts to make her happy. This provides an interesting dynamic between our two leads. The supporting cast members are also fine but the movie really does belong to Cushing and Lloyd.

The production values here are quite strong. Through the scenes involving the laser, particularly towards the end, make obvious their low budget origin but the cinematography from Peter Newbrook is never less than excellent. The film makes very good use of some particularly bizarre and even unsettling camera angels during the murder set pieces which really play up his manic disposition in the film and succeed in making him look completely deranged. The score from Bill McGuffie is also pretty solid, helping to ramp up tension in a few key scenes. This one may owe more than a passing nod to Franju’s earlier film, but there’s enough about it that is its own to make it more than worth a look, particularly for fans of British horror and specifically Peter Cushing.

Note (mild spoilers): This disc from Grindhouse Releasing includes the uncut theatrical version of the movie in addition to the international version alternate cut of the film. Although the international version runs a little shorter, it does in fact contain quite a bit more nudity and violence. The most obvious example is the scene in which Rowan kills the prostitute. In the theatrical cut she goes to undress and he knifes her. In the international version she takes off her top and gets down to her stockings after which he thrashes her around on the floor a bit, roughs her up, and then slits her throat, her naked breasts fully exposed and slathered in blood. The murder that happens on the train car is also a bit rougher as is the murder on the rocks at the coast.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Corruption is presented on Blu-ray in a fantastic looking AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. Picture quality is excellent here. Film grain is left intact but it’s never overpowering or distracting and outside of a few minor specks here and there, you won’t see much in the way of print damage at all. Colors are reproduced beautifully, you’ll notice this not only in the opening hippie party/photo shoot scene but also once the action moves to the coast and the characters run across the algae covered rocks where the green hues look perfect. Black levels are good, detail is consistently impressive not only in close up shots but medium and long distance shots as well. There are no obvious compression artifacts nor does there appear to be any edge enhancement or noise reduction at all.

The English language DTS-HD Mono mix is also pretty good. There are no alternate language options, closed captioning or subtitles provided on this release. There are a few spots where the high end gets a little shrill but otherwise the audio is perfectly fine for an older mono mix. Dialogue is perfectly easy to understand and the levels are properly balanced. The score sounds good as do the effects.

Extras start off with an audio commentary by UK horror journalist Jonathan Rigby and Peter Cushing biographer David Miller which is the highlight of this release’s supplemental package. These guys know their stuff and have a lot of respect for the material but manage to offer up both a history and an analysis of the picture without ever coming across as too highbrow or dull and scholarly. We get some interesting insight into Cushing’s life and career up to this point and some welcome information about the other cast and crew members involved with the production. They cover the locations, the material and its sometimes controversial nature, and its release history and generally just give a rock solid overview of the movie and its origins. They also talk about Cushing’s personal feelings on the picture, noting that he found it ‘particularly nasty.’ They provide some interesting historical and social context for the movie, noting that it was a very contemporary and brutal film compared to those being made by his contemporaries, they being Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, around the same time. Well paced, incredibly informative and a lot of fun to listen to, this is everything a great commentary should be.

From there, we move on to the interviews starting with a fourteen minute piece with actor Billy Murray who gives a nice introduction to his career and talks about his experiences on the set. Not surprisingly, he has nothing but kind words to say about Cushing (who he stayed in contact with for the rest of Cushing’s life), though he makes a subtle dig at Hartford-Davis for not crediting him with coming up with the film’s ending. He notes that he’s not really a fan of horror films because they scare him, though he does note that he enjoyed making it. He also notes that he wore his own clothes in the film and that the money he was offered wasn’t bad at all. He also describes the director as a bit of a playboy, and how his character and those who accompany him may have been influenced by the Manson Gang. He also notes that he auditioned for A Clockwork Orange and didn’t get the part.

Up next is actress Jan Waters, who plays the prostitute in the film. She talks for nine minutes about the time she spent on the set for this picture, her interactions with her fellow cast members, her impressions of Peter Cushing (who she describes as kind and courteous but also a rather serious man) and Robert Hartford-Davis and her thoughts on the film itself. She notes that it’s an early role, discussing how she had to go off to the studio to meet the director and read for the part, after which she was scheduled. She talks about how the script was being constantly rewritten and about what happens to her character in the film.

Actress Wendy Varnals is also interviewed and she also reminisces for sixteen minutes about working on the picture and shares some stories from the set. She talks about this being the last film that she ever did, discusses her being stopped on the street while attending Oxford and being cast in a play which lead to her acting career getting a bit of a start. She also talks about other occupations she did, primarily as a writer in the sixties where she wrote about fashion and music. She also talks about how she got typecast and which lead to her becoming disenfranchised over this as she was ‘bored to death’ with it. She too describes Cushing as a nice man and that he was very gentlemanly and generous.

Last but not least, Grindhouse have included an interesting seven minute archival audio interview with Peter Cushing conducted at Pinewood Studios in August of 1974. Here he talks about the differences between what he considers horror films versus those that he considers fantasy films – meaning that they’re entertainment films, rather than pictures based on real world atrocities like war pictures. He talks about his wife, he talks about attending screenings of his pictures and going to the cinema for pleasure and offers up some bits and pieces about his career. Always the consummate gentleman, Cushing comes across as a class act here, sharing his thoughts on sex and nudity in cinema as well as his thoughts on more extreme films, where he cites The Exorcist as an example.

We also get a collection of three alternate scenes, the first of which is from the first prostitute murder. This material was shot to allow the distributor to ‘spice up’ the film for international markets and it’s gory, bloody and chock full of boobs. In addition to that we get a very brief additional shot that takes place on the train and an even shorter additional shot from the murder on the rocks that takes place towards the finale.

Rounding out the extras are a few (surprisingly extensive) still galleries featuring all sorts of promotional material gathered up from all over the world, a pair of trailers for the feature, five different TV spots and a pair of radio spots as well. And of course, this wouldn’t be a Grindhouse Releasing disc without a score of trailers for other releases either already available (An American Hippie In Israel) or coming soon. The extras also include the original annotated director's shooting script and production notes which you can skim through on the disc, which is kind of unique and not something that you see included in bonus features too often.

There’s also an Isolated music and effects track that can be selected from the audio set up menu. Menus and chapter stops are included and as this is a combo pack release, the clear Blu-ray case also houses a DVD version of the movie as well. Inside the case is a booklet of liner notes and on the flip side a poster version of the cover art by Rick Melton.

The Final Word:

Corruption is a solid thriller/horror picture that takes a familiar concept and gives it an interesting spin. Though it is very much a product of its time, those with an interest in the swingin’ side of British cinema will get a kick out of all the period detail but the real reason to want to watch this one is for Cushing’s completely unhinged performance. Grindhouse Releasing offers up both versions of the movie in beautiful shape and with a great selection of extra features as well. A ridiculously strong release overall.

Review by rockshop.com: HERE

MASTER BUILDER: ANTHONY HINDS : THE ARCHITECT OF THE HOUSE OF HAMMER

Hammer Film fans across the globe were saddened yesterday by the news that Anthony Hinds had passed away at the grand age of 91.  Hinds is seldom discussed as much as Peter Cushing.  Or Christopher Lee.  Or Terence Fisher.  Or Jimmy Sangster.  Or Jack Asher.  Or Bernard Robinson. But the fact remains, it was Hinds who assembled these gifted men, thus creating “Hammer Horror.”

Hinds was born in Middlesex, England, on September 19^th, 1922.  After a stint in the Royal Air Force, he accepted an invitation from his father, Will Hammer, to come and join the ranks at Exclusive Films.  In 1948, he produced his first picture, a modest potboiler named Who Killed Van Loon?.  Hinds displayed an ability to bring his films in on time and on budget and also showed a genuine concern for quality, which was something of a rare quality for men in his position in the lower echelons of British film production.  In 1954, Hinds produced The Quatermass Xperiment – in essence the first of Hammer (as the studio had by then been rechristened) Films’ major commercial successes.  A tight, well-paced adaptation of a hit TV serial by Nigel Kneale, the film disappointed its original writer, but proved to be a hit with audiences.  The film’s success prompted Hinds to push his friends and coworkers at the studio to develop an idea for a follow-up in a similar style.  Production manager Jimmy Sangster won the friendly competition by suggesting a story of radioactive mud which has undesirable effects on those who come into contact with it, and Sangster was then catapulted into a new career as a writer; Sangster always remembered Hinds for having the faith in him to allow him to write his first screenplay.  The success of these early black and white sci-fi/horror hybrids eventually lead Hammer, and Anthony Hinds, into a new direction…

American writer/producer Milton Subotsky approached Hinds with the idea of remaking James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931), but Hinds wasn’t exactly wild about the idea.  After considering his options, however, Hinds decided that a brand new approach to the Mary Shelley novel might prove rewarding – and he proceeded to assemble an ace team of artisans and technicians to make the picture.  It was Hinds who also decided to push for filming in color – a costly addition, in a sense, but one which the producer wisely realized would pay off in dividends.  The end result, The Curse of Frankenstein, would prove to be a watershed “event” in the evolution of the horror genre.  With its deceptively rich production values and then-scandalous dashes of blood and gore, the film would go on to become a box office triumph, revitalizing the popularity of Gothic horror films at the box office and putting Hammer on the map as a major player in the UK film production scene.  Hinds decided to reassemble the same team – director Terence Fisher, screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, cinematographer Jack Asher, production designer Bernard Robinson, composer James Bernard, and stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee – for Dracula (1958), and the resulting film was met with critical consternation and tremendous box office numbers.  From this point on, Hammer was, as the saying goes, a force to be reckoned with.

Quite apart from being savvy enough to assemble the people who made these films so special, Hinds was also a rare producer who had genuine passion for film.  He took pride in his work, and expected others to do the same.  Hinds was by all accounts a humble, laid back individual – not exactly the kind of cigar chomping “mover and groover” one normally associates with producers.  His thoughtful disposition prompted him to push his collaborators to take their work seriously.  He knew the value of a pound, and saw to it that the films he produced were executed with a glossy veneer which hid their humble origins.  It was an attitude that he did his best to implement on every picture he ever produced.

In time, Hinds branched out yet again, this time becoming a screenwriter.  The story goes that Hammer’s planned historical epic, The Rape of Sabena, fell afoul of the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC), thus leaving Hinds in a bit of a predicament.  He had already authorized Bernard Robinson to build some imposing “Spanish” sets, and now that this particular property was dead in the water, he had to find a way to utilize these sets.  Hinds turned his attention to Guy Endore’s novel The Werewolf of Paris – realizing that Hammer had yet to make their own werewolf film, he decided to change the setting from Paris to Spain, thus enabling the studio to make use of these troublesome sets.  Looking to save a buck, Hinds elected to write the script himself – and he found that he preferred the process of creating scenarios to dealing with the bureaucratic nightmares associated with producing.  Hinds would continue to produce throughout the better part of the 1960s, but when he found himself working “under” American producer Joan Harrison on Hammer’s ill-fated venture into anthology television, Journey into the Unknown, he decided to call it a day.  Hinds would later recall working with Harrison (or as often was the case, being at loggerheads with her) on this problematic production to be a dispiriting affair which he was in no great hurry to relive.  And thus it came to be that producer/writer Anthony Hinds became “plain old” writer Anthony Hinds… or John Elder, as the self-effacing scribe decided that having his name plastered all over the credits might look a bit conceited.  As a writer, Hinds’ credits include Kiss of the Vampire (1962), Phantom of the Opera (1962), The Reptile (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1966), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1972).  He eventually left Hammer for a time, going to work for rival company Tyburn Productions.  For them, he scripted The Ghoul and Legend of the Werewolf in 1974.  His final credits would include an episode of Hammer House of Horror, titled Visitor from the Grave, and a “story by” credit on Tyburn’s made for TV Sherlock Holmes adventure, The Masks of Death (1984), starring Peter Cushing and John Mills.

Hinds went into retirement in the 80s, granting the occasional interview, but basically content to enjoy his “golden years” on his own terms.  A quiet, humble and unpretentious individual, he reacted with genuine surprise (and pride) when his many classic Hammer productions were dredged up and celebrated as classics of their kind.  True to form, Hinds never seemed to take himself too seriously – but his passion for the work itself was obvious.  With his passing on September 30th (a mere 11 days after his birthday), the key architect of Hammer horror passed to the great beyond.  Indeed, of the key creative personnel who created this world that we fans know and revere so much, only one remains standing: Christopher Lee, himself a mere four months Hinds’ senior.  Hinds’ passing may not signal the end of an era, but it does put one in a reflective mood as we look back and celebrate the many wonderful achievements of one of the British film industry’s unsung treasures.

Troy Howarth

ANTHONY HINDS DIES AGED 91

We are very sad to hear of the passing of Anthony Hinds yesterday.. A writer and producer, who was not only the backbone Hammer Films, but was the driving force behind the building of Bray Studios. How painfully ironic then, that the bulldozers start their work on the Bray Studios lot tomorrow...

'THE DEVIL HAS SENT ME TWINS OF EVIL' HAMMER FILMS VAMPIRE CLASSIC IN SEVENTEEN PAGES

CAST:

Peter Cushing (Gustav Weil), Madeline Collinson (Frieda Gelhorn), Mary Collinson (Maria Gelhorn), Damien Thomas (Count Karnstein), David Warbeck (Anton Hoffer), Kathleen Byron (Katy Weil), Dennis Price (Dietrich), Isobel Black (Ingrid Hoffer)

PRODUCTION:

Director – John Hough, Screenplay – Tudor Gates, Producer – Harry Fine, Photography – Dick Bush, Music – Harry Robinson, Special Effects – Bert Luxford, Makeup – George Blackler & John Webber, Art Direction – Roy Stannard. Production Company – Hammer Films. UK. 1972.

SYNOPSIS:

After the death of their parents, the Gelhorn twins, the sensual and cunning Frieda and the timid, conservative Maria, go to live in the village of Karnstein with their puritanical uncle Gustav Weil. Gustav is head of the witch-hunting Brotherhood and opposes the current Count Karnstein. The Count, bored of petty Satanic rituals, offers his soul to the Devil in return for greater pleasures. The blood of a woman he has just killed drops down into the crypt of his ancestor Mircalla and she appears to him as a wraith, putting the bite of vampirism on him as they make love. Karnstein then seduces and makes a vampire of Frieda. 

DOCTOR WHO: MAKING THE FACE FIT

We see that BBC Dr Who producer / writer Steven Moffat and his his predecessor Russell T Davies... in their quest to make sure that all things 'Who' continuity wise and within the vast story context of the tv series tie up nicely... have been busy coming up with a credible answer as to how the Twelfth Doctor's face has already popped up twice in the Who universe... That's quite a feat, some mental gymnastics. Just goes to prove, if you really want to, you can make anything fit. And yet, they still can't justify the existence of Peter Cushing as a canon Dr / Doctor.. Who? http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-09-30/doctor-who-steven-moffat-has-an-explanation-for-peter-capaldis-earlier-appearances

RADIO TIMES 90TH ANNIVERSARY: PETER CUSHING CUTTINGS PT 1

Tomorrow, Saturday 28th of September, the UK television listing magazine Radio Times is a whopping 90 years old. During those years Peter Cushing has appeared with it's pages many, many times. He was so ubiquitous on live television in Britain in the early 1950s that one popular comedian joked: "You know what television is, don't you? It's Peter Cushing with knobs on." Here is a small selection of covers that have featured Peter Cushing. There will be some rarer clippings on Sunday.

HOUSE OF HAMMER MAGAZINE: THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES COMIC STRIP