Friday, 7 May 2021

NEWS: MARY SHELLEY'S 'HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN' MUSEUM IN ENGLAND ANNOUNCES OPENING DATE!


NEWS: You might remember the #PCASUK News post we made back in April last year ( See second image in this album) . . It covers the fact that #MaryShelley, author of the classic novel '#Frankenstein', wrote the book during 1817 in the historical city of Bath . . and we brought the breaking news of a plan to open a Mary Shelley 'Frankenstein' themed museum in the city of #Bath, England to celebrate 'Where Shelley created' the nightmare story that went on to spawn it's own industry on stage, film tv and fascinate millions of Gothic loving fans and readers ! Well, IT'S ALIVE! Great news, the plan has come to LIFE and the museum. 'Mary Shelley's House of Frankenstein' opens in a few weeks time, on JUNE 30th 2021! We'll be bringing you some more updates and news, as the opening comes closer. 
 
LAST YEARS PCASUK NEWS POST BELOW!
 

FOR DECADES the character of #BaronFrankenstein has fascinated audiences with new theatre, television and cinema productions being produced every year. And it is maybe this and the fact that that the company behind the Frankenstein Museum , Bath Attractions . . is based in the very city where Shelley wrote the iconic 'Frankenstein' novel in 1818! 
 
 
IT WAS THE ROLE THAT nailed #PeterCushing to the movie map and made both him and Christopher Lee into household names, with a mini budget movie produced by an even smaller UK film company called, #Hammerfilms. Jimmy Sangster wrote a scaled down script of the classic novel by Mary Shelley, #Britishfilm director, Terence Fisher called the shots, and 'The Curse of Frankenstein' not only hit huge box office success, it also change the style of horror films and rebooted the Frankenstein film forever!
 
Peter Cushing would go to appear in a further FIVE Frankenstein films for Hammer. 'The Curse of Frankenstein' also presented Christopher Lee as a very different 'monster-creation', his appearance compared to that of the traditional Universal #BorisKarloff / Jack Pearce make-up artist style, was quite a different creature. Hammer films continued their #Frankenstein series, but again in a different direction to the Universal horror films. In a clever turn, they created a focus on adventures of The Baron himself, instead of the '#TheMonster'. It was a brilliant and box office friendly plan, as not only did the audience get a different creation for every new story and title, but also Cushing's amazing Baron for the price of one ticket! READ ON . .

NEWS : PLANS ARE BEING DRAWN UP for ‘Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein’ to celebrate the author’s “extraordinary life and her most lauded work” - much of which was penned in the Somerset city. Bath Attractions Ltd are planning to convert Grade II-listed offices in Gay Street - a few doors up from the Jane Austen Centre - and hope it could open later this year. The planning application says: “Mary#Shelley’s House of Frankenstein'' is a new multi-sensory, fully immersive family-friendly visitor attraction proposed for the City of #Bath, and the UK’s first attraction dedicated to Mary Shelley and her novel, Frankenstein , one of the world’s most famous, iconic and lauded creations.
 
“Exploring her complicated and tragic personal life, literary career and the novel’s continuing relevance today in regards to popular culture, politics and science, the attraction aims to deliver a sophisticated, entertaining and visceral experience like no other, and one which we hope the city of Bath can be proud of.”
 
THE AUTHOR'S LINKS to Bath are commemorated on a plaque at the site of 5 Abbey Church Yard, where she took lodgings arriving in the city in September 1816, then named Mary Wollstenecraft Godwin. It was there that she wrote much of Frankenstein, which was published anonymously in 1818 and is now regarded as the world’s first science fiction novel. We'll keep you posted of any more news!  



 YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 34,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features and prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing  OBE

Tuesday, 4 May 2021

'THE SAME AS A PLASTIC MODEL KIT!' PETER CUSHING MUSING ON FRANKENSTEIN


SYMPATHY for Frankenstein. Here is a quote from an interview Peter did way back in June 1967, for the UK ITV Granada programme 'Cinema', where he actually gets into the giggles, while trying to defend, Baron Frankenstein. A role he had played for #HammerHorrorFilms, four times at this point and was busy making another, 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'. A terrible title. Over at the FACEBOOK PACSUK FAN PAGE, we are asking you take PC's opinion into account and share your opinion too, in the comments thread - Marcus
 



YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 34,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features and prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing  OBE 
 

NEWS: NOT JUST NEWS BUT GREAT NEWS PLUS MAKE UP ARTIST PHIL LEAKEY REMEMBERED


Not just news but GREAT NEWS!
In an auction house far, far away (well, Bristol actually), the enduring power of the force was clear. The Dave Prowse Auction happened today, and the date and the timing were perfect! 

 

A DARTH VADER HELMET sold for £2,200, more than five times the top estimate, and a signed picture of Alec Guinness in his Obi-Wan Kenobi robes was snapped up for £3,100, treble what was anticipated. Someone, somewhere, paid £9,000 for a prototype lightsaber, the weapon of choice of #Jediknights in the Star Wars saga, which the Earthlings at East Bristol Auctions had judged might bring in £80-£120. An image of Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, with Prowse went for £15,000. The interest may well have been the inscription, “For David – You’ll Always Be ‘Dad’ #Vader To Me.”And a colour still from The Empire Strikes Back signed by Prowse and James Earl Jones – who provided Vader’s voice – sold for £4,100.
 

THE AUCTION HOUSE and Alzheimer’s Research UK said they were delighted. Tim Parry, the director of the charity, said: “The response to the auction has been simply incredible and testament to the iconic role David brought to life in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time. Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of bids have been placed from around the world, helping to smash pre-auction estimates. TWO personal letters from #petercushing to Prowse sold for £600! 
 

TODAY we mark and remember the BIRTHDAY of make up artist, PHIL LEAKEY. This is the man we can thank for kick staring the '#Hammer look' not just in their very first #Frankenstein film, 'The Curse of Frankenstein' but a much smaller little flick called 'X The Unknown' in 1956. He started with Hammer when they were first known as exclusive films and moved with them from #OakleyCourt to #DownPlace, which became Bray studios. After Curse of Frankenstein, Leakey would work on other Peter Cushing Hammer films like #TheAbominableSnowman 1957, #Dracula 1958, #TheRevengeofFrankenstein
 


DURING THIS TIME, a young Australian called Roy Ashton, worked along side him as an uncredited assistant. After the feature, 'I Only Asked' Leakey moved on and Ashton, became Hammer's make up artist. Leakey worked on a variety of films, 90 in all retiring in 1975. 
 

HIS LAST HORROR genre feature was ' Vampira' with #DavidNiven, #LindaHayden and #VeronicaCarlson. His last work with #PeterCushing was the TV series 'The Zoo Gang' in an episode called 'The Counterfeit Trap' in 1974.
 

#PhilLeakey, was the gentlest of men, a real gentleman and a real craftsman. Without him putting his mark on the #HammerFilms creations, I doubt they would have had the appeal and the box office draw. Happy Birthday, Phil Leakey!
 

YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 34,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features and prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing  OBE  

Monday, 3 May 2021

NEWS: IMPRINT FILMS ROLLS OUT THEIR HAMMER FILM FOUR BLU RAY BOX SET WITH NEW EXTRAS : LONG SHADOWS ICONS RARE CONTACT

AS PROMISED, following on from yesterdays post of the colour contact sheet, here are the other 11 extra different exposures in monochrome, by photographer, Terry O'Neil of #PeterCushing #ChristopherLee #VincentPrice and #JohnCarradine, the cast of 'House of the Long Shadows' back in 1983. - Marcus

NEWS: One #PeterCushing #Hammerfilms title.. but a good one! Many PC / Hammer fans have mentioned the lack of available titles on blu ray 'down-under'. This IMPRINT Limited Edition blu Ray HARD BOX SET has a RELEASE DATE of July 21st, 2021 and is limited 2500 copies. I hope this is a start of more to come - Marcus 
 
FULL SPEC OF BOX SET PACKAGE:
 
Countess Dracula (1971) – Imprint Collection #50

Starring Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Sandor Elès
In 17th-century Hungary, elderly widow Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy maintains her misleading youthful appearance by bathing in the blood of virgins regularly supplied to her by faithful servant Captain Dobi.


Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080p High Definition presentation
Audio commentary with Ingrid Pitt and critics Kim Newman & Stephen Jones
Audio Commentary by Ingrid Pitt, Peter Sasdy, Jeremy Paul and Jonathan Sothcott
 
NEW Audio Commentary with Hammer historians Jonathan Rigby & Kevin Lyons (2021)
NEW Vampire Lover: The Life and Career of Ingrid Pitt – Visual Essay by Kat Ellinger (2021)
NEW Blood Countess: Bathory on Film – A Visual Essay By Kat Ellinger (2021)
NEW Interview with Leon Lissek discussing Countess Dracula
 
“Immortal Countess: The Cinematic Life of Ingrid Pitt” featurette
Video and Audio Interview With Ingrid Pitt
Interview with director Peter Sasdy, moderated by Marcus Hearn
Theatrical Trailer
Double Bill trailer (with Vampire Circus)
LPCM 2.0 Mono
 
Hands of the Ripper (1971) – Imprint Collection #51
Starring Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow
As a young child Jack the Ripper’s daughter witnesses him kill her mother. As a young woman she carries on the murderous reign of her father. A psychiatrist tries to cure her with tragic consequences.

 

Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080P High Definition presentation
Audio Commentary with Angharad Rees, Kim Newman and Stephen Jones
NEW Audio Commentary with Hammer historians Jonathan Rigby & Kevin Lyons (2021)
The Devil’s Plaything: Possessed by the ‘Hands of the Ripper’ documentary
Slaughter of Innocence: The Evolution of Hammer Gore motion still gallery
S. Television Introduction
Original Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Motion Still Gallery
LPCM 2.0 Mono

Twins of Evil (1971) – Imprint Collection #52
Starring Peter Cushing, Dennis Price, Mary & Madeleine Collinson
A religious sect led by Gustav Weil hunts all women suspected of witchcraft, killing a number of innocent victims. Young Katy, Gustav’s niece, will involve herself in a devilish cult, and become an instrument of Justice in the region.

Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080P High Definition presentation
NEW Audio commentary with critics Kim Newman & Stephen Jones (2021)
Audio Commentary with Hammer historians Jonathan Rigby & Kevin Lyons
NEW 2 hour Directors cut of “The Flesh and The Fury: X-posing ‘Twins of Evil'” feature length documentary exploring Hammer’s “Karnstein Trilogy” from Ballyhoo Productions (2021)
NEW Satanic Decadence & The Legacy of Sheridan Le Fanu in Hammer’s Twins of Evil – A Visual Essay by Kat Ellinger (2021)
The Props that Hammer Built: The Kinsey Collection featurette
Interview with director John Hough, conducted by Marcus Hearn in 2013
Interview with Damien Thomas, conducted on stage by Wayne Kinsey
Super-8 version
Motion Still Gallery
Deleted Scene
Original Theatrical Trailer

Double Bill Trailer (with Hands of The Ripper)
3 TV Spots
Isolated Effects and Music score
Galleries
LPCM 2.0 Mono
 
Vampire Circus (1972) – Imprint Collection #53
Starring Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, Anthony Higgins
As the plague sweeps the countryside, a quarantined village is visited by a mysterious travelling circus. Soon, young children begin to disappear, and the locals suspect the circus troupe might be hiding a horrifying 
 
Special Features and Technical Specs:
1080P High Definition presentation
New Audio commentary with critics Kim Newman & Stephen Jones (2021)
Audio Commentary with Hammer historians Jonathan Rigby & Kevin Lyons
“The Bloodiest Show on Earth: Making Vampire Circus” documentary
Gallery of Grotesqueries: A Brief History of Circus Horrors featurette with British author/film historian Philip Nutman
Visiting The House of Hammer: Britain’s Legendary Horror Magazine featurette with British author/film historian Philip Nutman
NEW 30min Documentary on Vampire Circus Produced & Directed by Marcus Hearn
NEW Peter Musgrave Interview on editing Vampire Circus
Vampire Circus Interactive Comic Book
Theatrical Trailer
Isolated Music and Effects Track
LPCM 2.0 Mono
 
Exclusive Bonus Blu-Ray disc on the Limited Edition box:
FLESH & BLOOD – THE HAMMER HERITAGE OF HORROR DOCUMENTARY

 
YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 34,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features and prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing  OBE 

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