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BFI to Release BBC's Ghost Stories On DVD

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  • #16
    Eagerly awaiting these! Thanks for the updated info, Ian!
    'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

    http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
    'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

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    • #17
      Oh man, I am SO going to buy all these. I actually ended buying all the OOP releases a year and a half to two years ago on eBay and Amazon. Cost me quite a lot. But who cares. That was then.

      I have only seen rips of the rest of the shows. Some of them I liked quite a lot, so I am really looking forward to re-watch them in better quality.

      Now someone just need to re-issue the ITV 'Woman in Black'.

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      • #18
        Paul, did the BBC ever do any Machen adaptations? Doubtful I know but...

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        • #19
          James' Casting the Runes is getting a R1 release next week. It looks to be a port of the R2 release from several years back.

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          • #20
            Originally posted by Randy G View Post
            Paul, did the BBC ever do any Machen adaptations? Doubtful I know but...
            I don't recall any, but there have been some pretty good readings of Machen's stories on BBC radio.
            'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

            http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
            'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

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            • #21
              Cool, I'll see if I can track them down. Would love to hear a good reading of The White People.

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              • #22
                The next two releases in the line are:

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                • #23
                  Ghost Stories from the BBC: Lost Hearts / The Treasure of Abbot Thomas / The Ash Tree (DVD)

                  Films by Lawrence Gordon Clark

                  As a Christmas treat in the late 1960s and 70s, the BBC produced adaptations of ghost stories based on the works of MR James, the Cambridge academic and author of some of the most spine-tingling tales in the English language, which were broadcast to terrified viewers in the dead of winter. This was a tradition that was briefly revived by the BBC between 2007 and 2010.

                  These adaptations, which have a subtlety and style all of their own, have been a major influence on many contemporary British horror filmmakers and have come to be some of the most sought after British TV titles by their legions of eager fans.

                  This BFI's collection of Ghost Stories from the BBC features the DVD premiere of three MR James stories directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark: 1973's Lost Hearts, 1974's The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and 1975's The Ash Tree

                  Special Features:
                  -New introduction to Lost Hearts by Lawrence Gordon Clark (11 minutes)
                  -New introduction to Treasure Of Thomas Abbott by Lawrence Gordon Clark (11 minutes)
                  -New introduction to The Ash Tree by Lawrence Gordon Clark (8 minutes)
                  -Illustrated booklet featuring newly commissioned essays by horror writer Ramsey Campbell and the BFI's Alex Davidson and Dick Fiddy.

                  Ghost Stories from the BBC: The Signalman / Stigma / The Ice House

                  Films by Lawrence Gordon Clark and Derek Lister

                  This BFI's collection of Ghost Stories from the BBC includes 1976's The Signalman, 1977's Stigma and 1978's The Ice House. Although most films in the series were based on the works of MR James, The Signalman, was scripted by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice) from a Charles Dickens Story, while the last two films in this volume were based on original scripts.

                  Special Features:
                  -New introduction to The Signalman by Lawrence Gordon Clark (11 minutes)
                  -New introduction to Stigma by Lawrence Gordon Clark (8 minutes)
                  -New introduction to The Ash Tree by Lawrence Gordon Clark (8 minutes)
                  -Illustrated booklet featuring newly commissioned essays by broadcaster Matthew Sweet and Dr. Helen Wheatly.

                  The fifth and final installment of Ghost Stories, containing the more recent installments A View From A Hill and Number 13, and a complete Ghost Stories For Christmas box set will be released October 22.
                  Rock! Shock! Pop!

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                  • #24
                    Glad to see they are going with a complete boxset for this eventually, Oct 22. Hopefully its not too pricey.

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                    • #25
                      Nice! Got rips of some of the previously un-released and I can't wait to see them in good quality. I remember liking The Treasure of Abbott Thomas and The Ash Tree. The latter has a particular creepy moment.

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                      • #26
                        The latest on the last two releases:

                        --------------------

                        Classic adaptions from the BBC: A View From a Hill / Number 13

                        The fifth and final volume of films from the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas series will be released by the BFI on 29 October. The release of A View From a Hill and Number 13 brings this much anticipated collection to a total of a dozen films across five volumes, which will also be released together in a 5-disc DVD box set, Ghost Stories for Christmas, on the same date.

                        These two relatively recent adaptions of classic MR James stories perfectly complement the vintage films on the previous volumes. They were broadcast as part of a BBC revival of the much loved seasonal A Ghost Story for Christmas series during the last five years.

                        A View From a Hill (Luke Watson, 2005):

                        When young museum curator Fanshawe is sent to catalogue a debt-laden squire's archaeological collection, he uses a pair of homemade binoculars borrowed from his genial host to survey local 'Gallows Hill'. The glasses seem to give him a strange new ability and, ignoring all warnings about their necromantic creator, Fanshawe carries out his historical researches. But the bloody past of the area is best left undisturbed.

                        Adapted from a short tale by MR James, the master of the English ghost story, A View From a Hill remains faithful in spirit to its literary creator, with an excellent lead performance from Mark Letheren as the uptight, doomed Fanshawe.

                        Number 13 (Pier Wilkie, 2006):

                        Dissatisfied with his hotel room, Professor Anderson (played by Greg Wise) demands to be moved to number 12 where he can work undisturbed. But, infuriated by the ghoulish noises made nightly by his neighbour, he is soon driven to investigate the diabolical secrets of the old hotel and its mysteriously vanishing room 13.

                        MR James' spooky tale was shot in the grounds and library of Winchester Cathedral, lending a rich period atmosphere to this terrifying adaptation.
                        Special features

                        -Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee - 'Number 13' by MR James (2000): Ronald Frame's adaptation is brought to life by horror maestro Christopher Lee
                        -Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays by Jonathan Rigby and Simon McCallum

                        Product details:
                        RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIBVD963 / Cert 12
                        UK / 2005 + 2006 / colour / English language / 39 mins + 40 mins / DVD9 / Original aspect ratio 1.78:1 (16x9 anamorphic) / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)

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                        --------------------

                        Ghost Stories for Christmas: The Definitive Collection (5-disc set)

                        Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, A Ghost Story for Christmas was a much-loved fixture in the BBC's seasonal schedule during the 1970s. Terrified viewers awaited each sinister instalment with excitement and its enduring appeal gave rise to a revival in the 2000s, when three more episodes were produced.
                        Released on 29 October, this definitive collection finally brings all of the A Ghost Story for Christmas episodes together, along with a number of essential extra features, in a lavish 5-disc BFI box set which will, of course, make the perfect Christmas present.

                        Amongst the 12 films in the collection are nine adaptations of tales by MR James - the acknowledged master of the modern English ghost story - including Jonathan Miller's Whistle and I'll Come to You and Lawrence Gordon Clark's A Warning to the Curious. Other films include Clark's superb adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Signalman and two original stories: Stigma and The Ice House.

                        These adaptations are accompanied by a selection of special features, including three previously unreleased episodes of the BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee series, and newly filmed introductions with director Lawrence Gordon Clarke (Harry's Game).

                        BOX SET CONTENTS:

                        Disc One:

                        -Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968 & 2010 versions)
                        -Jonathan Miller and Christopher Frayling discuss the 1968 version (2012, 3 mins)
                        -Introduction to the 1968 version by horror writer Ramsey Campbell (2001, 16 mins)
                        -MR James' original story read by Neil Brand (2001, 42 mins)
                        -Ramsey Campbell reads his own MR James inspired story 'The Guide' (2001, 27 mins)

                        Disc Two:

                        -The Stalls of Barchester (1971) and A Warning to the Curious (1972)
                        -Filmed introductions with director Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012)
                        -Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee - 'The Stalls of Barchester by MR James' and 'A Warning to the Curious by MR James' (Eleanor Yule, 2000, 2 x 30 mins)

                        Disc Three:

                        -Lost Hearts (1973), The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974) and The Ash Tree (1975)
                        -Filmed introductions with director Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012)

                        Disc Four:

                        -The Signalman (1976), Stigma (1977) and The Ice House (1978)
                        -Filmed introductions to The Signalman and Stigma with director Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012)

                        Disc Five:

                        -A View From a Hill (2005) and Number 13 (2006)
                        -Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee - 'Number 13 by MR James' (Eleanor Yule, 2000, 30 minutes)

                        Product details:

                        RRP: £49.99 / cat. no. BFIVD964 / 15
                        UK / 1968-2010 / black & white and colour / English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / 477 minutes + extras / 5 x DVD9 / various original aspect ratios / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)

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                        • #27
                          I love the cover!

                          I got word from AmaUK that the release date has been pushed back.

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                          • #28
                            Love these episodes.

                            M.R. James must have had a truly inexplicable experience in life -- perhaps an encounter with a spook -- to come up with the stories he did. The ending of "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" for example. In the teleplay when Michael Hordern says "No, no, no" in a state of denial, a rejection of what's occurring in the moment it's occurring, is very true to life.
                            "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                            - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Roderick View Post
                              James' Casting the Runes is getting a R1 release next week. It looks to be a port of the R2 release from several years back.
                              Has anyone seen this?
                              I've been meaning to check it out for the longest time.
                              "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                              - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

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                              • #30
                                By the way if you like M.R. James the two most accurate texts from his manuscripts are:

                                http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014...seller=&sr=1-7

                                and

                                http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Dolls-...der_014303992X

                                Apparently his short stories were routinely edited and cut by publishers for reasons of space. Editor S.T. Joshi went back to the closest primary source and annotated each story in these Penguin editions, as he did for H.P. Lovecraft. Wonderful stuff.
                                "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                                - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

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