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BFI to Release BBC's Ghost Stories On DVD

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  • #31
    Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
    Has anyone seen this?
    I've been meaning to check it out for the longest time.

    The film or the DVD?

    I've got the R2 but the film is nowhere as brilliant as OH WHISTLE imo.

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    • #32
      Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
      Has anyone seen this?
      I've been meaning to check it out for the longest time.
      It's fun, but I actually prefer the other MR James film that's on the same disc. :)

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      • #33
        Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
        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.
        Interesting take on James, Richard. I've long been a fan of his work, and have read many of his short stories several times over. (In fact, for many years, I would read the complete ghost stories once a year, between October and Christmas - which always seemed the right time of year to read James' work.) But as you say, there's a ring of truth to his stories of encounters with the supernatural. Perhaps there was something in James' past.

        And as you say, the BBC adaptations have a ring of truth to them - the nightmare Hordern experiences in 'Oh, Whistle...' and, especially, Peter Vaughan's experiences in 'A Warning to the Curious'. The latter has always struck home to me, as I've lived near the English coast all my life and that story really captures the sense of isolation that can be experienced in a rural, coastal environment - where sometimes it feels like something is following you, and the loneliness can make you imagine things that are not there, like a solitary figure following you from a distance (or perhaps are; I guess you never fully know for sure). (James likes his liminal spaces too, doesn't he?) As a boy, my father used to live in a very small village by the coast, and he has told me about experiences that are similar to those depicted in 'A Warning to the Curious'. To my regret, I never really believed him until I had my own run-in with the supernatural.

        However, my favourite in this series is possibly not one of the James adaptations but rather 'The Signalman' - that episode is truly chilling, for me at least.

        I don't think the ITV adaptation of 'Casting the Runes' is quite as good as the BBC James adaptaptions, but it's certainly worth buying (imo, of course).

        What's also worth tracking down, and this comes with a very high recommendation from me, are the three surviving episodes from the BBC's 1972 series DEAD OF NIGHT, 'A Woman Sobbing', 'Exorcism' and 'Return Flight'. All three are very good, 'Exorcism' functioning as allegory but depicting a very believable narrative about a group's encounter with the supernatural. 'A Woman Sobbing' sends shivers through my spine when I do so much as think of it - there's something indescribably haunting about it.

        EDIT. All three are on Youtube, so here for your viewing delectation...




        There was another chilling 1970s/1980s one-off play that sticks in my mind. I can't remember the title of it, but it focuses on a writer who visits a remote village and finds himself haunted by the ghost of the daughter of the family who give him shelter. I wish I could remember the title of it, as it's very good indeed. (EDIT: It's 'The Intercessor', from the 1980s series SHADES OF DARKNESS.) Another good 'un was the 1979 BBC adaptation of 'Schalken the Painter'. Quite hard to come by, but worth tracking down.
        Paul L
        Scholar of Sleaze
        Last edited by Paul L; 09-29-2012, 05:24 PM.
        '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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        • #34
          Whilst we're at it, US forum members may like to check out these clips from the WEST COUNTRY TALES series, broadcast in 1982. The tales were supposedly based on true stories submitted by viewers. This is one of many; there are quite a few up on Youtube.

          '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

          Comment


          • #35
            Originally posted by Paul L View Post
            Interesting take on James, Richard. I've long been a fan of his work, and have read many of his short stories several times over. (In fact, for many years, I would read the complete ghost stories once a year, between October and Christmas - which always seemed the right time of year to read James' work.) But as you say, there's a ring of truth to his stories of encounters with the supernatural. Perhaps there was something in James' past.

            And as you say, the BBC adaptations have a ring of truth to them - the nightmare Hordern experiences in 'Oh, Whistle...' and, especially, Peter Vaughan's experiences in 'A Warning to the Curious'. The latter has always struck home to me, as I've lived near the English coast all my life and that story really captures the sense of isolation that can be experienced in a rural, coastal environment - where sometimes it feels like something is following you, and the loneliness can make you imagine things that are not there, like a solitary figure following you from a distance (or perhaps are; I guess you never fully know for sure). (James likes his liminal spaces too, doesn't he?) As a boy, my father used to live in a very small village by the coast, and he has told me about experiences that are similar to those depicted in 'A Warning to the Curious'. To my regret, I never really believed him until I had my own run-in with the supernatural.

            I've heard good things about DEAD OF NIGHT. Before I watch the murky utubes, I gather neither DEAD OF NIGHT nor WEST COUNTRY TALES are on DVD, right? They sound right up my alley.

            I don't believe writers like Algernon Blackwood, Oliver Onions, M.R. James or Shirley Jackson could dig so deep and so truthfully into the supernatural if they did not have some measure of experience with it.
            Richard--W
            a straight arrow
            Last edited by Richard--W; 09-30-2012, 12:27 PM.
            "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
            - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

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            • #36
              I don't know... I just don't buy biographical criticism of supernatural writers. It's not so much that I don't believe in ghosts (don't, personally), but that I do believe in writers. And ghost stories aren't about ghosts, they're about people: I'd allow that writers should probably have had some experience with people.

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              • #37
                That was my doctorate asserting itself. I try to suppress it, but it sneaks out sometimes. I'll go in and remove.

                Anyone can write a ghost story. Anyone can tell a ghost story. It doesn't take much talent. Most ghost stories are professional product lacking in inspiration. Just because a writer has experience with people doesn't mean he can write a ghost story that rings true to an experience with the supernatural. Posts like yours' are the reason people are reluctant to talk about their supernatural encounter. They are put into a position of having to prove something they don't know how to explain, defend or understand. It has to happen to you before you get it.
                "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

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                • #38
                  Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
                  Posts like yours' are the reason people are reluctant to talk about their supernatural encounter. They are put into a position of having to prove something they don't know how to explain, defend or understand. It has to happen to you before you get it.
                  Actually, I totally suck at discouraging people from talking about their supernatural encounters, and I'm pretty okay with that. People should tell their spooky stuff. But do horror writers require authentic experience or belief? Nope. While they might benefit from it, it's not a requirement, and I guess I just don't believe that I as a reader can use my raised hairs and chills as evidence of the writer's experience or beliefs. Writers are a bunch of bald-faced liars. They make stuff up, bless 'em, and I'm fully supportive of writers appropriating the voices of the authentically terrified. I even dig being artfully manipulated by the unbelieving: that just makes it even better.

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                  • #39
                    Never heard of West Country Tales before Paul, sounds interesting. Thanks for the heads up on that.
                    Rock! Shock! Pop!

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                    • #40
                      Originally posted by Barry M View Post
                      Actually, I totally suck at discouraging people from talking about their supernatural encounters, and I'm pretty okay with that. People should tell their spooky stuff. But do horror writers require authentic experience or belief? Nope. While they might benefit from it, it's not a requirement, and I guess I just don't believe that I as a reader can use my raised hairs and chills as evidence of the writer's experience or beliefs. Writers are a bunch of bald-faced liars. They make stuff up, bless 'em, and I'm fully supportive of writers appropriating the voices of the authentically terrified. I even dig being artfully manipulated by the unbelieving: that just makes it even better.
                      This is what I get for sharing.

                      Nobody said horror writers are required to write from experience or belief. I'd argue that you're missing the point, but there's no point into getting sucked into a pointless debate. You're full of shit, Barry M. But if this is really your opinion, do enjoy it.
                      "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                      - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Originally posted by Ian Jane View Post
                        Never heard of West Country Tales before Paul, sounds interesting. Thanks for the heads up on that.
                        No worries, Ian. To answer Richard's question, neither WEST COUNTRY TALES nor DEAD OF NIGHT are available on DVD - and I doubt they ever will be, as neither series is one of the BBC's 'big guns'. One episode of DEAD OF NIGHT ('Exorcism') was repeated about five years ago, but none of the others have been shown since their initial broadcast - and only the three episodes cited above remain in existence. I think one or two episodes of WCT have been repeated since the early 1980s, but not the full series - and again, there are episodes that are impossible to come by, although they could very well be in existence in the BBC's vaults someplace. There was a particularly good (imo) episode called 'The Poacher', which isn't among those that have been posted online.

                        IIRC there was another early 1980s supernatural series (on ITV) that claimed to be dramatised accounts of 'true' stories sent in by viewers. I'll see if I can remember its title.
                        '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

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Originally posted by Paul L View Post
                          I think one or two episodes of WCT have been repeated since the early 1980s, but not the full series - and again, there are episodes that are impossible to come by, although they could very well be in existence in the BBC's vaults someplace. There was a particularly good (imo) episode called 'The Poacher', which isn't among those that have been posted online.
                          Several WCT episodes (including The Poacher) are posted on The Box. Looks like they're VHS rips, but sounds like that might be the best that would be available...

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                          • #43
                            Interesting. Thanks for that, Apronikoff. I haven't used The Box for a while, but I think my login is still valid.
                            '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

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              I just wish the collected set had an earlier, more October-friendly release date. I'll probably rewatch the original discs of WHISTLE and WARNING, and maybe a couple of rips (probably STALLS and ABBOT THOMAS): shouldn't complain, at least it'll be in time for Christmas.

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                              • #45
                                Originally posted by Barry M View Post
                                I just wish the collected set had an earlier, more October-friendly release date. I'll probably rewatch the original discs of WHISTLE and WARNING, and maybe a couple of rips (probably STALLS and ABBOT THOMAS): shouldn't complain, at least it'll be in time for Christmas.

                                Well for the English ghost stories are a Christmas tradition.

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