276°
Posted 20 hours ago

GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS VOL. 2 (3 x Blu-ray)

£12.495£24.99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

I’m aware that many fans of the initial run of Ghost Stories feel that the later works do not hit the heights of the Lawrence Gordon Clark films or especially Jonathan Miller’s extraordinary series precursor. And while it’s hard to disagree, this does risk undervaluing films such as this and its immediate successor, Number 13 (see below). Purists may disagree, but for me, the new climax and ending invented here by writer Peter Harness is an effective expansion on James’s more explanatory (but still creepy) original. Luke Watson’s direction is also commendable, squeezing tension out of Fanshawe’s uncanny woodland encounters, particularly in the final scenes, and creating a genuine sense of wonder when he finds himself transported inside the magically restored Abbey in all its golden grandeur. Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 2. The three-disc set release is scheduled to arrive on the market on November 20. A university museum curator is intrigued by the unfolding tale of horror told by an otherwise unprepossessing 19th century mezzotint. [43] I'm not overly concerned, I trust this is true 2k resolution and not upscaled. Either way they're new to my collection so it's not an issue for me, just curious is all. Newly recorded audio commentaries for Stigma and The Ice House by writer Kim Newman and writer and filmmaker Sean Hogan

Introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 33 mins total): the director of seven of the BBC's classic A Ghost Story For Christmas episodes discusses his part in the first three instalments he directed After a young couple move into a remote country house in the middle of a stone circle workmen disturb an ancient menhir, unleashing a supernatural force. [5] Particularly impressive is Clark's handling of the dual timeline structure, with Sir Matthew's story initially unfolding as brief visions (or perhaps inherited memories?) that become more substantial as the film progresses. There are no date captions or voice-over clues to these temporal switches here, the trips into the past sometimes signalled only by differences in costume and hairstyle, coupled with subtle alterations in vocal delivery and language. And that, for the most part, is the meat of the story. What holds the attention from this point on is Katherine herself, specifically her growing terror at what appears to be happening to her body, something actress Kate Binchy communicates with sometimes unnervingly convincing aplomb. Pleasingly, her affliction proves to be not the result of some delusion on her part but a real physical issue, one that terrifies her husband Peter (Peter Bowles), and is visualised as a unnervingly convincing make-up effect.

For his final M.R. James adaptation for the BBC, Clark talks about the problems of finding the right location (there's an interesting post-shooting story attached to this) and his delight at being able to work with the writer of Penda's Fen. Surprisingly, he regards this as one of his less successful M.R. James adaptations, and believes that's it's not as scary as it should have been. All of the films in this first volume are linked by the author of the stories on which they were based, one Montague Rhodes James, about whom I’ll have more to say in a minute. The first title, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, is technically not a Christmas Ghost Story at all but a stand-alone work made as part of the Omnibus arts documentary series and first screened on 7 May 1968, but it most effectively pointed the way for things to come. The first official Ghost Story for Christmas came when former documentary filmmaker Lawrence Gordon Clark adapted and directed The Stalls of Barchester, a single tale of the supernatural broadcast on Christmas Eve of 1971. It developed into a series when he did likewise with A Warning to the Curious the following year, and the year after he directed Lost Hearts from a screenplay by Robin Chapman. By this point, the Christmas Ghost Story had become a BBC tradition, and other titles were to follow, but that’s a tale for later volumes… WHISTLE AND I’LL COME TO YOU (1968)

detail and color rendering seems the dominant feature of the vastly improved higher resolution upgrade. Wheatley, Helen (2006). Gothic Television. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-7149-2. Lawrence Gordon Clark introductions (2012, 33 mins): introductions to The Stalls of Barchester, A Warning to the Curious and Lost Hearts previously recorded for the BFI’s DVD release

Radio Times’ billing for The Stalls of Barchester on Christmas Eve, 1971

Stigma (1977): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by Clive Exton, starring Kate Binchy, Peter Bowles, Maxine Gordon Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. For a good part of its running time it would, I think, be fair to describe The Treasure of Abbot Thomasmore as a detective story than a tale of the supernatural. I'd even go as far as to suggest that the investigative elements are, on the whole, more effectively realised than the ghost story that they only subtly suggest and belatedly give way to. Clark's final Ghost Story for Christmas, Stigma, was an original story by Clive Exton filmed around the stone circles at Avebury, Wiltshire. He had wanted to film James' " Count Magnus", the teleplay of which had been written by Basil Copper, but was unable to obtain the budget. [17] [21] Although he felt the substitute film was "effective", Clark had by this time left the BBC to go freelance, joining Yorkshire Television, where he and Exton made another James adaptation Casting the Runes in 1979. [17] [22] Locations [ edit ] "It is a fine porch, isn't it?" St Mary's Church in Happisburgh, Norfolk, a film location in A Warning to the Curious. The first five films are adaptations of stories from the four books by M. R. James, published between 1904 and 1925. [8] The ghost stories of James, an English mediaeval scholar and Provost of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, were originally narrated as Christmas entertainments to friends and selected students. [8] [9]

The final two stories were based on original screenplays, one by Clive Exton, who was an experienced television screenwriter, and the other by John Bowen, who was primarily known as a novelist and playwright, [11] [12] but also had extensive television experience, including adapting The Treasure of Abbot Thomas earlier in the series. Commentaries and the 2020 adaptation of Whistle and I’ll Come to You aside, all of the special features have been sourced from the previous BFI DVD releases and are in standard definition. Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – Number 13 (2000, 30 mins): Ronald Frame's adaptation of MR James's story is brought to life by the horror maestro I think you are under the impression negatives must be 24fps. This is not the case. The negatives are whatever frame rate they were shot at. Repeats of the original series on BBC Four at Christmas 2007 included The Haunted Airman, a new adaptation of Dennis Wheatley's novel The Haunting of Toby Jugg by Chris Durlacher, although this film was originally screened on 31 October 2006. [55]Regular series director Lawrence Gordon Clark here talks about lead actor Michael Bryant, the problems of securing the main location (no easy job a year after Pasolini had shot part of The Canterbury Talesthere), the changes made to M.R. James's original story, his disappointment at how the climatic horror elements played, and his relationship with screenwriter John Bowen. Newly recorded audio commentary for The Ash Treeby writer and TV historian Jon Dear, incorporating material from author and editor Johnny Mains A young librarian receives a request for an obscure Hebrew book from a sinister gentleman, unaware of its contents. [40]

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment