Showing posts with label mill creek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mill creek. Show all posts

Sunday 11 February 2018

THE CUSHING DOUBLE BILLS NUMBER 2 : THE SKULL AND THE CREEPING FLESH : CALLUM MCKELVIE ON SUNDAY


BEGINNING LAST WEEK, I started a series examining three pairs of films that I felt would make ideal ‘Cushing Double-Bills’, concentrating primarily on thematic links.  Last time, I looked at Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and its first sequel The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958). We continue this week with a pair of films slightly less obvious than our previous selection, 1965’s The Skull and 1972’s The Creeping Flesh. Ostensibly two unrelated films (excluding the fact that both feature Cushing and Christopher Lee and are directed by Freddie Francis) our discussion this week concerns the dark thematic subtext that links both.


MADE IN 1965, The Skull is often cited as one of Cushing’s very best whilst The Creeping Flesh (despite getting a great deal of attention from fans and this page in particular) is still sadly something of an undiscovered gem. The Skull is one of Amicus’s non-portmanteau features and is based on the short story The Skull of the Marquis De Sade by Robert Bloch. A masterpiece of atmosphere, The Skull has a powerful dreamlike quality that manages to be supremely unsettling. The Creeping Flesh, on the other hand, is one of Tony Tenser’s Tigon productions and is far more visceral in its execution, with some genuinely disturbing scenes..


SO WHAT THEN IS IT, that causes me to group these two films in particular? Well to begin with both demonstrate British horror studios attempting to do something different with the Hammer mould and are incredibly experimental in nature. The Skull, as well as being a modern day piece it’s far less explicit in exactly what its threat is than Hammer tend to be, preferring  a slower, subtler build-up. Visually The Skull is particularly arresting, be it the haunting shots from the Skull’s perspective or the Kafka-esque dream sequence. Similarly the film embraces a darkness to an extent that Hammer rarely did, from the depressing ending to the character of Maitland himself.



ABOVE AND BELOW: THE KAFKA-ESQUE POV SHOTS APPEAR IN 
BOTH 'THE SKULL' AND 'THE CREEPING FLESH'


MAITLAND, whilst not unlikeable, is hardly a charmer and as an audience we are invited to look upon his morbid hobby with a critical eye. We care about him and wish him no ills but the obsessiveness that permeates his character causes us to question his gruesome pastime. 'The Creeping Flesh' on the other hand is from, arguably, the most radical British horror studio in business from the mid 60’s to mid-70’s. 



ABOVE: THE OBSESSIVE MAITLAND OF 'THE SKULL' (1965)



IT MUST BE REMEMBERED that whilst Tigon were behind the gothic pot-boiler The Blood Beast Terror (1967), they were also the studio famed for producing Michael Reeves his magnum opus, Witchfinder General (1968) and his earlier The Sorcerers (1967). Away from Reeves, Tigons output is rich with a ‘radical’ and ‘alternative’ sentiment and whilst not always successful never cease to be interesting. Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), Neither the Sea nor the Sand (1972), The Flesh and Blood Show (1972), The Beast in the Cellar (1970) and of course Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) are among the most innovative and experimental British horror films in this period.




ABOVE: BORIS KARLOFF AND IAN OGILVY IN TIGON FILMS 'THE SORCERERS' (1967)



ABOVE: THE EQUALLY OBSESSIVE EMMANUEL HILDER FROM THE CREEPING FLESH (1972)

THUS The Creeping Flesh similarly contains elements that go against the traditional mould. Namely, like The Skull, there are few likeable characters and our main this time, Emmanuel Hildern is equally as obsessive as Maitland. This time it is science and particularly the desire to make a great discovery, rather than collecting that absorbs him. The same can be said of his sadistic brother James (Lee), who covets his brother’s success. The film questions the nature of evil and in particular uses the Victorian scientist to do this. The usual hero of Hammer is here reverted to selfish obsessors whose desire for success and discovery makes them far more horrific, than the devil-creature that appears at the climax.


ABOVE: THE SADISTIC BROTHER JAMES, PLAYED BY CHRISTOPHER LEE IN 'THE CREEPING FLESH' (1972)



AS PERHAPS I’m already beginning to demonstrate, 'The Skull' and 'The Creeping Flesh', are without doubt two of the most sub textually rich and intelligent films that Cushing has been involved with. In both, it’s possible to feel that perhaps more than his other Gothic productions Freddie Francis is able to identify themes and motifs throughout the stories that interest him visually. Building on themes of obsession, madness is a prominent factor in both and indeed can be one of the central elements of fear that emanates from the films. In 'The Skull' we are invited to question whether Maitland is actually going insane and the nature of his haunting is a highly personal one, attacking his mind over his physical body (at least until the films climax). 


ABOVE: MAITLAND HIGHLY PERSONAL MADNESS

ONCE AGAIN in The Creeping Flesh we are invited to wonder whether our main character is indeed mad, though far more explicitly. Here the framing structure of the film has Cushing narrating his story, before at the end revealing that he is an inmate in the asylum ran by Lee. A final shot leaves us to wonder whether his story is true or not. However the theme of madness permeates the story far deeper than this, with Cushing living in fear of hereditary madness that leads him to inject his daughter with the serum grown from the remains of the skeleton.




IN SHORT, I think of all the double bills I’ll be discussing, this is easily the most personal. Whilst I love the films of Hammer these two simply blew me away with relentlessly dark tales that made comments on obsession, madness and the nature of evil. Whilst calling them Cushing’s two ‘Artsy’ horrors may sound somewhat insulting, I think it perhaps sums them up best. These films are Freddie Francis’s masterpieces and demonstrate a sub textual and visual storytelling intelligence far above and beyond any of his other horror work. Whilst Dracula has Risen from the Grave is certainly beautiful to look at and contains interesting commentary on religion, it’s not as rich or as subtle as these two films. 


IT'S A REAL SHAME that whilst The Skull has r been given a superb Blu-ray treatment, The Creeping Flesh is neglected to a mill-creek triple feature. One lives in hope that boutique label along the lines of Arrow will recognise the merit in the film and surprise us with a brand new HD transfer and a wealth of features. If you’re looking for two of Cushing’s darker, less comfortable films then these make the perfect double bill.


THE BEST OF A DOUBLE? CASTING AND FILMS, CUSHING AND LEE IN 'THE SKULL' (1965) AND 'THE CREEPING FLESH' (1972)




OH AND THEY BOTH feature skulls. Just saying. Join me NEXT SUNDAY, for another classic DOUBLE BILL!


REMEMBER! IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA 

Saturday 29 July 2017

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! THE GORGON GOES BLU DOWN UNDER!


#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! #NEWS: #HAMMERFILMS 1964 Classic THE GORGON had a BLU RAY release in the US back last year and now AUSTRALIA gets its dip too! It's the same master that was used for the US Mill Creek Entertainment release last year. What Australian label Via Vision Entertainment is giving us, is pretty much the same, it's cheap and cheerful packaging, there are no supplemental features on the disc. Audio is English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. BUT it is Region-Free. 


It appears that Sony Pictures has only one master of The Gorgon that is available for licensing, right now. The master is a not restored or remastered and judging by our YOU REVIEW from Frank Turturici we posted here about the Mill Creek release, there's some we posted here about the Mill Creek release, there's some room for improvement, but the film looks good in high-definition. So, if you want to fill that gap on your shelf, holding your Cushing / Lee / Hammer Horror collection now. . . . This REGION FREE Australian release could be the very thing for you!





IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA

Wednesday 1 February 2017

NEWS : MILL CREEK RELEASES CREEPING FLESH AND TORTURE GARDEN BLU RAY PACKAGE


For those of us who have been waiting A LONG TIME for a blu ray release of Cushing's 'The Creeping Flesh', it looks like, Mill Creek, have answers our prayers!-Marcus



NEWS: Under the 'ROLL UP, ROLL UP' rollicking title of PSYCHO CIRCUS, MILL CREEK have announced the release of a three film collection blu ray... TWO of the films featured are Cushing related... #TORTUREGARDEN and a much welcomed, first time, long awaited release on blu ray, #THECREEPINGFLESH. The third film in the package 'The Brotherhood of Satan' (1971) is an interesting addition to the collection. No preview copies to view as yet. The release is available now for order and purchase for a very reasonable $14.98  A download stream is also on offer. See LINK below.....

 ORDER : HERE


OUR FEATURE ON 'THE CREEPING FLESH' HERE




OUR FEATURE ON 'TORTURE GARDEN' HERE


COME AND JOIN OVER 28,000 PETER CUSHING FANS AT OUR OFFICIAL PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE: HERE

Wednesday 14 September 2016

YOU REVIEW: MILL CREEK REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN DISAPPOINTMENT


THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN: Part of a TWO Hammer film package, with The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, released on blu ray by Mill Creek Entertainment September 2016. Mill Creek's double feature is currently the only way to own these films on BLU RAY:  They can be purchased  HERE


 *Deep, heavy sigh*
Where as Mill Creek Entertainment's blu ray release of The Gorgon I felt looked incredible for it's age and found very few flaws with the look and sound of the film, Revenge of Frankenstein looks as if it had been strained through a dirty wet sock. What a shame, for it is one of the better sequels, in the Hammer films Frankenstein series. Picking up precisely where The Curse of Frankenstein left off, Revenge is a brilliant journey into the twisted genius of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his machinations to reanimate a human life. Peter Cushing's performance is immaculate and his snark and slight tinge of madness portrayal of Frankenstein is among his finest.


That being said...
This blu ray looks awful. I mean if you told me that this was transferred from a used VHS tape, I wouldn't be hard pressed to believe you. Let's start with the egregious amount of scratches, dirt and vertical lines that mar this 58 year old film. Remember those awful film reels you used to have to watch in high school back in the day?  Well, it's not THAT bad, but the mere fact that I am using that as an example of how to represent the disrespect this transfer is to the film should show you how much of a lost opportunity this is and it's distracting to the enjoyment of viewing the film on this format. When the Columbia Pictures opening came up I let out an audible "Uh-oh." I knew I was in for a challenging viewing of Revenge of Frankenstein. Still, I adore this film and it's always a pleasure to revisit it but it deserves better. Much better.


Now, on to the color quality of this release. There isn't any. It's so diluted through the ravages of time that everything looks washed out. Peter's crystal blue eyes withstanding, it looks as if this was put through a soft filter with an eraser. Where in The Gorgon's colors popped, watching Revenge feels like someone turned off the color hue setting on my television. The 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio doesn't assist this situation in any way and may have been yet another hindrance to this struggling release. Also, the 25g blu ray as opposed to the normal 50g capacity blu ray further recedes the films chances of a successful viewing. If a character moves too fast on screen it gets blurry. That should never happen. I am not going to go into the sound as it is mono and was recorded as such in 1958. There's nothing any one can do about that and for what it is it sounds just fine.


I don't want to blame Mill Creek Entertainment for this transfer but I have to wonder if they a) did the best that they could do with the quality of the print they had access to or b) didn't try at all. With how incredible The Gorgon looked I am going to go by faith and choose answer A. However, I will be keeping an eye on the quality of any future releases along with the two films I have yet to watch from the Double Features. So Mill Creek is currently batting 500. They need to keep an eye on quality control on the text of the blu ray covers (Curese instead of Curse on Curse of The Mummy's Tomb and Gorgan instead of Gorgon.) However, I do look forward to any future Hammer releases from them.


The YOU REVIEW feature: All YOU REVIEW features are complete and unedited  written reviews  independently submitted by followers of the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society , it's website and Facebook Fan Page. The opinions here in, are solely the authors and are shared here with the purpose and intent of providing a guide to dvd's and blu rays recently released featuring the work of Peter Cushing.  All viewing equipment used for the reviews is domestic and typical of the range of players and tv monitors used in a domestic viewing environment.


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Monday 12 September 2016

MILL CREEK THE GORGON BLU RAY YOU REVIEW FRANK TURTURICI


THE GORGON MILL CREEK BLU RAY: A DECENT REPLACEMENT
FOR YOUR AGING DVD COPY!

Mill Creek Entertainment's Hammer Films Double Feature: The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll and The Gorgon : Theatrical Release: 1964 : Blu Ray Release Date: 09/06/16 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen Duration: 84 Minutes Featuring: Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee Directed By: Terence Fisher

Mill Creek has released The Gorgon in similar fashion to The Revenge of Frankenstein, paired with another movie on a single layer 25GB Blu Ray. While a 50GB disc would have been preferable (and is the norm in 2016), I don't believe it affects the picture quality for The Gorgon as much as it did The Revenge of Frankenstein.


I noticed a difference with The Gorgon immediately. The film is obviously in better shape than Revenge. Maybe the 6 year difference between the two films meant working with better film stock. Whatever the case may be, The Gorgon looks pretty decent on Blu Ray. Detail is good and colors are very nice throughout. Skin tones are very normal to the time period without any kind of red or yellow push. Detail can get a little lost in some of the darker scenes, but it is still an overall improvement to the old DVD.


As for audio, it doesn't have much room to stretch. Music can sound pretty compressed but dialogue is always clear and intelligible. 


For a bargain basement Blu Ray of $8, The Gorgon offers a decent replacement for the aging DVD, even if Mill Creek misspelled the title on the spine as "The Gorgan." I'm interested to see what kind of improvements, if any, the upcoming Australian Blu Ray release will show.


The YOU REVIEW feature: All YOU REVIEW features are complete and unedited  written reviews  independently submitted by followers of the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society , it's website and Facebook Fan Page. The opinions here in, are solely the authors and are shared here with the purpose and intent of providing a guide to dvd's and blu rays recently released featuring the work of Peter Cushing.  All viewing equipment used for the reviews is domestic and typical of the range of players and tv monitors used in a domestic viewing environment.



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