Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts

Saturday 15 December 2018

REVIEW: DRACULA IS ALIVE RESSURECTED AND NEVER LOOKED BETTER ON WARNER BROTHERS REMASTERED BLU RAY!


PETER CUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE FANS, PCAS followers and all in the US Hammer film fans, have waited a LONG time for the PRINCE of DARKNESS and his number one enemy, to finally cross the Atlantic and set foot, on their home cinema screens! On the 18th of December 2018, Hammer films numero uno Dracula classic, will finally hit the streets . . just like when the vampire king landed on the shores of Whitby, England back in the late 19th century, and frightened EVERYONE to death!


THERE IS EVERY POSSIBILITY, with Warner Brother's REMASTERED BLU RAY release of the BFI restored print, that with Christopher Lee amazing performance and stunning quality of this print, he WILL do it, yet again, for there is  MUCH to be quite shocked and surprised by in this fabulous Warner Brothers Archive release. In the past, just like the Stoker novel of 1897, there have been several nightmares and tense moments concerning the release of the film on blu ray. In 2012, the first blu ray release of the film in the UK, devided fans and techie types, with a print that was remastered, but for some looked like it had been shot with director Terence Fisher holding a BLUE GEL lighting filter in front of expert camera operator's Jack Asher's lens! For a studio that celebrated the rich and throbbing reds and colours of it's gothic sets, furnishings, fangs and well, blood lusting the chilly blue tone resulted in a very cool reception on its release.


IT CAN'T BE DENIED that Warner Brothers Archive releases, have hit many major BULLS EYE not just in the last two months, where they have utterly spoiled us with the fantastic remasters of two later Hammer Cushing and Lee films on blu ray,  DRACULA AD 1972 and THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULAbut also their HAMMER HORROR CLASSICS VOLUME ONE, presented us with new remastered versions of 'Dracula Has Risen From The Grave', 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'  AND 'Taste The Blood Of Dracula'! No other version of previous releases of these titles can compete with the visual and sound quality of the Warners blu ray releases!


AS TIME DREW CLOSER, after the announcement from Warner of the planned 1958 DRACULA release, just like the tension of the final ten minutes of the film, we ALL waited to find out if THIS release was going to be yet another Warner triumph with gold stars, or if it was going to shock for ALL the wrong reasons, with the horrible news that the blue tint, had risen yet again and returned to haunt the passionate lovers of this film. It was great relief, on pressing the play button on my blu ray player, that I saw an old friend, but looking MORE than healthy! For those of us, who have watched and wore out our VHS and DVD recordings of the film over the years, we KNOW and are very familiar with its tone, contrast, rich, rich colours and that powerful score and accompanying owl screeching and vampire hisses. Here at last, all those things are back, but now cystral clear, remastered and never looked better.


TERENCE FISHER'S 1958 Dracula / Horror of Dracula US Blu-ray arrival on the red carpet is a stunning  “brand-new presentation, sourced from the British Film Institute/Hammer Film restoration master”. Dracula's  'Blur Period' is over.  Through out,  images are strong with good detail and defined and correct  colouring. Everthing, as you would expect looks balanced and bold when they should do! Like many of you, this film is like an old friend to me. I know it well and what I was seeing and hearing was quite an experince. Familiar, but now better and a HUGE departure from previous releases. THIS is how it was meant to be! Because of the clarity, the depth of the sets like Dracula's first arrival on meeting Harker and the fisty-cuff with Lee and Valerie Gaunt, you get the shadows and creepy light and SIZE of Dracula's den. At last, Bernard Robinson's dedicated set design can be seen in all it's beauty. Flagstone floors, drapes, banners, curtains and even the subtle gold detail on the floor space area, when the Count meets his end, is luscious, clear and quite regal. 


IT IS ONE OF THE MANY things you notice from the first scene where Harker stands outside Castle Dracula and certainly when he steps inside, there are SO MANY colours and some are, for me, seen for the first time! I am please to say, that it also sounds as good as it looks. Dialogue isn't lost in what is sometimes a quite dramatic score, every word can be heard and is crisp. Sound effects to seem to have a new life. The horses during the chase, have a lovely thundering base, Cushing's feet on the wooden and hollow tablle top... and hey, those curtains, come down with quite a crash and Dracula's body THUDS when he hits the floor. You'll be please to hear, that for once... The Count's footsteps are wonderfully absent! As, they should be!   


THERE IS MUCH to be VERY happy about concerning this NEW remastering. I think for once too, fans and admirers of this much loved Cushing and Lee classic Hammer film, will appreciate that the task of remastering has been carried out properly, with an eye for detail with a quality that respects the standards, skills, dedication and artistry, of a cinematic production crew and studio, once long gone, but now . . celebrated and still with us! Consider that past ressurections of the DRACULA are now staked, dead and dust. THIS Dracula, has RISEN and has never looked better. He TRULY IS a terrifying lover who DIED and and yet LIVES!




ON TUESDAY WE POSTED what is our LAST competition for this year, has at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE AND what a PRIZE there is to WIN! 😲 With many thanks to our sponsors at Warner Brothers..we have a PAIR of their latest Peter Cushing Hammer film release... their REMASTERED blu ray of the restored BFI print of Hammer films 1958 DRACULA! All you have to do is guess the answer to our VISUAL competition.
 

AS USUAL I have to ask that you DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWER ON THE PAGE... send it to us using the SEND MESSAGE button UNDER THE COMPETITION BANNER Any answers or entries posted on the COMMENTS thread will be deleted and not counted as an entry. The competition CLOSES on Wednesday 19th December 2018. So get your ENTRY in now...and maybe you would like to give us a LIKE too? I'd be most grateful 😉Have fun and GOOD LUCK! - Marcu




JUST CLICK ON THIS LINK to the WARNER BROTHERS SHOP site, where you can also purchase your copy of this release!  

Monday 23 July 2018

NEWS UPDATE: WHITSTABLE BENCH TO BE RESTORED AND THE BRASS PLAQUE TOO!



A VERY GOOD UPDATE, to the story about the Peter and Helen Cushing Bench at Cushing's View in Whitstable. Also news on the brass plaque and the reason why it went missing. I am SO happy to know, it's disappearance was NOT down to an act of vandalism and theft. These details were printed on the Canterbury Council News site today . . . This is good news, thank you Canterbury City Council!


WORK TO RESTORE Peter Cushing’s memorial bench in Whitstable is about to get underway. The city council has commissioned artist Will Glanfield to carry out the project. He originally made the seat, which is located at Cushing’s View on the seafront behind Keam’s Yard car park, in 1990 and will be restoring it using original Jarrah timber. A few weeks ago, a member of the public contacted the council to say the bench’s plaque had gone missing. The council had begun making arrangements for a replacement when Peter Cushing’s former personal assistant, Joyce Broughton, got in touch to say the original plaque had been handed into Whitstable Museum. The council believes the screws had rusted and the plaque had become loose, prompting a member of the public to remove it and hand it in. And when an officer met Joyce at the bench to collect it, the need for the restoration work to the bench itself became clear.


Peter Cushing on the day of the grand opening of Cushing's View on the sea front at Whitstable, Kent.

THE BENCH WILL BE REMOVED in the next week or so and repairs are expected to take around a month. The bench’s dedication plaque will also be reattached. Chairman of the council’s Community Committee, Cllr Neil Baker, said: “We know how important Peter Cushing’s bench is to the people of Whitstable. The last time it was removed for repairs, there were concerns it had been taken away forever, so we want to be clear this is only temporary and that it will be back in a little while, looking better than ever. “It’s particularly good that we’re using the original artist, Will Glanfield, for this project. He will treat the bench with the tender loving care it deserves and we know he’s going to do a great job.”

YOU'LL FIND TODAY'S POST AND AN ARCHIVE OF MOST OF OUR PCASUK WEBSITE POSTS AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! IF YOU ENJOY OUR POSTS AND WANT TO COMMENT OR DISCUSS THE WORK AND LIFE OF PETER CUSHING, COME AND JOIN OVER THIRTY THREE THOUSAND OTHERS, AND TAKE PART IN THE OLDEST PETER CUSHING FAN CLUB, NOW ON FACEBOOK BOOK! POSTS ARE UPDATED THERE EVERYDAY! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CLICK HERE  AND THEN CLICK LIKE THERE! YOU'LL BE MOST WELCOME!

Saturday 15 April 2017

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY AND #FRIDAYNIGHTDILEMMA


#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: WE KICKED OFF this week's / morning's #FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY with this fine photograph of Peter Cushing taking a moment to reflect, on the set of 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell' (in production at Elstree studios from 18th September until 13th November 1973) I LOVE this photograph. I LOVE the film too. Maybe the lease popular of the Cushing / Hammer / Frankenstein series, with fans. Looking over the stats for this film when posted here on this page too, the performance is a little lack-luster too! I can never figure out why this film gets such a poor reception? Surely the WIG can't be that a huge problem it affects, the enjoyment of the film that badly? Maybe...someone can tell me why???

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: The Evil of Frankenstein (1963) was Peter Cushing's only Frankenstein movie for Hammer films, that wasn't directed by Terence Fisher. There is no connection  to the previous Frankenstein Hammer films, The Revenge of Frankenstein'  A flashback creates a prior history that is wholly unrelated to the last Sangster Frankenstein script.  For the U.S. television release there were additional scenes added, on finding that the film was some 15 mins short of the average movie  time slot on US TV.. this would have an impact on the space available for TV advertisements!  The INSERTS featured characters that didn't appear in the original film and have no inter-action with the main characters. Patrick Horgan plays a reporter who questions a doctor (Steven Geray) about Baron Frankenstein. There are also scenes of the deaf-mute girl (Tracy Stratford) and her parents (Maria Palmer and William Phipps), none of whom ever appear in the film again.....!



A NEW WEEKLY feature for a Friday night.....#THEFRIDAYNIGHTDILEMMA. The perfect birthday gift for your Cushing Fan Friend. BUDGET £10 (US $6) - £25. (US $12) Suggestions PLEASE!


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 reach our 30K following total for Peter Cushing BIRTHDAY on MAY 26th 2017 AND Help Keep The Memory Alive!

Tuesday 22 December 2015

MONSTER FROM HELL HITS 41ST ANNIVERSARY : LIMITED EDITION LOBBY CARDS COMPETITION


It's forty one years this year, since the US release of Hammer films last Frankenstein film. Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell starring Peter Cushing, Shane Briant and Madeline Smith and superb cast of supporting character actors.


Before the release of HAMMER FILMS REMASTERED DUO BLU RAY / DVD of FRANKENSTEIN and the MONSTER from HELL in 2014 the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society UK were honoured to be  invited to take part in the pre release promotion campaign. We launched an exclusive competition in conjunction with HAMMER FILMS and THE HORROR CHANNEL and arranged an interview with Peter Cushing's co star, SHANE BRIANT. We arranged that the questions for this interview though, were to be set by the followers of this website and our Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page. 


From the many, many questions that were sent in along with Hammer films, Shane Briant and ourselves, we picked the best SEVEN. These questions and Shane Briant's answered were then released on a LIMITED EDITION of LOBBY CARDS. Published especially for the release of the film. Winners won a set of lobby cards, the lobby card containing the best question was also signed by Shane, the runner up winners as well as making it to the LIMITED LOBBY SET, also won a copy of the Blu Ray DUO DVD release of FRANKENSTEIN and the MONSTER from HELL. 

Presented below are some of the promotional materials, as well as ALL SEVEN of the Limited edition lobby cards and the winning questions.



This wonderfully remastered edition of Peter Cushing's LAST Frankenstein feature is still available to purchase and can be purchased HERE


JOIN US at our Pter Cushing Appreciation Society FACEBOOK FAN PAGE 
Updated Daily : Competitions : Features: Rare Stills and News HERE

Monday 29 September 2014

STUDY THIS CAREFULLY! THE CASE OF THE DISPARATION DE CADEAU DE L'AFRIQUE


THIS TUESDAY September 30th, will be launching a 'sudden death' competition...lasting only six hours...and another opportunity for you to win ANOTHER FIVE copies of Shock's blu ray / dvd release of #hammerfilms 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles'.... here's a heads up... Study this publicity still from the film, featuring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes, Andre Morell as Dr Watson, Francis De Wolff as Dr Mortimer and Christopher Lee as Sir Henry Baskerville..and get ready for 'THE CASE OF DISPARITION DE CADEAU DE L'AFRIQUE'....Tuesday and the Game will be afoot!
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