NEWS:
SCREAM FACTORY has just announced the additional details about their
upcoming blu-ray of Hammer's 1974 'The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires'. This BLU RAY is a locked Region A release. And has a street date planned for April 9th 2019.
THE FINAL LIST list of extras for their upcoming release of the the entertaining kung-fu/horror hybrid from Hammer Films is as follows: • NEW 2K scan of the original film elements • NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck • NEW When Hammer Met Shaw – an interview with actor David Chiang • NEW Kung Fear – an interview with Hong Kong Film Expert Rick Baker • Alternate U.S. Theatrical version – The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula (in HD with some standard definition inserts) • Theatrical Trailers • TV Spot • Stills Gallery
UPON POSTING THESE DETAILS over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE we soon received lots of comments and messages of excitement about the release from people who have long wanted a super clean blu ray version of this
Peter Cushing last appearance as Van Helsing . . . but it seems whenever
this film is mentioned, like DRACULA himself, there arrives a
resurrection of negative comments and critiques of actor, John
Forbes-Robertson's performance and appearance as Count Dracula. Where do
you stand on this? Please feel free to join in on the comments and give us your thoughts too 😉
WITH THE ARRIVAL of THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES from SCREAM FACTORY in APRIL on BLU RAY, it signals the long awaited fact that, all of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing Hammer Dracula films, are now available on BLU RAY . . in some region and in most cases, REMASTERED. We will forever sadly, be hearing many clashing and some questionable opinions for from collectors, experts and fans, to the overall quality of some if not all of these releases. But personal tastes aside, it is great that all of these films have risen from the VHS quality of yesteryear, to a format that embellishes some of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee's best work. Over at the FACEBOOK PCAS FAN PAGEHow many of these titles do own on blu ray, how many on DVD and which stands out as your favorite release and why?
HOW MANY OF THE THESE GIFS from Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing DRACULA tittled Hammer Films can you identify?
HERE IS A TWO PART POST that was shared on the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE today. There were some very interesting comments and opinions, which you can contribute to and read by just CLICKING HERE!
#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! . . . PART ONE: Here's an interesting quote from the late
Christopher Lee, taken from an interview with the Daily Telegraph in
2015. It's the first time I can recall, reading a quote from Lee where
he compares his performance as DRACULA to other actors who played the
role. This was also at a time when the mention of the 'D' word, was
taboo in interviews, certainly interviews with the press. Lee ends this
interview with the request, ' “Please don’t describe
me in your article as a ‘horror legend’. I moved on from that.” . .
.Was Lee's performance as the Count, just too good, he made a role from
which he could not escape.. and that is why he became typecast? Or was
it really about the attraction of the films were then pushing
boundaries, in colour, blood, lust and horror, and that was the real
attraction? What do you think?
#CHRISTOPHERLEE
SATURDAY! PART TWO : As we have read in the previous post today and
along with your very interest comments and opinions.. the role of
Dracula was indeed one of Christopher Lee's finest. He often said, that
he made too many, should have quit playing the Count earlier. Budgets
and payments that should have been higher, better scripts . . he also
mentioned these factors too. Personally, I never tired of watching any
film that had Lee as Dracula and whatever he feelings were later about
the role, he could not dismiss the fact, it was always good, Very good.
For any actor, after a career as long as his indeed his was, in a
business so fickle and unpredictable ...that has to be, for this
actor... a sure victory?
#MOMENTOFTERROR
MONDAY! Hammer films 'Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' is another
one of Cushing's Hammer appearances, where despite HE going all out,
something within the production values, fall short of the feature. . .
If you ever get the chance to read the actual script, it ALL sounds
amazing and what could have been a imaginative and impressive departure,
from the standard set up, if only by location!
THERE ARE MANY THINGS, that are seen as not up to that Hammer standard... but you have to
remember, even as far as John Forbes Robertson's 'make up' as Dracula,
that were produced in the STYLE of the values of fantasy film in the
country in which Hammer had joined forces with Hong Kong's SHAW
BROTHERS.... Take a look at many of the 'fairy-tale-ghost-stories'
produced there, and everything clicks and matches for that culture and
audience. Maybe it's not what is expected by the audience in the high
street Odeon in Bradford UK, but in Hong Kong, certainly. It probably
helped and went someway to pulling in quite a box office smash within
that culture. Sadly, missing the Kung Fu craze in the rest of the world,
Seven Golden Vampires arrived a little too late.
BUT WATCHING IT TODAY, there is much to appreciate. A cast that includes
Chinese actor David Chiang, very popular with fans of other Sahw Bros
karate fighting movies. Two UK TV popular's in Julie Ege, Robin
Steward and the reputation of one of Hammer's leading actors, Peter
Cushing, who plays Van Helsing for the fifth and last time, despite
production problems felt by director Roy Ward Baker, the film is full of
action, all 'horror visuals' have to be viewed with the understanding,
this is really a film produced with supernatural and vampire antics,
coming from a DIFFERENT culture.
MONEY DOES look tight, but then at this
time, productions filmed in Hong Kong by the Shaw's ALL looked like
this. Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires was another brave attempt by
Hammer's manager Michael Carreras, to try another and different angle.
Personally, I am glad he tried. What do you think?
YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE this magazine. We have covered various pieces on it over the last few months and thought it was about time, we honored it with a PCAS COMPETITION too! We done competitions with Warner Brothers, Hammer films too, Lionsgate, various actors and directors too. Even full scale legitimate publishers. So it is a real treat to find an affordable magazine, edited and written by someone, who loves what he does. MUCH of this chap you can find on this site elsewhere! DARIO LAVIA editor of CINEFICCION has donated FOUR issues of the LATEST edition of the magazine. PACKED as usual, full of great stuff. THIS issue features MUCH about the history of WEREWOLVES and WOLFMEN on the big screen ...and elsewhere! There is a fabulous colour feature too. If you liked the AUTOBIOGRAPHY editions he did on Cushing, Lee, Price, Karloff and others, you will LOVE the concept behind the regular editions.
CINEFICCION is written in SPANISH. And for all Spanish speaking fans of the Horror and Fantasy genre, THAT is a WONDERFUL asset! IF only the UK had a magazine THIS professional produced! PCAS since the beginning, has always been an INTERNATIONAL society. There are many many followers of this website and our other social internet sites from all over the world. Before we closed our PCAS Facebook Fan Page, it was always a thrill to meet Cushing Fans from just about everywhere! We STILL DO have a Russian PCAS website!
THAT IS WHY it's always a honor to be friends and fellow fans of Peter's work and help OTHER too!
HERE IS HOW YOU CAN WIN A COPY! BELOW are FOUR different GIFS from films that featured a WEREWOLF or WOLFMAN. NAME THE FILM and give us the actor who PLAYED them in our GIF! HERE THEY ARE . . .
NUMBER ONE
NUMBER TWO
NUMBER THREE
NUMBER FOUR
SEND YOUR ANSWERS to our EMAIL ADDRESS: petercushingpcas@gmail.com THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WIN is only open until FRIDAY 23th of MARCH 2018. COMPETITION CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT GMT that evening. WINNERS will be announced the following day here, during #CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY!GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THERE ARE TWO HAMMER FILM STARS who worked with PETER CUSHING and who are sharing
a birthday TODAY! John Van Eyssen who sadly passed BUT still very much with us is SHE
herself...URSULA ANDRESS. 'SHE' (1965) was the first film from Hammer to
be built around a female star. Tall and statuesque, Ursula Andress was a
perfect choice to play Ayesha, though in retrospect she claims to have
disliked the role.
ANDRESS HAS BEEN criticized by reviewers for her icy
demeanor and aloof detachment, but these characteristics proved
beneficial for playing the steely-eyed Ayesha. Costumed in a selection
of warm-colored, Grecian-styled gowns and gold jewelry, she glows
onscreen, partly due to the flattering, high-key lighting of
cinematographer Harry Waxman.
BORN IN SWITZERLAND to German parents, the exotic-looking beauty spoke with
an accent, which Hammer's producers found too distracting. Andress's
entire role was then re-voiced and dubbed over by an actress named
Monica Van Der Syl, who mimicked a slight Swiss accent so audiences did
not suspect the truth. John Richardson's lines were also dubbed in
post-production by the actor himself, perhaps to give his line readings
an added emphasis, since he tended to be overshadowed by Cushing and
Lee. Lee and Cushing appeared to enjoy working with Andress, and appearing in the film. Lee died with a nice touch and Cushing got to DANCE!
TODAY WE REMEMBER Hammer's first vampire hunter John Van Eyssen.Best known
for starring in Hammer's DRACULA /Horror Of Dracula as Jonathan Harker. Eyssen also starred in Hammer's QUATERMASS 2 and a early Terrence Fisher Hammer film
called The Four Sided Triangle in 1953. Van Eyssen did a great job of playing Harker, and went on to appear in only nine other feature films, then leave
his acting career in 1961 and become the head of the Grade Organisation
literary agency. He then left the business in 65 to take up a position
in the UK division of Columbia Pictures, eventually becoming Managing
Director in July 1969. Finally in 1970, he was promoted to Worldwide
Head of Production (ex-USA) and moved to New York.
#MOMENTOFTERRORMONDAY! IS ALWAYS a pleasure to post! We get to pick and edit, what is another classic moment from a Cushing film, and this one, might not be so well known as the Amicus and Hammer films shocking scenes, but it does do VERY well! LEGEND of the WEREWOLF has been
covered many time at our website, what was once our facebook page,
before THEY turned into a TERROR...and again on our PCAS You Tube
Channel today. On the theme of WEREWOLVES, it ALSO TIES IN well with our SPEEDY COMPETITION today too!
OVER THE YEARS, it has been gaining a lot of notice, more than
when it was made in 1975. Some of it may have to do with the fact that
this and THE GHOUL Cushing films from TYBURN FILMS ..still has not had a
legit release of dvd or Blu Ray. MANY MANY illegal and poor releases,
but we still await the arrival. Cushng is smashing, Rintoul as our
Werewolf is top dog and Ron Moody and Roy Castle make the film fun.
Until that release arrives, here is another clip, sharpened for the
TERROR factor!
