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What ought to be appreciated as one of the most prescient of 1950s suspense films holds a place among the best science fiction movies ever — and it formed a style template for a thousand paranoid spy thrillers to follow. Val Guest pares Nigel Kneale’s fantastic storyline down to its essentials, making his scientist-hero the perfect secret agent to confront a sinister techno-political conspiracy… from outer space.

Quatermass 2

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1957 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / 29.95

Starring: Brian Donlevy, John Longdon, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, William Franklyn, Vera Day, Charles Lloyd Pack, Tom Chatto, John Van Eyssen, Percy Herbert, Michael Ripper, John Rae, Michael Balfour.

Cinematography: Gerald Gibbs

Film Editor: James Needs

Makeup: Philip Leakey

Art Direction: Bernard Robinson

Original Music: James Bernard

Written by Val Guest, Nigel Kneale from his teleplay

Produced by Anthony Hinds

Directed by Val Guest

Here’s yet another fine 2019 Blu-ray release...

Scream Factory™ Presents Two Highly Anticipated Hammer Film Cult Classics Arrive on Blu-rays™! Quatermass 2 Starring Brian Donlevy With Sidney James, John Longden, Bryan Forbes, Vera Day, and William Franklyn And Quatermass And The Pit Starring Andrew Keir, James Donald, Barbara Shelley, and Julian Glover Available July 30, 2019 From Scream Factory™ Hobbs End, Knightsbridge, …

The post Quatermass 2 and Quatermass And The Pit – Two Highly Anticipated Hammer Film Cult Classics Arrive on Blu-rays appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

By Tim Greaves

Writer Derek Pykett (whose excellent book " MGM British Studios: Hollywood in Borehamwood" was reviewed here earlier this year) has turned his hand to directing; setting up and playing host to a dozen intimate interviews with some of Britain's most respected and beloved thesps, the results are now available on DVD with "From Stage to Screen", a privately produced, limited edition 6-disc box set.

With each performer given their own ‘episode’ and a total running time of 15 hours, there's so much material here that it'll take the average viewer a number of sittings to get through it all. Beyond starting with disc one and working through methodically, where one begins is probably going to be proportionate to the level of esteem in which the viewer holds each particular actor or actress represented within the set; I confess that at the time of writing I still have a fair bit to get through.

Cinema Retro has received the following press announcement:

For the first time on DVD a brand new series of relaxed, intimate, face to face interviews with some of Britain’s finest, much loved actors, who share with us moments from their lives and work in theatre, television and films.

With careers that span over seven decades, we hear stories about the greatest theatres (The National; The Old Vic; The Royal Shakespeare Company); the theatrical knights (Olivier; Gielgud; Richardson); the bright lights of Broadway, and the most celebrated movie directors of the twentieth century (Spielberg; Fellini; Huston; Chaplin; Visconti; Lean).

Featuring an extensive archive of rare photographs and film trailers, it is a nostalgic trip down memory lane in the company of highly respected actors who have given us some unforgettable performances.

Joss Ackland, Michael Medwin, Vera Day, Julian Glover, Michael Craig, Roy Dotrice, Sarah Miles, Lee Montague, Michael Jayston, Derren Nesbitt,...

(back row) Carol Cleveland, Caroline Munro, (front) Martine Beswick, Madeline Smith, Caron Gardner, Vera Day, Renee Glynn.

Leicester, 13th - 14th July 2012

By Adrian Smith

An impressive array of stars and an eclectic lineup of Hammer films at the Phoenix Square cinema in Leicester marked the launch of a brand new innovative collaboration between Hammer and the De Montfort University. Their Cinema and Television History (Cath) Research Centre have become custodians of the Hammer script archive, meaning they will curate and catalogue the collection and make them available for research purposes. They have also received a collection of Jimmy Sangster items donated by his widow Mary Peach, including written materials and photographs covering not only his time with Hammer but as a successful independent writer and director.

In order to celebrate this new relationship the university hosted a two day Hammer festival attended by fans and academics keen to explore...

The London Film Memorabilia Convention

Saturday May The 12 th ( 10 am – 4 pm )

Central Hall Westminster

UK’s longest running film convention!

Dealers from all over the UK , Europe and Canada!

Specialising in selling vintage film memorabilia and rare collectIbles. Items covering the history of cinema can be found.

From the silents to the present.

A Unique Event For Anyone With An Interest In Cinema!

Stills Posters Both Vintage & The Latest Releases

Programmes Books Rare And Hard To Find Soundtracks

& DVD’S Books Magazines Lobby Cards Autographs Postcards Vintage & Retro Film And Television Related Toys Props Actors Signings And Talks

Special Guests –

The legendary cult actor David Warner – Who will be signing and selling some personal memorabilia from such films as Star Trk V , Star Trk VI , Titanic , Planet Of The Apes and some Peckinpah related items!

Sylvia Syms – Who acted in such films as Ice Cold In Alex , Victim

Flame In The Streets...

The new film "My Week With Marilyn" tells the story of a brief yet wondrous puppy dog love affair between Marilyn Monroe and a young gofer on the set of "The Prince and the Showgirl." Michelle Williams has drawn raves for total inhabiting of Monroe, but while her performance may ring authentic, there are new questions being asked about the truthfulness of the story on which the film is based.

A new article in the La Times digs deep into the alleged affair between Monroe and Colin Clark, the then-gofer who would go on to write the two books that inspired the film: "The Prince, the Showgirl and Me," and "My Week With Marilyn." The latter describes the short fling between Clark and Monroe, who is portrayed as desperate for love in a foreign land and distraught by misgivings over her new husband, Arthur Miller.

Those that were on set...

Cinema Retro issue #21 is now shipping in worldwide. All subscribers should have the issue in their hands any day.  It's our most provocative issue ever, covering some of the most ground-breaking, censor-shattering films in history. Among the highlights:

Raymond Benson examines the legacy of A Clockwork Orange and interviews Malcolm McDowell and Jan Harlan, Stanley Kubrick's assistant and future producer of his films. John Exshaw looks into the making of Ken Russell's controversial The Devils and explores how the film has been cut and censored around the world since its initial release- and why it may never be released in America or the UK on DVD. Stephanie Callas celebrates Bertolucci's X-rated classic Last Tango in Paris  Ian Brown looks into Don Siegel's kinky remake of The Killers- the final film of Ronald Reagan.

Mark Cerulli gives us the inside story on the making of John Carpenter's...

Cinema Retro London correspondent Adrian Smith with Hammer actress Vera Day.

By Adrian Smith

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If you’re in London during the next two weeks, be sure to check out this fabulous new festival and exhibition based on Hammer’s legendary horror films.The event was launched on the 27th October at the Idea Generation gallery in Shoreditch, to which Cinema Retro was invited. We were told it was a private view of this exhibition of previously unseen photos and artwork, along with more well known stills and publicity photos. However, it was the most public “private view” we have ever seen. This could have been down to a resurgence in the popularity of Hammer, tied in with new film production, or it could have been the endless bottles of free cider.

Several Hammer-related guests were in attendance, including Paul Cole, John Hough,...

By Adrian Smith

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Sitting in the plush Screen 1 at the new BFI Southbank (formerly the National Film Theatre) in London on Monday evening, I was in retro heaven. Not only were we going to hear from Sir Roger Moore discussing his often overlooked TV career, but we were being treated with an episode each of The Saint and The Persuaders. Whilst waiting for the lights to go down they played such TV themes as The Prisoner, The Avengers and The Champions, and I couldn’t have wiped the child-like grin off my face if my life depended on it.

First up was “The Miracle Tea Party”, an episode of The Saint directed by Moore himself, featuring such cold-war staples as Soviet spies, nuclear submarine bases and ingenious assassinations. Oh, and Nanette Newman. It featured many locations including Waterloo station,...

 

Former James Bond girls and Hammer stars Caroline Munro and Martine Beswicke reunited at Bray Studios

 

 

If you couldn't be at Bray Studios' historic Hammer Horror reunion last weekend, Cinema Retro's man on the scene Adrian Smith gives you the low-down:

On August 4, over 150 fans and many Hammer stars and personnel gathered at Bray Studios on the banks of the River Thames to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of The Curse of Frankenstein. Amongst the guests were writer-director Jimmy Sangster, director John Hough, Margaret Robinson, the widow of art director Bernard Robinson, and actors Virginia Wetherell, Madeline Smith, Ingrid Pitt, Janina Faye, Vera Day, Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke, Carol Marsh, Yvonne Monlaur, Valerie Leon, Douglas Wilmer, Damien Thomas, John Cater and Edward de Souza. It was the first time for many of the fans in attendance that they had been able to visit Bray, the spiritual home of Hammer films.