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Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (2-disc) (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / Scream of Fear / The Gorgon) by The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll directed by
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DVD detailsActor: Paul Massie - The Two Faces Of Dr. Jekyl, Peter Cushing - The Gorgon, Susan Strasberg - Scream Of Fear, Terence Morgan - The Curse Of The Mummy' Director: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll directed by DVD: Region Code 99 Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language); German (Original Language) Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC Picture Format: 1.66:1 Running Time: 324 minutes DVD Release Date: 2008-10-14 Audience Rating: Unrated Studio: SONY PICTURES
DVD Reviews of Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (2-disc) (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / Scream of Fear / The Gorgon)DVD Review: Who Is The Real Monster? (Superb Collection of Monster Movies From Hammer Film Productions) Summary: 5 Stars First, allow me to discuss the DVD presentation. The only extra features are: theatrical trailers and English subtitles for all four movies. We who are hearing impaired thank Sony for the subtitles. Commentaries would've been nice, especially for those who have a favorite film in this collection. The restoration is superb and the audio is strong and clear for all four features. "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" and "The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb" are presented in widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1; "The Gorgon" and "Scream of Fear" are presented in 1.66:1. Except for "Scream of Fear," all features are in beautiful color. The black and white print is clear and sharp for "Scream of Fear." Too bad it wasn't in color. Overall, the DVD presentation is very good. Now for the review:
Hammer Film Productions was famous for their gothic horror films. This is a superb collection and introduction for anyone unfamiliar with Hammer. Horror icon Christopher Lee (most famous for his role as Dracula) is in three of the films. Other horror legends include Peter Cushing, Barbara Shelly, Susan Strasberg, and Oliver Reed. All four movies involve monsters, primarily humans who have become monsters, whether physically or intellectually. Also, in these films, the viewer doesn't know who the real monster is. (The films are rife with betrayal.) A monster can be anyone. Sometimes they are normal in appearance. I promise you no plot spoilers as I briefly describe the monster scenario in each of these highly rated classic gems.
"The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" - Aging Dr. Jekyll drinks his potion and becomes a younger, more handsome man who wishes to be free of all responsibility for his amoral actions. (Don't we all wish we could live like that? Isn't there a monster in all of us?) Masquerading as Dr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll learns that his gorgeous wife and best friend (Lee) are traitorous monsters.
"The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb." - Ra, the Egyptian Prince, has been resurrected by an evil person who possesses an amulet. Who are they and why are they seeking to destroy everyone around them? The real monster is the one who is controlling the unfortunate mummy.
"The Gorgon." Both Lee and Cushing star as a doctor and a professor, respectively, who are seeking to destroy the monster who turns innocent villagers into stone with their gaze. Unfortunately, the monster may actually be a respected member of the community.
"Scream of Fear." This "Hitchcock"-like thriller stars Susan Strasberg as a crippled young woman; for the first time in ten years, she is visiting her wealthy father who lives on the French Riviera. Someone in the household is a monster who is trying to drive her insane. Quite a good mystery with many surprises.
In fact, all four films are mysterious, gloomy, creepy, and shocking. I'm surprised these haven't already been released on DVD in America. They are truly excellent horror classics. I can't tell you which one is my favorite. For having been made in the 1960s, these films contain violence that is surprisingly graphic and shocking. Also, certain scenes in "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" had language and sexual innuendoes that were hilarious.
This collection is a must have for fans of gothic horror from Hammer Film Productions. I'm very glad I bought it. Try to take it away from me and I'll turn into a monster.
DVD Review: A big surprise on this set of Hammer Horrors. Keep 'em coming Columbia Summary: 5 StarsAmazed to discover not only have the "hells" and "whores" on the dialogue track been restored in this version of The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll, but at least three scenes that had been trimmed by the censor have also been restored. The uncut ending of Maria's snake dance is pretty bold stuff for the early 60's and it's hard to imagine that Hammer thought they could slip this by the British or American censors. The two other restored moments are also scenes with the snake dancer, Maria.
I've always found The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll a compelling reworking of the Stevenson novella, and as others have noted, Christopher Lee gives one of his best performances in an unusual bit of casting. Unfortunately the picture never really knows what to do with its unique premise of a dull bearded Dr Jekyll and a young handsome Mr Hyde. The original script was for a two hour movie and before shooting began was cut down to a more typical Hammer running time of under 90 minutes. Cutting that much material out of the script may be the reason this version never really comes together dramatically.
But it's difficult to know without reading, if the longer script would have made a better picture. The original screenplay ended with the execution of Dr Jekyll. His neck in the hangman's noose, Jekyll is dropped through the gallows' door and as the dead man's body swings into view, we see the face of Mr Hyde. It's a stronger ending, but doesn't magically pull the picture together.
The Two Faces isn't a horror film and it's not written or directed as a horror film. Maybe the problem is that we expect a horror film and the movie isn't powerful enough to convince us it isn't a horror film.
Even with the script problems, The Two Faces is one of Hammer's most elaborate productions with a number of very compelling scenes and strong performances. Terence Fisher's direction is bold and assured, although for some reason Fisher has been blamed for the picture's short comings. But it seems apparent the problem is with the script, not the direction. For all it's flaws, it's one of Hammer's most unusual pictures and I can't help but like it a lot.
Scream of Fear is the first and best of Hammer's psychological thrillers, with a few tense scenes that still hold up 47 years later. Although you might find one of the most "shocking" moments is a quiet but sexually charged scene between Ann Todd and Ronald Lewis near the end of the movie.
The Gorgon tries hard to be the kind of horror film its title suggests, but fortunately fails miserably. More a tragic romance, in some strange way the picture rises above it's limited premise. Probably because Terence Fisher's direction emphasis the romantic and plays down as much of the conventional horror shtick as possible. But it's an uphill battle since the script is filled with cliches.
As for Columbia's restoration of these pictures, for some reason The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is way over saturated. Maybe it's my set, but nothing else looks over saturated except these recent Hammer releases from Columbia and that includes the two pirate pictures on the Icons of Adventure disc. Jack Asher's photography was always bold, but it didn't look cartoon-ish which is what I'm seeing on my set. Turning color down on my set helps a lot. But can't do much about the red leaning color correction . . . skin tones are way too ruddy and this might be the limits of what can be restored with a faded print. Neither Warner's nor Universal's Hammer releases have over saturated color, though Warner's The Mummy, in particular, leans too much to red in the skin tones.
DVD Review: Good Set, Lousy Packaging Summary: 4 StarsThe packaging on this set is atrocious. The cover shot looks as if somebody ran wild with (Adobe) Illustrator and Photoshop. It looked like the work of one of those labels whose 'best available source material' was a badly worn VHS tape. There are no special features except for the original theatrical trailers. If it hadn't been for the "Columbia" and "Sony" logos on the rear jacket this one would have stayed on the shelf.
But, that's where the bad news ends. The films have been re-mastered in high definition. The images are pristine. The colour is vibrant. The audio tracks have been re-mastered to stereo. Even the trailers have been cleaned up. The menus are easy to navigate. The set features two gems and a pair of enjoyable films. The price works out to about six bucks per film.
This is a good set and a good value.
Scream of Fear ****
This film evokes images of Hitchcock's better work. Jimmy Sangster's story has plenty of twists and turns. The acting from the principle players is superb. Susan Strasberg delivers a riveting performance. Ann Todd's performance is wonderfully subtle. Christopher Lee shows the range that made him an icon of the genre. Ronald Lewis is both chilling and charming as the man sympathetic to Strasberg's plight.
The technical side of the picture is strong also. Director Seth Holt kept Sangster's narrative moving at a brisk pace. The cinematography and lighting are excellent. The black and white photography is stunning. The score, by Clifton Parker enhances the mood of the film extremely well.
This is an excellent piece of work.
The Gorgon ****
The Gorgon is a wonderfully crafted motion picture. Director Terrence Fisher regarded it as his finest or one of his finest works and he was probably right. It `s true that the snakes on the Gorgon's makeup look bad but the blame (likely) lies with the amount of money the crew had to work with. The rubber snakes aside, this film breathtakingly beautiful to watch. The cinematography of Michael Reed is excellent. The design of the production by Bernard Robinson is gorgeous. The lighting (which is uncredited) casts one stunning highlight after another. The colour (by Technicolor) is glorious. J. Llewellyn Devine's story, and John Gilling's adaptation of it, gave the crew plenty to work with.
(Terrence) Fisher's directing knits this web together perfectly. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee both give fine performances. Barbara Shelley delivers an engaging turn as Cushing's assistant. Michael Goodliffe and Richard Pasco deliver strong characterizations. Even the Village Police Inspector played by Patrick Troughton avoids being a completely one-dimensional figure. There are a few backdrops that aren't convincing and the aforementioned snakes' heads look a little silly but those are small complaints.
This is an example of the genre at its most poetic. It's not to be missed.
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll **
The take that writer Wolf Mankowitz gave to (Robert Louis) Stevenson's classic is intriguing enough but the narrative never lives up to its original promise. The story bogs down periodically and the characters are often weak. Jekyll' is overwrought and self-righteous. Hyde is an intellectual version of pure evil who can be really stupid. Jekyll's wife is an unsympathetic character. Hyde's lover seems bent on her own destruction. They're all one-dimensional.
Terrence Fisher and the actors around him do what they can but that's limited. Paul Masse does well with the roles of Jekyll and Hyde but he couldn't do the impossible. 'Hyde' is intriguing enough but 'Jekyll' is flat. He spends most of his screen time acting as if he'd be a lot of fun at funerals. Dawn Addams never evokes any sympathy over being caught in a loveless marriage. Norma Marla does pretty well in the role of the women who falls in love with Hyde but she was limited by the script. The only character that's fleshed out thoroughly is the one played by Christopher Lee. He plays the part of an unprincipled leech brilliantly. It's a credit to his talent that he could do so much with limited material.
This isn't a bad film. The story-line is thought provoking and there are some good moments. But, it's inconsistent. And when it's dull, it's dull.
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb **
This film has plenty of faults. The makeup job on the Mummy is awful. Its head looks like it's made of soggy cardboard. The best parts of the script were borrowed from their first version of the story. The characters are all stock. There's an intrepid academic who bores his girlfriend. There's a bored girlfriend who falls for the charming intellectual. Of course there's a charming intellectual. There's the obligatory Egyptian who warns about the dangers of 'defiling the dead' (who in Egypt always have curse ready for people who do that). And, naturally, there's a huckster in there. How could there not be?
But this crew does a decent job with it. Ronald Howard is wonderfully dull as the academic who'd rather woo women with hieroglyphics than moonlight. Jeanne Roland is a perfect Doe-eyed ing?nue. Her character isn't the brightest bulb on the screen but she bats her bonny browns deliciously. Terrence Morgan is slippery, suave, charming and happy to show her the poetry of life. And Fred Clark is delightfully dollar-happy as the promoter looking to put the Mummy under lights. Director and Writer Michael Carreras had the sense to throw in a few surprises. And he did it in ways that don't seem contrived.
When the cardboard-headed Mummy finally does run loose there are some chilling moments. The pace set by Carreras is brisk one. His story, though not particularly original, seldom drags. The cinematography and production design by Otto Heller and Bernard Robinson are good. The action scenes are convincing.
This isn't a great film (or even a particularly good one) but it has one thing going for it: it's fun.
DVD Review: Mostly Second Tier Hammer But Still Relatively Excellent Summary: 4 StarsThree of these 60's Hammers have great-looking color and blemish-free prints. 'Scream of Fear' is black and white and has a grainier print that is still quite satisfactory.
'The Gorgon' is the best of the four. Director Terence Fisher has given it the same stylish treatment as his Dracula films, and it is likewise set in Transylvania country, or close. The atmosphere is eerie and the coldness and remoteness of the region really come across well. And, what a cast.
Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee alone would be sufficient for a recommendation. Actually, Lee has a smaller role than usual here, though he is professional as always. Barbara Shelley brings a highly individual beauty and fragility to her role as Cushing's nurse, and Richard Pasco is excellent as a student seeking answers over his father's and brother's deaths.
'The Gorgon' may not have the best special effects of all time, but I really have no complaints.
'The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb' is pretty enjoyable, though I would rank it third, behind Hammer's 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy's Shroud' in terms of the studio's Mummy forays. (I am not familiar with 'Blood from the Mummy's Tomb'.) The best thing about 'Curse' is Fred Clark's greedy American businessman. I would place Clark in a tie with Forrest Tucker's ugly American from 'The Abominable Snowman' as to which of them is the least sensitive and most politically incorrect. I do think 'Curse' would have been better had Fisher directed. Michael Carreras's work makes the movie look more like a competent TV thriller, albeit with good production design.
'The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll' has a pretty interesting spin on Robert Louis Stevenson's story and a good evocation of 1890's London. The cast is good--didn't know Christopher Lee could play a compulsive gambler/gigolo so well--and Paul Massie is acceptable in the title role(s). Dawn Addams plays unfaithful wives as well as anyone I have seen. One look at her and you immediately know her husband needs a good lawyer. The biggest problem with 'Two Faces' is, once past the initial premise the plot quickly becomes rather routine.
'Scream of Fear' was written by Hammer staple Jimmy Sangster, and if you liked the movies 'Nightmare' or 'Paranoiac' this one is on a par. It's impossible to guess where the plot goes in 'Scream' and credibility does get pushed a bit far, but since it's Hammer it's not like we're asking for a story ripped from the headlines.
Unlike 'Icons of Adventure' this set has no extras. Still, the price is reasonable for four movies issued in mostly outstanding quality prints.
Just about all the Hammer I had been waiting for is now on DVD. The one I'm still missing is 1965's 'She', which I thought was excellent and needs to be issued in Region 1.
DVD Review: The "B" Side of Hammer's Hit Parade Summary: 4 StarsSort of like the "B" side of Hammer Film's greatest hits, "Hammer Films: Four Creepy Classics" is a blast and, in some cases, surpasses some of the film company's better known classics. In order to truly appreciate these films, it may help to have viewed them as a child (when they had more power to terrify), or, at least, to watch them without the expectation of non-stop action and graphic gore that typifies most horror films in today's market.
First up is "Curse of the Mummy's Tomb", the first sequel to Hammer's 1959 Peter Cushing classic, "The Mummy" (itself a remake of, and improvement upon, a number of Universal horror flicks of the 1940's). "Curse" once again finds blasphemous archaeologists desecrating the tomb of an ancient pharaoh, with the usual mayhem resulting after an American showman (Fred Clark channeling P.T. Barnum) decides to take the gauze-covered mummy on a roadshow exhibition. After the usual suspects get wind of this, they resurrect the dusty fellow, who cuts a murderous swath through London before beauty and innocence prove to be his undoing. Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard (no relation to the director), and Jeanne Roland round out the perfectly acceptable cast. Not great, but still quite fun, "Curse" may suffer in comparison to its predecessor, but it's still better than the tired Mummy retreads that Universal has been belching out lately.
"The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" is a surprisingly sexy (for its time) look at the infamous doctor and his alter-ego's sordid doings. Beautiful cinematography and a good cast enhance this story about stuffy Doctor J's transformation into good-looking, sophisticated, man-about-town, Mr. Hyde (both excellently played by Paul Massie). While the good doctor's wife (Dawn Addams) canoodles with his best friend (Christopher Lee), Mr. Hyde hooks up with a snake-charmer in a colorful den of iniquity overseen by bouncer Oliver Reed (in an early screen role). Everyone is lusty and having a grand old time (except for poor old Jekyll) until Hyde's nasty temper begins getting the better of him, and then it's curtains for a number of characters. This is, perhaps, my favorite film on the DVD, although the scene where a seemingly agile, healthy adult stands perfectly still and screams while an extremely slow-moving python slithers over to dispatch said victim is irritatingly ludicrous.
"The Gorgon" pairs Hammer faves Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as two Eastern European doctors at odds with one another as they try to track down the mysterious titular creature responsible for a number of deaths in the local village. Flame-haired Barbara Shelley co-stars as Cushing's beautiful nurse, with Richard Pasco on hand as her suitor. There are some slow moments in "The Gorgon", and the monster, herself, is best seen when reflected in mirrors and pools of water, because the make-up department didn't do anyone any favors with this get-up of rubber snakes and bloodshot eyeballs. Still, it's a pretty good film with high production values, decent acting, and a certain amount of suspense.
All in all, I thought "Scream of Fear"--not a horror film, per se--was the creepiest film of the bunch. A wheelchair-bound American heiress (Susan Strasberg) arrives at the French Riviera estate of her estranged father, only to find him missing and her stepmother (Ann Todd) acting suspiciously cozy with the local doctor (Christopher Lee, again, adopting a French accent). The only one of the four movies to be filmed in black and white, "Scream of Fear" has a weird, scary quality that recalls such low budget shockers as "Dementia 13" and "Paranoiac"; there's something claustrophobic about that black-and-white estate that invites cautious looks over the shoulder when characters enter darkened rooms they know they should stay out of. Though not as bloody and violent as "Dementia 13" and its ilk (which are tame by today's standards), "Scream of Fear" succeeds in creeping out the viewer with what it doesn't show. Again, the acting is first-rate with both Strasberg and Todd, in totally opposing roles, giving sympathetic performances, and Lee and actor, Ronald Lewis, fine as the male stand-bys. Again, I was bothered by a perfectly ludicrous scene in this film, when one character is brutally (and unnecessarily) killed while the rest of the cast hovers around the edges, waiting to "make their move".
While they have certainly produced better films in the past, the four included on this collection are more than worthy of Hammer's growing DVD canon and a nice addition for collectors.
Description of Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (2-disc) (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / Scream of Fear / The Gorgon)The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb When European Egyptologists Dubois, Giles and Bray discover the tomb of the Egyptian prince Ra, American entrepreneur and investor Alexander King insists on shipping the treasures and sarcophagus back to England for tour and display. Once there, someone with murderous intent has discovered the means of waking the centuries dead prince...
Scream of Fear After narrowly surviving an accident in which she nearly drowned, the wheelchair bound Penny Appleby returns home to live with her widowed step-mother Jane on the French Riviera. She begins to question her sanity after several times seeing her father's corpse around the house and its grounds, and enlists the help of the friendly chauffeur Bob while attending Doctor Gerrard acts in a suitably sinister manner. No one is who they seem in this tale of intrigue and suspense.
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
The Gorgon In early-twentieth-century middle-Europe, villagers are literally becoming petrified. Although the authorities try to hush the matter up it is apparent that at the full moon, Medusa leaves her castle lair and anyone looking on her face is turned to stone. When this fate befalls a visitor, experts from the University of Leipzig arrive to try and get to the bottom of it all. Though perhaps not as iconic as their Dracula and Frankenstein pictures, this quartet of fright flicks from England's Hammer Films deliver enough Saturday afternoon creature feature thrills to please devotees of the legendary studio's output and vintage horror fans alike. 1964's The Gorgon will be the title to attract the most immediate attention due to the presence of Hammer's biggest stars, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, in its cast, and its most celebrated director, Terence Fisher, behind the camera. It's an atmospheric and offbeat entry in the Hammer canon, with one of its most unusual villains: a snake-haired fiend from Greek mythology who turns men into stone. Cushing and Lee are typically fine (both are on the side of the angels for once), and the picture's sole stumbling block is the lackluster makeup for its monster. Lee is also present in supporting roles in two other films in the collection: Scream of Fear (1961), one of several competent psychological suspense features made by Hammer in the wake of Psycho, with Susan Strasberg as a fragile young woman plagued by terrible visions and a house full of suspicious types; and Fisher's The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), a revamp of the Stevenson story with Paul Massie as the dour scientist whose personality experiments unleash a virile but unhinged alter ego. Hardcore Hammer aficionados will be thrilled to discover that the DVD version is uncut and preserves much of the (mildly) salacious material trimmed for its release in America under the title House of Fright. The final film on Icons of Horror is Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, with Hammer exec Michael Carreras (son of company founder James Carreras) behind the camera for a featherweight monster romp that doesn't hold a candle to Terence Fisher's Mummy in 1959. Unlike previous Icons of Horror DVDs, the supplemental features here are slim--just the theatrical trailers for each film--though they do offer their own degree of charm, especially the ballyhoo-heavy tone of Mummy and the oddly elegant and unnerving preview for Scream of Fear, which is centered solely around an image of Strasberg's face. --Paul Gaita
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