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HORROR OF HAMMERALLDAY Entertainment/Image Entertainment
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HORROR OF HAMMERWhat more can you say about Hammer Films that hasn't already been said? As a small British production company, Hammer were able to churn out films that looked 100 times more costly than their actual budgets, specializing in colorful, gothic period pieces. Not only did they make period horrors, but they also dabbled in sci-fi, fantasy, as well as a good number of psychological thrillers. Making stars out of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (nuff said), we need not forget the likes of Andre Morrell, Andrew Kier, Michael Ripper, Michael Gough, Oliver Reed, and the list goes on and on and on. And I'm not forgetting the bevy of beauties on hand!
Well, seeing all these familiar faces together in one DVD trailer compilation is like gathering a bunch of old friends together in your living room. Spanning from 1955 to 1976, there are 53 original trailers here, placed not chronologically, but sort of by category. It starts with the Frankenstein films, six with Cushing as the Baron, and the odd one (HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN) with Ralph Bates. Next up is THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, the Quatermass trilogy (under their modified American titles), X THE UNKNOWN, Joseph Losey's rarely seen THESE ARE THE DAMNED, a trio of "caveman" pictures, William Castle's THE OLD DARK HOUSE, NIGHTMARE, THE DEVIL'S OWN (aka THE WITCHES), THE DEVIL'S BRIDE (aka THE DEVIL RIDES OUT), TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.
Next up is Hammer's quartet of "mummy" flicks spanning 1959-1972, followed by RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK (with a free beard giveaway to lucky patrons in 1966), THE REPTILE, STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH, THE GORGON, NIGHT CREATURES, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, HOUSE OF FRIGHT (aka THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL), and DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE. The trailers conclude with every vampire film that the company ever produced, including nine Dracula pictures (seven with Christopher Lee as the Count), KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, TWINS OF EVIL, VAMPIRE CIRCUS and COUNTESS DRACULA. The last trailer shown is THE 7 BROTHERS MEET DRACULA, the badly retitled and badly re-edited U.S. cut of LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES which didn't reach our shores until 1979!
The DVD also has some extra trailers and promotional stuff. There's a short film called "Beauties and Beasts," a behind-the-scenes promotional piece for WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH. It features the lovely Victoria Vetri posing for the paparazzi as James Carreras ogles at girlie photos back at the Hammer office. "Prince of Terror" is a promotional short for DRACULA A.D. 1972. You'll get a glimpse of Lee and Cushing having fun on the set, with a money shot of Lee putting in his fangs, as well as rolling his eyes when director Alan Gibson instructs him on how to die. The bonus material also includes TV spots for COUNTESS DRACULA and DRACULA A.D. 1972, and an alternate trailer for BRIDES OF DRACULA.
When I first read that this trailer compilation disc was to have an audio commentary, I thought it was kind of pointless. But after just a few minutes of listening, I was proven wrong and really enjoyed it. The commentary is a three-way conversation between Ted Newsom (producer of the excellent Hammer documentary FLESH AND BLOOD), author Gary H. Smith and Stuart Galbraith IV. The three men know what they're talking about and obviously have a lot of love and respect for Hammer, and as a fan, I wanted to jump into the conversation many times during the course of it. I especially loved when Newsom defends Terence Fisher's capabilities, firmly labeling undeserved criticism as "crap," just because the master doesn't jive with the modern, "MTV style" of direction. Way to go Ted!
The quality of the trailers varies. Some of them look like they're clearly taken from a tape source, and print scratches and murkiness abounds most of them. Some of them are very dark, and this could be a bit irritating (the trailer for FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED is nearly unwatchable), and titles sometimes bleed of the sides of the screen (the whole program is full screen, except for a couple of trailers that have an "adapted" letterboxing). There are authentic theater adverts in between each trailer, and this can be annoying. The commentary gets sloppily interrupted from time to time when the disc searches for a new chapter.
This is a pretty complete chronicle of Hammer's genre history, though trailers for a handful of classics are sadly missed (PARANOIAC, HANDS OF THE RIPPER, DEMONS OF THE MIND, the Bette Davis films, etc.). As the trailers range from acceptable to good in quality, the package as a whole is still a treasure and a must have for Hammer fans and general horror fanatics alike. Now if we could only get the rest of the Hammer films out on DVD! (George R. Reis)