Ghost Stories

[antnield]

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced for volumes 1 and 2:

BBC TV’s acclaimed Ghost Stories finally come to DVD
in five individual volumes and a box set from the BFI

The BFI will make all twelve of the classic BBC films from A Ghost Story for Christmas series available on DVD this year, with the first two volumes – each containing a double bill of chilling tales – released on 20 August.

The first release features Jonathan Miller’s Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968), with Sir Michael Hordern, paired with the 2010 adaptation of the same chilling tale, starring John Hurt and directed by Andy de Emmony. Released alongside it is a pairing of The Stalls of Barchester (1971), starring Robert Hardy and receiving its DVD premiere, and A Warning to the Curious (1972), with Peter Vaughan, both directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. Each set comes with numerous special features and illustrated booklets.

As a Christmas treat during the 1970s, the BBC screened adaptations of the classic ghost stories of MR James, the Cambridge academic and author of some of the most spine-tingling tales in the English language. Most of the instalments, which were broadcast to terrified viewers in the dead of winter, were directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, who has been interviewed for new introductions on these BFI releases.

With only three of the twelve tales previously released on DVD (by the BFI in 2002, and long since deleted), the films in this brilliant series have been high on many film and TV fans' 'most wanted' DVD lists. With a subtlety and style all of their own, they have been a major influence on recent British horror films, such as The Woman in Black, and have inspired screenwriters and filmmakers such as Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock).

The release of the first two Ghost Stories volumes is timed to mark the 150th anniversary of MR James’ birth on 1 August 1862.

Two more volumes, the first containing Lost Hearts, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and The Ash Tree, and the second containing The Signalman (Andrew Davies’ adaptation of the Charles Dickens story), Stigma (written by Clive Exton) and The Ice House (written by John Bowen), will follow in September, while the fifth and final volume, containing the more recent instalments View from a Hill and Number 13, as well as a complete Ghost Stories for Christmas box set, will be released in October.
________________________________________________________
VOLUME 1

Whistle and I’ll Come to You (Jonathan Miller, 1968)

When a sceptical professor, played with eccentric intensity in a brilliant performance by Michael Hordern, finds an old whistle on a Norfolk beach he unleashes a horrifying monster from the depths of his psyche.

Jonathan Miller’s (Beyond the Fringe, The Drinking Party, Alice in Wonderland) adaptation of MR James’ terrifying tale, made for BBC’s Omnibus series, uses the bleak Norfolk landscape, superbly photographed by Dick Bush, to instil a sense of isolation and unease.

Whistle and I’ll Come to You (Andy de Emmony, 2010)

In this recent rendering of MR James’s celebrated ghost story, the legendary John Hurt plays James Parkin, a lonely retiree who has left his wife in a nursing home. Troubled by this loss, he visits their old holiday haunt, but his discovery of a mysterious ring on the beach sparks a series of ghostly encounters and disturbing nightmares which refuse to disappear in the cold light of day. Atmospheric and emotive, this modern adaptation brings a fascinating new interpretation to an endlessly creepy yarn.

Special features
• Jonathan Miller and Christopher Frayling discuss Whistle and I’ll Come to You (BBC, 2012, 3 mins)
• MR James’ original story, ‘Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’, read by Neil Brand (2001, 42 mins)
• Introduction to Whistle and I’ll Come to You by horror writer Ramsey Campbell (2001, 16 mins)
• Ramsey Campbell reads his own MR James inspired story ‘The Guide’ (2001, 27 mins)

RRP £19.99 / Cat No: BFIV959 / Cert PG
UK / 1968 + 2010 / black and white & colour / English / 42 mins + 52 mins / DVD9 / Original aspect ratios 1.33:1 and 2:35.1 (16x9 anamorphic) | Dolby Digital mono audio 320kbps

________________________________________________________
VOLUME 2

The Stalls of Barchester (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1971)

Whilst cataloguing the collections of Barchester Cathedral library, Dr Black (Clive Swift) stumbles across an intriguing box of papers belonging to a former Archdeacon Haynes (Robert Hardy), which has remained under lock and key since the nineteenth century. In it he discovers a hidden history of blood guilt and macabre supernatural revenge. With its superb cast and beautiful choral accompaniment by Norwich Cathedral choir, Lawrence Gordon Clark’s (Harry’s Game) evocative adaptation of MR James’ short story sparked the BBC’s popular Ghost Story for Christmas series of the 1970s.

A Warning to the Curious (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1972)

The second of Gordon Clark’s MR James adaptations features Peter Vaughan (Straw Dogs, Our Friends in the North) as a doomed amateur archaeologist who pays a terrible price for his curiosity about an ancient Saxon legend. John McGlashan’s extraordinary photography imbues the wide open Norfolk coastline with an uneasy sense of dread in this chilling re-working of James’ classic tale.

Special features
• Introduction to The Stalls of Barchester by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 10 mins)
• Introduction to A Warning to the Curious by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 12 mins)
• Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – ‘The Stalls of Barchester by MR James’ (Eleanor Yule, 2000, 30 mins): Christopher Lee recreates MR James’ famous soirees, at which the antiquary would read his tales of the supernatural to eager undergraduates.
• Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – ‘A Warning to the Curious by MR James’ (Eleanor Yule, 2000, 30 mins): Christopher Lee plays MR James in this dramatic reconstruction of one of the author’s famous Christmas readings.

RRP £19.99 / Cat No: BFIV959 / Cert PG
UK / 1971 + 1972 / colour / English / 45 mins + 50 mins / DVD9 / Original aspect ratios 1.33:1 / Dolby Digital mono audio 320kbps

[McCrutchy]

I wish we could get a pre-order for the box set. I want all of these...

[antnield]

I wish we could get a pre-order for the box set. I want all of these...

One's just appeared on here on Play.com - released Oct 22nd to coincide with Halloween.

[McCrutchy]

^Now up on Amazon as well. It seems the box set is the ideal way to go (unless you really despise a few of these, or only want one or two), since you would save over £33 versus buying the five individual releases at current prices. The current box set price of £37.49 works out to roughly £7.50 per volume.

[antnield]

Mondo Digital review volumes one and two.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced for volumes 3 and 4:

Two new BFI volumes of BBC TV's celebrated Ghost Stories bring six more tales to DVD on 17 September:

Lost Hearts, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and The Ash Tree
The Signalman, Stigma and The Ice House

Following August's eagerly-awaited launch of the BBC's classic Ghost Story series on BFI DVD, two more volumes - each containing three spine-tingling tales - are released on 17 September. Only The Signalman has ever been released on home video in the UK before, but the BFI's old DVD has long since been deleted.

Lost Hearts (Lawrence Gordon Glark, 1973)
When recently orphaned Stephen (Simon Gipps-Kent) goes to live with his uncle, he is troubled by two terrifying child spectres whose mischievous acts lead to a blood-curdling revelation. Based on a gory tale by masterful ghost-story writer MR James, Robin Chapman's dramatisation is a spine-chilling piece of atmospheric television which features a superb performance by Joseph O'Conor as the erratic uncle.

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1974)
Pride comes before a fall in John Bowen's adaptation of MR James' tale of a treasure hunt with a sticky end. Michael Bryant plays the Reverend Somerton, whose self-assured intellectual arrogance masks a naked greed.

The Ash Tree (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1975)
Enlightened eighteenth-century nobleman Sir Richard Fell (Edward Petherbridge) inherits more than he bargained for when he comes into possession of a stately home dominated by a sinister old ash tree. David Rudkin's (Penda's Fen) nuanced adaptation of MR James' short story about malevolent witchcraft also stars Barbara Ewing (Torture Garden, Brass).

Special Features
• New introduction to Lost Hearts by Lawrence Gordon Clark (11 mins);
• New introduction to Treasure of Abbot Thomas by Lawrence Gordon Clark (11 mins);
• New introduction to The Ash Tree by Lawrence Gordon Clark (8 mins);
• Illustrated booklet featuring newly commissioned essays by horror writer Ramsey Campell and the BFI's Alex Davidson and Dick Fiddy.

RRP £19.99 / Cat. No.: BFIV961 / Cert 12
UK / 1973 + 1974 + 1975 / colour / 35 mins + 37 mins + 32 mins / DVD9
Original aspect ratios 1.33:1 / Dolby Digital mono audio 320kbps.
__________________________________________________________________________

The Signalman (Lawrence Gordon Glark, 1976)
When a traveller (Bernard Lloyd) stumbles upon a signalbox situated on a lonely stretch of country rail track, he is unable to believe the incredible story of its troubled occupant. Andrew Davies' (Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards) atmospheric adaptation from a short story by Charles Dickens features a remarkable performance by Denholm Elliott (Bad Timing, A Room with a View, Raiders of the Lost Ark) as the eponymous railway employee haunted by dreadful premonitions.

Stigma (Lawrence Gordon Clark, 1977)
The pagan stone circles of Avebury are the backdrop for writer Clive Exton's modern-day horror Stigma, the final offering in the BBC series by celebrated ghost story director Lawrence Gordn Clark, available here for the first time on DVD. The attempted removal of an ancient menhir from a family's back garden unleashes a bloody curse on unsuspecting housewife Katharine, whose rising panic is captured brilliantly by Kate Binchy.

The Ice House (Derek Lister, 1978)
After his wife leaves him, Paul (John Stride) seeks solace in a sophisticated health spa run by a pair of creepy siblings (played by Geoffrey Burridge and Elizabeth Romilly). Strangely attracted by the scent of a vine that grows on the old ice house in the spa's grounds, Paul is drawn ever-deeper into a horrifying mystery. Written by John Bowen (The Treasure of Abbot Thomas).

Special Features
• New introduction to The Signalman by Lawrence Gordon Clark (11 mins);
• New introduction to Stigma by Lawrence Gordon Clark (9 mins);
• Illustrated booklet featuring newly commissioned essays by broadcaster Matthew Sweet and Dr Helen Wheatley.

RRP £19.99 / Cat. No.: BFIV962 / Cert 15
UK / 1976 + 1977 + 1978 / colour / 39 mins + 32 mins + 34 mins / DVD9
Original aspect ratios 1.33:1 / Dolby Digital mono audio 320kbps.

The fifth and final volume of Ghost Stories, containing the more recent instalments A View from a Bill and Number 13, and a complete Ghost Stories for Christmas box set, will be released on 22 October.

[MichaelB]

Cathode Ray Tube and Strange Things Are Happening on volume 1.

Cathode Ray Tube and Strange Things Are Happening on volume 2.

[antnield]

Cine Outsider on Volume One.

[triodelover]

Cine Outsider on Volume One.

No subs?

[MichaelB]

Mondo Digital on Volume 3 (Lost Hearts/The Treasure of Abbot Thomas/The Ash Tree): "Truly spooky, truly wonderful"...

...and on Volume 4 (The Signalman/Stigma/The Ice House): "Featuring one bona fide classic and two brave but polarizing (and extremely rare) modern variants on the ghost story formula, this is a rather spectacular penultimate entry in a much-need revival of one of television's most important contributions to horror history."

(But, to belatedly answer triodelover's question, no subs - or at least not on volume 1.)

[Stefan Andersson]

Any news about whether the upcoming box set includes the remaining Christopher Lee Ghost Stories for Christmas? Would save us the trouble of buying both the BBC and the Australian sets.

[MichaelB]

You'll have to wait for the specs for volume five, but based on previous timings they should be along within the next fortnight or so.

As far as I'm aware, the box essentially contains the five separate volumes, the only bonus being a hefty cost saving.

[antnield]

Cine Outsider on Volume Two.

[antnield]

The Digital Fix on volumes one and two.

[DeepSouthDan]

Hello all,
Longtime lurker here, just posting to give a heads-up to anybody interested.
The price of the 5 disc set pre-order has just gone down to 26 pounds on Amazon UK. Don't know how long it will stay at that price, but it's a bargain if you ask me!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghost-Stories-C ... 065&sr=1-1

Cheers,

Dan.

[A man stayed-put]

Many thanks for the heads-up. I've got most of them DVR'd from when they've been reshown on TV but can't turn it down at that price.

[bigP]

Ditto the thank's for the heads-up, Dan.

[Zobalob]

Thanks Dan, ordered.

[DeepSouthDan]

Glad to help.

I can add some more information, having spoken to the BFI Press Office earlier today…

It seems that whilst the individual releases do/will not have subs, the discs in the collected set WILL.

I was obviously perplexed by this, and the (very helpful) lady from the BFI was honest enough to imply that it (i.e. lack of subs on the individual releases) was "an oversight".

What is not an oversight is that some of the written material from the booklets in the individual releases will not be in the box set booklet. For example, there are two essays in the individual 'Whistle and I’ll Come to You', and apparently only one of those will make it into the box set.

I am simply passing on what I was told, so I guess it's all provisional; but nonetheless it may interest some of you, especially those for whom subs are important.

I'll still be getting the box set, as it's an offer that's simply too good to turn down!

[antnield]

Cathode Ray Tube on Volume Three.

[MichaelB]

Strange Things Are Happening on volume 3.

[Brvtality]

I've never seen any of these but have heard good things, both from the comments above and elsewhere. Ordered the boxset - thank you Dan for the heads up! Quite a discount to get the collected edition.

[antnield]

Cine Outsider on Volume Three.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced for volume 5:

Ghost Stories
Classic adaptions from the BBC
A View From a Hill / Number 13

The fifth and final volume of films from the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series will be released by the BFI on 29 October. The release of A View From a Hill and Number 13 brings this much anticipated collection to a total of a dozen films across five volumes, which will also be released together in a 5-disc DVD box set, Ghost Stories for Christmas, on the same date.

These two relatively recent adaptions of classic MR James stories perfectly complement the vintage films on the previous volumes. They were broadcast as part of a BBC revival of the much loved seasonal A Ghost Story for Christmas series during the last five years.

A View From a Hill (Luke Watson, 2005)

When young museum curator Fanshawe is sent to catalogue a debt-laden squire’s archaeological collection, he uses a pair of homemade binoculars borrowed from his genial host to survey local ‘Gallows Hill’. The glasses seem to give him a strange new ability and, ignoring all warnings about their necromantic creator, Fanshawe carries out his historical researches. But the bloody past of the area is best left undisturbed. Adapted from a short tale by MR James, the master of the English ghost story, A View From a Hill remains faithful in spirit to its literary creator, with an excellent lead performance from Mark Letheren as the uptight, doomed Fanshawe.

Number 13 (Pier Wilkie, 2006)

Dissatisfied with his hotel room, Professor Anderson (played by Greg Wise) demands to be moved to number 12 where he can work undisturbed. But, infuriated by the ghoulish noises made nightly by his neighbour, he is soon driven to investigate the diabolical secrets of the old hotel and its mysteriously vanishing room 13. MR James’ spooky tale was shot in the grounds and library of Winchester Cathedral, lending a rich period atmosphere to this terrifying adaptation.

Special features
• Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – ‘Number 13’ by MR James (2000): Ronald Frame’s adaptation is brought to life by horror maestro Christopher Lee
• Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays by Jonathan Rigby and Simon McCallum

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIBVD963 / Cert 12
UK / 2005 + 2006 / colour / English language / 39 mins + 40 mins / DVD9 / Original aspect ratio 1.78:1 (16x9 anamorphic) / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)

...and for the complete box set:

Ghost Stories for Christmas
The Definitive Collection (5-disc set)

Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, A Ghost Story for Christmas was a much-loved fixture in the BBC’s seasonal schedule during the 1970s. Terrified viewers awaited each sinister instalment with excitement and its enduring appeal gave rise to a revival in the 2000s, when three more episodes were produced.

Released on 29 October, this definitive collection finally brings all of the A Ghost Story for Christmas episodes together, along with a number of essential extra features, in a lavish 5-disc BFI box set which will, of course, make the perfect Christmas present.

Amongst the 12 films in the collection are nine adaptations of tales by MR James – the acknowledged master of the modern English ghost story – including Jonathan Miller’s Whistle and I’ll Come to You and Lawrence Gordon Clark’s A Warning to the Curious. Other films include Clark’s superb adaptation of Charles Dickens’ The Signalman and two original stories: Stigma and The Ice House.

These adaptations are accompanied by a selection of special features, including three previously unreleased episodes of the BBC’s Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee series, and newly filmed introductions with director Lawrence Gordon Clarke (Harry’s Game).

BOX SET CONTENTS

Disc One
• Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968 & 2010 versions)
• Jonathan Miller and Christopher Frayling discuss the 1968 version (2012, 3 mins)
• Introduction to the 1968 version by horror writer Ramsey Campbell (2001, 16 mins)
• MR James’ original story read by Neil Brand (2001, 42 mins)
• Ramsey Campbell reads his own MR James inspired story ‘The Guide’ (2001, 27 mins)

Disc Two
• The Stalls of Barchester (1971) and A Warning to the Curious (1972)
• Filmed introductions with director Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012)
• Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – ‘The Stalls of Barchester by MR James’ and ‘A Warning to the Curious by MR James’ (Eleanor Yule, 2000, 2 x 30 mins)

Disc Three
• Lost Hearts (1973), The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974) and The Ash Tree (1975)
• Filmed introductions with director Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012)

Disc Four
• The Signalman (1976), Stigma (1977) and The Ice House (1978)
• Filmed introductions to The Signalman and Stigma with director Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012)

Disc Five
• A View From a Hill (2005) and Number 13 (2006)
• Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – ‘Number 13 by MR James’ (Eleanor Yule, 2000, 30 minutes)

Product details
RRP: £49.99 / cat. no. BFIVD964 / 15
UK / 1968–2010 / black & white and colour / English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / 477 minutes + extras / 5 x DVD9 / various original aspect ratios / Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)

Incidentally, I made enquiries about the absence of the Christopher Lee version of The Ash Tree, and it seems that third-party rights issues are to blame. Which is why it wasn't included in the Australian box set either.

I also note that subtitles appear to be included in the box set, whereas they definitely weren't on at least the first two individual discs. I'm emailing for clarification.