News

Richard Fleischer’s Biblical epic is a class act all the way, and one of producer Dino De Laurentiis’s greatest accomplishments. Anthony Quinn’s guilty, perplexed bandit survives and subsists but never understands the importance of the man crucified in his place; the view of early Christianity is respectful and free of pious clichés. It’s an excellent image of the ancient world, with gladiator scenes that are possibly the best ever. Fleisher does exceedingly well with the enormous sets and a well-chosen international cast: Ernest Borgnine, Valentina Cortese, Vittorio Gassman, Katy Jurado, Arthur Kennedy, Silvana Mangano, Jack Palance.

Barabbas

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 132

1961 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 137 min. / Street Date June 29, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / au 39.95

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Arthur Kennedy, Katy Jurado, Harry Andrews, Vittorio Gassman, Norman Wooland, Valentina Cortese, Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine, Arnoldo Foa’, Michael Gwynn, Laurence Payne, Douglas Fowley, Robert Hall, Joe Robinson, Friedrich von Ledebur,...

Powerhouse Indicator continues its series of exotic attractions from the house of Hammer with four more titles, three of which are front-rank winners. Once again, the company’s extras make all the difference. We’re’ given alternate versions, censor comparisons, and for one reel, an entire roll of outtakes and stage waits featuring Peter Cushing.

Hammer Volume Four Faces of Fear

Region Free Blu-ray

The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, Taste of Fear, The Damned (These Are the Damned)

Powerhouse Indicator

1958-1962 / Color & B&w / 1:66, 2:35 widescreen / / Street Date November 25, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £42.99

Directed by Terence Fisher (2), Seth Holt, Joseph Losey

Powerhouse Indicator’s fourth collection of Hammer attractions shows no sign of compromise — three out of four titles here are superb tales of fright and science fiction. Thanks to the company policy of leaving no gravestone unturned, the exclusive special extras never stop.

Inquiring minds want to know — why you’re thinking about a Brick Wall. John Wyndham’s diabolically clever alien invasion fantasy is taken straight from nature: children fathered by who-knows-what are found to possess a hive mentality and brain-powers that we puny Earthlings cannot oppose. Is it simply Us against Them, or was this perhaps a paranoid image of anti-social, dangerous 1950s teens? The CineSavant review is a full essay this time.

Village of the Damned

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1960 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 77 min. / Street Date July 31, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens, Michael Gwynn,

Laurence Naismith.

Cinematography: Geoffrey Faithfull

Film Editor: Gordon Hales

Special Effects: Tom Howard

Original Music: Ron Goodwin

Written by Stirling Silliphant, Wolf Rilla, Ronald Kinnoch from the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

Produced by Ronald Kinnoch

Directed by Wolf Rilla

These are the eyes that Hypnotize!

The...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Michael Haffner, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Peter Cushing, born on this day in 1913, was one of the most respected and important actors in the horror and fantasy film genres. To his many fans, the British star, who died in 1994, was known as ‘The Gentle Man of Horror’ and is recognized for his work with Hammer Films which began in the late 1950’s, but he had numerous memorable roles outside of Hammer. A topnotch actor who was able to deliver superb performances on a consistent basis, Peter Cushing also had range. He could play both the hero and the villain with ease.

Here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are Peter Cushing’s ten best roles:

Dr. Maitland

During the 1960s, Amicus Studios had a knack for borrowing from the pool of Hammer Studios actors and filmmakers to make their own Hammer-inspired films. While...

Presenting murderous moppets on screen is always a dicey proposition. For every The Bad Seed or The Omen, there is always The Good Son or Mikey skulking about. It’s all about the fear – making a five or ten year old believably frightening is hard to do. As audience members, we put our faith in filmmakers to produce tension, conflict, and danger in a palpable (but not necessarily plausible) way, and when it’s tested we end up wading through Children of the Corn. But when our faith is rewarded, we find ourselves in the Village of the Damned (1960), a seminal killer kid chiller.

Based on the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham, Village was produced by MGM’s British division and distributed there in July, with a December rollout in the States. The film was a great success, both with critics and audiences alike, luring them in with...

Possibly everyone’s favorite animated sleuths have joined Funko’s Dorbz line. Eight items from Dorbz’s Scooby-Doo Series 1 and 2 are coming this June! Also in this round-up: a behind-the-scenes clip from Damien and details on the Hammer Films Collection – Volume 2 DVD.

Scooby-Doo Dorbz: From Funko: “Dorbz: Scooby-Doo Series 1 (the first three in the gallery)

Zoinks! Scooby-Doo is coming to Dorbz! When there’s a spooky mystery afoot, Shaggy and his pal Scooby-Doo are on the case! Just make sure they don’t split up so they can catch Werewolf in the act!

Coming in June!

Dorbz Ridez: Scooby-Doo – Mystery Machine

Jenkies! Mystery Machine Dorbz Ridez are coming, too!

Coming in June!

Dorbz: Scooby-Doo Series 2 (the last four in the gallery)

Coming this Summer!”

———

Damien: “Watch Glenn Mazzara, Executive Producer, and the rest of the staff talk about the ‘Omen Curse’ that occurred when filming Season 1 of #Damien.

The...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Michael Haffner, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

Normal

0

false

false

false

En-us

X-none

X-none

Peter Cushing (1913-1994) was one of the most respected and important actors in the horror and fantasy film genres. To his many fans, the British star was known as ‘The Gentle Man of Horror’ and is recognized for his work with Hammer Films which began in the late 1950’s, but he had numerous memorable roles outside of Hammer. A topnotch actor who was able to deliver superb performances on a consistent basis, Peter Cushing also had range. He could play both the hero and the villain with ease.

Super-8 Peter Cushing Movie Madness takes place February 4th at The Way Out Club in St. Louis and will be a great way to celebrate the actor’s career. The event is on February 4th beginning at 8pm. Condensed versions (average length:...

So, you may have recently read some of my other work on the site (Fangoria Musick), and wondered what the hell I’m doing here, amongst other things. I’d like to address that by taking a moment to drop all the masks, pretenses, and gimmicks. Even more so, I’d like to give you a glimpse of the fan beneath the fiction. This is the real Ben, not Benny Hell, speaking, and it’s with hat in hand that I write this for you today. Let me tell you a little about myself.

I grew up in Chicago during the 1980’s. I was a lot like most kids -I played in the sun, became horrendously enamored with all things He-Man, Transformers, and Star Wars, thought Andre Dawson of the Cubs was the greatest baseball player ever --and loved riding my bike in the busy streets around my Logan Square home.