 Certificate
1968, 2010
Runtime: 95 mins
B&W / Colour
UK
Published/distributed by BFI
ISBN/EAN: 5035673009598
Ratio 1.33:1 / 2.35:1 (16x9 anamorphic)
Region 2
Price:
£19.99
(Including VAT at 20%)
<back
|
Ghost Stories from the BBC: Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968 + 2010) RRP 19.99 Miller, Jonathan; Emmony, Andy de
As a Christmas treat in the late 1960s and 70s, the BBC produced adaptations of ghost stories based on the works of MR James, the Cambridge academic and author of some of the most spine-tingling tales in the English language, which were broadcast to terrified viewers in the dead of winter. This was a tradition that was briefly revived by the BBC between 2007 and 2010.
These adaptations, which have a subtlety and style all of their own, have been a major influence on many contemporary British horror filmmakers and have come to be some of the most sought after British TV titles by their legions of eager fans.
This volume Ghost Stories from the BBC pairs both versions of the terrifying Whistle and I'll Come to You: the 1968 adaptation directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Sir Michael Hordern, and the more recent reinterpretation, starring the legendary John Hurt, from 2010.
Whistle And I'll Come to You (Jonathan Miller, 1968, 42 mins)
When a sceptical professor, played with eccentric intensity 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 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, 52 mins)
In this 2010 rendering of MR James' celebrated ghost story, John Hurt plays James Parkin, a lonely retiree who has left his wife in a nursing home. Troubled by this turn of events, 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.
Extras* 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 'Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' read by Neil Brand (2001, 42 mins)
* Ramsey Campbell reads his own MR James inspired story 'The Guide' (2001, 27 mins)
|
