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BFI Shop  >   DVDs >  British & Irish Film & TV  > Ghost Stories Vol 3: Lost Hearts / The Ash Tree / The Treasure of Abbot Thomas RRP 19.99
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Ghost Stories Vol 3: Lost Hearts / The Ash Tree / The Treasure of Abbot Thomas RRP 19.99

certificate 12 Certificate
1973-5
Runtime: 110 mins
Colour
UK
Published/distributed by BFI
ISBN/EAN: 5035673009611
Ratio 1.33:1
Region 2 PAL
Price: £19.99
(Including VAT at 20%)
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Ghost Stories Vol 3: Lost Hearts / The Ash Tree / The Treasure of Abbot Thomas RRP 19.99 
Clark, Lawrence Gordon; James, MR; Release Date: 17 Sep 2012
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 BFI's collection of Ghost Stories from the BBC features the DVD premiere of three MR James stories directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark: 1973's Lost Hearts, 1974's The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and 1975's The Ash Tree

Lost Hearts (1973, 35 mins)
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 master ghost story-teller MR James, Robin Chapman's dramatisation is a spine-chilling piece of atmospheric television which features a superb performance by Joseph O'Conner as the erratic uncle.

The Treasure of Abbott Thomas (1974, 37 mins)
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 (1975, 32 mins)
Enlightened eighteenth-century nobleman Sir Richard Fell (Edward Petherbridge) inherits more than he bargained for when comes into possession of a stately home dominated by a sinister old ash tree. David Rudkin's ('Pendar's Fen') nuanced adaptation of MR James' short story about malevolent witchcraft features Barbara Ewing ('Torture Garden', 'Brass') as the sorceress.

Extras
* Introduction to Lost Hearts by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 11 mins)
* Introduction to The Treasure of Abbott Thomas by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 11 mins)
* Introduction to The Ash Tree by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 8 mins)
* Fully illustrated booklet featuring newly-commissioned essays by horror writer Ramsey Campbell, Alex Davidson and Dick Fiddy.
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