Ghost Stories for Christmas Volume 1 (3 x Blu-ray discs)

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The second film, The Stalls of Barchester, sees the ever-lovable Clive Swift uncovering a long-hidden mystery of death and darkness while cataloguing the Barchester Cathedral library. This is a dry tale, but the film's use of shadowy lighting and unsettling, whispering sounds give a sense of foreboding, the influence of which can be felt in most modern horror today.

When the Hollywood remake machine really got going a few years ago, I remember my partner asking me why they only ever chose to remake films that didn't need remaking instead of ones that had botched up a decent idea. It's about money, of course, and it's long since been established that you've an easier sell if you're trading on an already famous name. The same principle theoretically applies to television, at least if you're selling advertising space, but when it comes to the BBC, which in theory is not required to bow to the non-creative demands of companies hawking products, then the motives are less clear. I, for one, was certainly a little bemused by the decision to remake what remains to this day the finest made-for-TV ghost story. On the surface, there seemed to be no good reason for it beyond producing a version that was in colour, set in modern times, and whose image filled the by-then standard 16:9 frame (which it doesn't, as it happens, having a 2.35:1 aspect ratio). But I was nonetheless intrigued. A lot of film horror has washed under the bridge since Jonathan Miller's superb 1968 TV chiller, and it was just possible that a new take could still prove effective if it approached the source material from a different angle. It certainly does that. The supremely affable Clark, who directed seven of the BBC's Ghost Story for Christmasfilms, including three of the titles here, talks about how The Stalls of Barchesterallowed him to make the move from documentary to drama, his love of the writings of M.R. James, selecting his main location, casting Robert Hardy (also an M.R. James fan), and the importance of being able to frighten your audience. Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee ‘The Stalls of Barchester by MR James’ (2000, Eleanor Yule, 30 mins) After a break of several years, this 2005 adaptation of the M.R. James story of the same title was the first film in a sporadic revival of the Ghost Story for Christmas strand. There appears to have been a conscious effort on the part of writer Peter Harness and director Luke Watson to recapture the essence of the early Lawrence Gordon Clark films, and despite the odd distracting burst of hyperactive editing, they come captivatingly close to achieving their aim. Changes are made to James’s original text, notably in the relationship between the lead character and his host, and more especially in the manner in which the story climaxes and concludes, but the core elements of the tale remain the same.Farquhar, Simon (30 June 2015). "Ghosts of Christmas past: M.R. James, Lawrence Gordon Clark and A Ghost Story for Christmas". Sight & Sound . Retrieved 2 September 2016. A Warning to the Curious showcases the BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas slot at the top of its game. An overuse of a signature high-pitched electronic crescendo from avant-garde composer Gyorgi Ligerti's Atmospheres does come close to overstating the threat, but in the end never seriously detracts from what, even all these years after it was first screened, remains a gripping and genuinely chilling slice of supernatural storytelling. LOST HEARTS (1973) For Christmas 2008 an original three-part ghost story by Mark Gatiss, Crooked House, was produced instead, though Gatiss has cited the original adaptations as a key influence. [50]

All of the films in this collection have been remastered in 2K from the 16mm camera negatives held by the BBC Archive and are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Unusually for a Blu-ray, the films are presented in 1080i rather than 1080p, but this was standard at the BBC for some time even after HD became a production format standard. A young squire, John Martin, is on trial for murder in a court presided over by hanging judge George Jeffreys, but the girl he is accused of murdering has been seen after her death. [42]In two programmes from the BBC's four-episode series from 2000, Christopher Lee plays M.R. James in his role of provost of King's College Cambridge at the dawn of the last century and relates two of his ghost stories to a small gathering of masters and students as they sit sipping sherry around a coal fire on Christmas Eve. Gold-tinted visuals of Lee and his attentive, over-privileged audience are intermittently peppered with stylised imagery from the tales themselves, none of which is a problem when you have a storyteller as compelling as Christopher Lee. A constant joy to listen to, he is also worth watching for his sometimes visually expressive delivery. Even the sinister notes of music do not detract from these very fine readings. Introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 39 mins total): the director of seven of the BBC's classic A Ghost Story for Christmas episodes discusses his part in the last four instalments he directed Wheatley, Helen (2006). Gothic Television. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-7149-2. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Three linked episodes tell the story of the ghostly secrets of Geap Manor, a recently demolished Tudor mansion in both the past and present. [50]