A History of Horrors
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £12.55
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £12.55, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Meikle provides fascinating glimpses not only into the Carrerases, James the father and Michael the son, but also the various producers, script writers and, to a lesser extent, the directors... -- Paul Legget Scarlet: The Film Magazine Important for a number of reasons...Enough history here to recommend the book to Hammer fans and fantasy film enthusiasts alike. Scarlet: The Film Magazine
Review
College-level film studies collection will find this documentary a vivid survey of the changing British film industry, with chapters considering both major productions and industry trends. Film studies collections with a special focus on British film will find it a fine addition.--Paul Vogel "Midwest Book Review "
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read quite a few articles by Denis Meikle, published in the excellent fanzine THE LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS, about Hammer films and found them interesting, so I was really looking forward to his history of the company.
Sadly the book is a huge disappointment, not telling me anything I didn't already know about the history of the company and the personalities involved. He does write well, but the main problem is his opinion of the films: he's openly contemptuous of most of Hammer's output-only the early FRANKENSTEIN's and DRACULA's come in for praise-and I really cannot take seriously anyone who dismisses QUATERMASS AND THE PIT out of hand.
The definitive books on Hammer Films remain the volumes written by Wayne Kinsey-now scandalously out of print.
Sadly the book is a huge disappointment, not telling me anything I didn't already know about the history of the company and the personalities involved. He does write well, but the main problem is his opinion of the films: he's openly contemptuous of most of Hammer's output-only the early FRANKENSTEIN's and DRACULA's come in for praise-and I really cannot take seriously anyone who dismisses QUATERMASS AND THE PIT out of hand.
The definitive books on Hammer Films remain the volumes written by Wayne Kinsey-now scandalously out of print.
1 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was for my daughter who is studying theatrical and media make-up. She was absolutely thrilled when her brother presented it as a Christmas gift.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Eye-opening, to the point of ruining the magic
9 Oct 2002
Format:Hardcover
The good news is that for more-than-casual Hammer horror fans, this is a meticulously researched studio history, written from the business perspective, that goes far deeper than the usual rehashes found in horror encyclopedias and video guides. Meikle does a great job of putting the British film industry into a larger 1950s and '60s context, and sheds the light on Hammer's spotty U.S. distribution history for those of us who grew up on this side of the pond as frustrated young monster magazine readers wondering why the movies in our monster magazines (especially in the later years) never came to theaters or only played grindhouses and drive-ins.
The bad news is that the author is so down on Hammer's output in general that you wonder how he ever mustered the enthusiasm to tackle the topic in the first place. It's one thing to flail the usual whipping posts (he calls "Scars of Dracula" "irredeemably tacky"). But the harsh tone extends to even the usually acknowledged classics, such as "The Mummy" and "Curse of Frankenstein." Maybe Meikle feels it goes without saying that Hammer often captured lighting in a bottle in spite of its own scripts and budgets that today wouldn't even measure up to first-run syndication TV such as "Hercules." You appreciate the clear-eyed approach, but Anchor Bay seems to have a better attitude with its "even the cheesy stuff has its charms" approach to the background materials on its DVD releases.
If anything, a Hammer fan goes away from the book feeling it's a miracle these films came out as good as they were, after the author unveils the cynicism and/or studio heads' lack of faith in the source material that U.S. fans always took for granted with our "The British do this stuff best" assumptions.
The bad news is that the author is so down on Hammer's output in general that you wonder how he ever mustered the enthusiasm to tackle the topic in the first place. It's one thing to flail the usual whipping posts (he calls "Scars of Dracula" "irredeemably tacky"). But the harsh tone extends to even the usually acknowledged classics, such as "The Mummy" and "Curse of Frankenstein." Maybe Meikle feels it goes without saying that Hammer often captured lighting in a bottle in spite of its own scripts and budgets that today wouldn't even measure up to first-run syndication TV such as "Hercules." You appreciate the clear-eyed approach, but Anchor Bay seems to have a better attitude with its "even the cheesy stuff has its charms" approach to the background materials on its DVD releases.
If anything, a Hammer fan goes away from the book feeling it's a miracle these films came out as good as they were, after the author unveils the cynicism and/or studio heads' lack of faith in the source material that U.S. fans always took for granted with our "The British do this stuff best" assumptions.
I love Hammer Movies
12 Sep 2010
Format:Hardcover
The history of Hammer Studios is full of ups and downs and when it ends it is so softly and it breaks the heart . If your a fan of Hammer movies read it . I read it some years ago when it first came out .
I have such fond memories of Hammer Horror films . And with dvds I own many . The history of that incredible company and the people who created the movies is apart of film history .
And Hammer Studios is Back ! Let Me In . Is the new Hammer film . You can now call Hammer the studio that wouldn't die .
I have such fond memories of Hammer Horror films . And with dvds I own many . The history of that incredible company and the people who created the movies is apart of film history .
And Hammer Studios is Back ! Let Me In . Is the new Hammer film . You can now call Hammer the studio that wouldn't die .
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Film studies collections with a special focus on British film will find it a fine addition
8 May 2009
Format:Paperback
Denis Meikle is a film critic and graphic designer turned author, and here provides a fine biography of some of the best-known British fantasy and horror films. College-level film studies collection will find this documentary a vivid survey of the changing British film industry, with chapters considering both major productions and industry trends. Film studies collections with a special focus on British film will find it a fine addition.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
