The Stone Tape [DVD] [1972]: Amazon.co.uk: Michael Bryant|Jane Asher|Iain Cuthbertson, Peter Sasdy: DVD

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Special Features

English
Region 0
Commentary By Nigel Kneale And Kim Newman
Kneale Biography
Director Biography
Main Cast Biographies
ROM Content With Printable Scripts Of The Stone Tape And The Road

Synopsis

This chilling 1970s cult classic, starring Jane Asher, involves a team of electronics experts who move into an old Victorian house to conduct recording research. After an apparition appears on a stone wall, the scientists attempt to analyse and exorcise it. That's when bad things start to happen....

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18 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
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4.0 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Television Ghost Story, 11 Dec 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Stone Tape [VHS] [1972] (VHS Tape)

I remember when this was first broadcast in 1972.
At the age of 14 this classic ghost story had just the right mix of the supernatural and science fiction to make a lasting impression. The horror does not come in the form of blood and gore but from the basic plot element which identifies that the stone of a building records events when they occur under the correct set of emotinal circumstances, which to me seemed to offer a perfect solution to the question 'are there such things as ghosts ?'

The intensity of the plot has lost nothing in 30 years and although a little dated in some areas such as it's lack of exterior scenes, this seems to add to it's status as a classic, in the same way as Quatermass.
I watched it recently with my 68 year old father and my 13 year old nephew in the knowledge that they would both enjoy and suffer only a limited number of sleepless nights !!

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39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From Tape to DVD, 7 Oct 2002

By	Leslie Norman "Mark" (Maidenhead, England) - See all my reviews

If this is representative of what the BFI can dust off and put out on DVD, let's hope they carry on raiding the archive. Billed as the BBC' s Christmas ghost story in 1972, it's an admittedly dated but brilliantly suspenseful thriller from the pen of Nigel "Quatermass" Kneale that works because of what it implies as much as what it actually shows. The story concerns a team of scientists, led by Michael Bryant, who relocate to a spacious Gothic mansion to research a breakthrough recording medium. The team's only woman, played by Jane Asher, triggers an apparition in the only room that has not been renovated, and the remainder of the thriller is occupied with their frenzied attempts to monitor and explain the phenomenon.
Full of enthusiastic acting that derives from the school of "Shout, shout and shout again" (stage star Bryant, great though he is, is perhaps most guilty of projecting to the gods), The Stone Tape has lost none of its power to chill, 30 years on.
Kneale expertly feeds the imagination, lights the blue touch-paper and retires. There's no wrap-up resolution and the grand climax (this was the era of Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who, remember) boasts a succession of effects that don't come with "special" on the box. But the atmosphere is the thing. The extremely noisy sound track, aided by some creepy radiophonic murmurings, makes you so hypersensitive that you'll have to keep fiddling with the volume.
Kneale's intriguing reminiscences on the commentary - he doesn't believe in the supernatural, you know - and a printable script complete a great package.
But just bear in mind - it'll stay with you.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remember when the BBC was good AND respected horror?, 24 Mar 2004

By	Mr. Od Smith "d2kvirus" (Coulsdon, Surrey) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

So, I may not have even been born when the show aired, and only knew about it for the past six months or so, making me a bit behind many of the afficianados, but there is one thing I can say after seeing it for the first time. It lives up to its reputation.

The main reason to state this is who wrote it (Nigel Kneale), who knows how to write a TV play that grabs and shakes you - 1984 and the Quatermass series show his pedigree. The way it unfolds shows this, playing more like an actual book in how it unfolds before reaching the dark core of what is happening, which is something you don't see too often. This also drags you in, wanting to see how it unfolds. Rather than regular shock tactics, the atmosphere of dread increases slowly, before unleashing at key moments as the ghost appears. In many ways, it is on the same level as the original version of The Haunting, which is a compliment if ever there was one.

The other aspect that works in The Stone Tape's favour is the acting, which is a cut above what you would expect, and also helps distract you from what you DO expect from an early 70's BBC show (plastic sets and the occasional ropey SFX). Jane Asher has to do a lot of acting for her character to work, and carries it off superbly. Michael Bryant and Ian Cuthbertson also carry themselves with aplomb, and even thge lesser characters are given a degree of gravitas with the performances (the late Michael Bates as Eddie the most notable).

Yet the reason The Stone Tape has remained in the consciousness of those who have seen it is the climax, which still packs a punch 30+ years after the show was broadcast. I'm not in the mood for spoilers, but suffice to say you'll remember it long after as well.

However, there is a shame after watching this. With the exception of the (even better) Ghostwatch in 1992, the BBC has never seen fit to give the horror genre due respect and attention, which it clearly deserves. Just watch this and remember one thing: Horror doesn't need to be blood & guts to scare you, neither does it need cliched scares. Watch and learn.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars It costs how much?
I can't get over these prices. Is the cover gold leaf? Anyways - it's written by Nigel Kneale - had to see it - wasn't disappointed. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Roger Gay

3.0 out of 5 stars A lot of SHOUTING
Simply put this film is worth a lot although I would not spend to much money finding out what its like try for example to loan it from a friend or perhaps rent it from Amazon. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Christian Mc Donnell

2.0 out of 5 stars Not at all what I remembered
Sadly this is one of those programmes that was probably best left to memory. It really scared me as a young child and so I was quite excited when it came out. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Gabriel

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, in more ways than one......
It stays with you, The Stone Tape, once you have seen it it won't let you go. The premise is very simple but also very clever: a team of scientists researching new recording... Read more

Published on 18 Jul 2007 by Gregory S. Buzwell

3.0 out of 5 stars Adequate but poorly realised speculative fiction
I should start by saying that I am a big fan of Nigel Kneale's fiction. Ever since seeing "Quatermass and the Pit" when I was a youngster I have been captivated by two things... Read more

Published on 9 Jun 2006 by Anthony Green

2.0 out of 5 stars Shockingly bad horror
Sheer torture. This hokum could have been condensed into forty minutes and might have been more watchable for that. Read more

Published on 29 Mar 2006

5.0 out of 5 stars Stone Tape worth the wait
Watched this film when it was first shown on Tv.Always stuck in my mind as a good film and always wished to see it again. Read more

Published on 23 Jan 2006 by Mr. John Berry

4.0 out of 5 stars Science meets superstition
A team of researchers moves into an old mansion built on the site of an even older edifice. Their job is to find newer, better, more compact recording media than currently (1972)... Read more

Published on 18 May 2005 by Sally-Anne

5.0 out of 5 stars Once seen, never forgotten
Why "Once seen, never forgotten"? Because that's the effect this superb BBC film had on me. Even today, I still remember seeing it in '72 on TV. Read more

Published on 14 Dec 2004 by Alan Sturgess

3.0 out of 5 stars Stone cold
I'm afraid that I disagree with the other reviews and found 'The Stone Tape' about as terrifying as the shipping forecast. Read more

Published on 25 Oct 2003 by Steerforth

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	40% buy the item featured on this page: The Stone Tape [DVD] [1972] 4.0 out of 5 stars (18)
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The Stone Tape [DVD] [1972]

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