Customer Reviews

The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This well written book tells the history of one of Britains most prolific film studios,from their humble beginnings as a small distribution company to the studio that won the queens award for industry.

From The Quatermass Xperiment in 1955 and then Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula through to their later "campier" films such as Vampire Lovers and Captain Kronos this is an informative read.

Lavishly illustrated with colour stills and film posters from each production with information on Peter Cushing,Christopher Lee,Hammer Glamour,Bray studios and some of the non gothic films they produced.

Even if you are like me and have read a great deal on Hammer this is still worth a read.Recommended.

Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn have presented a first rate look at the well remembered Hammer Films. A film by film study with absolutely splendid lesser known photographs. Brilliant for the beginner who just wants an overview of Hammer Film Studios output, but with much to interest the know alls as well. Worth adding to any Hammer collection. This is the same team of authors who produced the absolutely brilliant Bond study - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, also highly recommended. Get both of these books.

They really have done very well with this book. Nice balance between the amount of text and images as well. Sections are as follows ...

Reanimation 1955 -- 1964
From The Quatermass Xperiment to The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

Fresh Blood 1965 -- 1969
From She to Taste The Blood of Dracula

Setting Son 1970 -- 1975
From The Vampire Lovers to To The Devil a Daughter

Life After Death 1975 Onwards

That's about it, really.

As a lover of Hammer horror films since i was a little boy - when my mom would let me stay up late on a Saturday night and be scared to death by Christopher Lee baring his fangs as Dracula this book brought back a lot of happy memories. All the films are mentioned and there are some unique photos of the films in question. A must for all British horror lovers especially as Hammer is about to rise again. Superb!

These books by Marcus Hearn are superb. Each page printed on glossy stock is in sharp high definition colour. There are many posters, photos and never before seen ephemera alongside well written information on the films in chronological order. I bought all 4 of these Hammer books,because they are full of such great pictures. The only thing that I thought was a shame was the fact that the books are not shrink wrapped. All 4 of my books were scratched, either by moving about in the box that they are posted in or in storage. The covers are very dark with the exception of the white dust jacket on "The Art of Hammer". The result of not being shrink wrapped is that the dust jackets are marked with scratches. These books are so nice that they deserve to be packaged properly.

I enjoyed this book immensly. A very detailed story of Hammers films from about 1955 right through to the television series in the eighties. The detail about each film is fantastic. The book includes familiar films such as DRACULA and THE MUMMY, as well as including unkowns like THE UGLY DUCKLING and THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE.An excellent read, I extremely recommend it.

Buy this book. The authors have done a phenominal job with this fascinating film studio and it's legacy. The layout and artwork are remarkable. Highly recommended to any horror film fanatic and British film fan. In the words of my fellow Chicagoians, Siskel & Ebert, "two thumbs up, way up".

I rented this book out of the library and just flicked through it and thought nothing of it, but when I started to actually read it, I instantly gave it 5 stars. It is well researched and well written book that offers a valuable insight to the production of not only Hammer, but film making itself.

Absolutely wonderful coffee table book for anyone interested in the world of Hammer Horror and British Horror film history.

There are great pages detailing each film and how it was made, plus biography's of actors who worked with the company regularly like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

I appreciate this book is for quite a niche audience, but this is a wonderful authorized guide particularly for that niche.

(One thing for any readers that expect this book to detail the recent resurgence of Hammer, with films like The Woman in Black, you should be aware it doesn't).

I've always loved Hammer Studios, especially their horror output, so when I saw this book I just knew I had to buy it.

The book is just amazing and it is written by a fan, rather than some clever wind-bag.

Everything one wants to know about Hammer is here, and it starts from the beginning, right up to their final film: "To The Devil, A Daughter." I'd recommend this book to everyone who loves and misses a truly golden age of cinema.