A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC in TV Terrors Forum

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A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC

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.	A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC	Lead	[-]
Feb 10 06 4:48 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I wanted to see if anyone had any fond memories of these or wanted to discuss them. I just recently saw *A Warning to the Curious* adapted from the M.R. James story. I thought it was great. One of the best and creepiest ghost stories I've seen in quite some time. I also wanted to see if anyone has a complete list of the programs that made up the series. Also, I'd be curious to know if they are available on DVD (US or UK/Europe).
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Tom Thacker	Re: A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC	#1	[-]
Feb 11 06 9:17 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Someone recently sent me the link to a site that listed all MR James adaptations for TV, film and radio, but I unfortunately don't have it handy at the moment. Only 2 of the TV adaptations are available on DVD: Whistle and I'll Come to You and A Warning to the Curious, both in the UK only. Over the holidays, I managed to see 4 of the stories: The Ash Tree, The Treasure of Abbott Thomas, The Stalls of Barchester, and the newest one, A View from a Hill. All of them had something to recommend them, although A View from a Hill probably strays the fartherest from its source.
MJ Simpson	Re: A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC	#2	[-]
Feb 11 06 10:14 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ghosts and Scholars is the definitive MR James info site, including a great list of adaptations: www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/GS.html Here's the list of BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas at the EOFFTV: www.eofftv.com/g/gho/ghost_story_for_christmas_main.htm Note that only the first five are MR James stories. There was then one Dickens and two original scripts. Note also that 1968 WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU, although not part of the series, is generally treated as if it was. http://www.MJSimpson.co.uk - cult movies and the people who make them
hnicolella	Re: A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC	#3	[-]
Feb 11 06 2:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Only 2 of the TV adaptations are available on DVD: Whistle and I'll Come to You and A Warning to the Curious, both in the UK only. THE SIGNALMAN is available too (from the BFI). I don't recall ever seeing a series that made such creative (and ominous) use of sound. A number of the episodes did not have music tracks but used natural background noises or music springing from the story itself to truly chilling effect The last two episodes were weak (and I don't think they've ever been repeated) but overall it was an outstanding show. Lawrence Gordon Clark, who directed the best episodes, also did a 1979 adapation of another James tale, "Casting the Runes". Anyone seen it? I'm expecting a copy from a friend. Henry
.	Re: A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC	#4	[-]
Feb 16 06 3:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to head over to the UK Amazon site & order The Signalman & Whistle and I'll Come to You. Also, please let us know how Casting the Runes is. It is one of my favorite M.R. James stories and I'm also a big fan of Night/Curse of the Demon.
diepool	Ghost Story for Christmas	#5	[-]
Feb 16 06 5:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There's a very good (and very lengthy) episode by episode critique of the series in the first issue of the British horror magazine, CREEPING FLESH. Made me want to pick up several of the eps if they ever make their way over here. You can order CREEPING FLESH from Amazon.com.
oldmanster	Re: Ghost Story for Christmas	#6	[-]
Feb 16 06 8:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have been all over amazon.co.uk and cannot find the three BFI ghost stories for sale. Are they there? If not, how does one here in the states purchase on-line? MJ Simpson, help! Any way to get copies of _all_ of these? I'm especially interested in The Ash Tree. ... Reed
.	Re: Ghost Story for Christmas	#7	[-]
Feb 17 06 11:34 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I checked out the site There is a link for Warning to the Curious . Here is one for Whistle & I'll Come to You . And here is one for the Signalman . I coudn't find anything for the Ash Tree Hope this helps.
hnicolella	Re: Ghost Story for Christmas	#8	[-]
Feb 17 06 11:47 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I'm especially interested in The Ash Tree. I watched the whole series again recently in preparation for doing an article on it for "Van Helsing's Journal" and I tbink "Ash Tree" has replaced "A Warning to the Curious" as my favorite episode. Very creepy. Love the condemned witch's cry: "Mine shall inherit! And no sweet babes shall mine now be!" All the episodes based on M.R. James deserve to be on dvd. Henry
oldmanster	Re: Ghost Story for Christmas	#9	[-]
Feb 17 06 11:58 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	John, thanks for the links. I suspect they were a lot easier to find than I thought. I'll follow Henry's suggestion that, of the three, A Warning to the Curious is the place to start. I appreciate the follow-up. ... Reed
professor liebstrum		#10	[-]
Jan 30 10 5:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I just caught up with the 1979 version of CASTING THE RUNES on DVD. I saw it when it was first shown but remembered little about it. Not at all bad. It sufffers from that terrible early seventies Brit TV blight where everything is over lit and the sets would shame a village amateur dramatic society. The "special" effects look like they escaped from Dr Who, but Iain Cuthbertson makes an imposing Karswell. It sticks to the plot a lot more than NIGHT OF THE DEMON and adds a nasty twist in the tail. They were lucky with the weather too, everything outside is carpeted with real snow. Theres also an interesting , if over analytical documentary, on M R JAMES and a schools programme version of MR HUMPHREYS & HIS INHERITANCE which I havent watched yet. Russ Last Edited By: professor liebstrum Jan 31 10 6:11 AM. Edited 2 times.
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ScareBear		#11	[-]
Jan 30 10 5:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Love these! Great thread. Need to re-visit these films.
oldmanster		#12	[-]
Jan 31 10 10:12 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think I posted on Casting the Runes in another folder, but... oh, well. Prof. Liebstrum sums up my reaction to the 1979 version which I bought from amazon.co.uk -- I liked it well enough, Iain Cuthbertson is a BIG man and thus, turns Karswell into a hulking villain rather than the short and rotund, urbane Niall Macguinness. Cuthbertson's interpretation works within the context of the teleplay, but I really do prefer the earlier character. The shocker at the tail end of the teleplay is indeed quite nasty. I picked up the entire Ghost Story for Christmas set on DVD-R, and enjoy them for the period-piece TV they are. Some stories work better than others, but "Whistle and I'll Come to You" is still powerful and chilling to my older, jaded viewing eyes. ... Reed
BuxtontheBlueCat		#13	[-]
Feb 11 10 8:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A great series! My favourite is ‘The Signalman’ I saw it for the first time 5 years ago. By then I’d seen loads of horror & considered myself unshockable but I went to bed that night jumping at every noise & peering into the shows – powerful stuff. It’s a shame the whole lot isn’t out on DVD, BFI released a few but now they go for silly money on ebay.
dobrien		#14	[-]
Feb 12 10 3:14 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BuxtontheBlueCat wrote: It’s a shame the whole lot isn’t out on DVD, BFI released a few but now they go for silly money on ebay. I've read there are rights problems with a couple of the episodes, 'The Stalls of Barchester' and 'The Ash Tree'.
Heathenson		#15	[-]
Jun 15 10 5:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I only watched 'Whistle and I'll come to you' a couple of years ago on DVD. Because of its high reputation I decided to watch it with all the lights out and it gave me goosebumps. A Warning to the Curious is great as well, as is The Signalman. I saw The Haunted Airman a while ago but found it lacking.
bgart13.thelatarniaforums		#16	[-]
Aug 21 11 2:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Resurrecting an old thread. Accidentally stumbled across this upcoming Aussie M.R. James set, looks good! http://www.shock.com.au/r...28/m-r-james-collection/ Ghostly and macabre tales from the pen of Victorian writer M.R. James A View From A Hill - When Mr Fanshawe borrows his host's binoculars, he sees an unsettling sight on aptly-named Gallows Hill - or does he? 2005 \| 40 MINS \| Director: Luke Watson \| IMDb rating: 7.5 A Warning to the Curious - A man goes in search of an ancient crown, unaware that anyone who moves it will be cursed.1972 \| 50 MINS \| Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark \| IMDb rating: 7.4 Christopher Lee's Ghost Stories for Christmas - Christopher Lee hosts and narrates a series of ghost stories written by M.R. James. 2000 \| 30 MINS \| Director: Eleanor Yule \| IMDb rating: 8.4 Lost Hearts - A powerful drama about Mr Abney, an elderly and excitable black magician, who preys sinisterly upon children.1973 \| 35 MINS \| Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark \| IMDb rating: 7.0 Number 13 - Greg Wise stars in this unsettling tale in which a traveller finds that the hotel he's booked into conceals a supernatural secret. 2006 \| 40 MINS \| Director: Pier Wilkie \| IMDb rating: 6.9 The Stalls of Barchester - Robert Hardy stars as an ambitious cleric who decides to advance his career by murdering his archdeacon. 1971 \| 45 MINS \| Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark \| IMDb rating: 6.9 The Treasure of Abbot Thomas - Michael Bryant stars as a historian who finds the clue to hidden treasure in an old stained-glass window.1974 \| 40 MINS \| Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark \| IMDb rating: 7.0 Whistle and I'll Come To You - Jonathan Miller's chilling adaptation of the evocative Edwardian ghost story starring, starring Michael Horden.1968 \| 42 MINS \| Director: Jonathan Miller \| IMDb rating: 8.3 *Whistle and I'll Come To You - James Parkin (John Hurt) encounters an apparition on a desolate British beach - with terrifying consequences.2010 \| 52 MINS \| Director: Andy DeEmmony \| IMDb rating: 6.1 Kundun Rat Terrier: 8/16/02 - 3/26/11. RIP, Ku.
bgart13.thelatarniaforums		#17	[-]
Jan 12 12 9:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	And now, I learned today that THE SIGNALMAN has been available on dvd in the US for a few years on this disc: Kundun Rat Terrier: 8/16/02 - 3/26/11. RIP, Ku.
MYST0		#18	[-]
Jan 14 12 6:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In a similar vein, SHADES OF DARKNESS is another UK series of ghost stories that I found very well done. Some excellent adaptations of Edith Wharton are among them. They were on PBS hosted by Vincent Price on MYSTERY and are out in the US in a set sans Price, of course. There was also a very well done UK TV adaptation of the LaFanu tale SCHALCKEN THE PAINTER that I remember seeing on the old ARTS channel. I have a recording of it and am planning on a rewatch soon. It starred, of all people, Jeremy Clyde of Chad and Jeremy fame.
bgart13.thelatarniaforums		#19	[-]
Feb 11 12 11:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Got the M.R. James set in the mail on Friday and with a quick glance, this is a definite must for fans of these. The quality is typical of BBC tv broadcast recordings from this era (and kind), but much better than the versions I already have. Pricey, but essential. And re: THE SIGNALMAN on the HARD TIMES disc I posted about above, turns out the image quality is much better than the BFI dvd that's OOP: BFI dvd: HARD TIMES dvd: Kundun Rat Terrier: 8/16/02 - 3/26/11. RIP, Ku.
MYST0		#20	[-]
Feb 27 12 12:27 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Let us know how the Aussie set looks. Is it better than the grey market copies out there? I would love to see that collection!
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A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC

A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC