Wind in the Willows
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Friday, July 29, 2022
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Thursday, July 21, 2022
Monday, July 11, 2022
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Monday, June 20, 2022
Dracula Prince of Darkness
Dracula Prince of Darkness is a 1966 horror film directed by Terence Fisher and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It is the third entry in Hammer's dracula series and the second to feature Christopher Lee as vampire Count Dracula.
This is my all time favourite horror film and I remember the first time I watched it back in the late 80s. I was staying at my Nan's house at the time in her spare room and the film was broadcast late one evening on BBC. I'd gone to bed and was snug and cosy in my sleeping bag and in total darkness when I watched it on the small portable colour television set.
I recall the suspense of not knowing what was going to happen to the Kents as they settled down for a night at the castle, especially knowing that they'd been advised not to travel there. There was an eerie feeling in the castle too as Klove moved about in the dead of night making preparations to bring his master back to life. You knew something bad was going to happen but you just didn't know when and how!
A thoroughly enjoyable film from start to finish and packed with suspense throughout. It was my first introduction to Christopher Lee as Dracula and one I'll never forget.
FILM PLOT
The film starts by showing the final scenes from the first Dracula film, where Doctor Van Helsing destroys Count Dracula by sunlight and only only the memory of Dracula's evil remains.
The main story then begins with Father Sandor preventing some local authorities from disposing a woman's corpse believing her to be a vampire. He chastises the presiding priest for perpetuating the fear of vampires and reminds him that Dracula was destroyed ten years ago. Sandor is then seen visiting an inn where he warns four English tourists, the Kents (Diana, Charles, Helen and Alan) not to visit Karlsbad. Ignoring his advice, they choose to visit Karlsbad but are left abandoned two kilometres away from their destination when their fear stricken coach driver refuses to go any further.
With the castle in view, the Kents soon end being taken there when a driverless carriage arrives soon after they have been abandoned. Upon arrival at the castle they find a dining table set for four people and their bags unpacked in the bedrooms. They are soon met by a servant by the name Klove who explains that his master, the late Count Dracula, has left instructions that the castle should always be ready to welcome strangers. After the Kents have eaten, they settle in their rooms for the evening.
Later that night Alan leaves his room to investigate a noise and follows Klove to the castle's crypt. Klove kills him and uses his blood by mixing it with Dracula's ashes to revive the Count. Later Klove entices Helen to the crypt where she then becomes Dracula's first victim. The following morning, Charles and Diana look for Alan and Helen but are unable to find them and notice Klove's absence too. Charles and Diana leave the castle and soon arrive at a Woodsman's hut. Charles tells Diana to wait in the hut whilst he returns to the castle to search for Alan and Helen. Whilst Charles is gone Klove arrives at the hut and tricks Diana into returning to the castle.
Back at the castle, Charles finds Alan's dismembered body in a trunk in the crypt and as darkness falls Dracula rises. Diana encounters Helen, who, now a vampire, attacks her. Dracula then appears and warns Helen away from Diana. Charles struggles with Dracula until Diana realises that the crucifix around her neck is an affective weapon against vampires. Charles improvises a larger cross and manages to drive Dracula away and him and Diana escape from the castle in a carriage. As the carriage speeds further and further away from the castle the horses pulling it lose control and it crashes knocking Diana unconscious. Charles has to carry her for several hours through the woods before they are eventually rescued by Father Sandor, who takes them to his abbey.
Whilst they are there, Klove arrives in a wagon carrying two coffins containing Dracula and Helen but he's denied admission to the abbey by the monks. Ludwig, a patient at the abbey, is in awe of Dracula and he invites the Count inside the grounds. Helen pursuades Diana to open the window and let her in, claiming that she's escaped from Dracula. Diana gives in and lets her in but Helen bites her arm. Dracula drags Helen off wanting Diana for himself but Charles bursts into the room in time driving the vampires away.
Sandor quickly sterilizes bite on Diana's arm with the heat from an oil lamp, then buts silver crucifixes in the two coffins to prevent the vampires returning. Sandor captures Helen and drives a stake through her heart killing her. Ludwig lures Diana into Dracula's presence where the Count then hypnotizes her into removing the crucifx from around her neck. Dracula coerces her to drink his blood from his bare chest but Charles returns just in time to prevent it, forcing Dracula to then flee carrying the unconscious Diana.
Charles and Sandor arm themselves and give chase on horseback. A shortcut allows them to get ahead of Dracula's wagon and they stop it. Charles shoots Klove who has apparently removed Sandor's crucifixes from the coffins, but the horses gallop off back to the castle. At the castle, Diana is rescued and Dracula's coffin is thrown onto the frozen moat. Charles ventures onto the ice in an attempt to stake Dracula but the Count springs out his coffin and attacks him. Sandor shoots at the ice and it breaks. Diana quickly rescues Charles and Dracula is left sinking into the freezing water and drowns.
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Ghostbusters
When the supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters came out back in 1984 there were two things I loved just as much as the film itself, the film theme tune by Ray Parker Jr. and the iconic Ghostbusters logo.
THE THEME TUNE
What can I say, this is one of the most iconic soundtracks in cinematic history and it still sounds great some thirty eight years later. Whenever I hear the track it takes me back to the summer time when it was first released. If I remember correctly it was in the UK Singles Chart for about three weeks and therefore got quite a lot of airplay on the UK radio.
I only learnt years later that Ray Parker Jr. was sued by Huey Lewis and the News for plagiarism shortly after the films release because he was alleged to have copied the melody and bassline from Lewis' 1983 song called "I Want a New Drug".
The case was settled out of court in 1985 for an undisclosed sum and a confidentiality agreement that prohibited discussing the case.
THE FILM
Shortly after their first encounter with a ghost, a trio of Parapsychology professors form a paranormal investigation and elimination service called "Ghostbusters" afer being fired from the university where they worked due to the credibility of their paranormal-focused research.
Operating out of a disused firestation they set about developing high tech nuclear powered equipment to capture and contain ghosts. Business is initially slow but soon they find themselves being called out to deal with more and more ghosts across the city as supernatural activity rapidly increases. Eventually the Ghostbusters become famous and they have to hire a forth member to help them deal with growing demand.
An Environmental Protection Agency inspector becomes suspicious of the Ghostbusters work and soon has them arrested forcing their ghost containment unit to be deactivated which by this time is almost nearing capacity. The resultant deactivation causes an explosion and releases the captured ghosts. With supernatural chaos now across the city the Ghostbusters convince the major to release them from jail.
The film then culminates with them having to deal with a giant Marshmallow Man called Mr. Stay-Puft which is destroying the city. The Marshmallow Man is in actual fact a physical manifestation of an apocalyptic Sumerian deity named Gozer which has been summoned down to earth by two possessed entities via a dimensional gate.
The Ghostbusters are able to create an explosion by crossing their proton energy streams at the gate and Gozer's avatar is then destroyed banishing it back to it's dimension with the gateway then closing.
The Ghostbusters are then welcomed on the streets as heroes.
Unfortunately I never got to see the film at the cinema when it was first released and I had to wait until it was aired on British television a few years later.. I can remember all the hype at the time of it's release though and thats how I come to like the iconic Ghostbusters logo so much.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters
THE LOGO
The Ghostbusters logo which is more commonly referred to as the No-Ghost Sign must surely be one of the most iconic logos of the 80s. I love the logo so much, it's so simple yet so striking. I particularly like the use of colours too and feel that the white ghost within the red "No Entry" sign work so well together on the solid black background.
There is an interesting article on the history of the Ghostbusters logo and I've provided a link for it below. One thing I learnt whilst doing research for this post was that the ghost in the logo actually had a name; he was called Mooglie.
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