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In
addition to the standard edition of the revised Hammer
Story by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes, Titan Books are
also planning to issue a Limited Edition of 600 numbered
copies bound in black leather, with the red Hammer logo
on the front and spine.
The deluxe
edition also contains a parchment page in the front,
which has signatures from: Martine Beswick, Valerie
Leon, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Barbara Shelley,
Madeline Smith.
The
delux edition is expected to sell for around £75 and
anyone interested in this edition is asked to email
hammer@titanemail.com
You can
pre-order the standard edition
here.
Meanwhile
the final press release for the book is below:
PRESS
RELEASE
THE
HAMMER STORY
Celebrating 50 Years of Hammer Horror!
"When we saw the logo of Hammer Films, we knew it
was going to be a very special picture"
- Martin Scorcese
Fifty years ago, Hammer Films released their first
'gothic' horror movie, The Curse of Frankenstein,
beginning a series of films that changed the face of
horror cinema. 'Hammer Horror' made international
stars of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and
inspired a generation of Hollywood filmmakers,
including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and Tim
Burton, earning the company an esteemed place in
cinematic history.
Over the decades Hammer Films has been the subject
of dozens of books, essays and documentaries; now,
Hammer has given active backing to a
fully-authorised history of the company. Compiled
with unlimited access to the Hammer archives The
Hammer Story [Titan Books, 26 October 2007, £24.99]
provides a film-by-film dissection of the history of
Hammer Films, dripping with rare promotional
material and previously unpublished photographs.
Featuring an exclusive foreword by Hammer alumni Sir
Christopher Lee, this definitive guide throws open
the crypt doors to provide the ultimate collector's
item for any Hammer fan. Lavishly illustrated with
movie stills and behind-the-scenes photographs, plus
memorabilia including rare posters and press
clippings, authors Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes give
an in-depth look at the company that ushered in a
new era of horror cinema, and the unrivalled panache
that made Hammer the master of the genre.
Marcus Hearn was the editor of Hammer Horror
magazine, for which Alan Barnes wrote features.
Together, they have co-authored Tarantino A-Zed, The
Cinema of George Lucas and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.
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cover art for the 2nd edition of The Hammer
Story : The Authorised History of Hammer
Films by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes |
Titan's Top Ten Hammer Facts
2007 is the 50th anniversary of the release of
Hammer's first gothic horror movie, The Curse of
Frankenstein.
Hammer films influenced a whole generation of film
directors, including Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton and
George Lucas. Burton and Lucas have even cast Sir
Christopher Lee in several of their films.
Though best known for their horror films, Hammer
also made thrillers, swashbucklers, war movies, and
comedies. In fact their comedy On the Buses was the
British box office champion of 1971!
Hammer were also responsible for the indelible image
of Raquel Welch in a fur bikini, in their
historically inaccurate but hugely entertaining
dinosaurs vs. humans epic One Million Years B.C.
Hammer's films were exported around the world, and
benefited the British economy to such an extent that
the company was presented with The Queen's Award to
Industry in 1968.
The 'vampire bats' which menaced the cast in Kiss of
the Vampire were actually toys bought from
Woolworths.
Hammer were masters of the poster tagline. One of
their best was for The Mummy's Shroud: 'Beware the
beat of the cloth-wrapped feet!'
The legendary Bette Davis starred in two Hammer
films, The Nanny and The Anniversary.
The even more legendary Oliver Reed scored his first
leading role in Hammer's Curse of the Werewolf.
Hammer Films Limited was recently bought by a
company owned by John de Mol (the Dutch media giant
behind Big Brother). With several new films in
development, Hammer is set to rise from the grave!
# # #
The Hammer Story (Revised Edition)
Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes
Titan Books
26 October 2007 • Hardback • £24.99 • 192pp
ISBN-10: 1-84576-185-2 • ISBN-13: 9781845761851
© Marcus Hearn, Alan Barnes and Hammer Film
Productions Limited as joint owners 1997, 2007.
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