The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films

by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes

Book Overview

A celebration of Hammer Films, published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Hammer's first film, The Curse of Frankenstein. This book offers a film-by-film dissection of the Hammer phenomenon,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1845761855
• ISBN13: 9781845761851
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Titan Books (UK)
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 2.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.8" x 11.8"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Overview

I am not normally a fan of "coffee table" books. But, in this case, I am happy to make an exception. In this large volume, the editors essentially try to tell the story of Hammer Studios, the movie production company that went from obscurity to legend in the genre of horror and suspense. It is, as other reviews quite correctly point out, not complete, so it cannot be called a full history. But, I still give it five stars for superb editing, superior physical construction and layout, and the synposes of most of Hammer's offerings which candidly assess the merits and flaws of the most noteworthy Hammer films. The picures are lavish and generous (many rare and likely unpublished before), the criticism and commentary learned, and the complete filmography at the end of the book not to be missed, especially by the Hammer "completist." The foreward by Christopher Lee is warm and candid, and the reader also gets "glimpses" into the personalities and acting methods of some of the greatest of the Hammer stars like the not-to-be-replaced Peter Cushing and Ingrid Pitt. And the book's visual choices give a palpable sense of the lush, rich colors that were Hammer's trademark, as well as illustrating beautifully the commentary on "how" and "why" the legendary studio was unafraid to "push" both cinematic and social envelopes in its heyday. So while the other reviews in this thread are excellent and should be read before purchase, I am going to take the "five star" rating for the reasons I outlined above. Recommended, especially for the Hammer completist as well as the casual but appreciative fan.

Stylish Yet Incomplete Survey of Hammer

First off, Titan Books should be commended for producing a very attractive, informative volume with lots of great photos concerning the history of Hammer Studios. The key films are discussed in depth, usually with two pages devoted to behind-the-scenes info regarding all your favorites. My one quibble would be with what the book isn't -- this is not a comprehensive survey of Hammer's entire output. The b & w thrillers are glossed over as are the comedies, the swashbucklers and the forgotten noirs. All well and good if you're only interested in the gothic horror films -- and let's face it, that's what most people signed up for, right? I'm not really complaining. This book delivers the goods on Hammer's horror output. I bought it and I'm satisfied. But I'm still waiting for that all-encompassing tome devoted to this great and unique British film studio's entire history -- horror and all.

Long, Live Hammer Films

This book has everything you would want to know about Hammer Studios, great artwork, wonderful summaries and much more.

Greatness on every page

I am a Hammer Film fan who actually watched all the horror and sci-fi movies they put out originally...This book is a must have for Hammer Fans..I have most of their catalog of older movies too..this book talks at length about then and has some great photos i had never seen.Buy It Now!

The first Color Horror classics

It's hard to believe that 50 years ago the small English film studio Hammer began the reincarnation of classic horror. It's even more odd that the studio which transformed horror and paved the way for more modern films rarely gets credit for saving and transforming the genre. Ask most horror fans today what Hammer studios was and you'll likely get a blank stare if they even look up from the 18th incarnation of SAW or another wretched remake of a psycho killer bloodfest. Hammer studios launched the careers of Oliver Reed, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Raquel Welch just to name a few. Many books and periodicals have come and gone about the "Studio that dripped blood". Notably the book English Gothic and the U.S. periodical "Little Shoppe Of Horrors" by Richard Klemensen have done a fine job of looking in depth at Hammer's output and personalities. And now we have a fine visual reference in the form of this book. The design and printing of this volume is top notch. Chris Lee is fittingly on the cover as Dracula. Hammer's cycle of films did more to sensualize the vampire myth than anything before them. It's fair to say that vampires just were not the same after Hammer and Chris Lee. There is a forward by Mr. Lee in the beginning, first written in 1997 for the first edition of this book. It's too bad they did not have Mr. Lee update that forward for this important revised edition. But the casual Hammer fan will not be disappointed by the contents of this book. I dare say even the more knowledgable will find some photographs never before seen. The wonderful backstage shots alone make this worth owning. My favorite section is the Filmography with a plot synposis of every film made under the Hammer banner along with color repros of many of the original film posters. There are some tantalizing posters of films never made, such as "Savage Jackboot" starring Peter Cushing as an SS commander in WWII! This book could easily have been twice as large, but it will still give you many evenings of enjoyment looking at rarely seen (and sometimes risque) photographs of your favorite Hammer films. The format allows one to flip casually through a section or two and then return later without missing a beat. There are some gems in the text as well, such as the admission that semi-nude scenes were indeed shot for many early hammer classics such as the Mummy. These were made for distribution in Japan and never seen in the west. This book would also be a great introduction to Hammer and it's atmospheric imagery to someone not acquainted with the studio and its importance to the history and evolution of the horror film genre. Let's hope that this book helps Hammer and it's hard working stars and crews finally get the credit they deserve for redeeming the horror genre from a swarm of giant bugs and drive-in cheapies made in the 50's. The US release of this book is timed perfectly for the Halloween season. So sneak some Halloween candy, put on your favorite hammer fi