Scream and Scream Again (1970) (Limited Edition)

[dsman71]

October 13th is a lucky day for fans of this film. Another great Price title upcoming - thank you Twilight Time

[Oscar Rothman]

cool news!

[cakefactory]

I posted this in the TT thread, but it will quickly get buried. For those who aren't sure what this movie is, here's the best description/review I've seen of it, from Kim Newman's excellent book "Horror: The Definitive Companion" (it just has capsule reviews and pictures of everything in the genre he considers essential viewing in chronological order).

A killer is stalking women in London nightclubs and drinking their blood; a jogger wakes up in a hospital bed to find his limbs amputated one by one; and a ruthless psychopath seizes power in a totalitarian Eastern European state. Bewildering and exhilarating by turns, Hessler's adaptation of Peter Saxon's novel The Disorientated Man is an ambitious attempt to drag classic horror stars (Price, Lee, Cushing) and themes (Frankenstein, vampires) into a modern Swinging London of grooving dolly-birds, mauve silk shirts and political paranoia.

It's not entirely successful: the film's obsession with human partition, seen in the limb-lopped jogger, the vampiric Keith's torn-off hand and a freezer full of body parts, has its parallels in a narrative that is so fragmented as to be a near-incoherent patchwork of scenes that fail to make the most of their horror stars (Cushing's role is a cameo, and Lee and Price only meet for a brief confrontation at the climax) or the collision of styles ranging from generation-gap movie through mad science to '60s super-sleuth - as though John le Carré, his mind buzzing with topical events (Gary Powers's spy plane) and ambient fears (organ transplants, cyborg technology), had rewritten Frankenstein as a tribute to Bava's Diabolik (1968).

But, as Hessler avoids static camera set-ups in favour of hand-held cameras and rapid edits, even if the film is finally little more than a collection of dissociated set pieces, they're so bizarre and adrenalin-charged that Scream remains enormously entertaining, trading on such extraordinary sequences as cyborg vampire Keith (Michael Gothard in a wonderful Austin Powers turn - "lovely mover", one of the habitués of the Busted Pot observes as Gothard shimmies to the sound of the Amen Corner) being chased around south London by police and tearing off his hand to escape, all fuelled by a jazz score that kicks into high gear at the slightest provocation.

[Partyslammer]

Very strange movie, all over the map style-wise but well worth a look but only worth owning for the few hardcore fans of Price, Lee and Cushing. Actually kind of surprised TT is doing this one as I think it won't be among their better sellers at their usual price point.

[HotRats]

This is one I've been waiting for, always had a soft spot for it even though it makes very little sense, it feels like the film is about to move up a gear just as it ends very abruptly. Those expecting big scenes with Price, Cushing and Lee will be disappointed, blink and you'll miss Cushing. It could be a difficult transfer as the film is packed with dodgy day for night shots. Catchy song by The Amen Corner

[oddbox83]

It's a bonkers film that looks like someone took two or three totally different movies and cut them together. Oddly, it works if only for entertainment value and the quality of it's cast!

[Alfredlynch]

Cool, weird movie.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Currently on sale for $19.95.....

http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/sc...again-blu-ray/

[hagios]

Scream and Scream Again from Twilight Time $14.95

March 1st - TWILIGHT TIME LIMITED SALE MGM/UA MARCH MADNESS SALE! SALE BEGINS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1ST 4PM EDT THROUGH FRIDAY, MARCH 31ST 4PM EDT! NOTE: DIFFERENT PRICE BRACKETS PER TITLE.
ORDERS MUST BE PLACED DURING THE SALE PERIOD TO OBTAIN THE SALE PRICING. NO PREVIOUS, CURRENTLY PENDING OR FUTURE ORDERS QUALIFY. ORDER FROM http://WWW.SCREENARCHIVES.COM AND USE CODE SHIPPING10 AT CHECKOUT TO SAVE 10% ON SHIPPING FOR THE FOLLOWING SALES TITLES ONLY.

[timeschange]

Watched it once in the late 70's as a teenager and loved it.
Bought the TT disc hoping to relive that enjoyment.
It was complete crap. And for a film with that cast and pedigree I'm disappointed to have to say that. But I'm having trouble bringing myself to sell it

[fatboy1111]

On sale for $10 twilight time

[WJB]

I absolutely love this film (even have a framed original US 1-sheet hanging in my living room), and regularly watch my Twilight Time disc. Personally, I absolutely love the commentary on this.

I was interested to see reference to the upcoming UK cut... Is there a possibility of it featuring the weird alternative music score? That's the version I grew up with in the 1980s on VHS and have been hunting for it high and low since then.

I'm guessing the alternative music was prepared for the video market much later (it sounds very 80s synth), but you never know!

[Slob]

Originally Posted by WJB

I absolutely love this film (even have a framed original US 1-sheet hanging in my living room), and regularly watch my Twilight Time disc. Personally, I absolutely love the commentary on this.

I was interested to see reference to the upcoming UK cut... Is there a possibility of it featuring the weird alternative music score? That's the version I grew up with in the 1980s on VHS and have been hunting for it high and low since then.

I'm guessing the alternative music was prepared for the video market much later (it sounds very 80s synth), but you never know!

A UK version would have the original score. With AIP, when the scores differ, the U.S. score is the alternate.

A few films AIP rescored for U.S. theatrical release at the time. Sometimes they would redub them also. Sometimes reedit. This is how we ended up with "the AIP version" and the "UK/international version".

Several European films were distributed in the U.S. with the original score. In the 1980s, when Orion/MGM/UA wanted to release them on VHS it was discovered that for most of them AIP had never secured the music rights.
They began hunting down these composers throughout Europe. Some couldn't be found, some had died, and some wanted huge sums for the rights.

A single guy was hired to rescore these films. Just one guy with his keyboard synthesizer(sp?). That's how the films remain to this day on U.S. releases. Even BD. The best known example is WITCHFINDER GENERAL/CONQUEROR WORM. It had a beautiful original score that was replaced for VHS and cable distribution in the U.S. PAL>NTSC tapes of the UK version were a hot seller in the day. PAL>NTSC copies of the UK DVD were also popular until MGM released the UK version in the U.S. on DVD.
MGM/UA licensed the UK version from whomever owned it. This is the cause of that particular Vincent Price Collection BD going OOP.

There is a documentary, including interview with composer who did the rescoring on PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES BD I believe.

[babybreese]

Sadly the UK cut is not terribly exciting,
but more of a worthy footnote.

from IMDB
British prints of SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN have small differences than AIP's American Theatrical cut,
with the American version removing Bellaver clumsily throwing a stone at the speedy cliff-climbing super-human Keith,
and a bottle-swigging old drunk peeping at Keith and Sylvia fooling around in the convertible.

The final shot of the British print is also different,
with the credits scrolling over a long shot of Dr. Browning's lab heard over soundtrack music,
rather than on the American print which has the credits being presented over a black screen
with The Amen Corner's "Scream and Scream Again" playing.

One thing omitted from the American version is a brief but significant dialogue exchange between Vincent Price and Christopher Lee:
"But what of the dream?" asks Price.
"There is only nightmare" replies Lee).

I have a soft spot for this as well,
saw it in a big old theater 1st run and had the Famous Monsters issue.
Yutte's cameo is Ok by me too

[WJB]

Thank you so much babybreese and Slob for the information. It certainly sounds as though the inclusion of the UK cut isn't a double-dip reason on its own...

I actually found the 80s synth opening credits sequence - brings back many happy memories! I also distinctly remember thinking the nightclub scenes were strange as there's a featured singer (from The Amen Corner) but no lyrics in the song! It wasn't until I saw the MGM DVD years later that it all made sense!

Scream and Scream Again - 1990s TV opening - YouTube

[ponderingtheuniverse]

From Radiance Films (UK) on September 18th:


LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

High-Definition digital transfer of the British and American cuts of the film
Uncompressed mono PCM audio

Audio commentary with Kevin Lyons, author of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television and Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 (2023)

New interviews with actors Julian Holloway and Christopher Matthews, editor Peter Elliott, and propman Arthur Wicks (2023)

Ramsey Campbell on Christopher Wicking and ‘Peter Saxon’ (2023)

Gentleman Gothic: Gordon Hessler at American International Pictures - A documentary on the filmmaker's work for the studio featuring Hessler himself and critics Jeff Burr, David Del Valle, Steve Haberman and C. Courtney Joyner (2015, 23 mins)

Uta Screams Again - An interview with actress Uta Levka (1999, 9 mins)

Super 8 Version - a reconstruction of the cut-down version distributed as The Living Corpses of Dr. Mabuse

Deleted scenes

Mick Garris trailer commentary - the filmmaker provides a short overview of the film (2013, 2 mins)

Trailer

Gallery

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters

Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critic Anne Billson

3 character postcards of classic images from the film

Limited edition of 3000 copies.

[MifuneFan]

Reverse artwork for Radiance's release is so nice

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Reverse artwork for Radiance's release is so nice

I think I like it better than the other artwork. The black makes it look so nice.

[annubis44]

Anyone know if there are any reviews of this up?