Anchor Bay to re-release their Hammer Films collection!!! (1 Viewer)

Jeffrey Nelson · Mar 25, 2006

Apparently, Tom Bambard of Anchor Bay Entertainment revealed the info at the recent Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention. From a quote posted at the Roobarb forum:

And I've just started to knuckle under and pick up the remaining Anchor Bay double-feature Hammers I don't have...should I wait?

Anchor Bay Hammer announcement at Roobarb

RickER · Mar 25, 2006

I thought the rights went to Blue Underground, and that they had no plans for them at this time? But of course things can chane.

Paul Arnette · Mar 26, 2006

Anchor Bay still has the rights to some Hammer films, which begs the question which films are being remastered?

Unfortunately, I think Blue Underground has the rights to the one film that immediately jumps out at me as needing a remaster, Dracula Prine of Darkness.

Still. Interesting.

soop.spoon · Mar 26, 2006

The titles that Anchor Bay supposedly lost the rights to are the inital batch of 20 (later released in 10 2-disc sets):

Dracula Prince Of Darkness (*)
Satanic Rites Of Dracula (*)
Shatter
Abominable Snowman
Four-Sided Triangle
Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires (*)
Vengeance Of She (*)
Viking Queen (*)
Prehistoric Women (*)
Plague Of The Zombies
Lost Continent
Reptile
Witches
Devil Rides Out
Rasputin The Mad Monk
Quatermass 2
Quatermass & The Pit (*)
X The Unknown
Frankenstein Created Woman
Mummy's Shroud[/list=1]
(*) = NON-ANAMORPHIC

Then they released an additional 10 titles in conjuction with Studio Canal. These titles are still in print as far as I know. The transfers of these films are particularly good and most if not all feature commentary tracks:
1. Scars Of Dracula
2. Demons Of The Mind
3. Lust For A Vampire
4. Hell Is A City
5. Straight On Till Morning
6. Blood From The Mummy's Tomb
7. Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde
8. Horror Of Frankenstein
9. Fear In The Night
10. To The Devil A Daughter[/list=1]
  
  ...and in a few weeks they will release 1 more title (leased from 20th Century Fox):
  1. The Anniversary[/list=1]
    
    I'll be very interested to see how this plays out... wish I had more info now so I can ditch the existing versions at the current high prices.

Brandon Gantt · Mar 26, 2006

I believe AB were allowed to renew their rights to the William Lustig/Blue Underground package because Lustig felt they were of no futher commercial value.

AB flooded the market with their cheap double features, and other countries started to exploit those same films. Lustig no longer had the market cornered. That's why the double feature discs are still available (except the Dracula duo). They were originally going to be pulled off the shelves in '04.

Paul Arnette · Mar 26, 2006

I half wondered if that wasn't the case as soon as I heard this news, however I am interested to know where you remember hearing this?

As big a fan of Hammer films as I am, I cannot see upgrading many of Anchor Bay's Hammer films from the list of films that they definitely have rights to. Rather, I wish they'd focus more on the non-anamorphic ones and securing the rights to unreleased R1 Hammers.

soop.spoon · Mar 26, 2006

Are there any unreleased Hammer films owned by Fox? AB seems to have a good relationship with them lately.

Brandon Gantt · Mar 26, 2006

The Nanny (1965) Starring Bette Davis. Davis' other Hammer film, The Anniversary, is being released in April by AB.

CameronMcC · Mar 26, 2006

good news, as I missed some of the double feature disc

walter o · Mar 26, 2006

I cannot find the double bill of ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN/SHATTER anywhere, but I see PRINCE OF DARKNESS/SATANIC RITES in most Tower Records still!

John Hodson · Mar 27, 2006

*Ignore*

Randy Korstick · Mar 27, 2006

I will glady repurchase all the non-anamorphic ones if they have new transfers but not any of the others as they were all nice to begin with.

Ruz-El · Mar 27, 2006

I never bought any on these, so I'm hoping for a series of box sets!

Jeffrey Nelson · Mar 27, 2006

The three double-features you can't find except for high prices are:

DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS/THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA
THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN/SHATTER
QUATERMASS 2/QUATERMASS AND THE PIT

The rest are available through various online shops, though I haven't seen any in stores for a long long time. Are they really still in print, or did some unsold stock just turn up? If they are still in print, why wouldn't the three above-named releases still be too? Although, at least I only need DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS and QUATERMASS 2 out of those.

I wish I knew which films were being re-released...

Steve Phillips · Mar 27, 2006

That DRACULA double feature is readily available on the shelves of every Borders in Las Vegas. I just saw it again yesterday.

Mark Zimmer · Mar 27, 2006

I wish Anchor Bay would license the many unreleased Hammers that Columbia is sitting on (though I suppose STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY and TERROR OF THE TONGS might be too much even for them).

JohnPM · Mar 27, 2006

But does 20th Fox, as original US distributor, retain any of the negative materials from the Hammer films they released? I'm thinking specifically of "Dracula, Prince Of Darkness", as that was one that I recall was problematic for Anchor Bay.

http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/

walter o · Mar 27, 2006

didn't Fox also released QUAERMASS AND THE PIT as well?

Richard--W · Mar 27, 2006

Mr. Phillips!!!

Really?! I haven't been able to find it anywhere, and I've been looking all over. I'll send you the money if you'll buy it for me, plus whatever. Email or PM me.

Mark_TS · Mar 28, 2006

FOX did release QUATERMASS IN THE PIT aka (FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH)in the US
We now need a remastered/restored ANAMORPHIC edition of this title

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