http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/storeDetailPages/coc-dvd.html
... is already out there. It's a 47 minute, silent, 1920s-style movie made by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. They also do full-cast audio 1930s-style plays of HPL's stories. Speaking as someone for whom Innsmouth, Dagon, C.o.Cthulhu and At The Mountains of Madness are among the most important things in the world and who has just downloaded the atMoM audiobook for listening later, I have just cum in my pants. This is mine. Oh crikey yes.
Follow the link above, or just go to http://www.cthulhulives.org/ and start there.
SBT
That pants-cumming thing sounds serious. I'd look into that.
Yeah, this is old news, although I've never actually seen it (silent movies not being my thing).
It is a matter of some regret that there have been few (if any) decent HPL film adaptions.
It's by far the best HPL insired movie that doesn't deviate from the source greatily (see Evil Dead, Re-Animator et al). The decision to make it a silent throwback was a work of genious.
Got the DVD of this - brilliant, brilliant stuff that captures the mood way better than any blockbuster could reasonably hope to... I'd like to get hold of some more - did they do/are doing Whisperer in Darkness, or did I imagine that?
Finally watched this, and found it a real gem. Haunting, bizarre, chilling and beautifully atmospheric; making it in the style of an old silent movie was a masterstroke. Very impressed by the accompanying music too, - truly a labour of love. Would like to own the DVD, but the cost is a bit off-putting for a 47 min long feature. (yes, I'm a tight git..).
(I'm not trying to compare the two in anyway, but..) Has anybody seen the low-budget comedy/homage 'The Last Lovecraft' ? Silly and cheap, but fun for HPL fans. Watch once, and forget.
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOWtgLneeNE
Quote from: Leigh S on 03 December, 2012, 10:25:43 PM
Got the DVD of this - brilliant, brilliant stuff that captures the mood way better than any blockbuster could reasonably hope to... I'd like to get hold of some more - did they do/are doing Whisperer in Darkness, or did I imagine that?
DVD: http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/storeDetailPages/whisperer-dvd.html
BLU-RAY: http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/storeDetailPages/whisperer-bluray.html
POSTER: http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/storeDetailPages/whisperer-poster.html
SOUNDTRACK ALBUM: http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/storeDetailPages/twid-soundtrack.html
SBT
Just about to watch this, excited!
Thanks for drawing my attention to it SBT!
is "in the mouth of madness" sort of lovecraftian?
the same neill film? really enjoyed that years ago.
It's not based on a specific Lovecraft story, as far as I am aware, though thematically it's been suggested it bears a loose similarity to 'Pickman's Model' (there is also a character with the surname Pickman in it.) Nonetheless, it is very Lovecraftian (and sort-of cribs its name from 'At the Mountains of Madness'.) The bit where Neill is chased by the Great Old Ones is utterly wonderful, and despite a few flaws, it's a great film. Some jaw-dropping set pieces.
Quote from: Greg M. on 20 December, 2012, 12:06:26 PM
It's not based on a specific Lovecraft story, as far as I am aware, though thematically it's been suggested it bears a loose similarity to 'Pickman's Model' (there is also a character with the surname Pickman in it.) Nonetheless, it is very Lovecraftian (and sort-of cribs its name from 'At the Mountains of Madness'.) The bit where Neill is chased by the Great Old Ones is utterly wonderful, and despite a few flaws, it's a great film. Some jaw-dropping set pieces.
Hmmm. The superannuated kid on the bike. The demonic children. The axe attack in the street.
Last time I watched it I was in the Ritz (don't ask) and I checked under the bed before I went to sleep. i was nearly 30.
Quote from: qtwerk on 20 December, 2012, 12:11:11 PM
Quote from: Greg M. on 20 December, 2012, 12:06:26 PM
It's not based on a specific Lovecraft story, as far as I am aware, though thematically it's been suggested it bears a loose similarity to 'Pickman's Model' (there is also a character with the surname Pickman in it.) Nonetheless, it is very Lovecraftian (and sort-of cribs its name from 'At the Mountains of Madness'.) The bit where Neill is chased by the Great Old Ones is utterly wonderful, and despite a few flaws, it's a great film. Some jaw-dropping set pieces.
Hmmm. The superannuated kid on the bike. The demonic children. The axe attack in the street.
Last time I watched it I was in the Ritz (don't ask) and I checked under the bed before I went to sleep. i was nearly 30.
Have't seen it in years, but I do remember it causing some fucked up dreams.
I bought a very expensive multi-region copy just recently, as it's one of my top five Carps. Havent got around to rewatching yet, as have been waiting for a cold-free, pain-free evening to do so. But yeah, itMoM is marvellous.
SBT
Quote from: SmallBlueThing on 20 December, 2012, 01:24:33 PM
I bought a very expensive multi-region copy just recently, as it's one of my top five Carps. Havent got around to rewatching yet, as have been waiting for a cold-free, pain-free evening to do so. But yeah, itMoM is marvellous.
SBT
It's John Carpenter?
Oh the shame. I forgot/ didn't realise
Just finished Call of Cthulhu, it having arrived this morning. Blimey, i did like this quite an awful lot. Do i really have to go into all the reasons it's magnificent: made by a bunch of mad bastards with no money but balls the size of Martian moons- much like our beloved Judge Minty- and should immediately be purchased by anyone with an interest?
I have issues with the video picture- it looks like someone's vidFIRE'd an old movie and never seems authentic- and a few of the camera moves stick out as anachronistic. But little of this matters and, for me, even enhanced the experience... a 'best of both worlds', as it were.
The dvd has a fair wodge of extras, including a decent 'making of' that just reinforces how brilliant and fun filmmaking can be, when divorced from hollywood or ken loach and made by a bunch of obsessives entirely for fun. It almost made me want to get back into making films!
Anyone dithering- go for it. Stop-motion Cthulhu monster! What more do you want!!?
SBT
I've had this DVD for a while. Well worth the money. The Lovecraft Historical Society have done an adaptation of Whisperer in the Darkness too, apparently http://www.cthulhulives.org/Whisperer/twid-blog.html (http://www.cthulhulives.org/Whisperer/twid-blog.html)
I'd love to see 'At the Mountains of Madness' done with this much imagination and a half decent budget.
Smallbluething...what are the audios like? I've been considering giving them a go for some time but have no idea how good they are. Don't the physical releases all come with a selection of props from the story?
Quote from: Tim Tailz on 27 December, 2012, 02:47:28 PM
Smallbluething...what are the audios like? I've been considering giving them a go for some time but have no idea how good they are. Don't the physical releases all come with a selection of props from the story?
I've downloaded and listened to At The Mountains of Madness and The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and would recommend either or both. In fact, I will probably go for a third tonight, as my wife is away. They work out at six quid each through the website (cthulhulives.org)- though you can of course order physical CDs (and even a presentation boxset) which do come with "props", for more. The quality of the audios is so good that I'm seriously considering doing just that and getting the lot. There are more coming too, or so they told me in an email just before Xmas.
How you will respond to them probably depends on your tolerance for audio drama. While I love it- and listen to an awful lot of it- some do tend to send me to sleep. Big Finish, for example, have not yet released a Dr Who that I've managed to stay awake through. This is no real criticism of the material, more that I find they "lull" me, like being read a bedtime story as a child. I listen to them while laying on the sofa, lights off, after everyone else is in bed, so your experience may be considerably different! Neither Lovecraft so far has gone unheard- I went back and replayed from where I drifted off during Mountains, then listened to it all again, as it really was exceptional. The only criticism I have so far is the radio broadcasts from the Antarctic team are for the most part unintelligible. I know they are supposed to be so, and having read the story umpteen times I know what they are saying, but it's still annoying. This is mentioned in nearly every review you'll find of AtMoM, so it would not surprise me in the least if it were corrected at some point in the future. Nothing mars Innsmouth in the same way. I thought the Richard Coyle version that turns up on BBC7 from time to time was about the best audio version I was likely to find- but the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre really knock it out of the park.
The gimmick is that they are "nineteen thirties and forties US radio dramatisations"- so have a presenter, adverts (sponsored by a fag company) and a narrative all their own as well as telling the familiar story. I can't imagine you'd find this problematic, and probably like me you'll find it adds greatly to the atmosphere.
If you've got six quid knocking about and a paypal account, give it a go I say.
SBT
Well I have dozens of Big Finish's output and I've never fallen asleep yet. :lol: So I'm certainly a big fan of audio dramas.
I probably will pick up one of these one day, although I'm a stickler for having the physical CD rather than the download.
I'll have to get the Call of Cthulhu film someday too. It's my favourite H P Lovecraft story without a doubt.