We will open for a rare Saturday night screening, as we couldn’t let Halloween pass without offering a seriously spine-chilling throwback to classic horror.
Believe it or not, we’ve never screened Dracula, in any iteration, before, but our Hammer Horror double bill changes that when we bring you both Dracula (1958) and Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966), both starring the late, great Christopher Lee as the iconic vampire.
Dracula was the first colour adaptation of Bram Stoker’s legendary novel, and made Lee an international star. And local lad Peter Cushing had top billing as the fearless Van Helsing. Initially, many critics were appalled by the unprecedented shocks the film delivers, but Dracula is now celebrated as a “defining work of British horror” (BFI).
This re-release finally presents Terence Fisher’s long lost director’s cut, with elements discovered in a Warner Bros. warehouse, enabling us to see an uncut version only previously shown in Japanese cinemas. It’s accompanied by a 10-minute short exploring how the film was lovingly restored.
Completing the bill, Dracula Prince of Darkness will also be special, as we mark the film’s 60th anniversary by showing a rare and beautiful 35mm Technicolor print, kindly provided by our friends at The Cinema Museum.
