Post by Mark (Webmaster) on Feb 24, 2005 17:26:51 GMT
[glow=red,2,300]SHOCK! HORROR!
Artwork from the Video Nasty Era[/glow]
Purchase: AMAZON.CO.UK - 30% off!
Publisher website: FAB Press
Synopsis (press release):
The most awe-inspiring collection of British horror video artwork ever seen in print![/i]
The place: Great Britain. The year: 1980. The dawn of the video age. With new video companies appearing on a weekly basis, competition for shelf space was fierce. Eye-catching video cover designs were essential to succeed in this saturated marketplace. Video was new, unregulated, and out of control. These were the outlaw years. As their malevolent influence spread across a previously innocent land, many of these videos were banned or otherwise suppressed by the Government of the day, terrified of the consequences of allowing the impressionable youth of the country to be exposed to the unimaginable horrors within...
The glory days of horror video cover design spanned barely five years, and the legal crackdown of 1984 swiftly removed the vast bulk of these crazy designs from rental shop shelves forever. Presented in this book are what we consider to be the most striking, outrageous, rare, valuable and highly sought-after cover designs from the halcyon days of horror! All covers are shown FULL SIZE and in FULL COLOUR. This important historical document will prove to be irresistible for horror fans everywhere.
Here is just a small sample of the amazing collection of videos covered in this book: Abducted, The Bell of Hell, Cataclysm, The Deadly Spawn, Evil Come Evil Go, Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks, Grave of the Undead, Headless Eyes, Insanity, Just Before Dawn, Killer's Moon, The Last Horror Film, Massacre Mansion, Night After Night After Night, Oasis of the Zombies, Poor White Trash, Rituals, Savage Intruder, Track of the Moonbeast, Vampyres, The Witchmaker, Zombie Creeping Flesh ...and many more!
Review: If there¡¦s one thing that fascinates me it¡¦s the furore surrounding the whole ¡¥video nasty¡¦ debacle that sent Britain into a spin during the early 1980s. So when I got the chance to review this book, you could say I was a little bit excited!
So how is the book made up? Well, in all you get 168 front covers lovingly displayed in full size and in full colour. These aren¡¦t primarily the infamous 39 titles that made up the DPP list in 1985 (even though they¡¦re included) more a collection of some of the most interesting, obscure, rare and most sought after gems from the vaults of video history. But it¡¦s not just a collection of covers you get. Either side of the art itself you get some richly researched commentary. First there¡¦s a great introduction that highlights the ambiguity (read as ¡¥uncertainty and hysteria¡¦) surrounding the whole home video explosion, the panic it caused in national government and the subsequent witch-hunts for video rental shop-owners. You really get a great intro into the whole world that sets the main section up nicely. A real sense of hysteria is put across in such a laconic way you can¡¦t help but share some of the isolation these video dealers must have felt: damned if they did and damned if they didn¡¦t. The authors have the benefit of having experienced the whole fiasco first hand so there¡¦s always a polite sense of mockery when the British government is mentioned. I enjoyed that.
By far the best inclusion is the ¡¥Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) timeline¡¦. This makes a great two page spread looking at each of the 168 titles turbulent history with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Photocopy it and stick it on the fridge like I did.
After the ¡¥art¡¦ you get snippets of information for each title. This includes how ¡¥dangerous¡¦ it¡¦s content was considered, the company that distributed it and how rare/collectable it is in today¡¦s wild-eyed collectors market. It makes an interesting historical reference especially with the covers being shown in a smaller format with full front, spine and back cover art. You also get an interesting collection of alternative art used for the titles in question.
First off I must say that one thing it doesn¡¦t go into is plot points, trivia and credit information for the titles. This I must stress was never the books purpose and there are many books that look at ¡¥video nasties¡¦ in greater detail. Do not let this put you off from buying this book though! It manages to be both enjoyable as entertainment and useful as a reference.
Conclusion:
5/5 Possessed Cheryls
Marc Morris, Harvey Fenton and Francis Brewster have compiled a thoroughly engaging and worthwhile book that is enjoyable both as entertainment and as a reference. Great content which will be of interest to any horror video buff. Excellent.
NOTE: Interested in learning more about the 'nasties'? Click HERE for some in depth information. Great referential reading
Artwork from the Video Nasty Era[/glow]
Purchase: AMAZON.CO.UK - 30% off!
Publisher website: FAB Press
Synopsis (press release):
The most awe-inspiring collection of British horror video artwork ever seen in print![/i]
The place: Great Britain. The year: 1980. The dawn of the video age. With new video companies appearing on a weekly basis, competition for shelf space was fierce. Eye-catching video cover designs were essential to succeed in this saturated marketplace. Video was new, unregulated, and out of control. These were the outlaw years. As their malevolent influence spread across a previously innocent land, many of these videos were banned or otherwise suppressed by the Government of the day, terrified of the consequences of allowing the impressionable youth of the country to be exposed to the unimaginable horrors within...
The glory days of horror video cover design spanned barely five years, and the legal crackdown of 1984 swiftly removed the vast bulk of these crazy designs from rental shop shelves forever. Presented in this book are what we consider to be the most striking, outrageous, rare, valuable and highly sought-after cover designs from the halcyon days of horror! All covers are shown FULL SIZE and in FULL COLOUR. This important historical document will prove to be irresistible for horror fans everywhere.
Here is just a small sample of the amazing collection of videos covered in this book: Abducted, The Bell of Hell, Cataclysm, The Deadly Spawn, Evil Come Evil Go, Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks, Grave of the Undead, Headless Eyes, Insanity, Just Before Dawn, Killer's Moon, The Last Horror Film, Massacre Mansion, Night After Night After Night, Oasis of the Zombies, Poor White Trash, Rituals, Savage Intruder, Track of the Moonbeast, Vampyres, The Witchmaker, Zombie Creeping Flesh ...and many more!
Review: If there¡¦s one thing that fascinates me it¡¦s the furore surrounding the whole ¡¥video nasty¡¦ debacle that sent Britain into a spin during the early 1980s. So when I got the chance to review this book, you could say I was a little bit excited!
So how is the book made up? Well, in all you get 168 front covers lovingly displayed in full size and in full colour. These aren¡¦t primarily the infamous 39 titles that made up the DPP list in 1985 (even though they¡¦re included) more a collection of some of the most interesting, obscure, rare and most sought after gems from the vaults of video history. But it¡¦s not just a collection of covers you get. Either side of the art itself you get some richly researched commentary. First there¡¦s a great introduction that highlights the ambiguity (read as ¡¥uncertainty and hysteria¡¦) surrounding the whole home video explosion, the panic it caused in national government and the subsequent witch-hunts for video rental shop-owners. You really get a great intro into the whole world that sets the main section up nicely. A real sense of hysteria is put across in such a laconic way you can¡¦t help but share some of the isolation these video dealers must have felt: damned if they did and damned if they didn¡¦t. The authors have the benefit of having experienced the whole fiasco first hand so there¡¦s always a polite sense of mockery when the British government is mentioned. I enjoyed that.
By far the best inclusion is the ¡¥Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) timeline¡¦. This makes a great two page spread looking at each of the 168 titles turbulent history with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Photocopy it and stick it on the fridge like I did.
After the ¡¥art¡¦ you get snippets of information for each title. This includes how ¡¥dangerous¡¦ it¡¦s content was considered, the company that distributed it and how rare/collectable it is in today¡¦s wild-eyed collectors market. It makes an interesting historical reference especially with the covers being shown in a smaller format with full front, spine and back cover art. You also get an interesting collection of alternative art used for the titles in question.
First off I must say that one thing it doesn¡¦t go into is plot points, trivia and credit information for the titles. This I must stress was never the books purpose and there are many books that look at ¡¥video nasties¡¦ in greater detail. Do not let this put you off from buying this book though! It manages to be both enjoyable as entertainment and useful as a reference.
Conclusion:
5/5 Possessed Cheryls
Marc Morris, Harvey Fenton and Francis Brewster have compiled a thoroughly engaging and worthwhile book that is enjoyable both as entertainment and as a reference. Great content which will be of interest to any horror video buff. Excellent.
NOTE: Interested in learning more about the 'nasties'? Click HERE for some in depth information. Great referential reading