Hammer Films- A Life In Pictures: The Visual Story of Hammer Films [Hardcover]

Wayne Kinsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2009

Last year, several boxes of never-seen-before photos of Hammer Films productions was archived by Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey for the British Film Institute. Kinsey and the BFI were so impressed by the collection, that it was agreed the best should be published.Through these rare and mostly previously unseen images, Hammer Films - A Life in Pictures tells the visual story of Hammer's output. You will be guided through this wonderful collection of photos by Kinsey himself,the celebrated author of Hammer Films - the Elstree Studios Years and Hammer Films - the Bray Studios Years. Hammer Films - A Life in Pictures explores the wider and fascinating side of one of the British film industry's greatest success stories, showing once and for all that Hammer was not just a purveyor of cheap horror pictures.In fact, they made films in a number of different genres such as war thrillers, gritty dramas, comedies and colourful swashbuckling adventures. Some of these were among their best films; 1959 is a case in point which included such classics as Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, Hell is a City and Yesterday's Enemy, the latter of which earned Hammer BAFTA nominations for best picture, best actor and best supporting actor. Hammer's films also benefited from an expert team of actors and technicians, including big names that on first glance would never have thought to be associated with Hammer including Robert Aldrich, Ken Adam, Joe Losey, Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, Donald Sutherland, Joan Fontaine, Richard Widmark, Ursula Andress and Raquel Welch.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Photographs discovered in old boxes show that the classic horror studio was into far more than Gothic mansions and frilly shirts." The Independent, February 2009

About the Author

Wayne Kinsey is considered to be the world'sleading expert on Hammer Films. He has writtentwo very highly acclaimed books on the famousfilm studio and more are on the way! Waynehas also acted as a consultant to others onHammer Films, and writes and publishes TheHouse That Hammer Built, a very successfulmagazine on the history of the studio.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Tomahawk Press (February 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0953192695
• ISBN-13: 978-0953192694
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #996,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Photo History of Hammer Films, February 28, 2009

By 

S. Smith "Crazy about Olivia Munn" (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hammer Films- A Life In Pictures: The Visual Story of Hammer Films (Hardcover)

This is a fantastic book. Hundreds of photos showcase the studio that was Hammer. Broken down into chapters including Frankenstein, Dracula, Science Fiction, Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, etc. The photos are crisp and clear, mostly b/w, but there are several color sections. You will spend hours with this book. I loved it and wish there were more books like this. Limited to 2500 copies, get yours today before they are gone.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on Hammer Films, July 19, 2009

By 

Dan Day (South Bend, IN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hammer Films- A Life In Pictures: The Visual Story of Hammer Films (Hardcover)

This book may strike some people as pricey, but if you love Hammer Films like I do, it is well worth it. This book is different from other Hammer books in that it is totally visual. Most of the pictures have never been published before, and there are a number of behind-the-scenes photos which show a side of Hammer Films most fans have not seen. This book does not contain a "nuts and bolts" history of Hammer--there are plenty of other books which do that. This is a book for the hard-core Hammer fan who thinks he or she has seen every Hammer Films publicity photo there is. Believe me, no matter how big a Hammer fan you are, this book will surprise you. Kudos to Wayne Kinsey, who wrote the text and selected the photographs. I hope Mr. Kinsey will put out other photo-books like this(are you reading this, Mr. Kinsey?).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent book, probably not for the casual fan, August 25, 2011

By 

T. Hardin (seaside,oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hammer Films- A Life In Pictures: The Visual Story of Hammer Films (Hardcover)

As other reviewers have noted, the vast majority of the photos are in black & white which I found mildly disappointing.Sure there are a few pages in color,but MOST are not.I was hoping for something along the lines of Titan's "Hammer Glamour" which is bursting (ahem) with color. I will admit that I havent seen many (if not most) of the pictures presented within, so it is not without some interest.Even with the discounted price this is an expensive book, so I would be hesitant to recommend this to anybody other than the most devoted Hammer obsessives. Those folks would probably want to add a star to the rating, and this book to their cart.