Amicus: House of Horror - A History of England's Groundbreaking Studio of Terror (2-Disc)

This 2 Disc DVD is only for fans of AMICUS films that's it in my opinion anywaybut if your a fan of Hammer films i think you'll like this Documentary aswelli'm a fan of both AMICUS and HAMMER films i like Hammer films more thoui think that some of the Gothic horror Amicus films are just as Good as some of the Hammer films, no doubt about it.AMICUS & HAMMER are pretty much the same company interms of the films they are made which were mainly Atmospheric Thrillers/Horrors with some exceptions Hammer is all british & owned by Michael & Anthony careraswhere as Amicus were executive produced by two Americans Milton subotsky & Max rosenbergwho not only produced films very similar to Hammer films but they also co-produced some American films that were owned by AIPthis Doco is definitely Low budget made, but Low budget or not it's still a fantastic tribute to AMICUS PRODUCTIONSthey definitely don't make films like this anymore, not in the Horror genre, there might be some Horror films that have been out over the yearsthat have the similar feeling to the old Amicus classics but definitely not the sameit's a Great Doco, 10 years too late in my opinion all the interviews were filmed about 2011 for a 2012 DVD release this Documentary should've been made about the same time as the HAMMER HERITAGE OF HORROR Documentary back in the mid 90'swhich is another fantastic Doco aswell,cause most of the key members of Amicus have passed away now (Died), Ingrid pitt, Freddie francis, Roy ward baker and Peter cushing of courseif the Documentary was made/filmed in early 2000 then Ingrid pitt and Freddie francis, Roy ward baker would have been interviewed for surei guess better late than never,it's still a Great Doco on 2 Discs so about 3 hours worth of History, incredible infothe Documentary details all Amicus films from the first one to the last one in the mid 70'sthere's interviews with remaining cast and crew from most of Amicus films, some of the cast & crew that are still aliveChristopher lee isn't interviewed unfortunately but some of the actors/actress's from the films have been interviewed just before this Doco was released about 1 year agoPeter Dufell who Directered one of the classic Amicus movies the House that dripped blood is interviewedPeter just gives his recollections on making the film & his experience working with Ingrid pitt & Milton subotskyMilton's wife is also interviewedand other Directors, mainly assistant Directors from some of the films are interviewed, the main big Directors like Freddie francis & Roy ward baker has passed away nowfor the extras there are two peter cushing interviews one from 1983and his last interview before he passed away, very emotional to watch actuallyfor any fans of Amcius films, if you have all or some Amicus films on DVD on just plain curiousdefinitely get this Documentary5 stars i gave this Documentary based on the massive content on 2 Discs

I highly suggest the purchase of this entertaining, if somewhat low budgeted, documentary on the movie studio known as Amicus. Like Hammer Studios, Amicus did make other genres of films such as comedies and dramas but the bread and butter of the studio was horror films. Amicus has never been given the respect that Hammer has especially in the horror genre but they created some of the best horror anthologies ever made especially Tales From The Crypt and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. Other Amazon reviewers have made disparaging remarks about the quality of the recording or the so-called over abundance of material on Peter Cushing. These reviewers are apparently not true horror fans because to really know these actors is to love their performances even more in these films. To know that Peter Cushing basically tapped into his sense of loss for his recently departed wife while playing Grymsdale in Tales from the Crypt makes his performance even more poignant. What I really like about this documentary is that get you get a point of view from everyone who worked at Amicus from actors to art directors. Please do yourself a favor and purcahse this documentary. I have already started re-watching all the films I have from Amicus.

I was looking forward to viewing this documentary after seeing it mentioned in Brian McFadden's excellent appreciation of the company, AMICUS HORRORS: TALES FROM THE FILMMAKER'S CRYPT. When I found it on Amazon at a very good price (it's a double DVD set), I quickly purchased it. The one red flag I encountered was that it was being released by Alpha Video, a company that specializes in low budget public domain releases of older films. However I noticed that this was actually produced by them (Alpha Home Entertainment!) in 2012 rather than simply released. This boded well. Yet standards must be maintained and this nearly 3 hour documentary looked as if it had a budget of less than what I paid for it. To say I was disappointed would be putting it mildly but then, as the old adage says, you get what you pay for.The set was not a complete loss as it contained several interviews with lesser lights at Amicus such as supporting players and behind the scenes people like directors and technicians. The stories and information they impart was interesting but the interviews are presented haphazardly and they do go on too long. The whole affair was written, produced, and directed by Derek Pykett, a devoted fan of the company. As it is a low budget affair, there are no film clips just trailers and the interviews are recorded with an inexpensive camera giving it the look and sound of a home video. What really makes it worthwhile are the 2 Bonus Features featuring conversations with Peter Cushing. To sum up, I can't complain about the price but the film is badly in need of editing (2 hours would have been fine) and Brian McFadden's book is a lot more interesting and informative.

Just received this and only got one disc with it. What a ripoff

This is a treasure trove of interviews with real stars and workers of the Amicus films, but don't expect it to be like some BBC or A&E style presentation. Largely the interviews are in intimate settings, but most don't feel like they're professionally lit or that there was an audio expert on hand. In other words, if you're a fan of Amicus or an historian of their work then this is an absolute must-have. If you're a casual fan and are just interested in a tiny bit of detail behind the scenes, you might have more fun reading the trivia on IMDB. This is for the deeply interested and it pays them well in content.

This is the documentary of the rise and fall of Amicus pitchers. A very influential horror film company of the 1960's & 70's. Often referred to has hammer horrors little brother.Amicus is Responsible for such classics has Madhouse, the beast must die, now the screaming starts, and a slew of horror anthology films like Tales from the crypt, vault of horror, torture garden, Dr terrors house of horrors, the house that dripped blood, tales that witness madness, from beyond the grave etc.

Superb telling of the Amicus story. I'm sure that there are books that go into certain details in more depth but this is made with genuine devotion. The narrator is clearly entranced by the subject and his enthusiasm drew me in. There are many wonderful interviews with those involved with the making of the movies and they all have fascinating stories to tell. I remember watching From Beyond the Grave on late night TV in the late 80s or thereabouts and it stayed with me although at that point I had never heard of Amicus. I guess these films are rarely if ever shown on TV nowadays as they were already relatively old when I first encountered them in the 80s. Thanks to the internet and DVD'S they are drawing in a new generation of fans as well as older viewers revisiting them. The end of the feature features a very moving tribute to the late Peter Cushing who seems to have been universally loved by those he worked with.

These look like burned discs (blue on the bottom) and had several scratches that caused constant skipping which made the discs unwatchable.

This is A Brilliant and insightful look at Hammers only true contender to the British Horror Crown.It has some wonderful interviews with those behind as well as infront of the Camera, but is sadly let down by Bad picture and terrible sound during some of the segments. One interview in particular takes place in a noisy Café and you really have to struggle to hear the Interesting anecdotes over the Din of Coffee Machines and people at the surrounding tables.Amicus Deserves better,but I am in no way Degrading what We have here,which is A Thoroughly Reseached and Brilliant Doc that captures the essence of Amicus.

Iam a big hammer fan and also a big fan of peter cushing i own the majority of the hammer films and most of the amicus the production is not good the sound is not great and for 17,99 the price is worse the content of the documentrys are good interviews are good and the actors are fantastic the production lets this down big time i know the interviews are old but i have some 1933 films which have better soundI would recommend this for rhe collection alone i must say rhe films are recorded on dvdr and the discs have been printed also there is no booklet to accompany the dvd which does make you wonder about its genuine status sorry