Laudanum, Madness and the End of the World As We Know It
Anyone with an interest in archive television and who is within reach of the National Film Theatre on London's South Bank throughout December are in for a treat as the BFI are dragging lots of long unseen gems from the archive.
There are two TV related events on in December, the first being the now annual Missing Believed Wiped event, a celebration of British TV shows that were once thought to have been destroyed and lost forever but which have thankfully turned up again. This year, the event is split into two screenings, both taking place on Saturday 2 December. Comedy Plus, which kicks off at 18:30, will feature a second chance to see the rare Out of the Trees episode pilot by Douglas Adams and Graham Chapman, an admag [one of those often unintentionally bizarre collections of TV ads that used to keep British TV viewers perplexed back in the day] and a 1961 episode of The Executioner, a drama about the French Resistance starring the unlikely pairing of Patrick McGoohan and comedian Charlie Drake...
Earlier that same day, the NFT are presenting a screening that no self-respecting fan of British telefantasy will want to miss. Kicking off at 15:50 the Nuclear Threat screening consists of the Out of the Unknown episode Level Seven [1966] directed by British TV legend Rudolph Cartier and, even more excitingly, a rare chance to see the Nigel Kneale drama The Crunch in which London is held to ransom by nuclear terrorists.
Also of interest will be the Tales of Laudanum and Madness strand, "A selection of television drama based on outstanding tales of murderous conspiracy infused with the tincture of opium by writers Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins and Sheridan Le Fanu." The many temptations on offer in this series include:
Friday 1 December [at 20:40] and Thursday 7 December [at 18:30]
20:40: Sheridan Le Fanu & HG Wells: Mystery and Imagination: Uncle Silas [1968] / Spine Chillers: The Red Room [1980]
Wednesday 6 December at 20:10
Special TV Preview: Ruby in the Smoke [2006] - Billie Piper stars in this adaptation of the Phillip Pullman novel with the author in attendance for a Q&A
Saturday 16 December [at 18:00] and Wednesday 20 December [at 20:30]
Woman in White - the 1997 BBC version of Wilkie Collin's novel starring Tara Fitzgerald, Simon Callow and Ian Richardson.
Monday 18 December [at 20:40]
Edgar Allan Poe: The Fall of the House of Usher, from Mystery and Imagination in 1966, starring Susannah York and Denholm Elliot; also a 1975 BBC version of The Imp of the Perverse with former Doctor Who companion Lalla Ward; and a 1991 Channel 4 adaptation of The Tell-Tale Heart starring Steven Berkoff.
Tuesday 19 December [at 18:40]
Dark Angel - another version of Uncle Silas, made by the BBC in 1989, starring Beattie Edney and Peter O'Toole and directed by Peter Hammond.
Wednesday 20 December [at 18:10] and Saturday 30 December [at 15:40]
Wyvern Mystery - the BBC's excellent adaptation of the Le Fanu story starring Naomi Watts.
Thursday 21 December [at 18:20] and 29 December [at 20:30]
Wilkie Collins: The Woman In White - another version of the Wilkie Collins classic, dating 1957 [it was shown as part of Thames Television's Hour of Mystery and stars Sarah Lawson, Ewan Solon and Eric Pohlman. Also: The Moonstone - the penultimate and only surviving episode of the 1959 series; and A Terribly Strange Bed from the Orson Welles' Great Mysteries series of 1974.
For more details and booking details for any of these must-see screenings, visit the NFT's website.
There are two TV related events on in December, the first being the now annual Missing Believed Wiped event, a celebration of British TV shows that were once thought to have been destroyed and lost forever but which have thankfully turned up again. This year, the event is split into two screenings, both taking place on Saturday 2 December. Comedy Plus, which kicks off at 18:30, will feature a second chance to see the rare Out of the Trees episode pilot by Douglas Adams and Graham Chapman, an admag [one of those often unintentionally bizarre collections of TV ads that used to keep British TV viewers perplexed back in the day] and a 1961 episode of The Executioner, a drama about the French Resistance starring the unlikely pairing of Patrick McGoohan and comedian Charlie Drake...
Earlier that same day, the NFT are presenting a screening that no self-respecting fan of British telefantasy will want to miss. Kicking off at 15:50 the Nuclear Threat screening consists of the Out of the Unknown episode Level Seven [1966] directed by British TV legend Rudolph Cartier and, even more excitingly, a rare chance to see the Nigel Kneale drama The Crunch in which London is held to ransom by nuclear terrorists.
Also of interest will be the Tales of Laudanum and Madness strand, "A selection of television drama based on outstanding tales of murderous conspiracy infused with the tincture of opium by writers Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins and Sheridan Le Fanu." The many temptations on offer in this series include:
Friday 1 December [at 20:40] and Thursday 7 December [at 18:30]
20:40: Sheridan Le Fanu & HG Wells: Mystery and Imagination: Uncle Silas [1968] / Spine Chillers: The Red Room [1980]
Wednesday 6 December at 20:10
Special TV Preview: Ruby in the Smoke [2006] - Billie Piper stars in this adaptation of the Phillip Pullman novel with the author in attendance for a Q&A
Saturday 16 December [at 18:00] and Wednesday 20 December [at 20:30]
Woman in White - the 1997 BBC version of Wilkie Collin's novel starring Tara Fitzgerald, Simon Callow and Ian Richardson.
Monday 18 December [at 20:40]
Edgar Allan Poe: The Fall of the House of Usher, from Mystery and Imagination in 1966, starring Susannah York and Denholm Elliot; also a 1975 BBC version of The Imp of the Perverse with former Doctor Who companion Lalla Ward; and a 1991 Channel 4 adaptation of The Tell-Tale Heart starring Steven Berkoff.
Tuesday 19 December [at 18:40]
Dark Angel - another version of Uncle Silas, made by the BBC in 1989, starring Beattie Edney and Peter O'Toole and directed by Peter Hammond.
Wednesday 20 December [at 18:10] and Saturday 30 December [at 15:40]
Wyvern Mystery - the BBC's excellent adaptation of the Le Fanu story starring Naomi Watts.
Thursday 21 December [at 18:20] and 29 December [at 20:30]
Wilkie Collins: The Woman In White - another version of the Wilkie Collins classic, dating 1957 [it was shown as part of Thames Television's Hour of Mystery and stars Sarah Lawson, Ewan Solon and Eric Pohlman. Also: The Moonstone - the penultimate and only surviving episode of the 1959 series; and A Terribly Strange Bed from the Orson Welles' Great Mysteries series of 1974.
For more details and booking details for any of these must-see screenings, visit the NFT's website.
posted by Kevin at 2:01 PM
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