NEWS
Columbia Hammer Films On DVD - At Last!
28 Apr 2007
Maniac - one of the titles scheduled for a long-awaited DVD release. Photo © Hammer/Columbia
We can exclusively reveal that a large number of long sought-after Hammer films are finally being made available on Region 2 DVD. A deal recently finalised between British distributor DD Home Entertainment and US distributor Sony, which controls the Columbia back catalogue, means that some of Hammer’s finest films, including The Gorgon, The Camp on Blood Island and The Damned, will receive a DVD release. The Columbia catalogue includes such previously unavailable classics as Taste of Fear, the controversial Never Take Sweets From a Stranger and the highly acclaimed drama Cash on Demand.
A spokesman for DD is keen to stress that the exact titles due to be released are dependent on the results of an ongoing evaluation of archive materials, but we can confirm that the thirteen Hammer titles provisionally scheduled for release are The Camp On Blood Island, Cash on Demand, Creatures the World Forgot, The Damned, Don’t Panic Chaps, The Gorgon, Maniac, Never Take Sweets From a Stranger, The Stranglers of Bombay, Sword of Sherwood Forest, Taste of Fear, The Terror of the Tongs and Watch it Sailor. There may be other titles to follow.
Details of the Hammer release schedule will be made available later this year. In the meantime, DD’s release of Columbia titles will get underway with the British DVD premiere of the 1957 film Night of the Demon. DD are planning a collector’s edition of this classic horror film and work is already underway on exclusive behind-the-scenes extra features.
