the stone tape?

[kandee]

has anybody actually watched 'the stone tape' if so is it any good?

[pjn]

no. no i havent.

[Dagada]

Yes! It's very good, although the ending is slightly dated. Even by today's standards the story is fairly original. The picture and sound quality are better than expected, bearing in mind this was a TV broadcast and hasn't been seen since it was first shown. Kim Newman's commentary is pretty good too. It's just a shame there aren't more extras. Maybe a feature of ASSAP who do similar work would have fitted on nicely......

[Dave L]

Originally posted by pjn
no. no i havent.

I thought there was a rule about pointless and unhelpful comments like this :rolleyes:

[The Beyond]

I guess your appreciation of this release might depend on how old you are.

I was brought up in the seventies, so I am used to the style of drama used. Viewers brought up in the eighties and after might find the pace too sedentary fo their taste, although don't be fooled into thinking that it is by any means slow. The pace is deliberatley measured to crank up the suspense and feeling of uneasiness.

Even though the look of the programme (hair styles etc) is certainly refelective of the time, the actual writing is not.
The old cliches of "traditional" ghost stories are thrown out of the window, or twisted out of shape and the result is a story that still seems remarkably fresh and innovative today.

If you are a fan of the blair witch school of horror (although I personally hated that film - and this is infinitley better) you should get a big kick out of this release.

I might watch it again on Christmas day as the BBC don't show decent ghost stories anymore. :D

[jonathan.e]

I designed the packaging for this and can recommend it highly (not just because of the cover design ;)).

The source material is in excellent shape and the story, as with all of Nigel Kneale’s work, is incredibly powerful and in many ways predicts current technology with MP3 and downloadable media storage. If you can look past the slight overacting of a couple of cast members, and the datedness of the fashions and decor, you’ll be rewarded with a chilling and effective ghost story.

Considering the crap passed off as entertainment on TV these days it is all the more galling that gems like this would have remained unseen if not for the efforts of the BFI. Bad enough that the vast majority of Kneale’s work has been wiped (hence the ROM script of The Road on this DVD, the programme itself having long since been destroyed), but to not repeat the stuff that is availableis baffling to me.

More Kneale releases are planned but if you can’t wait check out Quatermass & the Pit available both in the original series format on R2 (£9.99 from DVDStreet last time I looked) and the Hammer film in R1 from Anchor Bay. Also available is Quatermass II also from Anchor Bay in R1. Next year sees the release of Look Back in Anger in R1 for which Kneale wrote the screeplay.

Sadly, for a visionary writer with a 50+ year career there is scant material available on our favourite format, or indeed any format. He is an elderly gentleman now and it would be so nice to see more of his work available in his lifetime while he still can contribute to releases in the same way he did with The Stone Tape.

[carryonline]

You say more Kneale releases are planned - is it too early to give any titles? Quatermass 2 exists in the BBC archives and would be a welcome release, as would the final Quatermass story. Oh, and of course, there's always Kinvig :rolleyes: