BFI BBC: 'WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU': COMPLETE BBC CLASSIC GHOST STORIES COME TO DVD THIS YEAR.

The BFI is to make the complete series of the BBC's classic Ghost Stories finally available on DVD this year.

These much-loved tales terrified BBC TV audiences at Christmas throughout the 1970s. Most of the instalments were directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and based on M.R. James's celebrated supernatural stories.

With only three of the twelve BBC Ghost Stories previously released on DVD (by the BFI in 2002), the films in this brilliant series have been high on many film and TV fans' 'most wanted' DVD lists.

The films are a key influence on recent British ghost and horror films, including The Woman in Black, and have inspired many screenwriters and filmmakers including Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock).

The first two volumes will be released in August 2012 in celebration of the 150th anniversary of M.R. James's birth. Two more volumes will follow in September, while the fifth and final volume, as well as a complete Ghost Stories for Christmas box set, will follow in October.

Volume One includes two versions of the chilling Whistle And I'll Come To You: Jonathan Miller's 1968 adaptation, starring Michael Hordern, and the 2010 re-imagining, starring John Hurt.

Volume Two includes The Stalls of Barchester (1971), starring Robin Hardy, and A Warning to the Curious (1972), starring Peter Vaughan, as well as Christopher Lee's Ghost Stories for Christmas: The Stalls of Barchester (2000).

Other DVD and Dual Format Edition (DVD and Blu-ray discs together) releases from the BFI between July and September include:

The Children's Film Foundation, Volume 1: London Tales (DVD) – the first in a new series of releases of the fondly-remembered films from the archives of the Children's Film Foundation, includes John Krish's The Salvage Gang.

The British Transport Films Collection, Volume 10: London on the Move (DVD) – this welcome return for the popular BTF Collection turns its attention on the trams, buses and tube trains of London.

Wonderful London (DVD) – a unique collection of fascinating historical films shot in 1920s London.

The Soviet Influence: Battleship Potemkin/Drifters (Dual Format Edition) – two masterpieces – Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 classic, and John Grierson's ground-breaking 1929 documentary – are paired in order to examine the influence that Soviet cinema had on the British filmmakers of the 1930s.

Cria Cuervos (Dual Format Edition) – Carlos Saura's 1976 masterpiece of Spanish cinema, released for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray.

Pathé Colour Stencil: The Fairy Films (DVD) – a collection of rare French fairytale and fantasy shorts from the birth of cinema, with newly-commissioned scores from composers including Chris Watson, Philip Jeck and Fennesz.

 

A Woman Under The Influence (Dual Format Edition) – John Cassavetes's hard-hitting masterpiece, with breathtaking performances from Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, finally gets its Blu-ray world premiere.

The Lacey Rituals: the films of Bruce Lacey (and friends) (DVD) – an extraordinary collection of films from British counter-culture hero and artist Bruce Lacey, including Richard Lester's The Running, Jumping & Standing Still Film.