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Any re-release of a series conceived and written by Nigel Kneale (writer of Quatermass, The Year of the Sex Olympics and The Stone Tape among many others) is a cause for celebration. Beasts, which he created for ATV in 1976, is a collection of stories based around the supernatural influence of a different animal in each tale. Each play had its own distinctive style with a different director and a fresh set of actors - many of whom are now household names. Highlights of the tales are During Barty's Party - filmed in real time in one continuous take, What Big Eyes (Kneale's own favourite), in which a private zoo owner (Patrick McGee) attempts to create a werewolf, Buddy Boy, the tale of a maltreated dolphin's revenge, starring a young and energetic Martin Shaw, and Baby, in which a young couple discover something unspeakable in the wall of a country cottage. All six are testament to the unbridled power of the imagination. In Kneale's own words: "It's not what we see that frightens us most. It's what we don't see and know".

 

MovieMail on 9th June 2006
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The reputation of Nigel Kneale’s legendary TV sequence of six spine-chilling plays has grown immeasurably over the years, fuelled by the fact that (since their initial... more >

The reputation of Nigel Kneale’s legendary TV sequence of six spine-chilling plays has grown immeasurably over the years, fuelled by the fact that (since their initial showings in the 70s) they were virtually unseeable. Here, in more-than-acceptable transfers, they belatedly make their DVD debut -- and the wait was certainly worthwhile! Leaving aside the limitations of TV production of the day (and some infelicitous acting here and there), this series -- as with most things the prodigally talented Kneale attempted -- represented the very best that the television medium could achieve, a world away from the idiocies of today's lowbrow programming (Kneale, incidentally, predicted the horrors of Big Brother – the Channel 4 show, that is, as opposed to George Orwell’s original). And not only that -- such episodes as the remarkable Baby are among the most genuinely disturbing dramas ever made for television. < less

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