The cradle of culture-cons

Warning: This is a historical monument!
The magazine "Midi Minuit Fantastique", named after a Parisian Quarter Cinema specialized in the distribution of films of "Series B" has today become the cradle of a hand press, a press film "other", which specializes in a form of cinema long time, too long despised by the intelligentsia, who considered that the fantasy films, science fiction films and other horror movies deserved their place in history cinema.
Either the birth -at within the stuffing of against-culture, which all current forms of distribution, fanzines specialized blogs in contemporary fantasy films, cartoons and comics, are descendants!

On Wikipedia, it says that "Cinema is a bis cinematic expression for films made to regain already tested recipes, but turned and with reduced public resources for the popular Cinema Bis generally refers to a genre film. The expression covers ViaMichelin B series and Z series, but also the operating and generally cinema films intended once the neighborhood tour facilities. "
And later we learn that "the emergence of the concept of" Bis "is linked to a desire to rehabilitate films, filmmakers forgotten That First of passes through the kinds of return despised and considered decadent or even extinct. The Fantasy lÉrotisme ".
So, read this first book of the anthology "Midi Minuit Fantastique" is to discover the cradle of a press that is launched to the conquest of a kingdom priori stunning: That of popular culture dimension so despised by the intellectuals of that moviegoers early 60s.

From the very first pages of the first volume (there will be four in all), the conclusion is instructive: In the No. 1 magazine, devoted almost entirely to the director Terence Fisher (the principal director of the Hammer films) the editors of "Noon-Midnight Fantasy" cite articles from specialized journals moviegoers (like "Cahiers du Cinema" or "Positive") and establish the following observation: Terence Fisher and his staff are considered the dregs of cinema. Touts jobbers who indulge in a decadent theme practicing a vulgar hemoglobin shameful debauchery and eroticism. Let all that seek lovers of this type of cinema, for which Fisher then imposed as a figurehead!
The editors will thus embark on a heroic series of articles, to rehabilitate the author of The Curse of Frankenstein! and Horror of Dracula, showing point by point all the poetry and all the design innovations of a major author misunderstood contemporary intellectual elites, who was making beautiful pictures in Technicolor to express horror diffuse, resulting in exceptional propensity for metaphor, where the Vampire hiding hardly wealthy aristocrat who submits the poor in his power, where the Monster, sometimes hidden under the guise of an appearance to be quite common, became the incarnation of the forbidden debauchery with an absolute rejection of romanticism rose water (every love story ended very badly!). One way to reveal the depths of the human soul under the veneer of a more poisonous seduction!

But the fact is that the pen of the authors of "Midi Minuit Fantastique" is not of the order of preteen shabby in need of erotic-morbid sensations. The texts are extremely well trussed, richly documented, with a keen sense when it comes to identifying multiple nival readings that are hidden behind the most trivial of film series B. The editors of the magazine are showing an fly high verve, penetrating, witty and poetry. And although some articles suffer from an obvious lack of experience writing material (especially early), editors are struggling so that each article becomes a "mini-pamphlet" to him alone!
It is therefore not surprising to note the speed with which the relevant directors (Terence Fisher and his favorite actors Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee, the great Merian C. Cooper and many others) were present to participate in the adventure of this magazine launched by a group of passionate young journalists.

Read this first volume of the anthology "Midi Minuit Fantastique" is aware that all the "geek culture" related to popular film comes from there. Whether current journals ("Mad movies", the "Ecran Fantastique", "Comics Box", etc.), blogs (wonderful land left free expression available to a population of fans), fine kind of works (The film classics bis Fantastic Cinema, 100 years and more than fantasy films and science fiction, etc.), and even simple comments "posted" on Amazon (such as your servant ...), all those who take the pen today to express their love of genre cinema should be aware that the source is the legendary magazine, which will include twenty to five numbers from 1962 to 1971.

As already mentioned by other reviewers, this flamboyant reprint is a marvel to the tips of pages: Cover splendid, soft feeling with a cracking dive, restored images, font updated just enough to be improved without spoiling the whole "old school" color photographs added sparingly, and the last scheduled for the unprecedented number Volume 4 ...
This first volume is a happiness from A to Z, with a first issue devoted to Terence Fisher, a second with "fantastic Vamps", a third King Kong (full of photos and rare drawings, with a very touching letter of Merian C. . Cooper himself!), a fourth and a fifth in "Dracula" and a sixth hunts of Count Zarroff.
As a bonus DVD offers more than three hours an extension for enthusiasts with period documents. In short, it is a bit expensive (the four volumes will cost you a whopping 220 euros. Nevertheless I would bet that in the future they will fight for gold ...), but this is unavoidable. ..