Dance of the Vampires 1967 Ultimate Guide Signed Hardback

Product Description

In production for 10th September 2026 shipping. A signed, casebound collector’s edition with its own exclusive art print – only 50 will ever exist.

Some films deserve to be held, not merely read about. This signed hardback edition of the Dance of the Vampires 1967 Ultimate Guide gives Roman Polanski’s snowbound vampire comedy – re-cut and retitled for American audiences as The Fearless Vampire Killers – the weighty, hard-bound treatment its reputation deserves. Every copy is autographed by hand by authors Nige Burton and Jamie Jones, then paired with an exclusive art print made specially for this edition, quite separate from the one that accompanies the softback. Between its covers you will find the authoritative writing and the trove of painstakingly restored stills that run through all our guides, reproduced in rich full colour. We follow how the film was dreamed up and shot, weigh its place in the long tradition of vampire cinema, and trace its journey from Polanski’s Central European fairytale to the broader comedy his American distributor preferred. Far sturdier than any magazine and built for the long haul, it is the sort of volume you will happily keep on display for years: a centrepiece for the serious horror library.

A vampire hunt, a snowbound castle – and a ball for the damned

Deep in a snowbound corner of Transylvania, the ageing vampire-hunter Professor Abronsius and his bumbling assistant Alfred arrive at a remote village inn – and stumble into far more danger than they anticipated. When the innkeeper’s lovely daughter, Sarah, is carried off to the castle of the urbane Count von Krolock, the pair give chase, only to find the Count preparing to welcome the risen dead to his annual midnight ball. Directed by Polanski and made with the liberty of his first A-picture budget, following the success of Repulsion, the film is at once a fond parody of the Hammer vampire pictures then in vogue and a sumptuous Gothic entertainment in its own right. This casebound guide examines how its storybook atmosphere, snowbound splendour and sly wit won it the devoted cult following it enjoys today.

Compelling articles that explore the film’s development

Across a run of absorbing, carefully researched articles, this casebound guide unpacks the making of the film from first spark to finished feature. You will read about the casting choices and the day-to-day realities of a shoot that ranged from England’s studios to the frozen heights of the Italian Dolomites, before turning to the screenplay Polanski wrote with Gérard Brach and the odd fate the finished picture met in the cutting room of its American distributor. We round things off with a generous helping of trivia – the kind of knowledge that turns a casual viewing into genuine appreciation, and that keeps this guide close at hand long after the first read.

Meet the cast and crew who created the movie’s dark magic

The people in front of and behind the camera get their due as well. Dedicated profile features shine a light on Jack MacGowran’s endearing Professor Abronsius and Polanski’s own lovelorn Alfred, on Ferdy Mayne’s silken Count von Krolock, Alfie Bass’ scene-stealing innkeeper Shagal and Sharon Tate as the beguiling Sarah – the part that first brought her together with the director she would later marry. The gifted hands behind the scenes are celebrated too, among them composer Krzysztof Komeda, whose melodic score many consider the film’s finest achievement, and the distinguished cinematographer Douglas Slocombe. There is real pleasure to be had in the stories behind the names, with an unexpected connection or two to savour along the way.

First-class production values in every page

Issued in A4 format (210mm x 297mm), this edition is bound in hard covers wrapped in a tough, scuff-resistant finish that speaks to the care taken over it. Inside, the pages are printed on fine silk stock with a soft sheen that is gentle on the eye. Like the candlelit ballroom at the heart of the film, Dance of the Vampires trades in lavish colour, elaborate costumes and a mischievous sense of fun, and our clean, understated layouts answer that richness, letting words and pictures breathe rather than jostle for attention.

Breathtakingly restored imagery

Imagery is everything to a guide like this, so we have gathered only the strongest stills and restored each one until it sits beautifully on the page. Because we print everything in full colour, every snow-dusted mountainside, candlelit crypt and cobwebbed corner of the Count’s castle takes on a depth and warmth that ordinary reproduction can never quite reach – each frame rendered with real presence.

Night has long since fallen over the mountains, and the candles in von Krolock’s great hall are burning low. The Count is graciousness itself, though his guests glide across the floor without troubling the mirrors, and the ball shows no sign of ending. Better, perhaps, to draw your chair closer and lose yourself in the signed hardback guide to Dance of the Vampires – though you might keep one ear open for the jingle of a waiting sleigh, and for footsteps crossing the snow towards the door…

Complete your vampire movie collection

If Gothic castles and creatures of the night hold a particular pull for you, these companion guides belong on the very same shelf:

• Dracula 1958 Ultimate Guide
• The Hammer Vampire Films

Also available in other editions

Would another format suit you better? You will also find this guide as:

• Signed softback collector’s edition – hand-numbered out of 250 worldwide, includes free art print
• Regular unsigned softback edition

Specifications:

• Signed, deluxe collector’s edition
• Limited to 50 copies worldwide
• Includes an exclusive art print different to the print accompanying the signed softback
• 40 pages
• A4 (210mm x 297mm)
• Full colour throughout
• Image wrap anti-scuff hardback cover
• Printed on fine silk stock paper