The Haunting [Blu-ray]

Unfortunately, the version of The Haunting I purchased is constantly interrupted by dialog from everyone who worked on the film. This completely ruins the thread of the plot. Even though Id watched it elsewhere many times before, I wanted to see the real thing again, in all its terrifying glory. What a huge disappointment to discover Id bought the wrong version of this film!

One of the scariest movies ever!!

Reading these reviews has been as fascinating as watching the movie. Thank you, Amazon, for providing this space and making the movie available. The real comparisons to this movie are stage-classics like No Exit (Sartre), Bernarda Alba (Lorca) and The Heiress (Henry James). None of these are ghost-stories, which proves that The Haunting works perfectly well as a psychological drama - indeed, it is one of the best. But the supernatural element gives it added oomph. The Haunting has several advantages over other horror-movies: 1. it works from the literate Shirley Jackson novella, not from some Stephen King potboiler; 2. top-notch acting by people who can hold their own on either stage or screen; 3. dazzling expressionist photography and subliminal technique -seen out of the corner of your eye. Right now it is hard to find people who have heard of this movie. Ninety years from now, The Haunting will be recognized for the pinnacle of achievement it really is a masterpiece of classical drama and photography. (...)

I first saw this film when I was about 9 years old. The scene with the expanding library door still gives me the shivers. Black and white suits the claustrophobic/brooding quality of the film. In a genre now overwhelmed by Slasher productions this movie is an example of how you can truly terrify someone without resorting to dragging them through a slaughter house!

The story has, by now, been imitated endlessly. Four people on a haunted house just to study it. But this is just the premisse. The great Robert Wise sets up the most perfect, most classic haunted-house film ever made. The screenplay is built on the principle that you dont have to see it (the gore, the blood, etc.) to feel the fear. So, this is one of those great films where the tension is constructed upon the things you hear... the things you know are there. In the pre-CGI era, you really had to create something out of what you had. So, Mr. Wise had a great script (years ahead of its time), great characters, great actors, a great cameraman, and settings that are a wow! This is what makes this film so much better than any other (not to mention its remake - who clearly goes for the predictable cheap-trick CGI effects). The story is told in the most perfect classic form. From beginning to end, you follow the story in the most careful pace. Beat by beat. From the prologue to the conclusion, the story is peerlessly told. The characters and actors are great to watch: Julie Harris is the perfect troubled woman haunted by inner ghosts, while Theodora (the beautiful Claire Bloom) is the perfect icy clairvoyant who may or may not be a lesbian (everything is constructed with such taste...). Richard Johnson is great as the Doctor who must keep control of the experiment. Russ Tamblyn is also great as the non-believer whos in just for the adventure. As we will discover, all of them have weak points the house will explore. So it is possible to say that this is one film where the set (in this case the house itself) is one character just like the others. The house has personality. Its not that unbelievable-monumental-lifeless-overdone-cathedral we see in the remake. This one is more realistic. We all know (and are fascinated by) houses like this one. It has style, visual integrity, proportion and it also puts into the film a nice touch of claustrophobia. As long as the characters are there, they are at its mercy. This house character is always present. Trying to get in. Banging at the walls and doors, trying to make itself graphically visible through the shots... ...This is where we get to the camera work - certainly one of the best ever made. In a house so rich with character, the distorted wide-angle lenses (lets not forget that Wise worked with Orson Welles) add much to the final effect. Corridors, statues and other objects are always there to remind you the house is present. They actually keep surprising the characters as if they were saying we are here. This is why this film is so much superior than its remake: you dont have to see the statues move... for you know they do when you are not there. In fact, this film constructs a state where you know the things that happen when you dont see them happen. Thats pure film magic. I wonder why nobody does films like this any more. Why do they always go now for the CGI obviousness... I just love the wide-angle lens that smoothly move through the rooms... the time we are allowed to see those beautiful sets. and all the uncontrolled fear that invades the characters. The soundtrack is another great element. The film is constructed in an almost silence (which is very confortable at the beginning). So much that the noises made by the hauntings are almost unbearable when the things get rough. This is one of those films that were meant to be seen ONLY in widescreen, for the compositions inside the shots make great use of it (in fact I never saw it in a Pan&Scan version - I cannot imagine how awfull it must be). This DVD edition has a great commentary audio track by the actors and director but lacks any kind of documentary about how it was made (which Id love to see). But we cant have it all... If (like me), you love the genre, you will love this film, which is a one-of-a-kind effectively constructed cinematic work. Just dont watch it alone... in the dark... in the night...

In The Haunting, anthropologist and paranormal researcher Dr John Markway (Richard Johnson) is thrilled after being granted permission to temporarily lease Hill House, an eerie, stately mansion with a horrific past--which involved scandal, murder, insanity, and suicide. Hill House was born bad, built by Hugh Crane in the late 1800s, and has been empty for decades. Markway hopes to discover proof of the supernatural, and enlists the help of two women to act as objective participants, both of whom previously had first-hand experience with the abnormal. Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris) is still recovering from the recent death of her mother, and longs to find somewhere where she truly belongs; Theodora (Claire Bloom) is a free-spirit with a heightened ability in extrasensory perception (ESP). Along for the ride is Luke Sanderson (Russ Tamblyn), a rich playboy who hopes to inherit the house from his aunt--and then sell it, along with all the contents. As the story progresses, much of it is told from the point of view of Eleanor, and we often hear her thoughts as she faces the horrors within; its an odd storytelling technique to use in this type of film, but it adds insight into her character as she falls under the influence of Hill House. The film has a smart script, peppered with both humour and horror, and is very well shot. The terrors are never seen on screen, but through the effective use of sound, silence, and camera shots, theyre definitely felt by the audience. The Haunting was released in 1963 and directed by Robert Wise, with a screenplay by Nelson Gidding (based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson). Trivia: it was rumored that Richard Johnson (Dr Markway) was once considered to play James Bond in Dr. No, a film that also featured actress Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny--who here plays Markways wife, Grace.

Although slightly different from Shirley Jacksons novel, on which this movie is based, this is one of the best horror movies ever made. This genre is so difficult to get right, i.e., no blood, gore, slashers, etc., but this movie nails it. The jarring cinematography and the psychological drama (including Nells increasing erratic thought narrative) builds until the eventual climax. Beautifully done.

Since its so typical and frustrating the way Amazon clumps the same reviews of a particular film, book, CD issues and reissues together with no interest if its a significant reissue or not, and to help prospective purchasers of the blu-ray release of this great film, I thought Id share Michael Ruebens comments from Blu-ray Reviews of the blu-ray reissue of this classic film (and, yes, I totally agree with all of his comments): Warners 2003 DVD of this MGM film wasnt bad, but this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray improves on it in every respect. The fine detail of Hill Houses elaborately spooky decor is resolved to a degree not seen since (probably) the original film prints, and the many scenes where Wise and Boulton have carefully arranged the actors in deep focus, often with a well-concealed split diopter, can be appreciated in a whole new way. Hill Houses rooms are full of sinister bric-a-brac that either lingers in the background, insinuating itself into the frame, or suddenly emerges from shadow, frightening one of the characters (usually Eleanor). The Blu-rays image provides just the right degree of visibility for each such effect, aided by the excellent reproduction of blacks, whites and shades of gray. (The Haunting is one of the best arguments I know for the proposition that gothic horror should always be shot in black-and-white.) The Blu-rays image also picks up elaborate fine detail in the wardrobe that distinguishes each main character, from Dr. Markways professorial English checks and tweeds, to Lukes preppy collegiate attire, to Theos hipster look of the early Sixties (contributed by then-trendy designer Mary Quant), to Eleanors frumpy spinster duds. The image has a film-like texture and a natural but unobtrusive grain pattern, except for a handful of shots that looks softer and grainier. Some of these are the product of a then-experimental lens from Panavision that provided a wider image than any anamorphic lens currently available; as Wise relates in the commentary, he had to sign a disclaimer before Panavision would allow him to use it, and he didnt mind that the image was distorted (for an example, see screenshot 18). The exterior shots of Hill House, for which Ettington House in Warwickshire was used, were photographed with infrared film, which gave both the stone and the clouds a surreal quality but also softened the edges. An occasional regular shot betrays a slight softness, which may simply be the result of an aggressive camera move (as, e.g., when Eleanor nearly falls off the upper veranda). With the letterbox bars accompanying an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, and the inclusion of several long dialogue scenes, Warner has managed to get away with an average bitrate of 21.96 Mbps. The films original mono soundtrack has been encoded as lossless DTS-HD MA 1.0, and it sounds quite good. The dialogue is clear, and all the strange noises that lurk in Hill House (or maybe not) are reproduced with just the right level of clarity required for their impact, which is to say that things that go bump in the night do so loudly, whereas odd sounds that might be the voices of the dead are never quite distinct enough to be intelligible. Creaks, footstep-like falls, the strain of rusted metal and one particular effect that would be a spoiler to specify ring through with clarity, and the dynamic range is surprisingly wide. The score by British composer Humphrey Searle, who worked on the original Dr. Who TV series, has no identifiable themes or melodies; its all atmosphere and shock--and very effective.

I am totally enthralled with this movie. I love sitting in the dark watching its every thrilling,wicked,and fiendish scene leap out at me,and surround me in horror. I enjoy the feelings,and mood this movie sets for you. Its being shot in 1963 in black and white definitelly adds credence to the film. I saw the 1999 remake,and was sadly disappointed. It lacked the sentiment,and mood the book gives to us and the (1963)version was able to accomplish. If you ever have a chance,buy the audio version of the book. Its jacket shows the 1999 movie version but follows Shirley Jacksons book word for word. Try sitting in a dimly candle lit room with a nice glass of wine,relax and get scared.

Ive always thought all these black and white scare movies were totally stupid. But this one was the best black and white scare show Ive ever seen..I recommend this show to anyone who likes these kinds of movies..Hopefully the remake will be even better...