The Haunting [Blu-ray]

my favorite old movie... the best haunted house movie ever... i still enjoy it after all these years, and loan it to friends who havent seen it...

Eleanor Lance is a woman who has never had a chance in life to go off on her own. She finally has the chance: To go to Hill House. A haunted house. At hill House, Eleanor discovers many things, including...

Robert Wise`s superlative film treatment of Shirley Jackson`s classic page-turner remains one of the greatest horror pictures ever made. Using all the tricks he learned from his time with Val Lewton, Wise cleverly creates a feeling of unease and choking terror by keeping the supernatural entities off-screen. Instead the film relies on sound effects, camera angles and carefully askew sets to keep the audience off balanced. But the real power lies within the performances of all the actors, from the effective supporting players (Mrs. Dudley has the creepiest smile) to the principal cast. All of whom create memorable personalities for their characters. Richard Johnson is the professor who is leading the experiment to find proof that Hill House is indeed haunted. He is the kindly father figure to the others which include Russ Tamblyn as a skeptic who is in line to inherit the house and Clair Bloom as a psychic who has been invited by the professor to assist in this experiment.. But towering above them all is the chameleon-like performance of Julie Harris as the tortured and emotionally stunted Eleanor, a woman who spent most of her years caring for her invalid mother and sees her invite to Hill House as a chance at a new life. Eleanor is possible the best written woman character in horror fiction. She has a sad but compelling back story that makes her relatable to the viewer even when shes acting like a total bitch. This is the beauty of Harris performance; So many years of solitary caring for her mother has made Eleanor socially stunted. As a result she is prone to childish outbursts and schoolgirl crushes on the first man to shows here genuine kindness (Professor Markway). There are moments where Eleanor looks like an old maid and there are other moments where she resembles a young girl. Like when she giggles while painting her toenails or the childlike way she rubs her nose with her arm. Harris handles all of this superbly. I cant express enough what a marvel she is in this role. I could go on and on with the allocates but My fingers are tired. This Warner Blu-Ray boasts a fantastic new transfer making the film look more impressive than ever before. The audio is the 2 channel original and it is perfectly acceptable. Considering how important audio effects are in this film it would have been nice if it could have been boosted to 5.1. Just saying. It would also have been nice if we had more extras especially since this is the movies 50 anniversary. But no we just get the extras from the DVD - a serviceable commentary and the trailer. Dont let that discourage you from buying this Blu-Ray. The Haunting is still the best there is.

classic old horror flick would recommend

A very good ghost story with fine actors, loved it

I thought the effects were outstanding. There were a few scenes that would just give you chills. The house itself was breathtaking. I really enjoyed the suspense.

If youre looking for the best gothic horror movie ever made, The Haunting is it.

Classic, bloodless suspense.

Robert Wises The Haunting (1963) is easily considered one of the two best haunted house horror films of all-time (The Shining also tops the list). Four people (Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn) study the houses supernatural phenomena. Dont confuse it with the ill-regarded film of the exact same name released in 1999. The original is based on the legendary, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. It is much better than The Haunting remake (1999). It still holds up today as a well made film with good performances. I love the atmosphere and tension the film manages to build. It uses some classic tricks, like unexpected camera movement, to keep you off guard. You remember good old-fashioned film-making, right? The Haunting is the ultimate classic ghost story that influenced hundreds of imitators. Its as important as Dracula is to the monsters of filmland. You go to the source. See what all the fuss is about for yourself. The Haunting works as a light horror film that can be enjoyed by young and old. Most haunted house movies wont scare you but at least you can watch this more than once and enjoy it because it is such a finely-tuned classic. The picture and audio quality are great in this release (a definite improvement over the DVD). My only complaint is that there could have been more bonus supplements. Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC/1080p | Aspect ratio: 2.40:1 Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono, Portuguese Dolby Digital Mono Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German Special Features: Includes a full-length audio commentary including Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Director Robert Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding. Theatrical trailer. Buy this film!

Having been informed that `The Haunting of 1963 vintage is the scariest film ever made, I handed over a princely sum of money. I wasnt overly impressed. Here are my reasons. I have no problems whatsoever with the four main actors who give of their best. That being said, Russ Tamblyns character of Luke does little to advance the narrative (even his wisecracks are perfunctory). He could have been removed from the screenplay with little detriment. While I can appreciate logically why Robert Wise allocates so much time to the background of Julie Harris character of Eleanor, its still a drag on proceedings. Markaway evidently chose his squad on the basis of their psychic powers. If so, theyre rarely evidenced in the narrative. So Theo feels cold on occasions: big deal. There is little sense that a crack-team has been transported to the house with the intention of base-lining its spectral activity. For much of the daytime, they sit around and drink tea. The arrival of Dr Markways wife is both corny and superfluous. In the very least, she should have cracked the poos that the good professor has shacked up with two buxom wenches. When shes finally located after her disappearance, it looks like a make-up artist has applied some powder to her cheeks and nothing more: such is the depth of her trauma. Eliminate her. Spend more time exploring the house. So Hugh Crain commissioned a statue of himself and his family that resembles the Farnese Bull in Naples? Please. A portrait or two on the wall would have been more idiomatic - without the rotating eyes !!!!! It was a nice touch to have one of the ghosts hold Eleanors hand in the dark - but it was telegraphed thrice beforehand and little was made of it afterwards. Indubitably, the Hauntings claim to fame resides in the scene where the quartet are terrorised by the presence on the other side of the door - and unlike so many Hollywood horrors, its genuinely dark at the time. It will freeze your blood. Strange to say, this is the second occurrence of such an encounter: Eleanor and Theo have already been similarly terrorised in the latters bedroom. Are the spooks of Hill House that constrained in their armoury? The prior occurrence is a spoiler. So who is the ghost? Hugh Crains statue is mocked by Theo and Eleanor (sadly, not on aesthetic grounds). Is he the lead-footed leviathan, bent on retribution, who wanders around at night? We are never told. Subtlety is one thing - nothingness is another. So Hill House was born evil. That implies it is a living entity. All well and good, but mere lip-service is paid to the concept. For instance, Eleanor repeatedly stares at the tower. There should have been a response in kind. Moreover, its interior is too well kept for such a vast edifice with a solitary maid on the payroll. More of the fixtures should have been veiled by sheets or been decrepit. The staircase in the study was never going to topple over. The entire scene is laboured. Eleanors death ride brings to mind the Snails Grand Prix. Terrifying and convincing it aint. Dont purchase this movie. Sure, its more intense than the 1999 remake - that aint hard given how woeful the latter is. My twelve year old son sat through it without blinking an eye or high-tailing it to the fridge (on the pretence of hunger). YouTube contains the great scene in its entirety. Ignore the hype: make do with that.