Rating: 
Summary: A Great Film, But An Inferior Video Transfer
Review: Fundamentally, the original "Haunting" works so well because it addresses the subject of ghosts in a serious way, much like the approach taken in "The Uninvited." The lighting, photography, performances, the lack of absurd special effects--these all serve up "The Haunting" as great film that has attained a well-deserved "classic" status. But there's a problem with the commercial video release, in that this is a widescreen film that has been reduced to a full-screen 1.33:1 aspect ratio hence the 4 stars rather than 5). This format modification creates a grainy presentation that loses half of the picture and much of the effect it was created to attain. Turner Classics (in its wisdom) recently presented "The Haunting" in its original widescreen format (2.35:1), and it made such a tremedous difference that I gave away my store-bought copy in favor of retaining the wide-screen version. "The Haunting" is a truly masterful piece of work that should be treated with the respect it deserves. To do this picture its due justice, MGM should re-release "The Haunting" in its intended aspect ratio format on video AND ON DVD (hint, hint)!!
Rating: 
Summary: Imagination beats special effects
Review: This is one of the all time great horror movies and I still can't understand how the remake managed to be so horrible! The booming sounds, splintering doors and unknown hands all inspire the imagination to create horrors beyond special efects or gruesome makeup. A movie to watch by yourself late at night! I've never read the book, so I don't know which version is closer to the original story line, but this version is definitely the best, with "Legend of Hell House" second--and the pitful 98 remake not even worth watching. The introductory sequence to this movie is not very good--but don't let that discourage you from watching the real movie. This is a great movie-(I own the laser disc but I assume the VHS version is comparable--after all, it's the story that counts, not the lines of resolution) I'm waiting for the DVD and hoping for some added features--otherwise I'll just stick with the laser!
Rating:
Summary: Every bit as good as the remake was bad.
Review: Not much to be said here that others haven't said. This is one of the very few movies I would consider flawless. This film is a ghost story of a much more horrifying type than your run-of-the-mill men in sheets movie.I mean, have you ever really thought about those ghosts? What, when it comes down to it, could these ghosts ever do to hurt you other than wave their arms at you and go "booga-booga"? Well, this movie shows the horror of ghosts, and it's a far more insidious and terrifying horror than I've ever encountered. It just sneaks up on you ... and yet you can feel it coming ... the gooseflesh gives it away!
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Late Night Creeper
Review: This undeniably creepy (thought somewhat dated and slow starting) phsycological thriller prooves that so much can be done without all that blood and special effects. A perfect film to watch alone late at night. Well... Maybe alone would be too much, so maybe with a girlfriend. Don't miss this one! P.S. Be sure to read the Shirley Jackson novel "The Haunting of Hill House" (on which the film's based), but don't bother with the 1999 remake.
Rating:
Summary: Far and away the most frightening film ever made
Review: No apologies here... I've been a jaded horror fan for years, and this is without a doubt the scariest flick I've ever seen. Subtle, intelligent and utterly fascinating. I saw this on my 10th birthday (before videos and vcr's ever existed!) with my two older brothers in a dark room with a birthday pizza. I couln't sleep at all that night! I waited for years for them to release this on video, and when they finally did, I found that it had lost none of what had scared me so badly as a kid. Blood and guts? Nope... you never even see a ghost! It's all done with minimal FX, a great script, cast, direction, quirky camera angles and lighting, and the most chilling sets ever put on film. The scene with the sculpted panelling in the bedroom makes my skin crawl to this day. If you are a gore freak, you probably won't like this (nothing against gore... I loved "Reanimator" and the "Evil Dead" films). If, however, you like your chills to build slowly, and creep up on you from behind, this is your movie. To cap it all, Russ Tamblyn delivers what I think is the best ending line in all of cinema. See this, then read the novel by Shirley Jackson, and ignore the worse than lame '99 remake
Rating:
Summary: I'd watch this movie 365 days a year if life permitted.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: TRULY SCARY
Review: I ALSO SAW THIS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, AND IT STILL GIVES ME THE TINGLING DOWN THE SPINE. THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE REMAKE. I WOULD DEFINETLY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE TO PEOPLE WHO PREFER THE SIMPLE, HORROR CLASSICS TO THE HIGH TECH JUNK THEY HAVE OUT NOW.
Rating:
Summary: Terror Turned Inward
Review: I first saw Robert Wise's "The Haunting" on TV in the late '60s, along with my 2 sisters. We were chilled to the bone! My sister and I still love this film-it sends out enough information, and then lets your imagination take over-no one can frighten you as badly as you can yourself! Robert Wise got his apprenticeship at RKO in the early 1940s, where the Val Lewton-produced thrillers such as "The Cat People", "I Walked With a Zombie" and "The Body Snatcher" were made. These films chilled you because they DIDN'T "Show you everything". He utilized these skills to perfection in "The Haunting", where its bedeviled heroine is the prime target of the house's malevolance. The 1999 remake was, in my opinion, a garish, shrill, heavy-handed cartoon, and that maudlin "explanation" about the "exploited" children (which has nothing to do with the book or original film) was embarassingly naive. I'm so tired of all these "Poltergeist" wannabe films! I have been in some bizarrely decorated abodes, such as the Sir John Soane Museum in London, but NOBODY'S home looks like the laughably over-decorated, over-scaled house in the remake. The house looked like it was decorated for a 50-foot Liberace! The characters just cardboard cutouts (a waste of a talented cast), but there was eye-candy in the luscious Catherine Zeta-Jones. Now, when is the 1963 "The Haunting" going to be released on DVD?
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: As far as haunted house movies go,this one is the best. It is creepy and very frightening. I first saw this movie when I was 8 and it scared me to death. It has been a favorite of mine since. After seeing that terrible remake last year,I had to go and see this one again. Even after 17 years,this film still gives me heebiejeebies! PLEASE,PLEASE see this one before seeing the 1999 remake,it is by far the more superior of the two.
Rating:
Summary: The Haunting
Review: What was that sound? Did someone knock on the door? Maybe there is someone watching me through the window. These were some of the eerie thoughts that entered my mind when watching this film. Richard Johnson is Dr.Markway, a conniving man who enlists a group a people for what they believe to be a study in sleep deprivation. In reality he is seeking proof of existence of ghosts. Where better to do this then Hill House, a house with a very twisted and frightening past. The unlucky few that are chosen for this research include Luke (a skeptical young man whose nonchalant attitude is about to be changed), Theodora (a mysterious woman who seems rather intrigued with the idea of being in a so called haunted mansion... will her curiosity get the best of her?), and Eleanor, played by Julie Harris (an introverted insecure girl who feels some sort of connection with whatever is behind the ghastly home). The house is speaking to me. I can hear it breathing. Is this house alive? This movie doesn't contain any blood and gore, no 3D specters floating in midair, no gruesome special affects. What makes this movie so frightening is that it piques your imagination and pokes into the fears of your mind. What we never actually see but anticipate, causes that feeling of being at the edge of your seat ready to jump in horror. I happen to think some of the scariest movies are those that cause those paranoid thoughts while watching them rather then the ones that try to mortify you with blood and guts. Was that a shadow I saw out of the corner of my eye? Did someone just touch the top of my head? Beverly, calm down there is no one calling your name. Oh wait, I'm sorry! Forgot you were there, Victoria. . . what did you want?
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