Rating: 
Summary: The eyes have it
Review: It's the eyes - oh that just wonderful, scary scene. You know the one - if you have seen the movie. The ladies are in bed, but the camera lingers on the 'eyes' in the panelling. And the last line, "...but who's hand have I been holding??!!" I still get shivers down the back when thinking about that.Absolutely the best ghost story ever done. Bar none. A must see late at night, with all the lights out.... Read the book too, after seeing the movie. But in this case, the movie does indeed do justice to the book. Now, if you feel inclined to punish yourself for some sins imagined or real, then see the remake. Pennance enough I say for many venal sins indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: Good picture/bad sound
Review: This is a great classic. So, why do they give the sound such shabby treatment. I feel cheated. Maybe if you have a good television with a small speaker this is acceptable sound. make sure your home theater system has tone controls and that the dynamic range is not high. Most black and white 50's films sound great on my system. This film did not! I would give it five stars otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Things that go bump in the night
Review: Before they were called horror movies they were called thrillers. Robert Wise's brilliant film version of Shirley Jackson's classic novel focuses on what we can't see in the shadows that frightens us. Before horror film directors abandoned all their skills and resorted to cheap shock tactics to scare audiences, Wise, Nelson Gidding (screenwriter)and his cast created a masterpiece that is just as creepy as it was 40 years ago. It seems like a distant era. The Cuban missile crisis had recently occurred, Kennedy's assasination and the Cold War had created a sense of paranoia that hadn't been experienced before. The weapons of mass destruction ruled the day to day consciousness of many school children and adults. It was a perfect time for the revival of scary movies. They always seem to crawl out of the woodwork when the psyche needs them most. There have been a number of pretenders to the throne of haunted house movies. Richard Matheson's fine homage The Haunting of Hell House (and his marvelous novel)are almost comparable to the classic that Wise helped create. Part of the power of this marvelous film is in the skillful performances by Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tambyn and Richard Johnson. Johnson plays Dr. Markway who invites three indivduals to a haunted house for an experiment. Hill House has a reputation as a place of evil. He wants to see if two of the three who have exhibited some degree of psyche abilities can sense anything as they stay in the house overnight. The third is a distant relative of the founder of Hill House. He's there to be the placebo if you will. Strange doings occur while they occupy the house. Most of them seem centered on poor Nell (Harris)who, somehow, seems to be in tune with the house. They're all in for one hell'va night. Everything in the film is perfect from the production design to the interior monologue delivered by Harris as Nell. The transfer is crisp and fairly good although occasionally soft in spots. It appears that it is in the original aspect ratio for the first time on home video. The commentaries by the cast members and director Wise are interesting and informative. It was probably a good idea to have multiple commentaries as, despite Wise's considerable talents, he isn't always the best storyteller (as witnessed on the DVD of The Day the Earth Stood Still). While the remake is interesting, has a number of compelling performances, it can't compare. The director of the remake resorts to too many CGI effects and explains everything too clearly. Without the mystery, there's no substance to the film. CGI effects are fine but they demystify and that can undermine a thriller or horror film. Purchase the original classic film and approach it with an open mind. It has atmosphere and enough creepy effects to make it perfect for viewing on a dark, stormy night.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a DVD...
Review: ...and a good one, too. The film itself is riveting and beautifully constructed, and this DVD gives a great wide 2.35:1 Panavision transfer, showing the grotesque haunted house with a chilling perifery, and not the jumpy P&S close-ups of the original VHS. Best thing about this DVD is the commentary from the whole cast, plus director Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding; great insights (I won't blab anything away), and author Shirley Jackson was in on a lot of the scripting ideas. No doubt, the scariest ghost movie ever, and I'm thrilled to have this DVD after a too-long wait.
Rating:
Summary: AN EVIL OLD HOUSE .....ON DVD.
Review: Hill House is no place if you're nervous. Built by a madman, it's seen more than it's share of trauma and death. It's "stood for 90 yrs. and might stand for 90 more". It's haunted and there's always room for one more guest. The permanent kind. Robert Wise directed this 1963 version of Shirley Jackson's famous novel and proves that what scares us most is what lurks in the shadows, the woodwork, whispered disembodied voices, the odd disconcerting angles of a hallway...and something that pounds it's way around a huge, dark old house at night...and that terrifying feeling of being watched by something you can't see. The DVD of "The Haunting" is a fine widescreen/letterbox print that preserves the integrity of the marvelous b&w photography. The sound could've been punched up a little but it's adequate. The story of a parasychologist and his three specially chosen investigative guests who stay in Hill House is engrossing and literate with Richard Johnson as the fatherly Dr.Markway and Julie Harris, Claire Bloom and Russ Tamblyn as the guests all giving excellent performances. Harris especially (as the nervous and tormented Eleanor) is a standout as the bulk of the film rests on her shoulders. She is singled out by the house to "come home" and finds herself at odds with the others when they think she should leave. Scared out of her wits yet morbidly fascinated by what could be her dream come true, she learns to be very careful what you wish for...for those who walk in Hill House, walk alone. The last line by Russ Tamblyn, "This house should be burned down and the ground sowed with salt" still gives me chills. "The Haunting" is a haunting film and probably the best haunted house film ever made. Lots of great extras on the DVD, too. Enjoy this one with a friend.
Rating:
Summary: Makes you realize how bad the remake is
Review: This is the classic in ghost stories, and you never see a ghost! Simply the best. It's nothing like the remake, which is total spam by Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: THE PERFECT HAUNTED HOUSE MOVIE. ...WANNA KNOW WHY?
Review: 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 don't 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 who's 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. It's 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 (let's 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 sequel: you don't 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 don't see them happen. That's 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 I'd love to see). But we can't 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 don't watch it alone... in the dark... in the night...
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss It
Review: The most frightening aspect of this film - and it has many genuinely scary moments - is the opening exposition which follows the life and death of Hill House creator Hugh Crane,his wife, his spinster daughter and her tragic "companion." Just to watch Abigail age in bed over the years will raise your hackles! The economy with which the history of Hill House is told - in gorgeous black and white - is a lesson to draggy, modern filmmakers. Beautiful direction, beautiful cinematography. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Scariest movie ever made
Review: I am glad to see the DVD coming out with a cast interview. I first saw this movie as a child and watched it around midnight with all the lights off because I didn't want my Dad to know I was still up. Big mistake. Watching it with all the lights on is all I ever will do now (almost 40 years later). The film is undoubtedly the most suspenseful and frightening movie ever made, simply because Robert Wise has played to our greatest fear, the fear of the unknown. You don't see any monsters or like that, but what you don't see will terrify you beyond all reasoning. The pounding coming down the hall outside the women's bedroom and the banging on the door, with the door then bending inward, will have you on the phone asking for friends to come over and keep you company really quickly. My highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Best Ghost Flick Ever
Review: The ideal setting for a ghost story is an old mansion that looks expansive but feels claustrophobic. That's what they've got here. This is an instance of the movie truly surpassing the book. The bedroom scenes are incredibly effective and . . . oh my God, who is holding my hand!!
| 
