Rating: 
Summary: The Haunting - A Truly Classic Horror Film
Review: The Haunting directed by Robert Wise and based on the novel, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson is a must see movie. No, I'm not talking about the remake done by Jan DeBont in 1999 with Zeta-Jones. That one was a disgrace to both Jackson and the original black and white film. Whereas Jackson and the black and white film played upon the insecurities of Eleanor - the last name escpaes me right now, but it's either Lance or Vance with my gut leaning towards the latter (in the book I'm sure it's Vance and in the B&W film it's Lance) - who is the main character in the story. However, the '99 remake gave the character confidence, which didn't seem right since Nell - the affectionate term Theo gives her - doesn't know what to do with herself and seems never did know what to do with herself before and after her mother died.On that note of Theo though. The great thing about the novel and the original film was that you got glimpses that Theo is a lesbian. It's the subtle things she does and says to Eleanor that cause you to suspect. The way her tone is while looking at Eleanor in certain scene's also gives you cause to suspect that as well. Whereas in the '99 remake your smacked upside the head so to speak that she's bi. With my beef about the characters out of the way onto the juicy stuff - the creepy effect of the film. This film like so many other wonderful B&W films in the horror genre around this time relied on techniques that we have today that they didn't have back then and of course no blood, guts or gore (yeah I know *sarcasm* the horror of not seeing people's bowels gutted to give you the complete gross out effect). Unique camera angles used during the movie truly give this film the creepiness it ends up having. The day for night shots aren't the best like so many other older movies, but I prefer it over the CGI effects we can use today. Either way a sense of falsity or corniness is emmited with either choice. What I love best about this movie is that it's what you don't see rather then what you do see that's most scary. One of the producers from the '99 remake said that as well to give the remake some support, but honestly. If you have to literally knock the head off of one of the four main stars of the film and kill him off when the same character didn't die in the book or original film, then DON'T kill him off in a remake of both of those! Anyway, I'm sidetracking. Like I was saying what I love about this film is what you don't see as opposed to what you do. My favorite scene in this version comes when Eleanor wakes up to knocking on her bedroom wall (coming from outside of her bedroom). Out of 11 years of habit she think's it's her mother calling her (when it's also the ghost of Abagail Crane who died while calling for help from the companion she took in to take care of her when she got to be an old woman) and Eleanor begins to get up to take care of it only to realize it's not her mother and she's not in her own home. Realizing where she is she hears Theo yelling for her and the two end up living out this horrific scene hoping and praying whatever is outside their rooms does not get in. This whole scene though only requires close-up camera shots, moving the door and a loud noise on the other side of the set to give off the feeling of something truly evil on the other side of Theo's door. When it all ends and the Doc and Luke pass by the girl's rooms after telling the two men about it both women break into fits of laughter and comment how something 'Knocked on the door with a cannon ball' followed by the men saying that the wood wasn't scratched and the girls saying, "How nice it didn't mar the woodwork.' Another prime example of the film's success in scaring you by what you don't see is when the two women as sharing a room. Eleanor goes to bed angry for something Theo says to her. She wakes up in the middle of the night hearing what she thinks is a child crying and screaming. She grabs who she thinks is Theo's hand. After feeling like 'Theo's' hand is crushing hers, Eleanor gathers enough strength to yell stop at who ever is hurting this 'child' and when she does a light comes on and Theo - who is on the other side of the room - asks her what's wrong? Eleanor then gets up out of bed her hand in front of her face and asks out loud, "Who's hand was I holding?" This whole scene was done in darkness with only sounds and the camera around Eleanor. My point after those two examples is this, that these two women were being terrorized and scared by unseen being or force, and by sounds while either in darkness or by themselves not by something they could see that may have been gross or disgusting. Overall this is a movie that is worth paying every cent for to buy. Simply renting it would not worth seeing it. Buy it and you will never tire of seeing it as often as you like.
Rating:
Summary: scariest movie ever made
Review: No blood.No guts.Just sheer unadorned terror from the moment the "guests" enter the horribly creepy "Hill House." The new version pales severely compared to this 1963 black and white classic scare-fest.Whereas the new version relied heavily on special FX to scare you,it is your own mind that freaks you out as you wonder what is next??!!The film was shot in a most excellent manner,and that fact alone is enough to scare the wits out of you.I saw this when it came out in the theaters in 1963,and I was a brave kid of 15 when I entered the theater,but a scaredy-cat by the time the show ended.If anyone tells you that this movie isn't scary,I suggest you check them for a pulse.One more thing: if you enjoyed this one,then see"The Changeling" with George C. Scott. A wonderfully scary ghost story if there ever was one.These two movies,along with"The Woman in Black," are in my opinion,the three creepiest(therefore,most fun) movies ever to hit the screen.
Rating:
Summary: The Haunting (original)
Review: I noticed that the original, "The Haunting" is going to be released, but noticed it might be coming out in full screen.
This is one movie that should be released in it's aspect ratio
of 2.35, you would lose so much of the atmosphere to it.
It came out in laser in 2.35 and should in DVD, or at least give the option on the other side of disc.
Can you please suggest this to Warner Brothers who are releasing it. Thanks a lot. I think a lot of people will be disappointed if it only comes full frame.
Rating:
Summary: No one can hear you scream . . .alone . . . in the night.
Review: Not only the best Haunted House film of all time but arguably the best horror film of all time, period. Granted, "The Shining" and "The Exorcist" are superb, but this is usually the one that makes the most macho among us cry for mommy as we curl into the fetal positon and suck our thumbs. Think of a situation as claustrophobic and inescapable as "Das Boot". THEN add the supernatural.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Many terrible things may happen in life (Seeing the dumb 1999 remake immediately comes to mind) but for Eleanor (Julie Harris) getting an invitation to spend time at an isolated Victorian manor is about the only hopeful thing that's ever happened to her. She's a middle aged spinster who has spent her entire life caring for her tyrannical invalid mother, now deceased. She's a neurotic who sleeps on her left side because she heard it wears the heart out sooner, she's kind, she's Everywoman: "All I want is to be cherished "---and she's finally having an adventure! Into the the darkest abyss. Robert Wise's use of black and white film, stills, off angle camera shots, voice overs (which he recorded beforehand and played during the filming--he wanted to put the actors in the mood) gargantuan gothic sets which dwarf the--well, I could go on. Suffice it to say, the man could direct. And as to the rest of the characters, from the quietly authoritative professor of anthropology, to the skeptical martini-mixing playboy, to the menacingly erotic " we'll be like sisters " psychic, Theodora (played by the inimitable Claire Bloom )---they join Eleanor in a quartet of completely believable but puny humans that cannot contend against The House, which has stood for a hundred years, and where Those Who Walk There, Walk Alone . . . It's a horror film for adults, adapted from the novel by Shirley "The Lottery" Jackson, who should have married H.P. Lovecraft and given birth to Tanith Lee. Watch it with the lights out. Sweet dreams.
Rating:
Summary: Very Satisfying Scare!!!
Review: I still sleep with my hands under the covers! (Watch this classic and you'll see why.)This is a marvelous movie that still affects viewers 40 years later. Without overblown digital renderings, bloody offings, or visualized goons, this film manages to produce quickened pulses and goose bumps on just about everyone I show it to. The "house" itself is much more satisfying than the one in the remake. The interior sets are convincing and atmospheric, and the real exterior (shot at Ettingpark, England) is perfect. Julie Harris' best role. I hope to see it on DVD soon, along with that other perfect "ghost" story "The Innocents".
Rating:
Summary: Positively ...
Review: ... the most horrifying film I've ever seen (and I've said this for nearly 40 years now!). I've hated horror films since I was a child. The Haunting" is no exception, except -- I also love it. I've found, whenever I see a film (or play) adapted from a book I've read, I'm usually somewhat disappointed because what I'm shown is not as (good/beautiful/horrifying ...) as what the author's words triggered in my mind at the time I read them. Robert Wise, with "The Haunting," succeeds so well where other less adept directors fail or offer pap as art precisely because he allows the viewer his own perceptions, and trust me -- there's nothing scarier than what's in YOUR mind.
Rating:
Summary: Still The Ultimate Haunted-House Movie.
Review: Joining an unknown group of psychic researchers investigating a haunted house in New England, unmarried, neurotic Eleanor (Julie Harris), while trying to live beyond her past, is playing "catch-up" in her inner struggle to 'fit in' - and, above all, to belong. But, something in her efforts to do so may prove to be her own undoing, as, in her own mind at least, those efforts are repeatedly frustrated and she finds herself ever-increasingly drawn toward the seemingly beckoning Hill House itself - until she ultimately, and tragically, crosses the point of no return. The story opens as an astute, convincing vision of one woman's underlying struggle with self delusion - one that will soon pale compared to the delusion and fear held in store for her within the infamous Hill House. Either way, wheather the roots of her experiences lie in the psychological or the supernatural - or both - the conclusion for Eleanor is inescapable. It's the most enduringly frightening movie I've ever seen. Not quite as an aside, I seem to recall none other than horror-film director Wes Craven pointing out the notion that the house we grow up in can leave a special and unique imprint on our psyche. It seems such a house (haunted like the one Eleanor grew up in, or not), can be abstractly thought of as a sort of three-dimensional construct of the psyche itself - and that, for him, no other haunted-house movie provokes in us a deeper response, on that level, better than "The Haunting". Of course, he attributes this directly to the sometimes subliminally effective, and often downright alarming, direction from Robert Wise, as well as the creepy, 'something-is-watching-you' lens work from Davis Boulton. For me, all the ingredients add up to a film with high replay value and one that holds up long after seeing it - something all too rare for the genre, then as now. The theatrical release had an outSTANDingly dynamic soundtrack that added immeasurably to the experience, but, the video releases have been disappointing in this regard, so far. Here's hoping the DVD will be true to the original - if there ever IS a DVD (sigh). I'm still waiting for "The Innocents" on DVD, too - (and we who wait here, don't wait alone!...). I agree with others here, the best way to see this one IS alone. And, as has been pointed out before, you will never see a single ghost in this movie, yet, by the end you'll be left without any reason to disbelieve!
Rating:
Summary: SCARY AND EVEN IN THE DAYLIGHT!
Review: Forget the [bad] re-make, stick with this one. Yes this is one were you have to think and use your imagination, but it is definately worth the effort. No gore (although I'm also a fan of that genre) and no cheap thrills, just pure and authentic terror. In order to get scared in this movie, you do have to take it seriously. To make it even better watch it alone in the dark! You'll definately be creeped out then, and if you liked this, I also recommend superior ghost films like The Innocents, The Amityville Horror, The Shining, and The Changeling. Buy or Rent today, but either way, you HAVE TO SEE THIS ALONE IN THE DARK!!! Prepare for a great scare, and also check out the films I previously mentioned if like this one. I hope you like The Haunting, and just a reminder STAY AWAY FROM THE RE-MAKE!!!
Rating:
Summary: The less seen, the better
Review: With all the subsequent haunted house movies since the 1963 release of "The Haunting". This movie is still one of the best. Robert Wise's masterful restraint in direction allows the viewers to use their own imagination. Instead of a resolution this film keeps you wondering thereby building the suspense throughout. Another point I liked about this film is that there are no false scares as is common in so many movies of this genre. What you experience is what is in the plot. This film may be alittle too intense for younger viewers. However there is nothing inappropriate in the contents.
Rating: 
Summary: Days long ago
Review: I have a vivid recollection of watching this movie as a child and being quite put on edge. In the group is was with, I was the one scared then, but did not have nightmares while those not scared at the time had nightmares. Wow, have I changed. I found this to be a movie about catty women and less-than-reputable men. This is not a scary movie, it is a psychological drama set in a scary house. The cinematography of the house is great. The visuals set the stage for some scary stuff. Unfortunately all that happens is some chilling pounding in the night, "breathing" doors, and an unexpected vissage. I would like to get myself in the frame of mind I had in those days long ago and see this movie and get scared again. I am afraid, however, that this movie will only frighten the very young.
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