A Few Words About A few words about…™ The Haunting (1999) — in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

did he say that there was something wrong with the 5.1 track?

Did RAH say he did?

 

[Robert Harris]

did he say that there was something wrong with the 5.1 track?

Yes, he did.

"The DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 track on the DVD was INTENSE! The bass would bring most subs to their knees like Blade Runner 2049 or Inception. Too bad they didn't base the Blu-ray track off that."

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I'm thinking that the new Netflix Haunting of Bly House is to Jack Clayton's The Innocents as this Haunting remake is to Wise's version. Shifted emphasis to all the wrong things.

Except that The Haunting of Bly Manor is based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. Apples and pomegranates, my good fellow.

 

[Malcolm R]

Except that The Haunting of Bly Manor is based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw.

As is The Innocents.

 

[Kaskade1309]

I STILL, to this day, pull out my DTS-ES Signature Selection DVD of this title for Halloween viewing and when I'm in the mood to shake the house to the foundations. Remains a KILLER track that is bested, maybe, only by the DTS mix on Spielberg's War of the Worlds.

At any rate, I don't see a need to upgrade the already decent anamorphic DreamWorks DVD with the DTS mix.

 

[bigshot]

Except that The Haunting of Bly Manor is based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. Apples and pomegranates, my good fellow.

Same same. The thing about Clayton's movie is that Truman Capote's script added a very sophisticated layer of ambiguity. The plot isn't what is really happening. There is something going on under the surface that is just referred to obliquely in whispers. You never know if what you are seeing is real or a delusion. And the visuals are jam packed with symbolism, hinting at what is going on beneath. Add to that Freddie Francis's brilliant widescreen cinematography which gets progressively more and more distorted as the story unfolds, and Clayton's brilliant direction of the child actors... and it all adds up to one of the greatest ghost movies ever made. I'm only two eps into the Netflix series, but so far it is following the plot of The Innocents, which is the least important part of the movie. It has none of the subtext, symbolism or ambiguity and the photography and sets aren't anywhere near the level of Clayton's film. I think The Innocents is one of the most brilliantly directed films I've ever seen. Clayton is vastly underrated.

This is the same sort of thing with Wise's The Haunting and the Spielberg remake. The whole point of Wise's version wasn't to show ghosts or literally show the house coming to life. It was to show the essence of the house creeping inside the characters and absorbing them. The remake turned it into an FX vehicle instead of a psychological thriller. I thought that Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House did a better job of showing how the house twisted the characters from inside. (Even though it was a bit too long and too much like a soap opera at times.)

 

[Kaskade1309]

Same same. The thing about Clayton's movie is that Truman Capote's script added a very sophisticated layer of ambiguity. The plot isn't what is really happening. There is something going on under the surface that is just referred to obliquely in whispers. You never know if what you are seeing is real or a delusion. And the visuals are jam packed with symbolism, hinting at what is going on beneath. Add to that Freddie Francis's brilliant widescreen cinematography which gets progressively more and more distorted as the story unfolds, and Clayton's brilliant direction of the child actors... and it all adds up to one of the greatest ghost movies ever made. I'm only two eps into the Netflix series, but so far it is following the plot of The Innocents, which is the least important part of the movie. It has none of the subtext, symbolism or ambiguity and the photography and sets aren't anywhere near the level of Clayton's film.

This is the same sort of thing with Wise's The Haunting and the Spielberg remake. The whole point of Wise's version wasn't to show ghosts or literally show the house coming to life. It was to show the essence of the house creeping inside the characters and absorbing them. The remake turned it into an FX vehicle instead of a psychological thriller. I thought that Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House did a better job of showing how the house twisted the characters from inside. (Even though it was a bit too long and too much like a soap opera at times.)

Spielberg didn't do the remake of The Haunting; it was Jan de Bont -- unless you weren't referring to that film.

 

[bigshot]

Spielberg produced it. And it has his fingers all over it.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Spielberg produced it. And it has his fingers all over it.

I thought you were referring strictly to the director because you said "Spielberg's remake"; normally, that suggests someone is specifically talking about the head filmmaker.

 

[Worth]

Spielberg produced it. And it has his fingers all over it.

He did some uncredited second-unit directing, as well.

 

[Thomas T]

Spielberg produced it. And it has his fingers all over it.

While Spielberg was an uncredited executive producer, his fingerprints are not "all over" it. If they had been, it would have been a much better film rather than the abomination that it is.

 

[Alan Tully]

While Spielberg was an uncredited executive producer, his fingerprints are not "all over" it. If they had been, it would have been a much better film rather than the abomination that it is.

Oh I dunno about that. I think The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Crystal Skull & War Of The Worlds are abominations (& a few other Spielberg's that I can't think of right now). I just don't get the hate, it's a fun haunted house (or in this case haunted mansion) film, that you either like or don't like.

 

[Thomas T]

Oh I dunno about that. I think The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Crystal Skull & War Of The Worlds are abominations (& a few other Spielberg's that I can't think of right now). I just don't get the hate, it's a fun haunted house (or in this case haunted mansion) film, that you either like or don't like.

The Lost World is mediocre, Crystal Skull is crap, War Of The Worlds is terrific. The Haunting (1999) was universally panned by all the major critics and it has a 15% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the film was nominated for five Razzie awards. But hey, if you think it's "fun", I'm not going to judge you. I'm gaga over Song Of Norway and Lost Horizon (1973). As Norman Bates says, "We all go a little mad sometimes".

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The Lost World is mediocre, Crystal Skull is crap, War Of The Worlds is terrific. The Haunting (1999) was universally panned by all the major critics and it has a 15% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the film was nominated for five Razzie awards. But hey, if you think it's "fun", I'm not going to judge you. I'm gaga over Song Of Norway and Lost Horizon (1973). As Norman Bates says, "We all go a little mad sometimes".

Back in 1997, I enjoyed "Lost World" a lot, and I still like it, but I admit I see the flaws more and more with each new viewing.

Still, it's better than "JP3"!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Oh I dunno about that. I think The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Crystal Skull & War Of The Worlds are abominations (& a few other Spielberg's that I can't think of right now). I just don't get the hate, it's a fun haunted house (or in this case haunted mansion) film, that you either like or don't like.

Jeez, WOTW is a very good film that I love. To each his own, I guess. The other two aren’t great, but they ain’t crap either. IMHO.

 

[Tino]

Spielberg’s War Of The Worlds is one of his best I thought.

 

[Robert Crawford]

What all this have to do with "The Haunting"?

 

[Kaskade1309]

I, too, cannot "feel" Spielberg's influence being all over The Haunting; watched my DVD copy last night and I shared that exact sentiment with my wife as the film went on. Now, something like Poltergeist? Oh, heck yes you can feel Spielberg's style all over that narrative...the camera shots, the playful "setup music" between scare sequences, et. al.

 

[Thomas T]

What all this have to do with "The Haunting"?

Steven Spielberg has been accused of ghost directing The Haunting (1999).

 

[Robert Crawford]

Steven Spielberg has been accused of ghost directing The Haunting (1999).

I get that, but the discussion has moved onto other Spielberg directed movies that has nothing to do with the The Haunting.