- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,425
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Michael Winner's The Nightcomers, based on characters from "Turn of the Screw," hasn't met the test of time. It's an odd concept, in that the film is a prequel to book, and therefore, ostensibly to Jack Clayton's 1961 The Innocents, a film that I admire.
As a Marlon Brando film, especially for his fans, the release of Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray will be a necessity, possibly especially as it is 180 degrees from his his film, in 1972.
His Peter Quint, in Newcomers, has always reminded me slightly of his Fletcher Christian, a decade earlier. It's an odd characterization.
It's an extremely insular film, with only six characters, not including the new governess, Anna Palk, who only appears momentarily at the end. So it seemed to be a perfect, low budget affair for Embassy, and Mr. Levine.
As a Blu-ray it seems to work nicely, with fully exposed day sequences pleasantly rendered, while the new shots appear just the opposite. Dark, streaky, and seeming to have been improperly handled, possibly via the original cinematography. Might they have all been shot the same night in the same camera loads, and all processed at the same time?
I've not a clue, but the problem is interesting.
Another thing that's troubled me with this film is the casting of Verna Harvey, as Flora, the older sister, who one might have thought should be more of a child than a 19 year-old.
Possibly, my mind goes in this directions, because Pamela Franklin, who played young Flora in The Innocents, was 11, in her first film, while Martin Stephens, who player her elder brother, Miles, was 12.
Nonetheless, an interesting blip in the career of Mr. Brando.
Image - 3.75
Audio - 4.75
Pass / Fail - Pass
RAH
As a Marlon Brando film, especially for his fans, the release of Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray will be a necessity, possibly especially as it is 180 degrees from his his film, in 1972.
His Peter Quint, in Newcomers, has always reminded me slightly of his Fletcher Christian, a decade earlier. It's an odd characterization.
It's an extremely insular film, with only six characters, not including the new governess, Anna Palk, who only appears momentarily at the end. So it seemed to be a perfect, low budget affair for Embassy, and Mr. Levine.
As a Blu-ray it seems to work nicely, with fully exposed day sequences pleasantly rendered, while the new shots appear just the opposite. Dark, streaky, and seeming to have been improperly handled, possibly via the original cinematography. Might they have all been shot the same night in the same camera loads, and all processed at the same time?
I've not a clue, but the problem is interesting.
Another thing that's troubled me with this film is the casting of Verna Harvey, as Flora, the older sister, who one might have thought should be more of a child than a 19 year-old.
Possibly, my mind goes in this directions, because Pamela Franklin, who played young Flora in The Innocents, was 11, in her first film, while Martin Stephens, who player her elder brother, Miles, was 12.
Nonetheless, an interesting blip in the career of Mr. Brando.
Image - 3.75
Audio - 4.75
Pass / Fail - Pass
RAH
