A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Woman in Black -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

James Watkins' The Woman in Black, with Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, and Janet McTeer is a moderately entertaining "things that go bump in the night" film.

It got me thinking of Jacob's The Monkey's Paw at one point, and any number of other haunted house films for the remainder. This is a film that relies on shocks -- quick cuts to unpleasant imagery, along with very loud bits of audio -- to make its way through the storyline. Nicely produced, with very nice production design, it's ultimately a serviceable bit of horror from the new Hammer entity.

Shot on 3-pref film (S35), through to a 2k DI, and finally out the other side to 35 scope prints, as well as D-Cinema, it has a nice clarity that works along with various color schemes, which hold together the effects and production footage nicely.

Plot-wise, it's difficult to understand why anyone with even the slightest bit of sanity, would not have turned out walked out of this place at the first hint of a problem. The fact that they might lose their job doesn't cut it.



Probably a decent date movie. It's a noisy in-your-face little horror film that generally works on the surface, with a few decent scares intact. As long as you don't give it much thought.

RAH

 

[SD_Brian]

It got me thinking of Poe's The Monkey's Paw

Actually, W. W. Jacobs wrote The Monkey's Paw.
I've been curious about this flick but I'm not a big fan of the SUDDEN-LOUD-NOISE school of horror.

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by SD_Brian /t/321770/a-few-words-about-the-woman-in-black-in-blu-ray#post_3943110
Actually, W. W. Jacobs wrote The Monkey's Paw.
I've been curious about this flick but I'm not a big fan of the SUDDEN-LOUD-NOISE school of horror.

Quite correct. Thank you. Have to change in my memory banks.

RAH

 

[Brandon Conway]

I wouldn't call it "sudden loud noise horror" in the strictest sense. It has a lot of atmospheric gothic dread as well, not to mention the creepiest looking children's toys I've ever seen. Think Poltergeist clown doll x10.

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway /t/321770/a-few-words-about-the-woman-in-black-in-blu-ray#post_3943169
I wouldn't call it "sudden loud noise horror" in the strictest sense. It has a lot of atmospheric gothic dread as well, not to mention the creepiest looking children's toys I've ever seen. Think Poltergeist clown doll x10.

Gothic horror production design in full force, but the jump noises become a bit much.

What's your problem with the toys. I grew up with those. And Lincoln Logs, naturally.

RAH

 

[Brandon Conway]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris /t/321770/a-few-words-about-the-woman-in-black-in-blu-ray#post_3943182

Gothic horror production design in full force, but the jump noises become a bit much.

What's your problem with the toys. I grew up with those. And Lincoln Logs, naturally.

RAH

Naturally. Who plays first, correct?

 

[Yorkshire]

Do you know if the US release is cut?
In the UK the cinema release was trimmed by 6 seconds, and apparently that's what we're getting on Blu-ray Disc.
BTW, the 'woman in black on the marshes' imagary is right out of The Innocents.
Good to see a horror film that's not torture porn, found footage, or a re-make of a video nasty classic.
Steve W

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Yorkshire /t/321770/a-few-words-about-the-woman-in-black-in-blu-ray#post_3943322
Do you know if the US release is cut?
In the UK the cinema release was trimmed by 6 seconds, and apparently that's what we're getting on Blu-ray Disc.
BTW, the 'woman in black on the marshes' imagary is right out of The Innocents.
Good to see a horror film that's not torture porn, found footage, or a re-make of a video nasty classic.
Steve W

An idea what was trimmed?

 

[Charles Smith]

First saw the stage version in a small intimate production that employed nothing but old traditional stage techniques, and it had the audience in its grip without the use of a single decibel.

I was delighted to be able to go out to a new "Hammer" film, and I had a good time even if it didn't all add up. But I deplore the pandering to current tastes in color palette and the dependency on jump scares. I sat there fantasizing that this was an old fashioned sneak preview in which we could say what we liked and didn't like, and a little editing gets done before release. Because, of course, the director would be hanging on to my every word and would get right back to work, scribbled notes in hand.

So, not something I needed to have in the collection, but I enjoyed it, and it inspired me to order the UK version which is very enjoyable in different ways, and which does reside on the shelf.

 

[Charles Smith]

Six seconds??

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Chas in CT /t/321770/a-few-words-about-the-woman-in-black-in-blu-ray#post_3943349
Six seconds??

A great deal can occur in six seconds. Films have been censor-cut by 2-3 frames.

I recall one major cut in Horror of Dracula that was not more than a foot or so long. One foot = 16 frames = 2/3 of a second.

RAH

 

[Yorkshire]

An idea what was trimmed?

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/01/23/woman-in-black-strong-violence_n_1223384.html
"... six seconds of "strong violence" and "horror" have been removed from the final edit.."
I have read what the cuts were, but can't find them at the moment.
The cuts were made by the studio at the suggestion of the BBFC so that the film received a 12A rating instead of a 15.
EDIT
From IMDB:
"The UK cinema version was cut visually by six seconds to secure a 12A rating. In addition to this, some substitutions were also made by the distributor. This included darkening some shots to reduce the impact of their graphic/horrific nature, and reducing the sound levels in others. Some of these cuts in particular apply to a hanging scene and a scene of self-immolation."
And from Wiki:
"The cuts were never revealed to audiences, but comparing the US and UK cuts of the film reveals that the scenes where the woman hangs from the nursery ceiling and when Lucy Jerome sets herself on fire were cut short in the UK version."
Steve W

 

[Charles Smith]

Actually, I know well that things come down to frames and seconds and whatnot when it comes to censors or ratings boards. That just surprised me in the context of this particular movie. But of course it would have images controversial to some. Glad to hear we got the Extended Version!