The Innocents
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Movie Reviews of The Innocents
Movie Review: A Brillaint, Creepy Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
This black-and-white gem is a wonderful study in the supernatural, about an evil presence that is full of corruption and hunger. The movie has rich cinematography, great performances, and an atmosphere of dread and menace. This film is creepy and beautiful at the same time.
The song that the child sings in the beginning of the film (about a weeping willow) still haunts me. It is sweet and disturbing at the same time.
The ending devastated me. I finished this movie frightened and sad and shaken up. That's the magic of the movies: to move you, and take you to unexpected places.
This film makes a good companion with the equally excellent 1963 film "The Haunting", which always makes the hair on my neck stand up. (I never, ever want to know what is behind that door.)
The dvd "The Innocents" provides a crisp, clean widescreen image, and great sound. (If you prefer your picture shrunk to a square fullscreen, that version is on side two of the dvd.)
Truman Capote cowrote the screenplay, based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw.
Note: This film will not be to everyone's taste. Those who want big jolts, gore, or simple plots should definitely steer clear. This movie has a quiet and macabre mood, with unanswered questions.
Movie Review: One of the truly great cinematic ghost stories.
Summary: 5 Stars
Jack Clayton's "The Innocents," an adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," must be ranked as one of the greatest cinematic ghost stories of all time. There are two essential keys to its greatness. One is that Clayton and his screenwriters, Truman Capote and William Archibald, understood totally that in telling a ghost story, less is more--that is, a truly horrifying story is created not in gore, but in the audience's minds. The second, and more important, key is that Clayton, Capote and Archibald maintain James' delicate, uneasy balance, so that the audience is never sure whether the ghosts are appearing in truth, or solely in the imagination of Miss Giddins (Deborah Kerr). From the beginning, as the wealthy, self-centered uncle played by Michael Redgrave interviews Miss Giddins for the post of governess, you notice the breathless, ever-so-slightly neurotic replies she gives to his questions, particularly when she stresses her love of children, and wonder precisely what kind of woman she is. In the same vein, the behavior of the children Miles (Martin Stephens) and Flora (Pamela Franklin) can be taken as innocent or all-too-knowing. Meanwhile, the apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel occur just often enough, and just unexpectedly enough, to keep our hearts pounding at top speed. Every aspect of "The Innocents" can fairly be described as perfect, from Kerr's delicately calibrated performance, to the cinematography of the great Freddie Francis, to the haunting music of Georges Auric, intimate of Satie and Poulenc. The extras on the DVD are almost nil, but the film itself is more than worth the price. "The Innocents" is one of those chilling, mesmerizing cinematic masterpieces you can watch again and again.Movie Review: Classic. Don't miss it!
Summary: 5 Stars
A real classic. Excellent performances, wonderful shots , very nice Black and white dvd transferMovie Review: Simply Chilling
Summary: 4 Stars
Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) is a governess who seeks work from a man who has inherited a neice and nephew after they were orphaned. He admits that he has no use for children, so they live away from him in a country home. Miss Giddens is happy to care for them, but finds that they are not like she expected them to be. Flora (Pamela Franklin) seems secretive and distant. Miles (Martin Stephens) seems quite intelligent with a mean streak. Before long, Miss Giddens begins to see ghosts of the previous governess and her lover, the groundskeeper. She learns of the house's dark past from the maid.
What is interesting about this movie is that none of the characters tells the same story. The viewer is solving the puzzle right along with the actors on the screen. This makes it all the more interesting and chilling to watch, because one is so invested in the plot.
In some ways, this is just another old scary house thriller. In others, it stands on its own as an example of how great a horror movie can be. It uses history, psychology, and very simple tricks to create the suspense. However, the tricks used are not typical. There is no loud pulsating soundtrack, only simple melodies like a humming child or a tinkling music box. The stark black and white aids the eerieness by projecting shadows and a dim feeling around the edges of the screen.
Movie Review: All too 'Innocent', muddled concept, unfinished tale
Summary: 1 Stars
What film did the above (or below) reviewers watch? Sheesh, this thing was all ambiguity (which I endorse, but at some point, there has to be some clarification as to what's going on) - the 'end' of the film is not an ending - it jus' stops - and one of the children has dropped dead - why? Ms. Kerr's (by other reviewers much 'lauded') performance is overly theatrical in the extreme - is she losing her mind? is she completely normal? she acts far too convinced of herself to hint at the possibility of the former - the result being that the viewer is left scratching his/her head, wondering what the hell's going on... and the soundtrack (also described as actually frightening) was laughable - apparently reverb was something the sound feller had just discovered for himself and went all out - to be fair, I don't know what kind of an impression the film would've made on me had I seen it for the first time back in 1961 - no doubt numerous members of the film audience then were indeed 'Innocents' compared to these days of explosions and gore. And there were moments of high suspense - definitely - but to have the film simply be cut off, like a slice of salami... Impertinence! *G*
- apparently, the original James' tale leaves unresolved as to whether the governess was losing her mind, or were the children indeed 'possessed'...?
And where's the ending? (say, another 5-10 minutes to tie up any number of loose ends... what happens to Flora after she went to London? what role does the uncle play really? what does he really know?) - an incomplete and frustrating work... but I can imagine that back in 1961, seeing this in a movie theatre, this could cause some chills... I was born in '68, so am a 'latecomer' in that regard...
An interesting cross-reference that I see - some elements that appear here, even specific questions, are used (I think) to much greater effect in Peter Medak's 1979 intelligent 'chiller', "The Changeling" with George C. Scott - the search for the source of mysterious sounds up up up through an old house - finding a music box in the attic - the question: "How did she/you die?" ---
In short - some promising (and suggestive) moments - but all in all, very disappointing and as I've said, ultimately simply confusing - frustrating.