The Innocents
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Movie Reviews of The Innocents
Movie Review: HENRY JAMES' 'TURN OF THE SCREW'
Summary: 5 Stars
Henry James psychological ghost story, "The Turn of the Screw", makes for a dark and glorious, black and white-filmed horror thriller from 1961. Deborah Kerr stars as the governess who becomes convinced her young charges are possessed by evil. Spooky, yet based on hard-earned Freudian fear, the film possesses an eerie old estate, haunted gardens, thunder and lightning ravaged nights, and ghosts so alluring, it seems a waste to write them off as imaginings. James' novella of sexual repression and conflicts between science and religion, is brought to the screen in all it's psychological intelligence while never abandoning it's haunted house appeal. The movie was filmed with subdued shadowing around the edges, giving it a spacious, ghosts-in-the-attic cinematic effect. The screenplay is by William Archibald, who wrote the successful Broadway play this film is based on, and Truman Capote, ( Breakfast at Tiffany's, In Cold Blood). The bad news is the shabby presentation of this classic movie finally available on DVD in 2005. Double sided disc offers both wide-screen and full screen versions, but the sound is terminally television, and the extra feature consists of one, (one!) insulting theatrical trailer which touts the movie as if "It Came From Outer Space". Why not target the movie-loving public, dress the package up with extras and care, and claim this title to be one of the greatest ghost stories ever filmed?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: Scream if you want to see this on DVD ASAP!
Summary: 5 Stars
Coming from a generation that considers the Scream movies to be pretty scary, I honestly think that this film should be essential viewing for all slasher movie fans. The high school horror crap so readily churned out appals me when I watch a film like The Innocents, and I'm reminded what a good scary movie is really like.Although I'm not 100% sure about Deborah Kerr's performance in The Innocents, it certainly didn't tarnish my respect for this film. Miles and Flora are played by two outstanding children, who truly are stars. Miles' character was just the most eerie thing I've witnessed in a movie for a long time - he indeed had the air of an innocent, but there was definitely an adult, almost sexual side to the boy. Very creepy.
The lighting effects, multitude of mirrors and spooky Miss. Jessel filled me with fear from the moment I started watching this - and I was hooked until the closing credits. My favourite part of The Innocents was the governess's bizarre dream sequence - spinechilling stuff.
I'll be sure to recommend this film to all my friends in the hope that it'll get the recognition it deserves. More of this style of psychological horror please Hollywood - if I'm subjected to another bad teen horror movie I will not be responsible for my actions.
Movie Review: Who are The Innocents?
Summary: 5 Stars
In Henry James' classic ghost story, "The Turn of the Screw", which has been aptly titled "The Innocents" for this screen version, one has to ask, who are the "innocents"? Is it the children, who are truly remarkable children; the new governess, the inexperienced Miss Giddons, daughter of a Church of England vicar, in her first work outside of her home; or maybe even Mrs. Gross, the housekeeper who stays in a state of seige from the other three?
This is the best adaptation of "The Turn of the Screw" that I have seen and I've seen several. It seems to have been written for Miss Kerr's talents which are considerable. She is a true innocent set down in a house where some unusual things have happened several months before. The children are so young and innocent. Are they being haunted by the former valet and governess, or is this all in the mind of the admirable Miss Giddons, who seems to see things no one else does...or do they?
It's all psychological...and excellent. Beautiful scenry, wonderful costumes, edgy music and black and white cinamatography make this an excellent movie...and a whacking good ghost story.
Movie Review: A wonderful wonderful movie
Summary: 5 Stars
In James' novel (which is very, very difficult to read because of a lot of peculiar sentence structure), we never really know whether the ghosts are real or whether they are in the mind of anxious young Miss Giddens. But there is a scene in the film, not in the novel, which seems to me to lend credence to the governess being out of her mind and the ghosts imaginary. During the game of hide and seek she hides in the attic from the children. There she comes across a picture of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel and studies it. It is immediately after this she sees Quint close up, for the first time, at the window, and recognises him from the photo. His previous appearance had been up on the tower and was not very distinct. However when she describes this latest appearance to Mrs Grose, the housekeeper recognises the apparition as Quint, which weighs in favour of the governess being stone cold sane and the ghost real. There simply is no way of knowing which point of view is the truth, and this ambiguity increases the sense of menace in the film. Kerr is outstanding, as are the two children. This film really ought to be on DVD.