The Turn of the Screw
by Dan Curtis
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Langdon, Eva Griffiths, Jasper Jacob, John Barron, Megs JenkinsDirector: Dan Curtis
Brand: MPI
Cinematographer: Ben Colman
Producer: Dan Curtis
Editor: Dennis Virkler
Producer: Tim Steele
Writer: Henry James
Writer: William F. Nolan
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-08-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Mpi Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Turn of the Screw
Movie Review: Overlong and Inept Adaptation of Henry James
Summary: 2 Stars
Lynn Redgrave is Jane Cubberly, a governess who takes over the care of two children Flora and Miles at Bly House. In this quiet country estate she experiences or sees strange things. By the time she knows the truths about her predecessor Miss Jessel and one Peter Quint, she is convinced that some evil force is out there, waiting for the chance to corrupt the two "innocent" children in her charge.
Dan Curtis directed this made-for-TV adaptation of Henry James' famous novella in 1974. The production is obviously low-budget and some images and sound effects are technically inept - in the "storm" scene there is no storm; the sun is shining somewhere up above. The menacing presence of "them" (you know what I am talking about) are not menacing enough; they look like actors with special make-ups - but that is not really the problem of this version.
In spite of some nice visual tricks, Dan Curtis' film is not creepy or psychologically insightful enough. The ambiguity of the original book is totally gone. Look how the governess talking back to her employer, the children's uncle, calling him "dreadful." Her repressed sexual desire is part of her (over)eagerness to "protect her" children, but the film discards one of the most intriguing parts of James' story.
Instead, materials are added to the plot that should be simple, but they result in the film's most unconvincing (and sometimes boring) scenes. When young boy Miles should be a "perfect" and "innocent" child, in her eyes at least, the film describes him as cold-hearted animal torturer. Clearly the boy is not "innocent" in the way the governess would want him to be (neither is Flora, who can be insensitive to the dead frog), but Ms. Cubberly is too slow to understand what is so obvious to us. The film as a consequence fails to create the psychological tension that should be between the governess and the children. The two child actors are very good, but this film's Flora and Miles still do not have mysterious feeling that should keep puzzling us to the very end. Is this slow development intentional? Some scenes even has Miles talking to her as if wooing her, but does that suggest she could be attracted to Miles, not his uncle? But ... what is the point of all of this?
Some may think Lynn Redgrave, who is to be Oscar-nominated twice in the 1990s, is overacting especially in the second half, but all in all her acting (and that of other supporting actors) is acceptable, if not special. Interestingly her father Michael Redgrave played the role of "Uncle" in a far superior adaptation "The Innocents." Megs Jenkins also plays Mrs. Grose, the same role she did in "The Innocents" made 13 years before.
The overlong film is pointless (to me) and lacks intensity. Not bad as most recent James adaptation "In a Dark Place," but still not good.
MPI's DVD includes the interviews with the director Dan Curtis and star Lynn Redgrave.
Summary of The Turn of the Screw
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