bconnell-467-398539
I saw this wonderful film when I was almost twenty in a very unique and intimate theater in Eugene Oregon. The film was incredibly intense and remarkably scary. I lived out in the country at the time, and i must admit I was scared of the dark for many months after watching this what I call "classic" ghost story. The film grabbed and sucked you in to its web quickly and effectively. It is one of the best ghost stories I have ever seen on film. It is a tragedy that this film is not available on other mediums. I am shocked to find it still has not made its impact to current generations. Someone out there must have this film stored somewhere - I would love to see it again and experience the terror or a truly ghostly and haunting encounter. I encourage anyone who has ever seen this wonderful film to comment and encourage someone who may have this stored away to make it available to the general public. A timeless masterpiece. Barbie Connell, Manchester, Connecticut 2012
Matthew Hopkiins
A superb period ghost story.There aren't any actors that I recognise in the film,but that doesn't matter one jot.The film has a strange timeless quality to it,and for the most part the performances are flawless.It's hard to fathom why a film of this quality has all but disappeared and is only available as a bootleg.Having said that the less than perfect picture quality of the copy I watched added to the atmosphere! Superb musical score too.Highly recommended if atmosphere is more important to you than visceral shocks.Does anyone know if this ever got a theatrical release in the UK, or if the Temple video release was it's only official release?They don't make them like this anymore!
rolivire
I saw this movie over 20 years ago, but with a few others still haunts me. The music of Chopin and Janacek, together with the sepia dark images works very effective on your emotions and mood. Years after I can still feel the effects of this movie with the final epitome when the ghost tries to take the haunted M with him (to the world of ghosts?). A soft wind can be heard blowing through the trees, the music quite soft, sombre and romantic, the light is almost absent: all is set for this final important moment in the movie.Together with the earlier movies of Ingmar Bergman, Antonioni and the also forgotten masterpiece of Schlöndorff "Die Fällschung" (destruction of Beirut), I rank this movie to the highest order of the art.
Dan Kirklin
I was going to write a review, but I found that rrichr had already done it, better than I would have. The film is absolutely perfect, in my opinion, and it's a scandal that it's not available. Twenty-some years after seeing it, in a theater full of Christmas shoppers, I still remember that no one went out to get popcorn or drinks. I doubt that anyone left to go to the bathroom. Parents with children were in the audience, and there was no disturbance. The film eschews all the gore and guts and cheap effects (i.e. it's anti-DePalma) but delivers the goods: see it once, and you'll never forget it.To rrichr's selection of that haunting scene with the rocking chair, I want to add the scene where the women get in the rowboat, where a boatman is waiting. You know exactly what's coming next, but when it comes, and they look up to see you-know-who rowing their boat, you damn near lose it anyway. (Perhaps that explains why no one left to use the bathroom.)This is a jewel, and if anyone finds it and buys it on my recommendation, then decides it wasn't worth it, I'll buy it from them. But that ain't going to happen. If the film has a flaw, I'm damned if I can see it.
AD
