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| The Haunting | 
 enlarge | Director: Robert Wise
Actors: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Fay Compton
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $3.29
You Save: $11.69 (78%)
New (47) Used (20) from $1.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  382 reviews
Sales Rank: 5853
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 112
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.6 x 0.5
MPN: WARD65194D
ISBN: 0790746603
UPC: 012569519428
EAN: 9780790746609
ASIN: B00009NHB6
Theatrical Release Date: September 18, 1963
Release Date: August 5, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ******BRAND NEW****** ** Over 1.5 million orders shipped worldwide and more than 500 000 items in stock, BUY FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE, ESTABLISHED SINCE 1998 - INETVIDEO ~~~
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| Customer Reviews:
 Stay Behind that Door Eleanor!!! June 21, 2008
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
It might entice you folks to know that many Seer moons ago, before your beloved Metamorpho purchased his castle, there was another property I was considering. It was Hill House, a huge Victorian era house that was nestled in the countryside of New England. Aside from the fact that no one would go near the place (a selling feature to me since I had so many over zealous admirers out there that thought nothing of finding ways to seek out my advice. You do remember how they climbed up my buiding to try and meet me at my high rise Manhattan apartment on the 21st floor, don't you?). Not only that, but the place was going cheap. Real cheap.
So, after visiting the house with my guides in tow and a shifty realtor, I decided it wasn't for me. Marshy complained there was no powder room if she came to visit. Guido complained that no woman would dare visit the place and he had a reputation to protect. Chance complained about the lack of mirrors with which to practice his grimaces. And I was leary because it had only 1 bathroom and 86 rooms. Somehow, I thought, that might be a problem. Also, I couldn't bear to keep keeping my pets in the Mythical Pet Motel. Fans kept trying to break into the place for their autographs as well, and they were not happy.
Anyway. I didn't know they made a movie about the place until years later. When I saw this people, I knew that, yet again, the innate wisdom of a beloved Seer is the best hedge against certain disaster!
However, the movie is based on a novel by Shirley Jackson called "The Haunting of Hill House". It goes into a bit of history which I will share with you. Seems this guy in the 19th century, a Hugh Crane, built the house with the idea of sharing it with a new wife. Unfortunately, his wife never made it when, for no reason at all, the horses that drove her carriage got "spooked" and the poor woman got crushed against a tree. Very sad. But, Hugh Crane, being the industrious industrialist, was not to be daunted. No. He married again but his second wife suffered the same fate when, inexpicably, she fell down a long staircase. I think you may now be getting the idea that this is not exactly your typical circus funhouse. So, put those clown wigs away. Especially those orange yarn ones!
Hugh had a young child named Abigail, and, after he went away and passed away (yes! Him too!), she stayed in the house doing nothing but growing old and sleeping in the Nursery. Of course, she had caretakers throughout the years. But the last one, boy she was a negligent thing! She was more interested in a farmhand than doing her job. So Abigail, when banging the wall for help, died in her bed. Don't you worry folks, Abigail has a way of getting even.
So, anyway, the house eventually got as bad a reputation as the caretaker - maybe worse! So, bringing you fine folks up to date, a Paranormal Professor, Dr. Markway, asks the current owner, Mrs. Sanderson, for permission to conduct experiments in the house. She grants his request with one proviso, that he take along her card shark nephew Luke. He hopes to inherit the house one day, sell it, and cash in big. Hah! Fat chance.
But really, this story centers on Eleanor. Poor, middle-aged spinster Eleanor who devoted her life to caring for her sick mother. Unfortunately, the one time her mother needed her, she was not there, and the woman died. Are you getting a connection here? Anyway, she begs her horrible in-laws for a vacation, and is soon off as one of the only two people to take Dr. Markway up on his experiment. The other one, Theo, is a woman with E.S.P. abilities who unnerves Eleanor time and time again. Eleanor, upon arriving at Hill House, gets a feeling that the house is alive and watching her. She wants to run away, yet something inside makes her feel that this is the chance she's been waiting for. A chance for what we ponder? But only she and the house know for sure.
Now, despite you wanting to know more at this point, I have to stop or else the college students out there will use my review as Cliff Notes, and we just can't have that.
Suffice to say, this movie is one of the best psychological terror films on the market. Filmed in glorious black and white, you are treated to expert film technique to provide feelings of dread within the viewer. The bleak, ominous construction of the exterior of the house and the ornate, strange furniture and fixtures within the house (i.e., the decaying circular metal staircase; the face on the doorknocker and doorknobs). Since this movie was made well before digital technology, the special effects are minimalist. Thus, the real strength of this movie is how your own imagination takes over and qualifies your own fear of the unknown. It is mood and atmosphere which propels this movie into a class all it's own. It is not only what you see, but what you don't see which makes it so effective.
I saw this movie a long time ago. Suffice to say, there is something about it which has stayed with me ever since. I would be remiss if I didn't take note of the acting here. All the actors are so well suited for their roles. But, the stand out for me is the superb Julie Harris. She portrays the outsider aura of Eleanor to perfection. She runs the gamut of meekness, shyness, anger, doubt, self-assuredness, and finally a kind of madness that very few actresses are capable of. She becomes Eleanor, and she is astounding to watch.
So, in closing, this selection should be high on your list of terror/ thriller films. It hits upon the fear within all of us, and forces us to confront it, or remain in fear. Now, I am so glad I didn't purchase the house. No. Not for the reasons I've given you so far. But for them raising taxes so high. I would have to double my lecture schedule to afford it, and, in that case, I would never be home! ;)
At the local bar, my old haunt -------- Metamorpho
Far and away the most frightening film ever made January 7, 2001
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
No apologies here... I've been a jaded horror fan for years, and this is without a doubt the scariest flick I've ever seen. Subtle, intelligent and utterly fascinating. I saw this on my 10th birthday (before videos and vcr's ever existed!) with my two older brothers in a dark room with a birthday pizza. I couln't sleep at all that night! I waited for years for them to release this on video, and when they finally did, I found that it had lost none of what had scared me so badly as a kid. Blood and guts? Nope... you never even see a ghost! It's all done with minimal FX, a great script, cast, direction, quirky camera angles and lighting, and the most chilling sets ever put on film. The scene with the sculpted panelling in the bedroom makes my skin crawl to this day. If you are a gore freak, you probably won't like this (nothing against gore... I loved "Reanimator" and the "Evil Dead" films). If, however, you like your chills to build slowly, and creep up on you from behind, this is your movie. To cap it all, Russ Tamblyn delivers what I think is the best ending line in all of cinema. See this, then read the novel by Shirley Jackson, and ignore the worse than lame '99 remake
"And We Who Walk Here, Walk Alone..." August 22, 2002
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Psychic spinster Eleanor Vance (Julie Harris) is invited to spend a weekend in America's most notorious haunted house, Hill House, to share her feelings and observations in a study being conducted there by parapsychologist Dr. Markway (Richard Johnson). Along for the ride are lesbian psychic Theodora (Claire Bloom) and alcoholic Hill House heir Russ Tamblyn, who are later joined by Markway's unwisely headstrong wife (Lois Maxwell). Eleanor's recent history eerily echoes that of the house's last tenant, and over the group's stay, the house seems to progressively more insistently extend an invitation for Eleanor to become one of its more permanent residents...This movie is flawless. Robert Wise's direction is sure and steady, making the most of light and shadow and sound effects, utilizing them to create an unbearably tense atmosphere of terrifying expectancy. He makes the house itself the central star of the story, filming it from cockeyed angles that make it appear to be voyeuristically watching its occupants, throughout. Nelson Gidding's adaptation of Shirley Jackson's famous novel streamlines it to maximum dramatic effect, and the music score is haunting and downright unsettling. The actors are fabulous, and the action and suspense never flag for a second. Simply the best - don't miss it.
The Citizen Kane of Horror films -- NOT for children. October 4, 2001
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Robert Wise does more in one scene with a piece of wallpaper and some sound effects than most directors can do in an entire career.One hears from film theorists about the power of montage (Eisenstein, Griffith, etc.), but THE HAUNTING is the real thing. Perfectly assembled pieces of picture and sound. Robert Wise's mastery of these simple cinematic elements pays off with an alarmingly visceral reaction. The Cast (particularly Julie Harris -- now appearing in a new kind of Horror: daytime's "Passions" -- and Claire Bloom) just leap in, playing off each other perfectly. As a novelty there's even an appearance by Miss Moneypenny. On the darker side there's the caretaker: "I leave before the dark. No one will come out here in the dark." It all makes THE HAUNTING is a classic, a benchmark of the horror genre. The Story: Four people doing psychic research in a house will a BAAAAAAAD history. The Treatment: SPFX afficionades will be dissapointed: there are some matte-paintings and a very chilling (and understated) prologue; after that it's all sound effects and camera moves. My Reaction: Frankly, I thought I would ... my pants. This is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. I first saw it when I was a eight. After twenty minutes I ran away in fear -- seriously. I had nightmares for years. I was twelve before I could sit throught the whole thing. PARENTS, do NOT let your kids watch this film. It's rated G, but it'll freak them out. This is a grown up movie. If you have enemies, give their kids a copy (disguise it as a barney tape maybe). One More Thing: Is it just me, or is Claire Bloom really hot? THE BIG PICTURE: The tragedy of The Haunting (the original version) is (1) that it has never been release in it's widescreen format) and (2) that it was re-made. Hopefully the (hopefully upcoming) DVD release will rectify the former. History will certainly take care of the latter. Short Answer: The Haunting is the best horror film ever made.
 So Not Scary it's Scary September 7, 2003
8 out of 31 found this review helpful
Okay, I realize I am going against the previous 200 something raving reviewers here but this movie was bad. I know, at the time the thought of making a horror film without showing one ghost was somewhat revolutionary. That part was fine. However, the plot, script, shaky acting, and the constant inner monologue drone by Julie Harris's character were more than enough to squeeze the life out of this film. The movie gets off to a great start - there's an exciting eery history of the house with great spooky vignettes (this all makes for a captivating setup)- but then it all goes down hill. It's so sad, too because the mood is set so damn well. Bottom line - no film can be scary with as much cheesy, punny dialogue (inner and outer) this film forces on you until the bitter and overly welcomed end.
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