The Innocents [1961]

Description

Product Description THE INNOCENTS A Film by Jack Clayton Described by critic Pauline Keal as 'the best ghost movie I've ever seen', Jack Clayton's adaptation of Henrys James's The Turn of the Screw is a virtuoso piece of storytelling Deborah Kerr (in the performance of her career) plays the emotionally repressed vicar's daughter who takes up a job as governess to two seemingly angelic orphans. Gradually coming to believe that the children are possessed by the perverse spirits of their former governess and her sadistic lover, she begins to see manifestations of the ghosts prowling the huge gothic mansion of Bly House. Director Jack Clayton sustains a superbly haunting atmosphere throughout the film, and like James's original work, cleverly retains the ambiguity of whether the ghosts are real or the products of the governess's fevered imagination. Aided by Freddie Francis's exquisitely inventive and atmospheric Cinemascope photography, we, like the governess, are never quite sure what unspoken horrors might be lurking beyond the edge of the frame and are kept guessing until the film's tragic conclusion. Special features Feature commentary by professor Christopher Frayling Filmed introduction with Professor Christopher Frayling The Bespoke Overcoat (Jack Clayton, 1955, 37 mins) Gallery of production stills including an essay by The league of Gentleman s Jeremy Dyson UK | 1961 | black and white | English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles | 96 minutes | DVD9 | Original aspect Ratio 2.35:1 (Cinemascope) | Region 0 DVD Review 'The best ghost movie I've ever seen' --Pauline Kael