I have read Susan Hill's book, seen the stage play, heard the radio adaption and seen both this television film and the more recent theatrical film produced under the Hammer banner. I enjoyed both book and play and was very impressed by the television film under discussion here, particularly as while remaining fairly faithful to its source, I thought actually improved on it. This seems odd as, reportedly, author Hill absolutely loathes this version and has thrown her weight behind the more recent film version which takes far more liberties with her novel and throws subtlety out the window - not to mention being hampered by a performance by Daniel Radcliffe which runs the gamut from A to B. Wise has had a long and honourable career as a director of British television drama and he does a fine job here by proving when it comes to classic ghost tales less is more - a lesson well taught by his namesake Robert with THE HAUNTING in 1963.The cast is headed by Adrian Rawlins and Bernard Hepton and the film makes very effective use of its atmospheric locations. The complete film is available for viewing on You Tube. Wish I hadn't watched it before going to bed!
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| The Woman in Black |
Also Viewed :
016 THE VIKINGS (1956) Directed by Richard Fleischer ***
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| The Vikings |
2 comments:
Ooo, that sounds promising. After having suffered through the Harry Potter version (can the author REALLY prefer THAT film?!?!?!?) it would be interesting to see how the story was filmed competently. Of course, I reiterate that you warned me about the Harry Potter WOMAN IN BLACK before I rented it and I rented it anyway. Silly old fool me.
Radcliffe? More like BadThesp
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