The Innocents (1961)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	Main Menu Audio Gallery-Stills And Poster Gallery Trailer-Dragonwyck, Anna Karenina, Topper/Topper Returns, Tess
Rating
Year Of Production	1961
Running Time	95:10
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Jack Clayton
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Deborah Kerr Peter Wyngarde Megs Jenkins Michael Redgrave Martin Stephens Pamela Franklin Clytie Jessop Isla Cameron
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$24.95	Music	Georges Auric

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Set in a beautiful stately mansion of country England around 1840, The Innocents is a superb tale of possession of the innocent by malevolent spirits.

    The film is based on the classic 1898 Henry James novella The Turn Of The Screw. The screenplay, adapted by William Archibald and Truman Capote, is deliberately unhurried and rich in wonderful dialogue. This, together with the film's astonishing gothic style art direction, presented cinematographer Freddie Francis with the ideal foundation for his extraordinary use of  black and white Cinemascope.

    The Innocents is simply laden with ambience without the need for the usual special effects found in current day films of the genre. The creepy atmosphere is sustained throughout the entire film, which is also a great credit to Producer/Director Jack Clayton. He has maintained the perfect level of tension and mystique without any pretensions or excess.

    The film also relies heavily on the strength of its actors. The performances from this relatively small cast are all exceptional, especially Martin Stephens and Pamela Franklin in roles that demand authenticity.

    Miss Giddons (Deborah Kerr) takes the position of governess to two orphaned children, Miles (Martin Stephens) and his sister, Flora (Pamela Franklin). Their uncle (Michael Redgrave) is very open about his lavish London lifestyle and doesn't wish to be to tied down by the children.

    Bly House is part of the uncle's large estate in country England, surrounded by beautiful gardens and ponds. On her arrival, Miss Giddons meets the two children, who have been eagerly awaiting the replacement for the late Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop), their previous governess. She also meets the only other resident of the mansion, the live-in housekeeper Mrs Grose (Megs Jenkins).

    In the early days after her arrival at the house, all four occupants learn about and get to know each other. Over time it becomes obvious to Miss Giddons that they may not be the only inhabitants of the house, although she seems to be the only person to see these apparitions.

     She learns that the uncle's deceased valet, Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde) and Miss Jessel were involved in a secret affair and their deaths were tragically linked. Miss Giddons becomes convinced these ghostly apparitions are indeed those of the two recently departed. The situation takes a chilling turn when the children's normally innocent behavioural patterns change and take on devious and uninhibited traits.

Video

    The video transfer for The Innocents is quite superb, but a couple of relatively minor blemishes keep this transfer from the highest distinction.

    The transfer is presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer exhibits wonderful sharpness and clarity. Blacks displayed excellent depth without any low level noise. Shadows were incredibly detailed and did justice to the film's masterful black and white cinematography.

    A couple of minor compression problems occur at 57:27 and 58:12 in the form of macro-blocking. Although these disappear very quickly from the screen without causing too much distraction, they do taint the overall video transfer. There are a few minor aliasing issues, but nothing of great consequence. Apart from this, film-to-video artefacts were well controlled. Reel change markings were noticeable at 14:28, 31:48 and 49:30, but again, these caused little concern. Film artefacts were occasionally evident, in the form of light marks and scratches, but were all very minimal in their nature.

    There are no subtitles available on this DVD.

    This is a single sided, dual layered disc. The layer change occurs at 61:04, is very noticeable and could have been better placed.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is very basic, but perfectly adequate.

    There is one audio track available on this disc, English Dolby Digital 2.0.

    Dialogue was clear and easily understood throughout the film. Audio sync was never an issue and appeared to be incredibly accurate.

     The music score by Georges Auric ranged from the whimsical through to being hauntingly dramatic in appropriate moments. I found that the score enhanced the overall mood of the film very well.

    The surrounds were not used.

    The subwoofer kicked in three times during the film. All instances involved thunder rumbles.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The extras on this disc are of no significant consequence. The advertised theatrical trailer on the rear of the cover slick does not feature on the disc.

    The menu is static black and white with looped music from the film and is 16x9 enhanced.

Stills and Poster Gallery

    With the quick running time of 1:32, this is a nondescript collection of colour exterior shots from the film. Apart from photographs, there are newspaper advertisements, reviews, press releases and a contract. Obviously you will need a big screen display to be able to read the text. No sound is featured on this very minor extra.

Umbrella Trailers   

• Dragonwyck (:53)
• Anna Karenina (3:22)
• Topper (4:46)
• Tess (3:41)

    The Innocents is certainly one of the most beautiful and visually haunting ghost stories ever filmed. The stunning black and white cinematography of Freddie Francis is captivating from fade in to fade out. The performances from the small ensemble cast are all first class.

    The video transfer is first class, despite a few annoyances.

    The audio transfer is basic, but excellent in quality.

    The lack of extras is very disappointing, given the calibre of the film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall