By Todd Garbarini
Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others (2001) is a brilliantly scary
film. Almost as scary is realizing that
ten years have transpired since this film played in theaters. Released just one month prior to the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, The Others is the flipside
of Peter Medak’s The Changeling
(1980), a glorious ghost story with enough style and substance to draw
comparisons to the genre’s crown jewels: Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961) and Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963), both of which are in dire need of Blu-ray
upgrades.
The film opens with a series of
hand-drawn images that segue into the house where all of the action takes
place. This is a device used many times
in films, but it is particularly striking in The Others. It is 1945 and off the coast of France on the
island of Jersey lives Grace, played skillfully by Nicole Kidman, and her two
children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley). Both of these actors are wonderful, and they recall
the dynamic created between Martin Stephens and Pamela Franklin in the
aforementioned Innocents. They suffer from a skin disorder that will
result in a severe outburst that will kill them if they are exposed to sunlight;
this requires that they live their lives indoors, away from the windows. Unexpectedly, three servants show up to serve
Grace and the kids, and then strange things begin to happen. From this point on, the audience is kept in
the dark, just like the characters, and once the strange revelation comes about
near the film’s end, all is revealed with the presence of light. It is wonderful to see that a major studio was
responsible for distributing such a beautifully-realized work, one that not
only clicked with critics but was also financially successful at the box office.
What is all the more amazing about this
film is that director Amenábar also wrote the screenplay and composed the
musical score; he’s a true jack-of-all trades. The Others is one of the best
ghost stories ever filmed, and the new Blu-ray by Lionsgate Home Entertainment is
to die for. It sports an absolutely stunning
transfer and makes upgrading a no-brainer. Nearly free of grain, the image is the best available on home video
outside of a theatrical presentation. The extras which appeared on the standard DVD release from 2002 are
ported over, though it would have been nice to have a commentary included by
the director.
Highly recommended.
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