The Haunting 1963 vs The Haunting 1999
The Haunting (1963 Paramount Pictures)
Directed by Robert Wise
Screenplay by Nelson Gidding based on the Novel, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Music composed by Humphrey Searle
Rated G / 113 minutes
Cast: Julie Harris (Eleanor Lance), Claire Bloom (Theodora), Richard Johnson (Dr. Markway), Russ Tamblyn (Luke Sanderson), Rosalie Crutchley (Mrs. Dudley), Lois Maxwell (Grace Markway).
The Haunting (1999 DreamWorks SKG)
Directed by Jan de Bont
Screenplay by David Self based on the Novel, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Rated PG-13 / 113 minutes
Cast: Liam Neeson (Dr. David Marrow), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Theo), Owen Wilson (Luke Sanderson), Lilli Taylor (Nell), Bruce Dern (Mr. Dudley), Marian Seldes (Mrs. Dudley), Alix Koromzay (Mary Lambetta), Todd Field (Todd Hackett), Virginia Madsen (Jane), Michael Cavanaugh (Dr. Malcolm Keogh).
Halloween is almost upon us, so this installment of Double Vision is comparing the much lauded 1963 version of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House with the 1999 remake. The ’63 version is still believed by many to be the most frightening ghost story ever filmed. I don’t know if I would go that far, but it is certainly an original and well conceived study of fear and its effect on our emotions. Robert Wise makes good used of Nelson Gidding’s screenplay to bring the characters to life as well as in giving life to a very creepy house. In the leads, Julie Harris and Claire Bloom are wonderfully expressive and their character’s fear is palpable which is what has garnered such high marks for this as a ghost story. They believe it and so the audience believes it, but is it true? Is the house haunted or do they bring their own demons to it? It is the unknown in this film that gives it its power. It still works fifty-five years after its release date.
The 1999 version has the same run time as the original, but for some reason seems longer. It may be because the house is actually the lead in this let down of a remake. Once you’ve had the tour, you’re ready for something meaningful to happen, but art direction is the only real direction and the actors are left to flounder with lines that just don’t build suspense or move anything forward. The attempts at humor are too obvious and ghostlike, and the amped up sexuality just doesn’t play.
Julie Harris’ vulnerability in the character of Nell is missing and the passive aggressive version of Zeta-Jones’ Theo is more party girl than secretive sophisticate. These changes may have seemed necessary, but should have come with script changes that amount to more than comparing the house to the home of the Munster’s meets Citizen Kane. The cast cannot be held responsible; I could name a number of directors and writers that could have pulled this off and even stepped up the humor.
Once again, the original is unsurpassed. Kudos to Robert Wise, Julie Harris, and Claire Bloom, and the wonderful black & white photography of Davis Boulton (Children of the Damned).