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| The Others [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC) | ![The Others [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410gcDKb1SL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Alejandro Amenabar
Actors: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina Mann, James Bentley
Studio: Dimension
Category: DVD
Buy New: £4.10
Buy New/Used/Collectible from £1.30
Avg. Customer Rating:  (59 reviews)
Sales Rank: 25423
Format: Closed-captioned, Colour, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Unknown)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 104 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.9
MPN: DISD24168D
UPC: 786936166552
EAN: 0786936166552
ASIN: B00003CYLJ
Release Date: May 14, 2002
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
A welcome throwback to the spooky traditions of Jack Clayton's The Innocents and Robert Wise's The Haunting, Alejandro Amenabar's The Others favours atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over flashy special effects. Set in 1945 on a fog-enshrouded island off the British coast, the film begins with a scream as Grace (Nicole Kidman) awakens from some unspoken horror, perhaps arising from her religiously overprotective concern for her young children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley). The children are hypersensitive to light and have lived in a musty manor with curtains and shutters perpetually drawn. With Grace's husband (Christopher Eccleston) presumably lost at war, this ominous setting perfectly accommodates a sense of dreaded expectation, escalating when three strangers arrive in response to Grace's yet-unposted request for domestic help. Led by housekeeper Mrs Mills (Fionnula Flanagan), this mysterious trio is as closely tied to the house's history as Grace's family is--as are the past occupants seen posthumously in a long-forgotten photo album. With her justly acclaimed performance, Kidman maintains an emotional intensity that fuels the film's supernatural underpinnings. And while Amenabar's pacing is deliberately slow, it befits the tone of penetrating anxiety, leading to a twist that extends the story's reach from beyond the grave. Amenabar unveiled a similarly effective twist in his Spanish thriller Open Your Eyes (remade by Cameron Crowe as Vanilla Sky), but where that film drew debate, The Others is finely crafted to provoke well-earned goose bumps and chills down the spine. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
 I knew it was a ghost, not scary. August 15, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
Zelda from terrorhawks does her best to try and scare the viewer in this terrible film. Same trick as 'Sickth Sense' and 'Dead Mans Shoes', whereby someone you were watching that you thought was real turns out to be a ghost all along. Cheap tricks like this don't make for an enjoyable film, especially as there is no such thing as ghosts. Why do people keep making ghost films when there is absolutely positively no proof for their existence except the anecdotal sort from half wits, drunks and the elderly? The house is nice where it was filmed though, and good on Nicole for shunting Cruisey baby.
 Things that go bump in the night ... March 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Or things that scream, or caress the keys of a piano, or ... This film is a gem - such a refreshing change from blood and guts horror. This is true atmospheric horror, the tension built with every scene, and with every strange character that appears.
The actors are superb - beautifully cast (including the veteran comedian Eric Sykes) and beautifully directed in a location that gives an oscar-worthy performance.
The two children are remarkable in their roles - for me, the prize going to the most sinister small girl ever encountered on screen. (Why is it that children in film are generally so much better than children on telly ? Is it just that the casting directors of feature films are more intelligent than their telly counterparts, and know what they are looking at ? Probably.)
This is a film to return to again and again. Even once you think you know all the surprises, there'll be another one waiting to jump out at you.
A Well Constructed and Effective Ghost Story January 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Two years after the overrated The Sixth Sense came The Others and comparisons between these two films are inevitable, not least due to the fact that each has what rapidly became known as a 'twist' in its tail. Unfortunately the fact that if you see a film anticipating a 'twist' you may well see it coming long before it actually happens. This was the case with The Sixth Sense, not least because the kid in that film 'sees dead people', a fact which that film's trailer pointed out, and at the end of the first sequence it was quite easy to put two and two together.
The Others does indeed have a surprise ending which is well disguised through the course of the picture (although there are one or two clues), but this is not where the strength of this film lies. Indeed, trying to work out the ending while watching a film seems to me to be a pointless exercise. The unravelling of the situation which the occupants of the house find themselves in is gradual and the final revelation backfoots the viewer momentarily before making itself clear. Comparisons are probably better drawn with The Innocents (1961), where atmosphere and fear constituted the heart of the film. In addition, the question as to whether the events are imaginary or not is again reflected in The Others, although to a degree which is not as relevant to the story as in The Innocents.
The children's photosensitive condition is a little contrived in order to set up the dimly lit interiors (but it does have a relevance at the end of the film), and it does succeed in creating the film's atmosphere, beautifully created by cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe. Each shot is beautifully composed and the soft, warm lighting contrasts perfectly with the foggy coldness of the garden outside. There are no deep shadows here, giving the opportunity for bad things to lurk and leap out, just well balanced light and dark which gives the interiors a beautiful painterly quality.
The cast is excellent, perhaps with the exception of Eric Sykes who is rather misplaced within the scheme of things but as in The Innocents, it is the performances of the younger actors which are noteworthy. I am constantly in awe of the acting ability of younger people.
There are plenty of genuinely chilling moments and the film is punctuated with occasional shocks which help to keep it bouyant when the pace flags, something which does happen from time to time and which caused me to think that the running time was perhaps a little excessive.
The ending is not played out as a great revelation and it doesn't smack of cleverness, rather, it almost seems incidental and wraps up the story neatly. The Others is a well constructed ghost story which is pervaded by sadness (augmented by a non intrusive soundtrack, itself composed by the director), and which is I feel, somewhat underrated even though there are one or two scenes which are open to the question of slight overindulgence.
great movie with a nice twist ! January 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
i have to say this is a MUST for slight horror fans !! it's very close to the 'sixth sense' which i enjoyed very much .both of which i have watched many times so thats value for money in my eyes !!
Dont Read These Reviews ! January 7, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you plan to watch this film ... don't read the reviews below as they totally give away the plot and thereby ruin the movie !
And please ... fellow reviewers, don't spoil other films by revealing plot spoilers !!!
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