Review of Nightcomers, The

Introduction

Before being known as a restaurant critic and tabloid columnist, Michael Winner was known as a film director/producer/editor/writer. That knowledge requires a long memory, since he`s made 3 forgettable films in the last 12 years. This film came about halfway through his most productive period, and not long before his best known film, Death Wish.

It brings an eclectic cast - Marlon Brando (probably one of his least-known roles, but nominated for a BAFTA), Stephanie Beacham, and Dame Thora Hird (without the title at the time). Brando & Thora Hird! Mad or what? The Nightcomers is a prequel to the much filmed Henry James story The Turn of the Screw (first filmed as The Innocents). There`s even an opera of that very story being performed at Edinburgh right now.

Video

A 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, which sometimes looks better than expected, and at other times looks grainy and poor. Colours are often faded and there are some blemishes now and then, but far fewer than I thought there might be.

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which is the original mono replayed over both channels. Nothing exciting, but nothing bad to say about it either. The soundtrack is a little unsubtle in places, and offers a few delights in others, but that`s really all there is to say about it.

Features

A trailer and a teaser. Nothing more.

Conclusion

An interesting film, and one that I was not aware of before sitting down to watch it. The mixture of Thora Hird and Marlon Brando looked too odd to resist. Whilst it`s not overly exciting, it was certainly worth watching, if only to catch a glimpse of this odd combination. I didn`t much care for the exploding frog, or the clumsy and crude bondage scenes, but you come to expect such things from Michael Winner. The film plods along very slowly, but at least the scenery looks nice.

Did this story really need to be told though? The Turn of the Screw didn`t really need a prequel, and all it gets is a quirky story, which doesn`t amount to much. Not worth buying, and not really worth renting either.