The Haunting

Cast View all

	Liam Neeson	Dr. David Marrow
	Catherine Zeta-Jones	Theo
	Owen Wilson	Luke Sanderson
	Lili 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
	Tom Irwin	Lou
	Charles Gunning	Hugh Crain
	Saul Priever	Ritchie
	M.C. Gainey	Large Man
	Hadley Eure	Carolyn Crain
	Kadina de Elejalde	Rene Crain
	Alessandra Benjamin	Psych Patient #1
	Karen S. Gregan	Psych Patient #2
	Brandon Jarrett	Psych Patient #3
	Mary McNeal	Psych Patient #4
	Bill Minkin	Psych Patient #5
	Debi Derryberry	Children
	Jessica Evans	Children
	Sherry Lynn	Children
	Miles Marsico	Children

Crew View all

Director	Jan de Bont
Writer	David Self, Shirley Jackson
Producer	Samuel Z. Arkoff, Susan Arnold, Jan de Bont, Marty P. Ewing, Donna Roth, Steven Spielberg, Colin Wilson
Musician	Jerry Goldsmith
Photography	Karl Walter Lindenlaub

Personal

Notes

Story Synopsis:
Based on the novel “The Haunting Of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson, this 1999 version of “The Haunting” stars state-of-the-art special effects to transport us to the supernatural world of Hill House - a century-plus old mansion with a sad and ugly past. Dr. Marrow (Neeson) invites three subjects to the house for an experiment. But the trouble begins when Nell (Taylor) becomes frighteningly drawn to the house - and the eerie spirit of the house seems to share the attraction. A terrific story, but please read the novel and/or check out the 1963 version starring Julie Harris, Clair Bloom, Richard Johnson & Russ Tamblyn for some real bone-chilling frights - sometimes, it’s what you don’t see that’s the most frightening!

DVD Picture:
The video on the DTS®-ES Discrete 6.1 DVD is the same transfer with the exact same video compression stream (and therefore video data rate) as the previous DVD release. In other words, the video transfers on the two DVDs are literally identical. The anamorphically enhanced 2.32:1 DVD exhibits breathtaking shadow delineation and contrast. Colors are rich and fully saturated, with accurate fleshtones and deep, pure blacks. View the film in a completely darkened room to fully appreciate the dark, rich qualities of this DVD. Images are sharp and finely detailed, with exquisite background definition and superb resolution. There is no distracting pixelization for a DVD that looks so good, its scarier than the movie.

Soundtrack:
The previously reviewed Dolby® Digital version was sourced from a 16-bit matrix encoded Dolby Digital Surround EX™ 5.1 channel master, while the DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 is from a newly created discrete 6.1 channel master at 24-bit depth. This is not meant to be an apples to apples comparison of the two codecs involved, but instead an observation of the differences between two soundtracks available on two different DVDs. The Haunting, played back in DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 via the Denon AVR-5800, is an absolutely stunning experience that stands among the very best achievements in movie sound. The acoustic spaces of Hill House are created convincingly and effectively in three-dimensional space. Directional sound effects are aggressively placed at all three surround channel positions consistently, and imaging among those channels is outstanding. The discrete back surround channel is used to great effect, expanding the soundfield into a 360° holosonic assault. Phantom and sidewall imaging between all channels is extraordinary, placing sound effects far beyond the boundaries of the speaker positions. In all of the above respects, the DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 soundtrack, encoded at 754kilobits per second (kbps), improves upon the previous Dolby Digital Surround EX release, offering greater clarity, fidelity, inner detail and with overall resolution that is superior by a substantial margin. The discrete back surround channel is noticeably more prominent in the DTS-ES Discrete 6.1soundtrack, especially adding impact to the sound effects that are intended to be coming from directly behind the listener. The left and right surround channels image much wider as well, creating a surround sound experience that is much more expansive than the previous release and at the same time more spatially defined. Dynamics and transient impact are improved with the DTS-ES Discrete, increasing the “jump” factor of the soundtrack significantly. Chapter Eight “A Bedtime Story,” provides a terrific example of this as the crackle effect from the fireplace and the breaking piano wire are much more visceral and realistic on the DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 soundtrack. Jerry Goldsmith’s terrific music score is even more haunting as well, always maintaining the rich fidelity and soundstage width and depth of the score even when this incredibly dynamic soundtrack is full scale in all channels with sound effects and other soundtrack elements competing for bandwidth. While the ghost of Hugh Crane is not seen until the third act of The Haunting, his presence is heard and even felt throughout the film as a subterranean deep bass rumble that thrashes through the walls and all about Hill House. The DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 soundtrack imparts all of Hugh Crane’s fury, improving on the Dolby Digital release’s efforts with a bass presence that is consistently tighter. While the previous release was system threatening, the DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 soundtrack is house threatening, offering perhaps the deepest and tightest bass ever heard yet from a motion picture soundtrack.

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Collector Edition
Reference Quality
Superb Color Fidelity
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality
Superb Music Score Recording Quality
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality

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