Cheap Nightcomers (Video) (Michael Winner) Price

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Customer Reviews of Nightcomers

underrated mood piece
this is a quiet film amongst the very loud films of marlon brando and deserves to be seen more.
this prequal to turn of the screw is subtle, grotesque, blatant, and disturbing.
the odd color of the film and the slow pacing at first seems to be distracting but the longer one is with it the more you grasp the mileau.
and brandos acting is in line with film in its paradoxical nature of being both savage and introverted, unsettling, haunting and almost emapthetic.
not the greatest film of his career but certainly worth investigating more than once

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What Atmosphere?
This prequel to "Turn of the Screw" (or "The Innocents"--its best film incarnation) fails on just about every level. Visually, it is completely lacking in atmosphere, for starters. Far from evoking an eerily gothic atmosphere, it looks almost like "Little House on the Prarie", only instead of Michael Landon, we have fat Marlon Brando sloshing around trying to look mischevious and playful. He looks like he'd rather be on Archie Bunker's couch watching the game with Meathead. Secondly, the screenplay is weaker then weak--the writer (and consequently the director and cast) fails to weave the requisite spell, and instead of Bly House having a charmed, dreamlike environment, it comes off boring and banal. Why on earth would the children care what Quint is up to when he's totally without charm, intensity or sex appeal? Which is another thing this movies lacks--erotic tension. It has sex scenes, but I can't think of anybody who's going to care much. They're unsexy as hell, failing entirely to justify Miss Jessel's obsession as well as the children's. The sense we're left with is pretty much that life is so boring at Bly House that everyone's obsessed with Quint just for something to do! It's a vulgar little film to be sure (do we really need to see Quint stuffing cigars into frog's mouth and watching them explode?) with finally nothing to qualify or recomend it. A total yawn. It was all I could do not to fast forward through the entire thing!

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'MINUETS IN THE MANSION'
Or, "Minute Man?"

This is director Michael Winner's spin on Henry James "Turn of the Screw" - the early years! Filmed originally as "The Innocents" [unsurpassed original] this is the so-called prequel, famous for starring Brando as the depraved Quint and Stephanie Beacham as the somewhat ..deviant Governess [but old Quint does teach her a thing or two].

AND it does go on and on and on - especially the "bedroom" scenes!

Not really memorable, it was, I believe, made after the far superior "Last Tango in Paris" - and Mr. Brando, with all respect, still has a waist-line in this one! [Just kidding, we adore him in all guises!]

It's supposed to be a movie/script about the [downfall] of innocence - in this case the two minors [the children]. AND it does somewhat solve the mystery surrounding the strange death of Quint and the Governess......

Of interest? The Operatic version - Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw" - quite adult, an excellent version available on video.