Ghost Story

Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: November 25th, 2015.
Director: John Irvin
Cast: Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, John Houseman
Year: 1981
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The Movie:

John Irvin's feature film version of Peter Straub's novel Ghost Story, made for Universal Pictures in 1981, is an odd beast. It came out at a time when slasher films ruled the box office and while it didn't offer up the same kind of carnage as its competitors, it was still far more grisly than you'd expect a picture top billing the likes of Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, John Houseman, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to be.

The movie tells the story of a professor Don Wanderley (Craig Wasson) who returns to the small Vermont town that he grew up on when his brother passes away. Things are off kilter pretty much right from the start when he learns that his father, Edward Charles Wanderley (Fairbanks, who passed away before the movie even hit theaters), has been having horrible nightmares since Don's brother passed. That in and of itself isn't so strange, but the fact that Edward's old friends - Ricky Hawthorne (Astaire), John Jaffrey (Douglas) and Sears James (Houseman) - are also having similar dreams is certainly odd. These men are all well into their senior years and not particularly superstitious, at least not to start with, but once Edward himself passes away, the rest of the group do start to wonder amongst themselves if there's something more to all of this.

Don decides he's going to try and figure this out, though soon enough he starts experiencing nightmares himself. When he winds up connecting with a strange woman (Alice Krige) he begins to wonder just how all of them, and their shared experiences, are connected.

Shot with a surprisingly sparse style, the filmed version of Ghost Story gives us enough background information to get us off and running but it doesn't overdo it or slow things down with it. From there, the character development that happens in the present, and which in turn propels the plot of the film, happens quickly. For a film based on a lengthy, wordy novel the adaptation from Lawrence D. Cohen is surprisingly light on dialogue at times. But it works. It's enough and it doesn't distract from the performances, all of which are quite good.

Ghost Story is worth seeing simply for the pedigree of talent assembled in front of the camera alone. The film is well cast and choosing to use aging stars in the core roles rather than flavor of the month actors was definitely a wise one. It gives the film a sort of timeless quality and it helps solidify the picture's ties to a certain type of traditional ghost story, the kind that focus on the rich, the affluent, and the aged. Fred Astaire does excellent work here, he brings a nobility to the role that suits the story and the character with Douglas and Fairbanks every part his equal. Houseman doesn't leave quite the same impression but he too is fine while Craig Wasson, very much playing an average joe in this picture, also does solid work. He and Alice Krige, who is quite fetching in this picture, don't always have the type of chemistry that sets the screen on fire but they make a fine couple.

Having said that, the picture does slip up here and there. This is a film that might have worked better if it had left more to the imagination rather than relied on practical effects work. Most of the time Irvin is smart enough to take this approach, but not always. There are a few set pieces that feel out of place and contrast in somewhat jarring ways with the more subdued aspects of the main story. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is top notch and the score is quite good, however, and if this isn't a perfect film it's still very much an underappreciated horror picture for those who don't mind old fashioned storytelling tactics and a bit of a slow burn.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Ghost Story is presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.85.1 widescreen and it looks quite good here, particularly when compared to the previously released DVD versions. You will have no trouble seeing what's going on in the shadowy interiors and detail and texture are strong across the board. There's a bit of minor print damage in some spots but nothing too serious and for the most part the source used here is quite clean. Colors reproduced very nicely while black levels stay solid. Skin tones look lifelike and accurate and there are no obvious issues with compression artifacts, edge enhancement or noise reduction. Grain spikes a bit during some of the optical effects but that's par for the course for a movie of this age and shouldn't put off anyone familiar with the film. All in all, this is a pretty nice looking picture.

The English language DTS-HD 2.0 Mono Master Audio track is fine. The banjo-heavy score sounds pretty good while the dialogue stays clean, clear and easy to understand even if it is occasionally a little on the thin side. There are a few spots where you might notice a bit of hiss or crackle but odds are pretty good that if you're not specifically listening for them you probably won't notice them. This isn't a fancy mix by any stretch but it suits the movie just fine and it gets the job done without any issues. Optional English subtitles are provided.

Extras on the disc start off with an audio commentary by the film's director, John Irvin. This is a legitimately interesting talk as he covers the themes of the film in a fair bit of detail and offers his thoughts on the deeper meaning behind some of the story's intricacies. Of course he also talks about how he came to direct this picture in the first place, what he tried to bring to the project, the style he used and what it was like collaborating with the different cast and crew members involved in the production.

The disc also includes as few interesting interviews with author Peter Straub that runs just under forty minutes. Interestingly enough, he doesn't talk about his thoughts on the movie very much here (which is kind of telling) but he does read some passages from the book, talk about what inspired him to write the source material that was turned into the feature, and offer some thoughts and insight into his writing process. Actress Alice Krige is interviewed for twenty-nine minutes about her work on the film, what she brought to the part, her thoughts on the film itself and what it was like working with Irvin while screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen and Producer Burt Weissbourd spend a half an hour in front of the camera talking about the origins of the movie as well as their thoughts on how it turned out and Irvin's qualities as the man in charge of the shoot. We also get a twenty-nine minute long segment with matte photographer Bill Taylor who speaks at length about Albert Whitlock's matte paintings, how they were used in this feature, what makes them stand out and more. These are all well shot, quite interesting and a nice addition to the disc itself.

Outside of that we get a theatrical trailer, some TV and radio spots, a still gallery, menus and chapter selection.

The Final Word:

Ghost Story wasn't really such a huge hit when it came out, but it has aged quite well. It's a reasonably classy affair thanks to the performances of the seasoned cast members but it goes into some effectively dark and twisted territory. Shout! Factory have brought the film to Blu-ray in very fine form and with a surprising amount of in-depth extra features as well, making this one that fans of the film should be happy to upgrade on.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!