They had a son together, but he passed away at a young age, leaving a hole in their lives. You might have a buggy browser extension installed. Movies. Of course there is only one question that matters: Is “Séance on a Wet Afternoon” good. Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a slow, moody and startlingly dark 60’s horror film that takes a simple premise and offers up a surprisingly compelling viewing experience. Her performance is matched by Richard Attenborough as her nervous nelly of a husband. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. “Séance on a Wet Afternoon,” the first opera by Stephen Schwartz and based on the 1964 film of the same title, arrived at the New York City Opera on Tuesday. I heard that originally, Forbes and producer Richard Attenborough, had toyed with the idea of making the couple a "queer" one. John Barry's score is also excellent; especially the use of violins in the scene in the Rolls Royce. As fun as the idea may sound I'm glad they didn't go ahead with that. Made by fans in Auckland, New Zealand. Although she's an awful person, Stanley makes Myra pathetically sympathetic. Watch this favorite actor of Samuel Beckett, the originally intended performer of Krapp's Last Tape, in a performance of trenchant subtlety, enforcing Law through measured duplicity and chilling subterfuge. Fortunately, the Academy has shown some maturity in recent years, and films such as this are more often recognized, which raises their profiles and brings them to the attention of viewers who might otherwise miss them. Myra is trying to explain to Billy why they must carry out this plan and turns off the music playing to make herself heard. Et puis il y a celle qui mène à cette finale, qui m'a quand même déroutée, ne serait-ce que [MINI-SPOILERS] parce que je ne m'attendais pas à ce que le médiumnisme de Myra soit ramené et rabattu aussi explicitement sur sa folie (ce qui n'était pas un twist narratif que j'ai beaucoup aimé, comme vous pouvez vous en douter). Directed by Bryan Forbes. Creepy in the extreme, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON is a real spine-tingler. What's so great, you ask? Fark. FAQ It still had the same impact watching the movie as I was young child. His subtle underplaying as the passive husband is in perfect sync to Stanley's showy turn as the medium and deserved Academy recognition as much as and perhaps more than his direction of "Gandhi." Copyright © Fandango. The suspense involves psychological emotions that cut to the bone and brings a compellingly British flavor to the concluding scenes. I Think. The piece arrived at the New York City Opera on Tuesday night in the Santa Barbara production, directed by Scott Schwartz (the composer’s son) and conducted by George Manahan. If you don't think that you've So this sweet, soft aria undermines the dramatic tension. I remember seeing Seance on a Wet Afternoon, before I was teenager. If they had, how did Richard Attenborough's performance get overlooked? Like opera composers before him Mr. Schwartz has the right to adapt any source to his own ends. This is forbidden by our terms of service. If you are using a VPN, and other users of the same VPN are abusing the service, then you'll be automatically banned as well. All rights reserved. It's as impressive now as it was when I first saw it. | The harmonic language is like a gloss on Bernstein, or tepid Copland (in his “Tender Land” mode). my mother happened to flick over from the sports on one channel to uncover an absolute gem of BRITISH Cinema from the 1960's. Then, something happens on the second half, it feels rushed, at least, that's what it felt to me. As he states there is not a cardboard film set in sight; it is all on location. Kim Stanley received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for playing a disturbed medium who conspires a kidnap in Bryan Forbes' erie and suspensuful tale. So “Séance on a Wet Afternoon,” his first work in the genre, which had its premiere in 2009 at Opera Santa Barbara, was a labor of love. StumbleUpon. Your email address will not be published. Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a slow, moody and startlingly dark 60’s horror film that takes a simple premise and offers up a surprisingly compelling viewing experience. done anything to warrant a ban, this is most likely the case. As a study in suspense, this film must surely be a kind of classic. Thought provoking. Richard Attenborough played her husband, Bill Foster, as an asthmatic, broken man caught in a pathetic yet dangerous co-dependency with his willful wife. The movie makes that work, even if it results in a somewhat monotonous tone. The creepy Victorian house adds atmosphere but it is the location shots that are excellent. For those of us who love great acting - This is unmissable. Séance on a Wet Afternoon is a moody, solemn film. What makes this film work are the details. Mobile site. Reddit. © 2020 GoFatherhood® – by Dave Taylor. Release Calendar DVD & Blu-ray Releases Top ... Just to tell a small bit of the story, it's about a woman and her husband who earn some money giving séances for people. You might be using a VPN. First, as a side note, having viewed this film as a child, I can attest to how uncomfortable it was to see a child kidnapped, so not real good for little ones. As a child of the 60's, living in the grey north of england were every thing was worn at the edges or out of it's heyday, this film encapsulated the hold on to at any cost, claustrophobic era and exposed the tensions between the two class backgrounds of the two main protagonists. Séance on a Wet Afternoon is a film directed by Bryan Forbes with Richard Attenborough, Kim Stanley, Judith Donner, Mark Eden, .... Year: 1964. Read my latest missive in your mailbox, it's what all the cool kids are doing! While I think Leonard Maltin was a little generous in giving this movie 4 stars (his highest rating), it was a very good and difficult to predict movie about two amateur kidnappers. The taut screenplay and direction by Bryan Forbes, the fine black and white cinematography by Gerry Turpin, and John Barry's music also deserved recognition. (Ironically, Page turned down this role!). Required fields are marked *, I have read and accepted the Privacy Policy *. It's a claustrophobic experience and an interesting study of grief-induced insanity, but the pacing is the obvious reason why you've never heard of this film before. Je ne sais honnêtement pas quoi penser de ce film depuis que je l'ai vu samedi. It must have been me." In a rare film appearance, Kim Stanley is brilliant as Myra Savage, a self proclaimed medium who, along with her milquetoast husband, kidnaps a child and then comes forward to prove she has the power to find her. While "Lady" clunks along today as a leaden stage-bound adaptation and "Poppins" does not seem quite as charming as it did, "Seance on a Wet Afternoon" and the two brilliant performances at its center remain as riveting as they were 40 years ago. Directed by: Bryan Forbes. His credits include “Godspell,” “Pippin” and the long-running “Wicked,” which has been playing on Broadway since 2003. The second half steadily accelerates, building up tension between the kidnappers and between them and the police, with some absolutely riveting pieces of suspense such as the cat and mouse game in the subway or the mother of the kidnapped girl making a sudden appearance at the house her daughter is being held to participate in a seance where the medium foreshadows her daughter's fate while she remains unaware, right down to the brilliant conclusion around a seance table where stage actor Patrick Magee has a cameo (Mr. Alexander from a CLOCKWORK ORANGE), Seance is a terrific piece of film-making that will particularly appeal to horror fans. Kim Stanley plays the strong controlling wife who does the seances and Richard Attenborough as her weak husband. It's hard to find any fault with this movie. The plot about a psychic seeking recognition by involving her husband in a kidnapping plot might seem trivial, but there was nothing trivial about the great acting by Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough. It is an excellent study of characters in story.