Others, The - Collector's Edition

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Fiona Flanagan, et al.
Director: Alejandro Amenabar

Rating: PG-13

Review Posted: 5.20.02

By John Teves

A young woman waits for her beloved husband to return from the war. Grace (Nicole Kidman) has been raising her two young children (Alakina Mann & James Betely) alone in a beautiful Victorian mansion. Three mysterious servants arrive (Fiona Flanagan, Eric Sykes, and Elaine Cassidy) and it becomes chillingly clear that there is far more to this house than can be seen. Grace finds herself in a terrifying fight to save her children and keep her sanity in her Victorian mansion, the one place she believes them to be safe. But they are not safe. Not anymore. The Others is a chilling tale of psychological terror that begs the question of who to trust, what to fear and what to believe.

Hot and scared at the same time. Only a Kidman can perform such a feat.

This ghost story, written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar, has a surprise ending that's not as easy to guess.  Quite simply, The Others is an absolute masterpiece of film work. Alejandro Amenabar places the action around wonderfully spooky atmosphere and characters, and builds tension with a quiet and slow moving tempo that leaves you sensitive to the slew of unexpected shocks, while keeping you on the edge of your seat the rest of the time. Not only is The Others terrifying, but it also brings up fascinating questions about life and death, heaven and hell. It doesn't give the best answer, but the film makes you think as it goes along. This film had the old fashion feel to it, back to a time when scary movies made you shiver without the need for monsters coming out of the dark. It takes itself seriously, and works hard at building suspense, dropping clues and then ropes you in locking you in the house with the characters.

The Others is presented in anamorphic widescreen using a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This is a two-disk set with disk one containing the movie and disk two reserved for supplemental materials. The print itself is close to being flawless. This is a dark, moody film with a lot of dark scenes. Black level is the key component for enjoying this film and Miramax has done an outstanding job on that front allowing us to see all sorts of shadow detail and never struggling to make out objects in the background.

This is what would happen if Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman would be de-aged 30 years. The result is immensely scary!

The color palette is bland, but that is because this film takes place during the 1940’s and it fits well with this texture. There is a modest amount of visible grain revealed, but that’s to be expected with a film as dark as this one. The image remained distinct and accurate. Overall, Miramax provides a top-notch presentation for this DVD.

Most disappointing is the fact that Miramax did not include the DTS version of this film. The Others is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix, and a great mix at that. The DD 5.1 is appropriately mixed at all levels, truly showing off the score. The score was heavy and it built tension like crazy in certain scenes. I can't say this film offers exceptional directional effects, but we do get a decent sound mix that places us directly in the realm of this “ghostly” atmosphere.

Realizes the horrific and painful consequences of Birthday Girl.

Ambient effects and channel effects move around the room well. The front channels dominated the affair. A few loud jolts popped up during the movie, it seemed that the surrounds mainly tended to bolster with the music though. Effects did crop up from the rears, but the surrounds didn't play a very significant role in the soundtrack the way I expected it to. Dialogue appeared clear and natural for the most part, with no problems related to edginess. Effects were clean and realistic. A DTS version of this film would have made more sense, but the never the less, DD 5.1 worked well for the material.

A Look Inside: The Others Featurette: The highlights of this documentary uses the behind-the-scene clips and it covers the making of the film.

"Xeroderma Pigmentosum" Featurette: This is about the rare disease the two children are diagnosed with in the film. The Mahar family is the focus of this piece and in particular their daughter Katie, one of the only 1,000 known cases of this rare disease in the world today. Dr. James Cleaver explains the disease.

An Intimate Look at Director Alejandro Amenabar Featurette: a brief behind-the-scenes documentary of Alejandro Amenabar.

Visual Effects Piece Featurette: a comparison of screen setups before and after the effects were used.

Still Gallery: 40 production and publicity photos.

Sneak Peeks: The Others soundtrack, Kate & Leopold, Zu Warriors, Serendipity, Texas Rangers, and Dimension Films featurette.

"I'm your mother."

The Others is a great scary movie that doesn’t come around often, this film keeps us glued to the set every step of the way. Should you rent it or buy it? This is definitely worth a place in your library. It’s one of the creepiest movies I’ve seen to date, and that’s because it doesn’t force itself upon you. The film builds quietly and soon you will have an unexpected chill. This DVD is highly recommended.