Product Details

• Actors: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Alakina Mann, James Bentley
• Directors: Alejandro Amenábar
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Buena Vista Home Ent
• VHS Release Date: August 13, 2002
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (768 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006410O
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,571 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

A welcome throwback to the spooky traditions of Jack Clayton's The Innocents and Robert Wise's The Haunting, Alejandro Amenábar's The Others favors atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over flashy special effects. Set in 1945 on a fog-enshrouded island off the British coast, the film begins with a scream as Grace (Nicole Kidman) awakens from some unspoken horror, perhaps arising from her religiously overprotective concern for her young children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley). The children are hypersensitive to light and have lived in a musty manor with curtains and shutters perpetually drawn. With Grace's husband presumably lost at war, this ominous setting perfectly accommodates a sense of dreaded expectation, escalating when three strangers arrive in response to Grace's yet-unposted request for domestic help. Led by housekeeper Mrs. Mills (Fionnula Flanagan), this mysterious trio is as closely tied to the house's history as Grace's family is--as are the past occupants seen posthumously posed in a long-forgotten photo album.

With her justly acclaimed performance, Kidman maintains an emotional intensity that fuels the film's supernatural underpinnings. And while Amenábar's pacing is deliberately slow, it befits the tone of penetrating anxiety, leading to a twist that extends the story's reach from beyond the grave. Amenábar unveiled a similarly effective twist in his Spanish thriller Open Your Eyes (remade by Cameron Crowe as Vanilla Sky), but where that film drew debate, The Others is finely crafted to provoke well-earned goose bumps and chills down the spine. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Nicole Kidman, with a hairdo that makes her look like a red-headed Grace Kelly, plays an upper-class Englishwoman living in a big house on Jersey at the end of the Second World War. Her husband is off fighting, and her two small children are so sensitive to light that the curtains must always be drawn and anyone passing from room to room must shut one door before opening the next. The electricity is out, and the house is covered in fog. One rather misses a beast howling on the moors or a madwoman in the attic, but there are voices, many voices, and the servants make creepy remarks. The Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar works by suggestion much of the time: he favors ambiguity rather than outright horrors, and the sepulchral gray light of the house and grounds can be elegant. But the movie becomes monotonous; it's like a sluggish computer game in which movement is limited to one room at a time. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Ghost Story Ever Made, July 12, 2001

By A Customer

I don't want to write too much because I don't want to spoil the surprises for the spectators, but I highly recommend this movie if you like an atmospheric, spooky, intelligent, highly suspenseful, involving, beautifully crafted, acted movie with a story that will leave you quite amazed, satisfied, and wanting to see it again. Trust me, this is not your typical ghost story. Spanish director Amenabar should get the Oscar for this thrilling thriller. It's beautiful and even moving. I was not expecting to see a film in the same vein as The Sixth Sense that's better than The Sixth Sense. To use a Hollywood equation it's The Sixth Sense meets Turn of the Screw. Nicole Kidman is awesome. The rest of the cast is superb. The fog-drenched cinematography adds the right touch of mystery and horror. And get ready for one of the scariest quick-cuts in movie history when you least expect it! Have fun!

89 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art, entertainment and many subtle layers and messages, May 31, 2002

By 

"kate_hartshorn" (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Others (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD)

This movie has a number of levels, many of which are not immediately apparent because of the excellent acting, near perfect casting and exquisite cinematography. On the artistic level the movie will appeal more to artists and writers, and to those who enjoy a well crafted plot and a surprise ending.

On another level, though, this movie will inspire a self examination of how one perceives realities. It does this by exposing the filters and assumptions that we all use when observing and mentally correlating those observations with our knowledge of fact into our realities. It also has an obvious message about coexistence and acceptance.

Regardless of whether or not one believes in the supernatural, the story and the ending will be completely unexpected for most who watch this movie. The many clues wrapped in foreshadowing and other plot devices will not make sense until the end, but if you carefully examine them a day or so after watching this movie you'll have some keen insights into your own unique set of filters and assumptions that you use daily.

There are other levels and messages within this movie that will surface days or weeks after watching it, such as the way the female characters are portrayed as more proactive, central figures than the male characters. The movie also challenges religious beliefs in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I am not sure if this is yet another subtle layer of the plot or if it reflects the views and biases of the writers and director - but these elements are there.
If you enjoy great dialog and a masterful story with an interesting plot that is presented with beautiful visuals then you'll love this movie on an artistic level. If you enjoy mental challenges and subtlety that is presented with social and cogitative challenges you'll love this movie on a deeper level.

88 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Unique Ghost Story, July 26, 2001

By 

Geoffrey Kleinman (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

The Others isn't your typical ghost story; there isn't the quantity of jump-out-of-your-seat thrills you'd expect to find in a film like this. In fact, The Others is virtually chill-free for the first hour. But what The Others lacks in quantity, it makes up in quality. Instead of a roller coaster of cheap chills and thrills, The Others takes a much denser and darker approach to the ghost story.

The Others takes a considerable amount of time to set everything up - almost too much. Halfway through the movie I wondered if there was going to be a pay off. Ultimately there is quite a pay off, but it takes so long to get there you might not feel it's 'worth it'. Despite the fact that I found The Others to be quite slow, I did enjoy it. Nicole Kidman does a great job as the neurotic and tortured lead, and she's backed up by a strong supporting cast. Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar lights almost the entire movie by candle light, something I haven't seen since Barry Lyndon. This gives The Others a soft and warm look that is uncommon to the genre. Amenabar also makes light a character in the film, where daylight becomes much scarier than the warmth and comfort of the dark. If you're planning on seeing The Others, I'd advise you to avoid reading any reviews which talk about the plot. The film takes a number of twists and turns which can easily be spoiled. This might be a good film to wait for DVD, except for the risk of the plot getting spoiled before you get a chance to see it. [Geoffrey Kleinman ...