Customer Reviews

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Stunning film of the staged kidnapping of a child by a demented medium and her cuckolded, guilt-ridden husband. Beautifully photographed in b&W, the film has a grey, somber feel to it that illustrates the emptiness of the childless couple's lives. The plan is to kidnap the child then stage a seance to help "find" the child to further enhance the medium's reputation and career. The husband trembles with fright and guilt while the medium is convinced that this is the "answer". She is "guided" by Arthur---her "spirit" guide---that is actually the child they lost at birth as stillborn. ASTOUNDING performances by stage actress Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough as the couple carry this film brilliantly to it's gripping conclusion. The subject matter is sensitive (especially today) but the film is a powerful masterwork of mood and psychological character study. I strongly recommend this for true cinema explorers. The DVD transfer is nice and crisp and the sound is clear. It's not for everyone---especially sensitive types---but it's still a must see for those who like engrossing and fascinating films that just don't come along that often. Filmed in 1964, it's as fresh and riveting now as it MUST have been back then. A true classic.

This is a 5 star film across the board: terse screenplay, stunning performances, haunting John Barry score, wonderfully understated cinematography, but the transfer was terrible. The audio transfer is the worst. The television had to be turned way up and, as the other reviewer said, then certain parts would be very shrill and make the set vibrate. The little hairs and other things that appear when transferring old film negatives don't bother me as much as poor audio. I really wanted to hear commentary from anyone on this disc, I am also a big fan of subtitles (I don't know why). All that being said, I still have to give it 4 stars. This movie is just that good. I found myself literally on the edge of my seat at times, that's a very rare and wonderful thing.

M

I coincidentally watched this along with the excellent "Repulsion". These two films go together very well. They were both filmed in beautiful black-and-white, showing the incredible power and atmosphere that color film cannot capture. I suggest getting these two films together. If you enjoy one, you'll probably enjoy the other.

This film features one of the most stunning pieces of acting I have ever seen. Kim Stanley is extraordinary, walking a tightrope throughout the whole film. She is truly breathtaking. You can watch her facial expressions and mannerisms shift within a single sentence, as her character veers from lucidity to absurdity in one breath. Richard Attenborough is brilliant, too, as her weak and spiritually deadened husband.

The atmosphere in this film is so striking. It's a combination of the black-and-white photography, John Barry's eerie score, and, of course, the acting and direction. I don't want to say much about the plot, but it's basically about an unbalanced woman that has an absurd means to her desired end of a lifetime of shattered dreams. The house is filled with her ghosts, and she is hopelessly caught up in her past. And her spineless husband gets dragged down right with her. It's always interesting to see films where a male is subservient to his woman!

The climactic seance scene is fantastic, solidly convincing me that Kim Stanley gave one of the greatest film performances I have ever seen. This is especially an amazing feat considering Kim Stanley is a revered stage actress that has been in very few films. She has said that working in film is too awkward a medium, that she didn't like its starts and stops. But her painstaking attention to detail is evident throughout this film, and she easily worked around whatever she felt her limitations might be in filmmaking.

This film is a must-see. It makes for good suspense as it does for good drama. The whole experience of watching this film will not be soon forgotten.

An unsuccessful psychic and spiritualist has grown frustrated with her lack of celebrity--and so devises a plan to bring herself the fame she craves. She and her husband will kidnap a child. When the police are baffled and press coverage has reached a fevered pitch, she will have a "vision" that will lead to the child's recovery and the reap the rewards of publicity. But no sooner is the plan underway than there are complications--and in this instance the complications are the characters themselves.

Everything about Brian Forbes' SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON is understated yet oddly moody. The story, although unusual, is told in a direct sort of way; although it offers an occasional twist, the plot avoids tricky devices. The script is very natural sounding, the black and white cinematography avoids undue cleverness, and the background music is discreet. This throws all attention on the characters--and Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough offer amazing performances, with Stanley the very personification of rising madness and Attenborough painfully accurate as her emotionally dependent husband.

The interplay between Stanley and Attenborough is justly famous, and the two stars are well supported, most particularly by Judith Donner as the kidnapped child and Nanette Newman as her distracted mother. The film has a dreamy, claustrophobic quality that many will find fascinating; some, however, may consider it a bit talky and its conclusion an anticlimax. But if you are in the mood for a psychological thriller that really is psychological, you couldn't pick a better choice for rainy day viewing. Recommended.

"Seance on a Wet Afternoon" is one of the great examinations of madness ever transferred to film. Director-writer Bryan Forbes masterfully blends all the elements, including gorgeous black-and-white photography, an eerie John Barry score, and evocative art direction that add up to an eerie viewing experience. Kim Stanley's performance as Myra Savage is downright masterful. Her characterization of a mentally disturbed medium demonstrates the fine line between evil and outright madness and she does it with great subtlety and few histrionics. Richard Attenborough is her equal as her weak-willed husband, Billy, who indulges her every twisted whim despite knowing better. Forbes' film has you in it's grip from beginning to end. This is definitely one of the better British films to come out of that country's golden period in the 1960's.

This movie is an excellent British 60s crime drama about a troubled couple, but the film is almost beside the point, I watch this one for Kim Stanley's stunning performance. It has to be one of the best I've ever seen in a modern film. The supporting cast is also excellent. The DVD presentation is fine, ignore the other reviews (they seem to believe that unless a DVD is padded out with lame extras, the disc is worthless).

I have seen well over a thousand films--including all the most critically acclaimed--but I have yet to see a film performance equalling Kim Stanley's in Seance on a Wet Afternoon. It is truly compelling and to highlight all the other many attributes of the film would detract from what is Stanley's astounding achievement. And just to think that Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins won the Academy Award over Stanley should give everyone pause to assess the real meaning of "Oscar". What more can be said?

I came across with this movie all by chance and it certainly became one of my all-time favorites. Beyond everything else this movie is SOOOO well-done. It truly satisfies in every aspect. The economy that the director used in telling this story i think is just perfect.

It's sad, it's haunting, it's gripping, thick with magnificent ambient dread and it features 2 mind-blowing performances by the leads. It's really hard to decide which actor is better but i'd say you HAVE TO SEE Kim Stanley's superb work to believe it! I was blown away!

If you like off-beat, eerie movies with solid stories and tour de force acting you surely will love this one! Do not hesitate to rent it!

Séance on a Wet Afternoon (Bryan Forbes, 1964)

Bryan Forbes' name may be on the marquee, but in retrospect, it is the style of producer and star Richard Attenborough that is writ large over this film. Presaging Attenborough's magnum opus, Magic, Séance on a Wet Afternoon travels down a lot of the same roads-- perhaps with not as much satisfaction, but as effectively in places.

Attenborough plays Philip Savage, the henpecked but well-meaning husband of Myra (Kim Stanley), who desperately wants to believe she's a medium. She is having difficulty overcoming the death of their son Arthur, whom Myra is convinced is speaking to her from beyond the grave. In order to prove herself-- make a name for herself, as it were, in the world of the mundane-- Myra hatches a nefarious plot into which she draws her husband-- kidnapping a child, then approaching the family as someone with helpful information about their missing daughter.

Watching this film over forty years after its initial release, it's easy to see how much influence it's had over the years; its particular plot twists have found their way into films ranging from Attenborough's own later works to wonderful (and, I'm sure, not-so-wonderful) films from around the world. (Certain scenes should especially put you in mind of Hideo Nakata's finest film, Chaos, for example.) While Séance on a Wet Afternoon never reaches the cinematic heights to be found when Attenborough got behind the camera himself-- the film even devolves to melodrama now and then-- it's still quite a satisfying little journey into the world of psychological suspense. The DVD suffers from a relatively nasty version of the same sound-mastering problem that plagues most DVDs (the soundtrack is mixed much louder than the dialogue track), but that shouldn't stop you from giving it a spin; you'll just find yourself using your remote's volume control a good deal more than usual. *** ½

To begin with, I agree completely with the previous review by David Baldwin. Released theatrically in 1964, "Seance on a Wet Afternoon", wonderfully directed by Bryan Forbes, remains one of the high watermarks of 60s cinema, with two of the best lead performances you are ever likely to see.

Filmed in stark black and white, "Seance" is set in a rather drab area of London. Myra (Kim Stanley) is a professional medium who holds seances in her home once a week for a small, sad, gullible group of people. Clearly she is not very successful or well-known, a situation she wants to change desperately. With the help of her weak, malleable husband, Billy (Richard Attenborough), she plots to kidnap the young daughter of an affluent couple, hold her for ransom, and not only collect the money but "astonish" the police and the public with her "psychic" powers in "finding" the young girl. As this sordid plan develops, Myra's already-delicate mental state deteriorates even further, complicated by memories of her own deceased child and her "conversations" with this lost son. As for Billy, considering his total lack of self-confidence, it's a miracle that he is able to pull off the kidnapping at all. I will not reveal more of the plot, or the memorable outcome, for first-time viewers, but the rising suspense continues to keep your eyes transfixed to the screen.

As Myra, Kim Stanley is a revelation--what a superb actress she was ! Unfortunately for film buffs, Ms. Stanley made very few films, preferring the theatre. Her performance in "Seance" is matched by Richard Attenborough as the weak, ineffectual Billy, whose main purpose in life is to please his patronizing, self-absorbed wife. The rest of the cast is solid, with Nanette Newman (Mrs. Bryan Forbes) particularly effective as the kidnapped girl's distraught mother.

The DVD exhibits a clear, wide, black and white image, with some occasional lines. Unfortunately, for such a prestigious film, there are no extras. Sadly, Ms. Stanley has passed on, but some comments from Lord Attenborough (who also produced the film) would have been fascinating, I'm sure.

The premise of this film will still strike a chord for many of us. Children are still being kidnapped by disturbed people--we see stories on the news far too often. In this way, "Seance on a Wet Afternoon" remains chilling and relevant--when you add some of the finest acting in cinema history, you have a truly memorable disc to add to your collection. Highly recommended.