Product Details

• Actors: Elizabeth Ashley, Ben Gazzara, Gerald McRaney, Karen Pearson, Larry Reynolds
• Directors: Philip Leacock
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Legacy Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: March 1, 2005
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001YSM0A
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,645 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Discover an old creeper., July 23, 2005

By	ajsteele - See all my reviews

"Auntie my Helen". Do you remember that phrase? If you dont then you didn't see this movie. The ABC Movie Of The Week title for this movie was "When Michael Calls". It's the story of a woman whos beseiged with phone calls from her long dead nephew. The boys voice on the phone is very eerie. It takes place in a seemingly small town where people start dieing mysteriously. Elizabeth Ashley plays the woman terrorized by the calls. "Auntie my Helen" is what the dead boy called his aunt when he was alive, which adds a weirdness to it all. Michael Douglas in his first movie roll acts surprisingly well(way better than some current stuff). His part has to be seen. Ben Gazzara is the loving Daddy and suspicious, pseudo-detective ex-husband to Ashley. A better than average TV movie of the early seventies in the tradition of the old 'who done it' mystery movies. As to the dvd quality: STINKS!. The picture and sound are awful. This is often the unexplainable case of old movies just being thrown onto a disc. I've seen this many times and I'm disgusted with it. It appears the movie is burned from an old tape onto the disc. WHY? The purpose of dvd is supposed to be superior picture and sound. The movie is not enhanced in any way and its a shame. A company called Legacy disgracefully put this out with no regard for old goodies. Start writting to these companies who are just slapping the movies name on a box to make a buck. The movie is never broadcast on TV, and even if it was, the poor picture and audio traits would remain. So, we're stuck with a quality film that has decended into the depths of dvd no where land. The picture appears slightly better on a LCD monitor played on a computer. Dont miss it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A delightful old chestnut, October 3, 2005

By	Jerry Fisher (Sioux Falls, SD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Oh sure, I was only a year old when this movie came out on ABC but it has periodically been re-aired on A&E every once in a blue moon. It was then that I watched it.

This is one of those wonderful ghost story movies that some of us were lucky enough to grow up with as children--short on the gore but long on the suspense and a decently developed storyline.

Originally, this movie was aired under the title "When Michael Calls" but inexplicably it has since been reissued on VHS and DVD under the title "Shattered Silence."

The only real issue I have with this DVD reissue is the poor transfer. The colors are badly washed out and faded, there is a bit of a synchronization problem with the audio/video in a few spots and the movie in general shows its age. But, with such a low price, it is hard to quibble over the quality control.

I think this would be an excellent candidate for a remake, much as "The Fog" recently has.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful TV-Movie-of-the-Week, October 26, 2006

By	Sing Brotha Sing (California) - See all my reviews

One of the better suspense television films that ABC produced back in the early '70s, "When Michael Calls" tells the story of a young boy named Michael who, after thought of being lost in a snowstorm some 10 years ago, makes pleading, almost spooky phone calls to his divorced Aunt Helen (played by Elizabeth Ashley). Michael Douglas plays her brother, a counselor at the local boys' home. Could this all be one big joke? Or has Michael returned for revenge? Spooky little chiller that has gained plenty of airplay on cable channels in the past 3 decades. Check it out.