The Woman In Black

[neilzodiac]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum...

Huge fan of eerie ghost stories, and personally think THE WOMAN IN BLACK is one of the scariest and finest ever made, even if it strays from the book by Susan hill.



Huge fan of the BBC M.R. James adaptations also.



Any other fans ?



Neil

[smudge]

Definitely a fan, although I have not seen THE WOMAN IN BLACK since the original transmission.



Many years ago - when the not yet Mrs. Smudge and I were still 'courting' - we saw TWIB at the theatre, and I had the misfortune of sitting in an aisle seat, where the apparition sweeps past, and 'it' brushed against me...



Well it was (overall) a very spooky evening, culminating in us sitting in a deserted late night train on a quiet side platform, waiting to return to (almost)Mrs. Smudge's house some miles away in the wilds of Shropshire. Boy did we jump out of our skins when a sudden burst of heavy rain started bouncing off the roof and windows!



I think for every two steps forward at our destination, we were looking over our shoulders into the darkness on that night....







Smudge

[neilzodiac]

The theatrical version is astonishing considering there's only two people in it. I saw it in London, it remains one of the most chilling experiences ever, and I too was sitting on the aisle when the claoked figure drifted by.



I can't understand why the film isn't available. there were NTSC dvd's about, and I have the VHS but there's such a demand for the older, eerie ghost adaptations.

[batman]

The theatrical version is astonishing considering there's only two people in it. I saw it in London, it remains one of the most chilling experiences ever, and I too was sitting on the aisle when the claoked figure drifted by.



I can't understand why the film isn't available. there were NTSC dvd's about, and I have the VHS but there's such a demand for the older, eerie ghost adaptations.

I have read the book, seen the film and have watched the stage version (several times). All three are the among the scariest in their respectives mediums I can think of.



I can't think of any other story that has been so good in all it's incarnations.



Does anyone know if there is a radio version? That would be interesting.



DVRs often crop up on ebay.

[Steve Crook]

Does anyone know if there is a radio version? That would be interesting.

It was serialised on Radio 4 not too long ago. Although that didn't work as well as doing it as a single play because they couldn't maintain the suspense



Steve

[batman]

It was serialised on Radio 4 not too long ago. Although that didn't work as well as doing it as a single play because they couldn't maintain the suspense



Steve

Thanks Steve. The story does rely on the building and maintaining of suspense, to have that broken up would certainly reduce the 'scary' factor.

[Redstar]

I agree absolutely it is one of the eeriest and scariest tv movies I have ever watched.

I cant think of anything made for tv that is comparable apart from the Christmas ghost stories of the seventies, but even those never made me jumps so much as the Woman in Black.

[Azanti]

Agreed, love both the Film and the play which I have seen 3 times.



And there are three people in it, not two.



Don't forget the woman in black.

[neilzodiac]

Yes, but the 'woman in black' is not actually mentioned in the prgramme of the London showing!! It gives it a great mystifying edge...



I recall the WOMAN IN BLACK on the radio recently, there's not enough ghostly stuff on the radio.



THE WOMAN IN BLACK remains the most terrifying experience for so many people, the tension throughout but more so the fact that the actress who plays the woman is truly terrifying and the bed scene is hideous.



I love the old t.v. stuff, Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You...was similarly eerie. It's a shame that H.P. Lovecraft's tales haven't been so mesmerisingly recreated, most of the films have been poor.

[magicdog]

I'm also a big fan of the ghostly/mystical tales - Woman in Black really is excellent, like others I saw it at the London theatre too, only I had the misfortune to be sat on an almost vertical slope of seats so vertigo made it even chillier...



The M R James adaptations are eerie in a similar way to Woman in Black - they're so sparse, with lots of silence that really builds the foreboding. Of the ones recently shown on BBC4 I thought the Ash Tree was quite a good one and more bizarre than some of the others.



Another similar story which I think is brilliant is Robin Redbreast, a Play for Today from the 70s by John Bowen, with Anna Cropper. A woman goes to live in an isolated cottage and gets unwittingly involved in a pagan festival - it's almost Blair Witch (to quote something out of time synch!) in the way the bare trees and wintry sunlight are used.

[southwold55]

I agree this is one of the scariest films ever and it is all done without the need for blood and gore just with suggestion most of the time .I am lucky enough to have this film on DVD so I can scare myself silly whenever i want

[Azanti]

Erm, well she is in the theatre programme that I have..

[Sleepin_Dragon]

Hi Neil, it's one of my favourite films, even though I only recently acquired it, I too love eerie ghost stories, there are some fantastic ones out there, recently I became a fan of the M R James Ghost story for Christmas, really good as well, Casting the Runes another great short drama I found. Totally new to this site as well, so a little lost./

[Windthrop]

I saw the original production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre back in the 80s and was spellbound by it. I also loved the TV version as well which Nigel Kneale adapted.

[Wee Sonny MacGregor]

I've seen this twice at the Fortune Theatre and have got the ITV version. It works so well in each medium and is definitely in the fine old tradition of the M R James ghost stories. Eerie and memorable.

[jaycad]

has anyone been to see the m.r.james stories performed by the nunkie theatre company? if so,are they worth watching?

[quippy]

I just got the DVD of this much lauded ghost story. Haven't watched it yet though. My mate and I have a regular film night on a Tuesday, and I can't wait to see it.



If you've seen it, I just wondered how you'd rate it and will I sleep peacefully afterwards? Don't give away too much of the plot though, eh!

[Windthrop]

Saw it nearly 20 yrs ago and found it quite spooky

[faginsgirl]

Its a good old fashioned ghost story, interestiing storyline and yes, pretty creepy. I enjoyed it



xx

[mrs_emma_peel]

The Woman in Black is one of the very best, most genuinely frightening ghost stories I’ve ever seen … and arguably the best ghost story ever shown on television.

One scene in particular is as terrifyingly powerful as anything I’ve ever seen on television or film.

Watch it late at night … with the lights down low … and it should scare the living daylights out of you!



The Woman in Black (first shown on ITV Christmas Eve 1989) is brilliantly adapted from Susan Hill’s novel by Nigel Kneale (Quatermass and the Pit and The Abominable Snowman), superbly directed by Herbert Wise and splendidly performed by an outstanding cast headed by Bernard Hepton as Sam Toovy, Adrian Rawlings as Arthur Kidd and Pauline Moran as the Woman in Black.

Spine chilling television at its very best