Characteristically, when you return to a film some years after watching it, you always feel as sense of hope. Did you blindly judge it with a lack of respect or rationale? How much has it changed as it and you have aged? Could it be a film that you fall in love with after hating it originally? I had judged THE OTHERS harshly on first watch. Seeing it in the cinema a few weeks after release, my bum was numbed by it. It was baggy, really over written, ludicrous in places and style over substance. Some considered it the death nail for the twist film (me actually), a genre all of its own in the 90s and early 00s.

Nicole Kidman was a few months away from claiming that coveted Oscar (well, two years for the The Hours, 2003) and so to bump up her credibility, she stars in this gothic supernatural thriller. 1945, Jersey. An island that was once a German occupied land and now a home to Grace (Kidman) and her two children. They wait for her husband to return from the war, in a secluded mansion. They cant leave because the children have a rare light photo sensitivity, which could kill them on excess exposure. The house needs servants and when three mysteriously arrive, it seems all is good. But then the haunting starts. The ghosts appear. The noises thump in the night and the crying children are everywhere…

So the film still is heavy. Lacking any urgency and driven by the pay off that is transparent and trivial in equality.  Though THE OTHERS has grown in status thanks to technology. Firstly it really does look amazing. Really, really so. The DVD I re-watched it on dampened it massively from the theatre showing. Lots of the rich textures have returned today. The lush interiors look menacing and moody, with the ability to have clarity on faces actually benefiting performances. Later scenes also allow for the power of 4K to reveal why upscaling some films is essential in terms of light hues! There are some new extras on the disc, alongside some of the well worn pieces in SD. The 51 minute nostalgic looking back, feels wooden and is really too studio interaction and not analysis. The music feature is a little more interesting but again feels walked over with a pen by the producers.

Product Features

• New Looking Back At The Others (51 mins)
• New The Music of The Others
• A Look Inside The Others
• Visual effects piece
• Xeroderma Pigmentosum: What Is It?
• An intimate look at director Alejandro Amenábar
• Stills Gallery
• Trailer