How The Best Horror Novella Was Adapted To Film

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Жыл бұрын

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SOURCES
Ward, J. A. “The Ambiguities of Henry James.” The Sewanee Review, vol. 83, no. 1, 1975, pp. 39-60. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27542918
Palmer, James W. “Cinematic Ambiguity: James’s ‘The Turn of the Screw’ and Clayton’s ‘The Innocents.’” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 3, 1977, pp. 198-215. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43795561.
Read Tzvetan Todorov's "The fantastic : a structural approach to a literary genre" for free at archive.org:
archive.org/details/fantastic...
Chase, Donald. “Romancing the Stones: Jack Clayton’s The Innocents.” Film Comment, vol. 34, no. 1, 1998, pp. 68-73. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43454554.
Kael, Pauline. “‘The Innocents’, and What Passes for Experience.” Film Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 4, 1962, pp. 21-36. JSTOR, doi.org/10.2307/1211186.
Recchia, Edward. “An Eye for An I: Adapting Henry James’s ‘The Turn of the Screw’ to the Screen.” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 1, 1987, pp. 28-35. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43796289.
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@Cybjon Жыл бұрын

Francis' filters weren't black on the edges. They were actually amber (a colour that increases the contrast of black and white). He airbrushed them so they had increasing density the further from the centre they got. You can see what they look like in colour if you watch 'Dracula has Risen from the Grave' which Francis directed; he lent the cinematographer his filters to use whenever Christopher Lee is on screen to give him an "aura of evil."

@bobbyjosson4663 7 ай бұрын

Great point. Any chance of pointing to the interview where you got that. I love technical details and background interviews.

@onil1325ms Жыл бұрын

I wish Nerdwriter made more essays about horror media, in general. Love the way he tackles the ins-and-outs. Great video!

@embracethemystery Жыл бұрын

"There is no art without ambiguity." I can't find the attribution for this quote, but I love it and agree with it.

@Laocoon283 Жыл бұрын

Its false though.

@davidzimmermann920 11 ай бұрын

Falls, though many good pieces of art do have this feature I think. As a hobby musician I often think, sure there's great songs that serve the simple purpose of feeling nostalgic/having a good time/crying your heart out/etc. But I often feel the really great ones do have such a dynamic, where either lyrics and music or the musical composition choices introduce elements of subversion in the piece. Like adding sugar to salty food or the other way around it makes the thing a little bit more intense

@danielbernas2293 Жыл бұрын

My dad showed me The Innocents maybe 7 years ago and it was immediately my favorite horror movie, for a while my favorite movie period. The scene with the woman in the forest gets under my skin just thinking about it. Every time I watch it I get more creeped out and I still don't have a solid explanation for everything. Fantastic. Great performances all around, and Deborah Kerr's performance is one of the best in horror

@MariaVosa Жыл бұрын

The Turning of the Screw and The Yellow Wallpaper are two of the greatest short stories ever written. I wish someone had managed and adaptation as successful of the latter as The Innocents is.

@halekduo Жыл бұрын

Ingmar Bergman's THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY is heavily influenced by THE YELLOW WALLPAPER. I think you'd enjoy the movie.

@MFLimited 5 ай бұрын

@@halekduo I wanted to love Through a Glass Darkly. But I couldn’t. I’m an admirer of Ingmar Bergman, but I wanted to see more of the Yellow Wallpaper in the movie.

@VamshiOhgs Жыл бұрын

In my opinion The Innocents is not only the finest horror film based on a ghosts and haunted house but is the one that is overlooked by so many people when discussing the greats of the genre from that time period. It was ahead of it's time for how it treated the tropes of horror and overall how the story was structured, the ambiguity that was used the perspective of our protagonist to play tricks with the viewer's mind that delved into the psychology of the lead character, it wasn't merely a supernatural horror but one of the best early psychological horror titles.

@B.Arthur Жыл бұрын

Deborah Kerr is my all time favourite film actor, and I truly believe this to be her greatest performance. It’s an absolute masterpiece.

@robintob1407 Жыл бұрын

Ambiguity is misspelt in the thumbnail, great vid!

@solharv7817 Жыл бұрын

Love the Innocents. The scare at the window is maybe the worst I’ve ever been spooked by a film. It really got under my skin, I think because I wasn’t expecting such an understated scare in a classic horror movie.

@sydposting Жыл бұрын

Benjamin Britten wrote an opera adaptation that does some really neat things with motifs and wordplay that enhance the story immensely. “Malo, I would rather be; Malo, in an apple tree…”

@farissaadat4437 Жыл бұрын

Could you please elaborate? I enjoyed the opera as a music composition but most of the wordplay goes over my head.

@gLittle807 Жыл бұрын

Britten's opera was I think the first I ever saw live (I already knew the work before seeing it). As I walked in and took my seat & as the orchestra was tuning/noodling before the show, one player was rehearsing a bit of Quint's "Miles" melisma, when he first appears--I still geek out at the memory!

@Adeodatus100 Жыл бұрын

@@farissaadat4437 Britten's opera (with libretto by Myfanwy Piper) is if anything even darker than the film or book, hinting that it's the very worst kind of child abuse that's at the heart of the story. Notoriously, some of Miles's Latin lessons appear to contain s*xual innuendos that the boy shouldn't know about. For me one of the most heartbreaking moments is at the end of act 1 when, after a nasty encounter with the ghosts, Miles says to the governess "You see? I am bad, aren't I?" - the abused child blaming himself.

@lolarogers2313 Жыл бұрын

Saw this opera live many years ago. It's so eerie and mesmerizing.

@AllieEstepa Жыл бұрын

there aren't enough analyses being done about the innocents, so i was excited to see this! such an sophisticated and eerie gothic horror classic. it should definitely be up there with the greats.

@overlookers Жыл бұрын

The shot of Jessel among the reeds in the pond is *_still_* the most chilling image on monochrome film

@skryabin07 Жыл бұрын

So true, Overlookers. What's so great is the second time the governess looks, after Flora has left, you expect the ghost to be gone, but she's STILL THERE.

@askmeagain43 Жыл бұрын

KZfaq’s algorithm sucks so hard. I thought you had stopped posting videos, because I’m subbed and they never appear in my feed. Turns out I’ve got a year of content to catch up on.

@beatrix1775 Жыл бұрын

The same goes to me 🥲 time to catch up

@personanongrata987 Жыл бұрын

"The Innocents" has long been a favorite of mine. You have now shown me greater depths in this cinematic masterpiece than I'd seen. Thank you. --

@calebmcurby8580 Жыл бұрын

I consider myself a cinephile and love classic movies (I grew up on TCM), but I've never even heard of the Innocents. Now I gotta watch it. Thanks, Evan!

@Daemonworks Жыл бұрын

This is one of the things that really drives me nuts about The Thing. Not the movie, or Who Goes There, the story it's based on, but how absurdly determined some of it's fans are to remove the ambiguity of the ending, and grasp at straws or pretend there's details in the film that aren't actually there that settle it. The ambiguity is the bloody point!

@user-qt4qp6bj1q 4 ай бұрын

Yes, I never needed a conclusion, or evidence to support it. You've nailed it.

@BonesJonny Жыл бұрын

Great video. Would love to see a similar one made for Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" and the exceptional accompanying film "The Haunting"

@Zett76 Жыл бұрын

I was re-watching the movie a few days ago, and I read the book about 20 years ago, AFTER having seen the movie for the first time... as for the book version, I was pretty sure that it all was "only" in the protagonist's mind... I found it stunning that that notion was kind of lost more and more, with every new instance of the story... (the series from a few years ago was great, but a ghost story through and through) Your thoughts?

@curiousworld7912 Жыл бұрын

'The Innocents' is one of those rare films that complement the source material - it's beautifully filmed, and the acting and direction are perfect. As to whether or not the governess was 'mad'; I took from the beginning of the novella, she had gone on to be governess to another family, and was well-thought of - which would appear odd, if she had a reputation for insanity. But, that's just my take. :) Thank you, for covering this novella and film - I love Henry James, too, and the film is (along with Robert Wise's '63 version of 'The Haunting', based on Shirley Jackson's book) my favorite haunted-house movies, with uncertain narration from the central character.

@zacharywong483 Жыл бұрын

Love your choice of video topics and love the thoroughness with which you analyze them!

@benrendich Жыл бұрын

One of my all-time favorite movies. You did it perfect justice -- as always. ✨

@Miniac 9 ай бұрын

I haven't seen The Innocents but the first thing I thought of when you described the plot of the novella was The Lodge. A modern horror movie wherein a girlfriend is snowed into a cabin with her boyfriend's children and the movie toes the line between evil children and a mentally deteriorating girlfriend. Basically, the same exact plot!

@haddonfieldradio666 Жыл бұрын

So thrilling to find a new Nerdwriter essay!! From one KZfaqr to another - *chef’s kiss

@RyanMichero Жыл бұрын

I watched The Innocents for the first time about 6 months ago and it blew me away. I'm a (virtual) cinematographer and, damn, Freddie Francis jumped into my list of favorite cinematographers with this film alone.

@greshambergeron1228 Жыл бұрын

It’s very cool to me that each of these videos have a very distinct artistic style to them. Lots of really tasteful details 👌

@urosmirkovic8353 Жыл бұрын

i always learn something new watching your videos, or hear about some new movie or book i have not heard of before and i just love it

@HeisenbergFam Жыл бұрын

Henry James did great creating a nice story for Turn of the screw, black & white style has a special charm to it

@user-qt4qp6bj1q 4 ай бұрын

That was great. Thank you for examining the film technique.

@nightthought2497 Жыл бұрын

That moment when you realize the story that Janeway plays in early Voyager

@drpozo Жыл бұрын

OMG!! Finally!! Waiting ten years for this video. Hahahaha. Thaaaaaaaanks!! 🙏🏻

@katestyrsky329 9 ай бұрын

Read the setting story that begins the novel: an unnamed narrator and some of his friends are gathered around a fire. One of them, Douglas, reads a manuscript written by his own sister's late governess. If I recall correctly, he says that he cared about this woman very much, though she was dismissed from her position. To me, there is a clear connection between Douglas and the little boy in the narration. I do believe the emotionally fragile governess lost control and was dismissed for cause. I also believe that the little boy at the end of the story is not killed: he is Douglas.

@dorothysatterfield3699 Жыл бұрын

Deborah Kerr's eyes spoke volumes in this film.

@Zarsla Жыл бұрын

Turning of the Sceew has been adapted twice, 1961's the innocents and 2020's the haunting of Bly Manor.

@Clipzilla42 Жыл бұрын

Don’t forget 2020’s The Turning. I know I did 😂

@sydposting Жыл бұрын

Don’t forget the opera by Benjamin Britten!

@Jo-bs2uu Жыл бұрын

@@Clipzilla42 oh gosh no interest I seeing that lol

@3boodae749 Жыл бұрын

Nicole Kidman's The Others is arguably an adaptation, and the best version of the story on the screen.

@feelingReckless13 Жыл бұрын

Turn of the Screw is one of the most adapted novellas of all time...

@iMigooo Жыл бұрын

Ok but the triple beat that played during the voice over segment of this video hit me to my core nerd writer, love that production!

@lucasgagliardi433 Жыл бұрын

More than 12 audiovisual adaptations of this story since 1955. Yet "The Innocents" and "The Others" are the best ones either by matching James' ambiguity or by going in a very different but satisfying direction.

@sindrisnrsigursson3079 Жыл бұрын

I watched this the same day as I saw the video. Amazing movie, thanks for the recommendation and fantastic analysis :)

@surgodt Жыл бұрын

I was delighted to realize that this feeling of the Fantastic lies at the center of my favourite film. The Lighthouse thrives in its ambiguity which is much of the reason I love it so.

@Doctor_Straing_Strange Жыл бұрын

''the horror of ambuigity''

@bulletproofisobel Жыл бұрын

Excellent! I cannot describe how much I love this film. So earie and creepy and that opening song...

@cameronchappell8265 Жыл бұрын

There are only two video types I watch on 1x speed - music videos and Nerdwriter videos. Your cadence and video editing demand a really thoughtful viewing, and I love it.

@lenroz 9 ай бұрын

Wonderfully explained! never knew there was a film adaptation, now it's on the watch list

@JoeyOC-qf4bx Жыл бұрын

Already, I want to read this book and watch this film. Thank you for sharing!

@zoinomiko Жыл бұрын

Oooh what a fantastic view, now I want to watch this!

@NPC0010 Жыл бұрын

For the longest time, I thought I was watching this channel, I was sure he showed his face before. I was wondering why I can't find a video with his face on it. Then I read that he sold his channel, I guess that's why he removed those videos with his face on it. Then I came across this video. For the longest time I was watching Nerdstalgic, not Nerdwriter. Glad I found this channel again.

@rixx46 9 ай бұрын

Fantastic as always. Just got your book! On Kindle AND Audible!

@agraciotti Жыл бұрын

yeah, The Innocents is a masterpiece and, IMO, the best-haunted house movie ever. I think this reading holds up and probably The Others kind of takes that reading of the novel literally and expands it, that not only do we see everything from the mother's point of view, but it makes the whole family as the actual ghosts.

@christianhansen2569 Жыл бұрын

Ambuigity

@MrIexperience Жыл бұрын

This was incredible bro!

@Dontlicktheballoons Жыл бұрын

One of my favorite films, and God how I love the ambiguity!

@charlottecheung7237 Жыл бұрын

hi Evan, would you consider doing another video on Succession? Your video on the show a few years ago led me to start watching it (which I really enjoyed). It would be great to hear your thoughts / observations on it now that it's wrapped up.

@kushlinfield7106 Жыл бұрын

Worth mentioning the metatextual story-within-a-story framework of the novella which adds a layer of unreliable narration / ambiguity.

@auntvesuvi3872 Жыл бұрын

I love this tale, Evan! Thank you so much for your video. 😶‍🌫 I think I've seen most of the cinematic/tv adaptations. I'm glad you used clips from THE INNOCENTS (1961), as it's my favorite rendition. THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR (2020) is my second favorite. Indeed, ambiguity is the point. Life is very filled with it. That can be frustrating for mere humans in regards to interpersonal relations... and expression. But in art, it feels close to ideal... and, at the very least, poetic. #Nerdwriter1 #TheNerdwriter #EvanPuschak #HenryJames #TheTurnOfTheScrew #TheInnocents #TheInnocents1961

@jakegaubert9170 Жыл бұрын

Keep up the good work, and where've you been! missed your videos!

@samcollins5278 Жыл бұрын

Loved this, now I want to read this book and watch the movie!

@Jo-lv3mi Жыл бұрын

Love how the thumbnail says "ambuigity"

@MinorCirrus Жыл бұрын

A beautiful companion song to this is Kate Bush's "The Infant Kiss". "All my barriers are going. It's starting to show..."

@jainilsheth7996 Жыл бұрын

Hello Evan, thanks for another beautiful video essay! If possible, please do explore Raden Saleh (painter) as a topic for your video essay :)

@rakibhasan8016 Жыл бұрын

It's always soothing Puschak's Voice.

@Horror-Man Жыл бұрын

First saw this film back in 2017. Definitely one of my all time favorite horror films.

@PetersonSilva Жыл бұрын

Great essay! Loved the book but never watched the movie. I'm intrigued now.

@WayTooClose Жыл бұрын

Ambiguity is so important in horror stories. Freud's The Uncanny inspired Stanley Kubrick when he made The Shining.👍 Unsatisfaction is a feature, not a bug.

@Wadudsearcher Жыл бұрын

Can you talk about your experience writing a book of essays? I love hearing about the crafting processes behind art

@plica06 11 ай бұрын

That theme of ambiguity was also used to good effect in the movie: Doubt. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

@olliewarren1993 Жыл бұрын

I think there's a struggle with ambiguity in films/tv these days brought about by the proliferation of "easter egg" and "plot theory" videos that seek to decipher every last detail of a film for clues. In some ways, I love the minute detail they go into and the interesting takes they find but in others I think it's good as an audience member to sit with a work and make your own interpretations.

@davidechiarella7752 Жыл бұрын

literally JUST got the criterion copy so I can watch for the first time - I'll come back to this vid once I have!

@CFinch360 Жыл бұрын

I got chills!

@Caveboy0 Жыл бұрын

I wonder if the WItch was inspired by this although more literal the fact that both magic/thedevil but also insanity are factors.

@dab42bridges80 Жыл бұрын

That movie gernuinely creeped me out, one of my all-time favorites.

@drumsticks221 Жыл бұрын

Hey! I've watched your videos for a hile now - love them by the way - and was wondering: what video editor do you use to make them? Thanks for doing what you do!

@fenixdown22 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic movie, excellent points.

@ReynaSingh Жыл бұрын

Always great to see another video from this channel

@parastooabr1524 Жыл бұрын

The Nerdwriter publishing a video on The Innocents the exact same day as I watch it? Can't be a coincidence lol

@bencarlson4300 Жыл бұрын

There are a lot of great horror films/stories that give a definitive reasoning and conclusion, but ambiguity is what always sticks with me. The Innocents does this extremely well, but Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure from 1997 does it best for me. The truth of the borderline supernatural crimes that have been committed are left to the viewer to decide, and our protagonist, like in The Innocents, is not as trustworthy as we are led to believe. TLDR: go watch Cure (1997) and The Innocents (1961) if you like ambiguous psychological horror/thrillers

@MichaelSchlecht91 Жыл бұрын

Where on earth can we watch this film? It sounds terrific! I see no options where it is available to purchase

@TheNeeenha Жыл бұрын

One of my favorites

@davidmouser596 7 ай бұрын

You missed the third possibility, the ghosts where real and they both drove her mad so as to kill the child for them, especially as they are incorporeal spirits who needed the governess to do the deed for them.

@WhitieWu Жыл бұрын

I'm amazed at the quality considering this movie came out 60 years ago.

@davidzimmermann920 11 ай бұрын

I always loved that detail in guillermo del Torres movies. Like in pan's labyrinth, where the pan takes her down to the queens or her imagined kingdom only to see from the perspective of the general, that there is no pan, but also this could be explained by smt said in the movie, that most adult people cannot see the magical elements of that world. At the same time, all of here endeavors in the magical realm mirror a conflict the real world.. I loved this also in the haunting of hill house! Such a great series! (Also i dearly love midnight mass, by the same director. Nothing of the ambiguity, but still so good! Watch it!)

@HebaruSan Жыл бұрын

When a movie unambiguously settles on "ghosts are real," it tends to make me sigh and check out mentally, but this sounds much better, will check it out!

@irony_2 Жыл бұрын

Spelled ambiguity wrong in the thumbnail lol «ambuigity»🤣

@AdaraFukuchi Жыл бұрын

When i hear fantastical fantasy, i think of one storyteller and one alone: Jorge luiz borges. Brilliant man.

@doomedandbored Жыл бұрын

The Innocents is so fucking GOATed I adore this film with every inch of my being

@kellyjenkins7942 Жыл бұрын

This reminds me of the ending of Dr. Zhivago when the doctor thinks he sees Lara as he is on a streetcar. He exits the car to pursue her only to die of a heart attack in the pursuit….of the wrong woman! Or is it? Feeling confused and then duped years ago, I took my spiffy new VCR and went through the scene using stop motion. the first image the Dr. sees is, in fact, Lara, played by Julie Christie. Later the camera pans past the prostrate dying doctor to show us a second and different actress. Well done, I thought. Love me some ambiguity.

@MickeyD100 Жыл бұрын

I like the way you work it … Amboo-igity … bout to bag it up.

@Epoch11 11 ай бұрын

More horror you do a good job at explaining it

@171QA Жыл бұрын

Great video.

@spencerlevine8965 Жыл бұрын

The shining movie is very similar imo. The book is very explicit that the events are actually supernatural but the movie makes it so much more ambiguous and I actually like that version better

@max_plastic Жыл бұрын

To be honest, never heard of this one, but I just love The Haunting, film from 1963 which seems pretty similar. Remember watching it for a first time maybe 20 years ago at night on TCM and it was just terrifying.

@sowii Жыл бұрын

The innocents is my favorite horror film ever

@Freebirds789 Жыл бұрын

Love your videos I have been a huge fan for a while now can you please make a video essay on one of the greatest American television series ever created I am talking about The Wire Continue the great work thanks

@rajatnandi2175 Жыл бұрын

One of my fav

@cabweasel Жыл бұрын

"I'm afraid we'll never know" is a great title for an essay about the horror of ambiguity

@denisefreitas6727 Жыл бұрын

This movie is a masterpiece. I love the novella as well.

@johnelcatsha6895 Жыл бұрын

Now we know the inspiration for Kubrick's adaptation of the Shining

@CatDaaaady 11 ай бұрын

The movie that just came out , Run Rabbit Run, reminds me of a movie that falls into this category. 🤔

@YouTubeKnight Жыл бұрын

Two of the greatest horror movies, The Exorcist and The Shining, both use ambiguity to its fullest potential.

@maikelkay9202 Ай бұрын

Somebody has called "The Innocents" the "Citizen Kane" of horror movies. And I think he was right. Only Jacques Tourneur has created a few horror classics that can match this one.