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''The Haunting'' is a 1963 British psychological horror film directed and produced by Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the 1959 novel ''The Haunting of Hill House'' by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film, about a small group of people invited by a paranormal investigator to stay at a haunted house that comes to life, is often cited as one of the most frightening films ever made. Screenwriter Gidding, who had worked with director Wise on the 1958 film ''I Want to Live!'', began a six-month write of the script after reading the book, which Wise had given to him. He perceived the book to be more about mental breakdown than ghosts, and although he was informed after meeting author Shirley Jackson that it was very much a supernatural novel, elements of mental breakdown were introduced into the film. The film was shot at MGM-British Studios in the United Kingdom on a budget of $1.050 million, with exteriors and the grounds shot at Ettington Park (now the Ettington Park Hotel) in the village of Ettington, Warwickshire. Julie Harris was cast by Wise who found her ideal for the psychologically fragile Eleanor, though during production she suffered from depression and had an uneasy relationship with her co-stars. The interior sets were by Elliot Scott, credited by Wise as instrumental in the making of ''The Haunting''. They were designed to be brightly lit, with no dark corners or recesses, and decorated in a Rococo style; all the rooms had ceilings to create a claustrophobic effect on film. Numerous devices and tricks were used in the filming. Wise used a 30mm anamorphic, wide-angle lens Panavision camera that was not technically ready for use and caused distortions. It was only given to Wise on condition that he sign a memorandum in which he acknowledged that the lens was imperfect. Wise and cinematographer Davis Boulton planned sequences that kept the camera moving, utilizing low-angle takes, and incorporating unusual pans and tracking shots. ''The Haunting'' is notable for its lesbian character, Theodora. Although her character's sexual orientation is left ambiguous in the source novel, the film makes it known subtly and it is one of the few motion pictures of that era to depict a lesbian as feminine and not predatory. According to Harris, however, film censors demanded that Theo never be shown to touch Eleanor in a sensual or suggestive way, to keep the lesbianism less obvious. Upon release on 18 September 1963, the film performed moderately at the box office and was well received, although the plot was widely criticized for being incoherent. Today it has achieved cult status and is considered by many to be one of the best horror films in cinematic history, and one of the most unsettling. In 2010, ''The Guardian'' newspaper ranked it as the 13th best horror film of all time. Director Martin Scorsese has placed ''The Haunting'' first on his list of the 11 scariest horror films of all time. ''The Haunting'' was released on DVD in its original screen format with commentary in 2003, and was released on Blu-ray on 15 October 2013. The film was remade in 1999 by director Jan de Bont, starring Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta Jones and Owen Wilson, but this version was heavily panned by critics and audiences alike. ==Plot== Dr. John Markway narrates the history of the 90-year-old Hill House, which was constructed by Hugh Crain as a home for his wife. She died when her carriage crashed against a tree as she approached the house for the first time. Crain remarried, but his second wife died in the house from a fall down the stairs. Crain's daughter Abigail lived in the house for the rest of her life, never moving out of the nursery. She died calling for her nurse-companion. The companion inherited the house, but later hanged herself from a spiral staircase in the library. Hill House was eventually inherited by a Mrs. Sanderson, although it has stood empty for some time. Markway wishes to study the reported paranormal activity at Hill House. He secures a lease from Mrs. Sanderson to occupy the mansion for the duration of his investigation; conditional to his acceptance is that he take Luke Sanderson, her heir, with him. Markway has chosen two individuals to accompany him—a psychic, Theodora, also known as Theo, and the meek Eleanor Lance, who experienced poltergeist activity as a child. Eleanor spent her adult life caring for her invalid mother, whose recent death has left Eleanor with severe guilt. The large, maze-like mansion's walls were constructed with angles slightly askew, resulting in off-center perspectives and doors that open and close by themselves. The immense library contains the ramshackle spiral staircase from which the previous owner hanged herself; the vast conservatory is adorned with eerie statues. During their first night in the house, Eleanor and Theo are terrified by supernatural occurrences outside Theo's bedroom door. Deafening banging is heard against the door and the voice of a young girl is heard echoing with laughter. Despite the turbulence, Eleanor feels a tentative affinity to Hill House. The team explores the house the next day, discovering a cold spot outside the nursery and encountering other supernatural phenomena. Markway reveals more about the hauntings that have allegedly occurred. Following another night of loud disturbances the team discovers the words "HELP, ELEANOR, COME HOME" on a wall, which causes Eleanor severe distress. That night, Theo moves into Eleanor's room and they fall asleep in the same bed. Eleanor is awakened by the sounds of a man speaking indistinctly and a woman laughing. Fearful, Eleanor asks Theo to hold her hand and she feels it being crushed. As Eleanor hears the sound of a young girl crying, she shouts at whoever is causing the child pain. Theo awakens with a start and turns on the light. Eleanor then sees that Theo had moved from the bed to the couch, and was not the one she felt holding her hand. The following day Dr. Markway's wife Grace arrives at Hill House to warn her husband that a reporter has learned of Markway's investigation of Hill House. Markway is concerned when Grace announces that she plans to join the group for the duration of the investigation. She demands a bed in the nursery despite her husband's warning that it is likely the center of the disturbances. The next morning it's discovered that Grace has disappeared. Eleanor's mental instability worsens as she falls further under the spell of Hill House. She enters the library and climbs the dilapidated spiral staircase. Once she reaches the top, Grace appears unexpectedly at a trap door and the startled Eleanor nearly falls to her death. Markway rescues Eleanor but just misses seeing Grace, who has disappeared back into the house. Markway becomes alarmed at Eleanor's obsession with Hill House in spite of the dangers it poses for her. Despite Eleanor's pleas to stay, Markway insists that she leave at once and asks Luke to accompany her home. Before he can join her in the car, Eleanor drives off and speeds down the road toward the front gates. She soon feels the steering wheel move by itself and the car advances erratically. At first she struggles to regain control but then surrenders to the unseen force. Suddenly Grace appears from behind a tree and steps in front of the car. Eleanor crashes into the tree and is killed. Luke observes it seemed that Eleanor deliberately aimed the car at the tree, but Markway asserts that something was in the car with her. He notes that the tree that claimed Eleanor's life is the same one that killed the first Mrs. Crain. Theo remarks that Eleanor got what she wanted—to remain with the house. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Haunting (1963 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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