The Ghost Of Greville Lodge (2000/VCI DVD)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C-
Niall Johnson, who’s Keeping
Mum was a better comedy than it got credit for, as this review link will
show…
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5272/Keeping+Mum+(2005)
…directed The Ghost
Of Greville Lodge (2000), an awkward attempt to cross a haunted house story
with a sort of time travel scenario that is ambitious, but never adds up
much. Jon Newman plays the teenager who
has bounced around orphanages until his uncle (George Cole) tracks him
down. Unfortunately, the house has
sections that have been sealed for a long time (always a bad sign) until now
and of course, they will soon be unsealed.
Though it is supposed to take place in the winter, we
rarely see snow, so we are supposed to assume bitter cold. That is an example of the lack of
concentration that goes on here. Prunella
Scales (Fawlty Towers, Mike Nichols’
Wolf) also stars in this well-cast
film that just never adds up.
The 1.33 X 1 image is softer than a relatively recent 35mm
shoot should be, in part because this looks like an older analog master
including some haloing and phony color.
At least the production looks lush enough. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is a little
better, but still on the weak side. Extras
include a trailer for VCI’s reissue of A Christmas Carol, which is plugged as
its new, impressive Blu-ray/DVD set with another title when the DVD begins.
- Nicholas Sheffo
