FeistyUpper
If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Noutions
Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .
Jakoba
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Curt
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
kintopf432
Well-acted but ultimately dull adaptation of Kingsley Amis's novel. The film works best when it takes up Amis's amused bafflement at modernity--Nickolas Grace is particularly funny as an agnostic vicar--but all in all the film's not sure what kind of tone it's shooting for, and as a result it's not too scary, not too funny, not too anything else. One thing that might have helped is more of an attempt to create suspense about whether anything paranormal is going on. Finney's fine acting aside, we never really see Maurice as the other characters see him, and we don't for a second think that he's just having drunken hallucinations. This makes all the busywork surrounding his proving to himself that the ghosts are in fact real a bit tedious. In fact, the movie's overlong as a whole, and it's worth mentioning that the whole 'swinging' subplot doesn't really jibe with the updated period. (The book was published in 1969.) But it's got a real English-TV feel about it, which is always pleasant, and that may be enough for some. 5.5 out of 10.
johndunbar
Everything that Albert Finney `touches' turns to movie gold and he was the perfect choice for the lead role in this highly original ghost story. The mixing of his alcoholic delusions with the supposedly `objective' presentation of the ghost part gave the whole thing an usual screen credibility. One didn't know half the time what was what, glossing over the delusional to the phantasmagoric. The injection of uniquely English, character based humor, lent an important significance to the otherwise just scary (alebeit very scary) story line. Then there was the contrast of pagan hedonism with the contemporary gloss of civilized, sophisticated hedonism (the elaborate meals and wines all being eagerly consummed by mostly boorsish clients), all this being reflected in the conflicted sexual content of the ghost and his `victims'. One could go on and on about the rich fabric of this jewel. Thank God for the Brits !
HAL-98
A delightful movie with a balanced mix of humor and horror.Some of the scenes are surreal. Well acted all round and Alex Guiness is brilliant in his protrayal of the lecherous alcoholic innkeeper caught between God and the evil inhabiting his country inn. Highly recommended.
wildo-2
It has it all. Acting, plot and a good cast. I loved every moment of the movie. I refuse to tell you the plot because there are many in this movie which all join together.