Ghost Story (film)

Infobox Film | name = Ghost Story


caption =Film poster
director = John Irvin
producer = Burt Weissbourd
writer = Novel:
Peter Straub
Screenplay:
Lawrence D. Cohen
starring =Fred Astaire
Melvyn Douglas
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
John Houseman
Alice Krige
Craig Wasson
Patricia Neal
Jacqueline Brookes
music = Philippe Sarde
cinematography = Jack Cardiff
editing = Tom Rolf
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = December 15, 1981 (U.S. release)
runtime = 110 min.
language = English
budget =
amg_id = 1:19649
imdb_id = 0082449

"Ghost Story" is a feature film based on the book of the same name by Peter Straub. It stars Fred Astaire, John Houseman, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Melvyn Douglas, Alice Krige and Craig Wasson (in a dual role). The film was rated R for scary images, nudity, sexual content and violence. It was directed by John Irvin and released in 1981 by Universal Pictures. It won the 1982 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. It was the last film to feature Astaire, Fairbanks and Douglas, and the first film to feature Michael O'Neill. It is available on DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Plot

The plot is taken from the novel of the same name by Straub.

A group of elderly gentlemen in their New England hometown have formed a group called "The Chowder Society". Together, they spend their evenings telling ghost stories to one another. However, they begin to experience an actual ghost who wants revenge. The members of the group start dying in mysterious ways, as does the son of one member, who falls to his death after seeing his new bride's face as she really is. His brother attempts to prevent any more deaths. As the story progresses, the audience learns more about the mysterious woman and her relationship with The Chowder Society members.

Reception

The film earned a respectable $23,371,905 at the US box office. It was the third highest grossing horror film of 1981 and the 34th highest grosser of the year. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1981&p=.htm 1981 Yearly Box Office Results ] ]

Critical reception was mixed upon release. Roger Ebert gave it a positive review, praising the performances and considering it an improvement on Straub's novel. [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19810101/REVIEWS/101010332/1023] In "The New York Times", Vincent Canby had the opposite view, also praising the performances but feeling that the movie oversimplified Straub's story and themes. [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=2&res=9D03E2DF153BF935A25751C1A967948260]

References

External links

*imdb title|id= 0082449|title=Ghost Story (film)
*tcmdb title|id=76216
*rotten-tomatoes|id=ghost_story|title=Ghost Story (film)
*mojo title|id=ghoststory|title=Ghost Story (film)
*amg movie|id=1:19649|title=Ghost Story (film)
*ymovies title|1800069974
*" [http://www.movietome.com/movie/284668/ghost-story/index.html?q=Ghost+Story Ghost Story (film)] " at Movie Tome
* [http://www.moviefone.com/movie/ghost-story/1013569/main "Ghost Story (film)"] at Moviefone