Paperhouse

[RobB]

Intriguing Brit-made fantasy thriller-chiller which comes across as a modern day 'The Secret Garden' with an 'alternative reality' slant.
The plot has 11 year old Anna drawing an isolated house before falling ill with fainting fits and developing a fever. During these fainting spells she finds herself in the house of her drawing and making friends with the boy who she drew at the window of the house. It gets more involved of course and with each visit,the house displays elements that she'd added to her drawing.

The film is rather poignant,not least for the fact that this was to be the only film made by heroine Charlotte Burke and that Elliot Spiers,who played Mark (the boy in the house),commited suicide six years after the making of this film,aged just 20.

Beautifully filmed with some great scenes set around the North Devon coast,thanks for bring the film to my attention,Daniel.

[blue]

So glad you enjoyed it Rob, it's a very underrated film that never really got the plaudits it deserved on release. The central performance is wonderful, as is the basic premise - very unusual story, imaginatively played and written. I hope a few of the other film buffs here will check it out now.

[d.a.walker]

I'm glad you enjoyed the film, it's gradually getting quite a cult following. I remember when it was released that it really got little exposure.

I think it's one example of the good thing about DVDs finding little seen movies and bringing them to a wider audience. Now all we need is the wonderful The Reflecting Skin to be given a much deserved DVD release!!

[RobB]

Back in 1972,ITV (uk) had a six part half hour series called 'Escape Into Night' which was also based on the 'Marianne And Mark' book by Catherine Storr,on which 'Paperhouse' was based.

From what I've read,the tv series was even better than the film although the chance of it ever being issued on dvd is remote.

[blue]

There's so many great TV series from years gone by that I'd love to have on DVD. The one I'm most waiting for is the mid-80s BBC version of 'Moondial', one of my favourite books. The video version sometimes comes up on Amazon and it's incredible the prices people pay for it.

[RobB]

Last week i was down in Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast where i was able to check out the 'seaside town' location seen in the latter part of the film.
I spent a little time finding out the original film camera positions to recreate shots from the film.

Here's one scene which should be immediately recognisable to anyone familiar with the film.



Sadly the Royal Britannia hotel is currently surrounded by scaffolding and has been gutted owing to renovation work.

[RobB]

The great news is that finally Paperhouse is out on blu-ray....at least in France anyway. Too impatient to wait for a (possible) UK release I've imported a copy which arrived safely this morning. I havn't had time to view the film yet I have watched the 25 minute interview with the films director, Bernard Rose, which revealed some new info on the background to the filming.

Here's a link to the original trailer. Hopefully a new one will be created for the blu-ray release.




.

[blue]

WHAT IS BLU-RAY? *technophobe*

Is it out on normal DVD or just this new fangled format that I probably need to buy a new machine for?

[RobB]

I'm no more techincal that you Beth so I'll just post up this wiki link which should explain why the picture quality is ( quite often but not always) better than its dvd counterpart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu_ray

But Paperhouse has been available in the dvd format for sometime and HMV have been selling it in their stores for £2.99 in recent months.

Its certainly worth buying a blu-ray player as they can dvds, automatically upgrading their picture and sound quality. However, you can't play a blu-ray disc on a dvd player.

I still buy dvds,which are quite cheap these days,especially from second hand shops like Cash Converters. Yesterday in Chelmsford I bought six films for a tenner. If I really like a film though i'll buy it on blu-ray to maximise its picture and sound quality and get access to extra 'special features' not available on dvd.

[blue]

Oh I didn't realise it was out on DVD! That's good news. *adds to list*

I get nearly all my DVDs secondhand these days, either from charity shops or Amazon marketplace. The local Cancer Research shop here is awesome for DVDs, I've added dozens to my collection from there. Latest this week were The Black Dahlia, To Die For and Being John Malkovich. Less than a fiver for the lot.

[RobB]

People just don't want the clutter caused by dvds nowadays and thousands end up in (as you rightly say) charity shops or modern pawn shops like Cash Converters, where I buy them up at a quid each.

And if i like the dvd film then i'll then normally buy it on blu-ray.

[Angie]

Ooh, I loved this movie, I know I rented it several times after I discovered it. I think I'm due for another viewing. Thanks for the reminder, Rob!

[RobB]

Angie, I went back to Ilfracombe earlier this year and took this photo of the town (on a misty day) from where the lighthouse would have stood.......had it existed !!!!

The cream coloured building roughly in the centre of the photo is where the Maddern family were staying in the film and from where Anna ran from on the way to the lighthouse. From the route she took she would have had to have swam across the bay as well.

[Angie]

Fantastic!

[sound world]

I've busked with a band around that harbour, and done a gig in one of the harbourside pubs.