MovieChat Forums > The Other (1972) Discussion > just saw 'the other' tonight

just saw 'the other' tonight

posted 14 years ago by albros-883-630463
9 replies | jump to latest

first of all, i absolutely adored tom tryon. 'the cardinal' was one of my all time favorite movies ever. so when he quit acting i couldn't wait to read his book. i actually loved 'the other' and carried it around for many years. but tonight was the first time i saw the movie and i thought it was absolutely awful. the acting was atrocious by everyone and the way that kid ran and talked was totally weird. i was really disappointed. the only reason i even finished watching it was because there was nothing else on. i kept thinking "but i loved the book..." i might have to go read the book again just to get taste of this horror out of my mouth.

so go ahead and flame me if you want, everyone is entitled to their opinion and i'm entitled to mine.

[–] startlepoint 14 years ago

I agree with you wholeheartedly! I saw this years ago and forgot how the director, actors, cinematographer, and editor turned this into such a pedestrian time waster. Uta Hagen, that "great" lady of the stage, provides a surprisingly hackneyed caricature. The actors who played the twins bored the hell out of me, and the ending was too predictable. It would have worked much better -- and likely been more imaginative -- as a 20-minute NIGHT GALLERY episode.

[–] AStrangeOldMan 14 years ago

Don't know which film you two saw - but it wasn't this one.
A horror classic. Period.

"No fate but what we make." -Terminator II

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] librarianjen 13 years ago

I couldn't agree more, OP. We didn't want to give up on this film, but man...it was bad.

[–] sixtrystilsunday 13 years ago

Lol okay I think you guys gave up on the film to begin with because I am a total skeptic. I'll admit I was scared for a bit and enjoyed the movie, the acting. I thought this was a CLASSIC.

OP is just angsty the film wasn't as he envisioned it like it was in his precious book

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] xdayton 13 years ago

I love the kids and Uta, and I have sentimental attachment to the film because I loved it so much when it first came out.

That said, I think the non-fans are responding to the "tv movie" quality of the direction and acting. Like the early scene when the old neighbor lady sees a rat and shrieks. It's like something you see on "The Andy Griffith Show," just really broad and hacky.

But the scenes with the brothers are quite good.

[–] qtrixie 13 years ago

I agree, it's a great classic movie. I first saw this as a kid. My mom would wake us up late on Friday nights to watch scary movies with her. I just watched it again tonight and it fooled me again! When I saw where Ada shows Miles that Holland is dead I went, "Doh!" Then you think back to when Holland never had to eat or they never looked for him you realize what you missed.

[–] O'Malley 13 years ago

Wow, I think it's a great movie, and has such a memorable air of melancholia to accompany its creepiness. And the first time I saw it, I was absolutely floored when I learned that Holland was dead. With subsequent viewings, it's fascinating to watch how director Mulligan never has the two boys in the same frame, something you don't notice your first time around. This is a wonderful accompaniment to Mulligan's other films about the fears and pressures of childhood -- To Kill A Mockingbird, Clara's Heart, The Man In The Moon and (okay, it's adolescence) Summer of '42. And another masterful Mulligan movie about fragile souls dealing with the hard reality of life. It's a superb film.