MovieChat Forums > Burnt Offerings (1976) Discussion > So, does Arnold and Roz Allardyce (the b...

So, does Arnold and Roz Allardyce (the brother and sister)...

posted 7 years ago by TheSolarSailor
5 replies | jump to latest

...grow younger when "Mother" is whole again? The spirit of Mother is directly linked to the house, so as the family endures emotional and/or physical pain, she grows stronger and the house repairs itself. Ultimately, Mother is strong enough to take total possession of the victim, living again in a restored and beautiful house.

Now, the brother and sister return at the end and marvel at how beautiful everything is now. Oddly, they are not shown at all. We only hear them speaking. Are they rejuvenated as well? I mean, there would be no way to make the actors younger unless they recast them, so instead we only hear them. It is interesting as well that they leave and are not present at all while the new family resides in the house, possibly so as not to have to explain their rejuvenation. Also, remember the Allardyce graveyard? No one had been buried there since 1890, if I recall correctly.

Do you think that Arnold and Roz grow younger each time the House is restored? The way Burgess Meredith plays Arnold, I nearly feel like he is irritated at being old and in a wheelchair, and ready to get back on his feet again! Being long lived would also make them both more eccentric.

Opinions?

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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.

[–] 7 years ago

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[–] TheSolarSailor 7 years ago

There probably isn't an official answer, but do you think the idea works if one chooses to view it that way?

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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.

[–] 7 years ago

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[–] TheSolarSailor 7 years ago

Thanks. I listened to the audio commentary from the film historian (sorry, I can't remember his name right off hand), and he told a lot of things about the book, but sadly, this was not one of them. He did say that the Allerdyce siblings were more country folk in the book, where as they come off more refined in the film. I am sure that is due to the fine actors playing the roles.

I had not sen this movie since sometime in the mid-nineties, so it was a lot of fun to watch it again and to see new things in the story that I had never noticed before. It was also great that the film was still great, just as I remembered when I was a kid!

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I am not a fan. I just happen to enjoy movies. Fans are embarrassing.

[–] 7 years ago

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