THE CHANGELING [1980 / 2018] [Limited Edition] [Blu-ray + Compact Disc] [UK Release]
A Great Psychological Horror Film!
Following the tragic death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, composer John Russell leaves the city and retires to an old mansion in the hope of rebuilding his life. The peace and quiet he craves is soon disturbed however. Unexplained noises are just the beginning. Convinced there is a supernatural presence in the house he enlists the help a local historian. What they uncover is more shocking than he could ever have imagined.
George C. Scott stars in this chilling ghost story, and is one of the most acclaimed and terrifying horror films of all time. Brought to you with a brand new 4K scan and restoration from SECOND SIGHT Films.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1980 Genie Awards: Win: Best Motion Picture for Garth H. Drabinsky and Joel B. Michaels. Win: Best Performance by a Foreign Actress for Trish Van Devere. Win: Best Performance by a Foreign Actor for George C. Scott. Win: Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium for Diana Maddox and William Gray. Win: Best Achievement in Cinematography for John Coquillon. Win: Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design for Trevor Williams. Win: Best Sound Editing for Dennis Drummond, Patrick Drummond and Robert Grieve. Win: Best Achievement in Sound for Austin Grimaldi, Dino Pigat, Joe Grimaldi and Karl Scherer. Nomination: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Helen Burns. Nomination: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Frances Hyland. 1981 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Nomination: Best Supporting Actor for Melvyn Douglas. Nomination: Best International Film. 1981 Genie Awards: Win: Golden Reel Award for Garth H. Drabinsky and Joel B. Michaels. 1982 Fantafestival: Win: Best Actor for George C. Scott.
FILM FACT No.2: The film's screenplay was inspired by mysterious events that allegedly took place at the Henry Treat Rogers mansion in Cheesman Park, Denver, Colorado, while playwright Russell Hunter was living there during the 1960s. After experiencing a series of unexplained phenomena, Russell Hunter said he found a century-old journal in a hidden room detailing the life of a disabled boy who was kept in isolation by his parents. While ‘THE CHANGELING’ is set in Seattle, most of its scenes were filmed in the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Victoria, and their surrounding areas. Exceptions include introductory location shooting in New York City and establishing shots of Seattle points of interest, including SeaTac Airport, University of Washington's Red Square, the Space Needle, the Rainier Tower, and the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge. Interior college scenes were shot at the University of Toronto. The Historical Society was Vancouver's historic Hotel Europe.
Cast: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, Jean Marsh, John Colicos, Barry Morse, Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood, Helen Burns, Frances Hyland, Ruth Springford, Eric Christmas, Roberta Maxwell, Bernard Behrens, James B. Douglas, J. Kenneth Campbell, Chris Gampel, Voldi Way, Michelle Martin, Janne Mortil, Terence Kelly, Robert Monroe, Hagan Beggs, Anna Hagan, Antonia Rey, Sammy Smith, Paul Rothery, Bruce MacLeod, Fred Latremouille, David Peevers, Sera Johnstone, Adam Earle, Carl Boychuk, Bryan King, Susan Round, Nicki Steida, Randolph Blankinship, Travis Major, Giancarlo Esposito (uncredited), Wayne McLaughlin (uncredited), Erick Vinther (uncredited) and Louis Zorich (uncredited)
Director: Peter Medak
Producers: Andrew G. Vajna, Garth H. Drabinsky, Joel B. Michaels and Mario Kassar
Screenplay: Diana Maddox (screenplay), William Gray (screenplay) and Russell Hunter (story)
Composer: Rick Wilkins
Cinematography: John Coquillon (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 Uncompressed Stereo Audio
English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 106 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 2
Studio: SECOND SIGHT Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE CHANGELING’ [1980] stars George C. Scott as John Russell in this very chilling ghost story, and one of the most acclaimed and terrifying horror films of all-time and brought to you via this amazing SECOND SIGHT Films Blu-ray disc release.
The ‘THE CHANGELING’ film has got to be one of the truly great frightening psychological horrifying films of its time and one that they simply do not make the likes of anymore in filling up the screen with shock scare tactics and instead of padding the film out with very bad special effects gimmickry. ‘THE CHANGELING’ is a very spooky supernatural film and more specifically one that deals with a dreadful haunted house and terror from beyond the grave and is a film often cited as one of the best examples of how to make a haunted house scary film, and for the first hour or so this is probably true with director Peter Medak, who uses very little to create a lot of spooky goose bumps atmosphere, and the film is based on “true” events and is a real slow-burner, but over time we get to experience lots of bumps, bangs and creaking doors that builds up the scares during the initial setup of the film, and culminating in the terrifying moment when John Russell sees his child’s toy ball come bouncing down the stairs, despite having locked it away in his desk beforehand.
However, things take a slightly different turn after this when John suffers a ghostly vision that reveals to him the details of what happened in his house years before and the film then turns into something of a procedural as John has to put the clues together before coming to the realisation that somebody linked to the past event is still alive. Only after this realisation does the atmosphere that Peter Medak setup so meticulously during that first hour seems to disappear for a short while, until things really get going later on in the film. ‘THE CHANGELING’ is recognised as having many similarities of films of this type of genre of the more modern era that had been influenced by this brilliant classic horror chiller.
Following the tragic death of his wife and daughter in a car crash, composer John Russell leaves the city and retires to an old mansion in the hope of rebuilding his life. The peace and quiet he craves is soon disturbed however. Unexplained noises are just the beginning. Convinced there is a supernatural presence in the house he enlists the help a local historian. What they uncover is more shocking than he could ever have imagined.
After his wife and daughter are killed in a snow plow accident, composer John Russell [George C. Scott] returns to Seattle to teach music at his alma mater. The local historical society rents him a long abandoned mansion where he will have plenty of room to work. However, he is not alone in the house. A barrage of clanging sounds wakes him up at the same time every night. In a hidden attic room, he discovers a music box whose tune is the one he has been composing. With the help of historical society representative Claire Norman [Trish Van Devere], John Russell digs into the past of the house and discovers the accidental death of a little girl; however, a séance reveals that the spirit to be that of a crippled little boy whose spirit will not rest until John uncovers the truth behind his murder.
THE CHANGELING MUSIC TRACK LIST
SYMPHONY #1 in C MINOR, OPUS 68 (Composed by Johannes Brahms) [Performed by The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra]
RONDO in A MINOR for PIANO, K. 511 (Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) [Played by Jan Latham-Koenig]
Blu-ray Image Quality – SECOND SIGHT Films brings you this brilliant film in a 1080p encoded image presentation and is enhanced with the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. At the start of the film for about 6 minutes you get extremely grainy images that are on par with an inferior DVD release. As to the rest of the film, the actual images you get to view gives you a feeling of a slightly warmer and richer feel to the images, and helps you to add to your enjoyment to the film's chilly ambience and calling attention both to the nuances of Trevor Williams's impressive designed sets. Also outstanding are the camera shots picking up the highlighted shadow images, during one of the creepy handheld shots and one where the camera tilts down from the third floor of the staircase to eye level that seems bumpy despite the use of an ultra-wide angle lens. Highlights and reflections on varnished surfaces are less noticeable before sometimes drawing the eye towards the focus of the shot.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – SECOND SIGHT Films presents us with two alternative audio experiences of either a 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio or my preference the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. With the 5.1 audio surround sound experience, you get to hear a much nicer and cleaner audio experience. On top of all that, with the 5.1 surround sound mix, you get to experience some really good ghostly atmospheric voices with great sound depth at the appropriate moments in the film, as well as some really good surround whispers and off-screen creepy noises, that really gives you a good substantial amount of wonderful creepy ambient sounds, especially with the 5.1 DTS-HD surround sound experiences, that will really spook you out and adds to the great atmosphere of this really wonderful ghostly spooky film.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio commentary with director Peter Medak and producer Joel B. Michaels and Moderated by Severin Films David Gregory: Here we are informed that this audio recording was done on the 18th October, 2017 and would have been the 90th Birthday celebration for the actor George C. Scott. First up to introduce themselves is David Gregory, next up is Peter Medak and last of all to introduce themselves is Joel B. Michaels and of course all are here to do an audio commentary for the film ‘THE CHANGELING.’ Peter Medak gives great praise in working with the actor George C. Scott, but when informed that he would be directing this actor, was very apprehensive and slightly scared, as he had heard he was very difficult to work with, but instead found him to be a really genuine nice actor to work with. When you see George C. Scott walks into the empty apartment in New York City, this was the very first day of shooting the film. We hear from Peter Medak about a special 17mm wide angle lens they got to use, that was originally made for the director Stanley Kubrick, as it gives great character imagery for the spooky atmosphere for the house. They all talk about how the outline of the film was introduced to producer Joel B. Michaels, when he was given a 3 hour tape cassette with an audio commentary about the true story of the composer Russell Hunter and the rented house he was living in that turned out to be haunted. They talk about the initial scenario of wanting to produce a classic ghost story, and in the similar genre as the film ‘The Haunting,’ and not to have a typical setting of blood and gore, and the director Peter Medak stayed true to the original storyline, and helped to make the film into a classic psychological ghost film. We also hear that directors Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese own their own 35mm print of ‘THE CHANGELING,’ and helped to become a 100% cult classic ghost film of its time in cinema history. Moderator David Gregory asked what George C. Scott thought of the film, and both George C. Scott and his wife Trish Van Devere really loved the film and was very respectful of the treatment of the film and especially praised the director and both of them was very surprised how successful the film turned out to be, and also commented on the fact that the brilliant scripted helped the film, especially guiding the actors to give a good professional performance. Peter Medal mentions he went to several séances in Vancouver to research on what happens in these sessions, and found them very interesting and really believes in ghosts, and when in the film you see the medium doing the automatic writing, well again Peter Medak witness this phenomenon at several of the séances in Vancouver he visited and felt he had to include this in his film, to give it a much more realistic experience. Peter Medak and Joel B. Michaels have been invited to lots of special Film Festivals and sat among the audiences watching ‘THE CHANGELING’ and after the screening they all tell both of them that they loved the film and on top of that both Peter and Joel was invited to a private viewing with other guests at the exclusive Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema which was opened in 1929 on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, and has now been owned and operated by Quentin Tarantino since 2007., and again the audiences raved over the film. Peter and Joel rave over Melvyn Douglas, who they point out is a very accomplished theatrical actor and at the same time is a very nice person, and on set he kept people amused for hours in telling fascinating stories about his acting career. Before Peter Medak was involved with the film, they had already employed another director and wanted to film it in black-and-white and also had another totally different view on how he wanted to make the film, so was dropped and then invited Peter Medak to take on the baton in directing the film. They talk extensively about the difficult logistic of burning the house down, especially with the filming and the actors involved and of course they called in the Vancouver Fire Brigade to make sure everything was safe and they inform us how it was the talk of Vancouver. As we come to the end of the film, Peter Medak tells us he is very proud of the film and how also he was very lucky to make the film and also praises all of the wonderful cast and crew he worked with. Joel B. Michael also feels very proud to of been involved with the film and goes to the top of his list of favourite films. Peter and Joel feels seeing the film again after all these years, brought back so many happy memories and comments that of course it is “the magic of movies,” and is now preserved for future generations. In the end David Gregory thanks Peter and Joel for doing the audio commentary and they both comment that it was a great honour. I also second that and say what a pleasure the whole experience of the audio commentary was and is a definite must view film and of course this audio commentary.
Special Feature: The House on Cheesman Park: The Haunting True Story of ‘THE CHANGELING’ [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [17:31] With this Severin Films & Denver Society special feature presentation, here we find Dr. Phil Goodstein [Author & Historian], and author of "The Ghosts of Denver: Capitol Hill" sheds a great deal of light on the local legends and "true story" behind the film ‘THE CHANGELING.’ Starting with Cheesman Park's beginnings as a scenic city cemetery that soon started filling up with a high infant mortality rate and the poor health of prospectors, paupers funerals in which bodies were dumped into nearby vacant lots and excavated during public works projects in the seventies, the shortcut taken by the undertaker hired to move the roughly twenty-thousand bodies when the area was to be developed into a public park at the turn of the century, and the bodies that remained when the city gave loved ones ninety days to claim the remains themselves. Dr. Phil Goodstein then discusses about composer Russell Hunter who in 1998 moved from New York into the Henry Treat Rogers Mansion near Cheesman Park in Denver, Colorado and would later claim in an interview that he rented the estate for the unbelievable price of $200 per month, because no one else wanted to live there. In February 1969, Russell Hunter began experiencing strange phenomena in the house. It started with an “unbelievable banging and crashing” every morning at 6am, that stopped whenever Russell Hunter would get out of bed. Doors opened and closed by themselves, taps turned off and on, and walls vibrated so violently that they knocked paintings to the floor and claimed to have been haunted by a ghost leading to his discovery of a secret attic room and the belongings of a child. With Russell Hunter’s investigation, found the belongings, including a journal of a young boy who had lived in the house “a century ago,” and poured through the journal’s contents and conducted a séance to piece together the paranormal puzzle. Russell Hunter then discerned the resident ghost was a sickly child who once lived in the home, and had been the heir to a fortune from his grandmother before succumbing to his infirmity. According to Russell Hunter, the ghost of the sickly boy directed him to the aforementioned unmarked grave, which was now located beneath a house on South Dahlia Street in Denver. The spirit reportedly threatened to harm the family living in the South Dahlia home if they didn’t give Russell Hunter permission to dig there. It wasn’t long before Russell Hunter and his team unearthed human remains, along with a gold medallion inscribed with the dead child’s name. Yet the grisly discovery didn’t solve Russell Hunter’s problem, in fact, the haunting only grew worse. A set of glass doors exploded in Russell Hunter’s face, severing an artery in his wrist. The wall behind Russell Hunter’s bed imploded and crumbled down on top of him. Fearing for his life, Russell Hunter fled to a new house on Kearney Street. But the hauntings moved with him. Finally, Russell Hunter called in a priest from the Epiphany Episcopal Church to perform an exorcism, which seemed to clear the air. Russell Hunter’s account will sound familiar to anyone who’s seen the film THE CHALLENGING.’ The red rubber ball even makes an appearance in the original tale, as it was apparently the sickly boy’s favourite toy. Russell Hunter’s claims also seems like they would be easy enough to corroborate. These may have nothing to do with Russell Hunter’s story, however, and much more to do with the fact that Cheesman Park was originally a graveyard. As recently as 2010, workers digging trenches for the park’s irrigation system unearthed four skeletons from the abandoned cemetery. And if that’s not the beginning of a killer ghost story, then what is? Dr. Phil Goodstein also did his own in-depth research into the family’s history that inhabited the house before Russell Hunter moved in. Definitely a must watch, but I found Dr. Phil Goodstein very eccentric.
Special Feature: The Music of ‘THE CHANGELING’ [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:59] Here we are presented with a brand new interview with Kenneth Wannberg, who is an American composer and sound editor, and has also worked with filmmakers such as George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg and Walter Hill, who discusses his composed theme music for the film ‘THE CHANGELING’ at great length and his dissatisfaction with the music box tune heard in the film that was composed before his involvement in the films process, and his reactions to the initial sound mix done in Canada. Among Kenneth Wannberg’s credits are ‘Star Wars’ Episodes 1 – 6; ‘The Last Waltz’ [1978]; ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’ [0000]; ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ [1981]; ‘Home Alone’ [1990]; ‘JFK’ [1991]; ‘Saving Private Ryan’ [1998]; ‘Schindler’s List’ [1993]; ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ [2004] and many more films, which are too many to list. Kenneth Wannberg worked frequently with composer and conductor John Williams. Kenneth Wannberg also worked in collaboration with director Douglas Schwartz, an American television screenwriter who made ‘The Peace Killers’ [1971] and was also the co-creator of the TV series ‘Baywatch.’ Eventually was asked to compose all of the music for the film ‘THE CHELLENGING,’ and was very enthusiastic, as he loves films that relate to ghost stories and was very much up for the challenge, but at the same time he felt it was going to be a very daunting project, as it was with him 24 hours and seven days a week, with not much sleep, but after some technical sound problems, they had to re-dubbed the sound in Los Angeles and eventually everything fell into place and Kenneth Wannberg was extremely very pleased with the final result, especially after seeing the finished film. Despite this special feature was just under 9 minutes, it certainly packs in a lot of information and is a definite must watch.
Special Feature: Building The House of Horror – With Art Director Reuben Freed [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:56] Here we get an in-depth interview with Art Director Reuben Freed, who originally worked on the Canadian Broadcaster Company’s 1978 TV movie ‘Who'll Save Our Children?’ and discusses the building of the ‘THE CHANGELING’ film sets, as well as the scenic painter James T. Woods for the sci-fi film ‘Blade Runner,’ who was also responsible for the distressed look of the exterior façade of The Changeling house. Over time Production Designer Trevor Williams heard about the professional work of Reuben Freed and hired him immediately for the film ‘THE CHANGELING.’ Reuben Freed talks in-depth about the scene in the film when for the first time George C. Scott gets to hear and see the bouncing rubber ball coming down the stairs; well we hear that they had to do a tremendous amount of rehearsals to get it right and seem to go on and on for a long period of time. Reuben Freed was also amazed that the film only cost between $6Million to $8Million to make, and points out that if the film was made in the 21st century it would not of been made on this 1979 budget, because the whole crew and actors had a great passion for the film. But what stood out for me with the final comment by Reuben Freed, when he had a great respect for the professional attitude of Trevor Williams [1931 – 2008] the English film and television production designer and feels very sad this person is no longer with us. As with the final word from Reuben Freed, he informs he was very honoured and proud to work on the film ‘THE CHANGELING.’ Despite just being under 11 minutes, it packs a lot of interesting information and is well worth watching.
Special Feature: The Psychotronic Tourist [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [16:02] Severin Films Presents a look at “The Psychotronic Tourist” and here we get to hear views from Kier-La Janisse [Author of “House of Psychotic Women”] and talks in-depth about the film ‘THE CHALENGING’ and its iconic locations and is split up into different categories, which are as follows:
The Accident, Cyprus Bowl Road, Vancouver, Canada.
John Leaves Lincoln Center New York, USA.
John Arrives at Sea-Toc Airport, Seattle, USA.
The House on 1250-1280 W. 57th. Avenue, Vancouver, Canada.
The Concert Hall, Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, Canada.
The Historical Society, Hotel Europe, Vancouver, Canada.
The Cemetery, Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, USA.
University Exterior, Red Square, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
John Throws the Ball away, Granville Bridge, Vancouver, Canada.
The Senator’s Office, Rainier Building [aka Rainier Tower], Seattle, USA.
The House over the Wall, 29 th St. & Bellview Ave, West Vancouver, Canada.
The Senator’s House, Hatley Castle, Victoria, Canada.
Contributors include: Michael Gingold [Fangoria], Ted Geoghegan [Filmmaker and Publicist], Ryan Nicholson [Make-Up FX Artist/Director] and Clinton McClung [Programmer for the Seattle International Film Festival].
Special Feature: Master of Horror Mick Garris on ‘THE CHANGELING’ [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:31] Here Mick Garris expresses his greatest admiration not only for ‘THE CHANGELING’ film, but also for the director Peter Medak's and his over view of the film and its genre, and at the same time contrasting the genre of the ghost story with the likes of the film ‘The Ruling Class,’ and recalling his desire to recruit director Peter Medak as one of the Masters of Horror for which he also directed ‘The Washingtonians.’ We also find out from Mick Garris that director Martin Scorsese voted the film ‘THE CHANGELING’ as his 6th most loved horror film.
Theatrical Trailer [1980] [480i] [1.78:1] [2:18] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE CHANGELING.’ Unfortunately the quality is totally atrocious, but despite this, it is a really a spectacular psychological horror trailer and letting us know what you will experience when you get to view the actual film. Be very afraid!
TV Spot [1980] [480i] [1.33:1] [0:29] Here we get to view this specially edit television advert for the film ‘THE CHANGELING,’ and is even more atrocious quality than the film trailer, but despite this, it is well put together to really frighten the life out of the viewer of what they will expect when they view the actual film. Be very afraid!
BONUS LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
Double-sided printed reversible Amaray sleeve with new artwork by Christopher Shy who is a US designer, funder of Studio Ronin in 1994. This small studio quickly gained attention through concept art and costume design for the entertainment industry. A radical, dark style was Shy's signature, a style he quickly used on his own graphic novels such as Silent Leaves, then Man to Leave. As well as a Double-sided poster featuring new artwork by Christopher Shy and the original film poster artwork.
THE CHANGELING Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD
The Changeling Main Title [2:34]
Arrival at The House [1:50]
Piano source 1 [1:11]
Piano source 2 [0:14]
First Chill [1:34]
The Door Opens [0:21]
Music Box Theme (Piano Arrangement) [2:08]
County Ride [1:07]
Bathtub Reflections [3:07]
Finding the Secret Door [3:35]
Up Into The Attic [2:49]
Music Box Theme [1:49]
The Wheelchair [0:26]
Microfilm/Cemetery [1:31]
Ball Over the bridge/It’s Back [3:18]
Séance/Talk To Us [7:17]
Murder Flashback [3:41]
Wheelchair/Carmichael Tower [1:01]
Carmichael Reflects [0:35]
House on The Lake [1:56]
Breaking into the House [0:55]
Face on the Bedroom Floor [2:03]
The Chain Appears [3:50]
All The Doors Shut [1:14]
Mirror, Mirror [1:15]
Russell Goes to See Carmichael [2:20]
The Attic Calls Clair [3:55]
Finale/Resolution [5:57]
Music Box/End Credits [3:09]
Music Conducted and Arranged by Ken Wannberg. Composed Music by Rick Wilkins. Additional Composed Music by Howard Blake. This Compact Disc was mastered by Percepto Records.
BONUS: Beautiful printed 40 page perfect-bound booklet with new essays including THE MAKING OF THE CHANGELING by Kevin Lyons. THE CHANGELING ORIGINAL PRODUCTION NOTES. GHOSTS FROM GEORGE C. SCOTT’S PAST [An archival interview with George C. Scott that was published in Films Illustrated in March 1979]. Plus lots of rare publicity images from the film ‘THE CHANGELING.’
Finally, ‘THE CHANGELING’ is a subtle and genuinely great scary psychological ghost story, and hits most of the right notes for both subtle chills and an equally jump out of your skin shocks. Also Cinematographer Johnny Coquillon really gives effective imagery between a Steadicam and also with handheld Cinematography, just as composer Rick Wilkins's film score music alternates between low strings and ultimate heightened tension, to again really make you jump out of your skin with such creepy effective composed atmospheric music that sometimes makes you want to look over your shoulder. SECOND SIGHT Films have released the ultimate definitive package for all horror film fan collectors and the extras special features does help bolster this horror film and definitely a must have superb United Kingdom Blu-ray release, compared to the paltry USA Blu-ray release. ‘THE CHANGELING’ is a very good creepy horror film genre and one that definitely deserves to be viewed via such an excellent Blu-ray SECOND SIGHT Films release, but in terms of how it sits in the pantheon of haunted house films, it certainly is up there with the other ultimate spookiness genre horror films of the 1980s. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
