Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Others Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 21, 2023

Alejandro Amenábar's "The Others" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Alejandro Amenabar; exclusive new program with Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, producer Fernando Bovaira, and Alejandro Amenabar; various archival programs; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It very quickly becomes obvious that the large Victorian house will be transformed into a spooky playground because of the way the camera floats through it. The visuals make one anticipate the emergence of something disturbing, something that might repeatedly send chills down one’s spine. There are too many thick shadows and almost no proper bright light.

But instead of an ugly creature with an awkward-looking body, the Victorian house reveals a stunningly beautiful woman (Nicole Kidman) who looks after her two children (Christopher Eccleston and Alakina Mann). Because the children have a rare genetic condition that makes it impossible for them to tolerate light, the woman keeps the house as dark as possible. It is why from afar the house looks abandoned, at night even like a fragment from a nightmare that has temporarily come alive.

On a gloomy, eerily quiet day, the woman welcomes a trio of servants looking for work -- an old lady (Fionnula Flanagan), a mute young girl (Elaine Cassidy), and an old man (Eric Sykes) -- and even though they do not have references, she hires them to help her take care of the house. She could have managed without them if her husband (Christopher Eccleston) had been around, but he never came back from the war.

For a while, it seems like the servants are not only meeting the expectations of the woman but the house is slowly being reformed for the better. However, when one of the children complains that a ghost using the body of a young boy has begun revealing itself, the woman gradually becomes paranoid. Then, as her condition gradually worsens, inside the house and the surrounding areas the real and the surreal begin to merge and eventually become one as well.

Even though The Others was Alejandro Amenabar’s first English language film, the cinematic horror it produces is one hundred percent Spanish. In fact, its understanding and management of atmosphere, which is the core element of the classic Spanish horror/supernatural film, could not have been any more traditional. Amenabar simply utilizes better contemporary equipment to accomplish what the likes of Victor Erice, Carlos Saura, Fernando Arabal, and Jorge Grau did decades ago.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the entire story is structured around an intelligent misdirection that allows Amenabar to prepare a crucial reset of it. However, there are numerous clues that reveal the inevitable arrival of the reset, virtually all of which are easy to identify. How quickly one begins to identify the clues will determine how effective the inevitable reset is.

Unfortunately, the middle section, where the film must produce great atmosphere and suspense, features a lot of repetitive material with Kidman that overemphasizes the quality of her performance. As a result, the film slows more than it needs and, in several areas, even begins to drag.

All of Amenabar’s films, even the deeply unsettling Tesis, are beautifully crafted films that usually are very confident in their ability to balance great storytelling and great visuals. The Others has a good story to tell but it quickly creates the impression that it is going through a list of ‘rights’ it does not need. On the other hand, it is probably true that genre films like The Others can no longer be truly original because there are no more good tricks left for them to invent and genuinely surprise film lovers who have spent years analyzing their playbook.

The Others Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Others arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appear inside the leaflet that is provided with this release:

"Approved by director Alejandro Amenábar, this new digital master was created from the 35mm original camera negative, which was scanned in 4K by Mercury Films at Cherry Tower in Madrid. The original Dolby Atmos soundtrack was remastered from the magnetic tracks."

The release is sourced from a brand new 4K master that was approved by Alejandro Amenábar. The 4K makeover is also available on 4K Blu-ray. You can see our listing and review of Criterion's 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo release here. I viewed the The Others in native 4K and then sampled various areas of the 1080p presentation.

The Others has a very different appearance now. It is healthier, it looks a lot more attractive, and in many, many areas of it there is much more to see. A lot of the darker areas in particular look vastly superior and this makes a crucial difference because more than two-thirds of the film are quite dark. Color reproduction is outstanding, too. The primaries are better saturated and better balanced, plus there are wider and improved ranges of supporting nuances. I did several direct comparisons between the native 4K presentation and 1080p presentation in areas where I assumed that the former would look vastly superior. If you do not have a 4K system and can only play Blu-ray discs, you will be happy to hear that the 1080p presentation is every bit as satisfying. I focused on the density levels, delineation and depth, colors, and fluidity, and I think that in 1080p they are very, very convincing. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless as well. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Others Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English Dolby Atmos. Obviously, if your system cannot decode it, you will be getting an English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed The Others in native 4K. After that, I sampled various areas of the 1080p presentation. The comments below were used in our review of the 4K Blu-ray release.

In select areas, the Dolby Atmos track produces such humongous dynamic contrasts that it almost feels like it does too much. I did not see The Others at my local theater, but I have to wonder if this type of dynamic intensity is accurately replicated or the Dolby Atmos track simply elevates everything to a whole new level. So -- and please understand that I am not exaggerating -- you probably want to be quite conservative with your audio settings when you sit down to revisit The Others in 4K. I had the volume of my system turned up slightly more so that I can hear all exchanges and had to make some adjustments. For the record, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

The Others Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Alejandro Amenabar in 2022. It is in Spanish and subtitled in English. Mr. Amenabar discusses in great detail how The Others was conceived, its unique stylistic appearance, the emergence of particular clues revealing the true identities of the main characters, specific lensing choices and how light and shadow are manged in them, etc. It is a very informative commentary that covers all areas of the production of The Others.

• Alejandro Amenabar and Pau Gomez - in this exclusive new program, Alejandro Amenabar and critic Pau Gomez discuss conception and production of The Others as well as some of the religious symbolism in its story. The program was produced by Criterion in 2023. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (37 min).

• A Look Back at "The Others" - in this exclusive new program, Alejandro Amenabar, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, and producer Fernando Bovaira explain what attracted them to and involvement with The Others. The program was produced by Criterion in 2023. In Spanish and English, with English subtitles where necessary. (62 min).

• The Making of "The Others" - this archival program features clips from interviews with Alejandro Amenabar, Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, and cinematographer Javier Aquirresarobe, amongst others, as well as scouting and raw footage from the shooting of The Others. In Spanish and English, with English subtitles where necessary. (29 min).

• On the Set - this short archival program takes a closer look at Alejandro Amenabar's working methods during the production of The Others. In English and Spanish. (5 min).

• Art Direction - this archival program features footage of the set design models and costume illustrations, with audio commentary by production designer Benjamin Fernandez. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (3 min).

• Visual Effects - this archival program focuses on some of the digital effects that were used in several scenes in The Others, with audio commentary by visual effects supervisor Felix Berger. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (7 min).

• Recording the Soundtrack - presented here is archival footage shot during a soundtrack recording session. It features comments by Alejandro Amenabar. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (6 min).

• Photographing the Dead - presented here is archival footage from a photography session for one of the key props in The Others, with audio commentary by Alejandro Amenabar. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (4 min).

• Audition Footage - presented here is archival footage from an audition session with actors Alakina Mann and James Bentley. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for The Others used by Dimension Films/Miramax. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Philip Horne as well as technical credits.

The Others Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Others has been remastered in 4K under the supervision of Alejandro Amenábar and looks spectacular now. I think that even some of the film's biggest fans will be quite surprised by the new 4K makeover because there is simply a lot more to see and hear on it. There are two upcoming releases of the 4K makeover -- this Blu-ray release, and this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack -- and both are exceptionally easy to recommended. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.