A confused film from one of Hollywood's most underrated.

Say the name Robert Wise and most will look at you with a blank expression. Say the name's The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Star Terk and even The Day the Earth Stood Still and you will receive a warmer look. What have they got in common? Director Robert Wise. Wise has had a long and varied career in motion pictures. Like Kubrick, Wise danced his way through the genre's creating classics as he went. Unfortuantely even the great make bad film sometimes. Audrey Rose suffers from that old adaption problem, big ideas that may fit comfortably into an novel but rarely on the screen. A lack of focus gives it a jumpy feel. Too much time is given to themes that can be dealt with a single scene i.e, a long drawn out court battle to explain the whole idea of reincarnation and not enough to what could make great cinema, ie, the breakdown of the marriage. Focusing on the personalites rather than the idea would have made the film a lot more accessable. Wise does pull a great perforance from Anthony Hopkin's and the rest of the cast but fails to keep the film together, letting the pace slip losing his audience. I mean compared to the nail bitting pace he created in The Adromeda Strain, if you didn't know Audrey was a Wise film you would think it was a first time Director at the helm. There are moments the film hits some great peaks, but alas not enough to stop the whole experince being slightly confusing and at times boring. Give me The Haunting anyday.