High Spirits

Introduction

It's hard to believe that even after all this time, nearly ten years of DVD being the dominant format in home cinema, that there are still titles, mainstream titles yet to be released on disc. A film like High Spirits, a typical eighties title if ever there was one, is actually making its DVD debut in the UK now. It's been available for US audiences for some time now, but if we in the UK wanted a nice Region 2 copy, we would have had to import from Europe until now. But it's the sort of title that you would swear was released years ago.


Peter Plunkett inherited a picturesque Irish castle turned hotel from his father, but has been unable to maintain it or run it at anything approaching a profit. He's mortgaged up to his eyeballs, and in danger of losing the castle to his creditor Brogan, who intends to shift the castle lock, stock and barrel to California. Suicide is an option, but then he sparks on the idea of letting the castle's haunted reputation draw in the guests. Suddenly the dilapidated look, leaky roof, and lack of mod cons becomes a selling point. Of course they need ghosts, so the staff is roped into portraying all manner of ghost, ghoul, banshee and beastie to 'entertain' the guests. It's just the first batch of guests isn't the ideal audience. Jack and Sharon Crawford are ostensibly on their second honeymoon, but Sharon has ulterior motives, and is currently denying her husband conjugal rights. The Clay family are there together, but Mr Clay happens to be a parapsychologist whose mission in life is to debunk the supernatural. Brother Tony is a trainee priest who is taking one final vacation before taking his vows, but then he meets Miranda, a provocative young woman who has just been dumped by her Satanist hairdresser boyfriend, who just turned out to be gay, and who proves to be a constant temptation for the young cleric.


Meanwhile, the castle's actual ghostly inhabitants are becoming more and more offended by the shenanigans playing out in the corridors. But when Jack Crawford breaks the curse binding two tortured spirits to replaying their murderous demise night in and night out, mayhem ensues.

The Disc

The film gets a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer onto a barebones single layer disc. For a film that's twenty years old now, it's in fine fettle, with no signs of age, and with a clear, colourful and artefact free transfer. The sole soundtrack on this disc is the DD 2.0 English track. The dialogue is clear throughout, fortunate as there are no subtitles on the disc.

Conclusion

Well, it isn't Lawrence of Arabia. I'm in two minds about High Spirits, always have been since I first saw it all those years ago. It isn't very good, and the theatrical version has reputedly been disowned by director Neil Jordan, with the final cut taken out of his hands by a studio having a hard time finding it an audience. The results are clear on screen, a film that is uncertain of its identity, uneven in tone and pace, disjointed, and with a few glaring continuity errors. It tries to be comedy, bedroom farce, spooky, and romantic all at once, and doesn't really succeed at any of them.


Most of the characters fail to gel, the hotel staff are pretty ephemeral, the odd cry of 'Shagging' not withstanding, while the guests are almost as bland. Beverly D'Angelo is instantly set up as a hate figure, the utterly obnoxious wife of Jack Crawford, so that we maintain our sympathy for him when his passions turn to the ghostly Mary. Steve Guttenberg as Jack plays him as Steve Guttenberg, the same grinning character from the Police Academy films, albeit toned down and henpecked. There are some odd casting choices as well, with Connie Booth's American accent sounding decidedly Middle England, while Daryl Hannah's Irish accent is… unique.


But then there are positives to take from this film. Liam Neeson makes a meaty impression as Mary's murderous ghostly spouse Martin, Liz Smith is feisty as Peter Plunkett's slightly dotty mother, while Peter O'Toole is simply magnificent as Plunkett, mostly inebriated, fond of grand speeches, and blessed with an eloquence and charisma that almost, but not quite makes up for the forgettable nature of the supporting cast. It's almost as if he's in another movie altogether.


Which is where my dilemma comes from. Intellectually, I know this film is a dud, an ill-advised ghostly comedy that pales into insignificance against its contemporaries like Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice. However, there is a manic energy to its muddled narrative that is oddly infectious. I can forgive the curious accents, the silliness of the script, the unevenness of it all, as it is just so much fun. The nonsense that occurs always puts a smile on my face, and I don't care that it doesn't hang together at all well. And as I said, Peter O'Toole is magnificent in this film. He's worth the price of the DVD by himself. High Spirits, the guiltiest of guilty pleasures.