The Woman in Black (1989 film)
The Woman in Black is a 1989 British horror drama television film directed by Herbert Wise and starring Adrian Rawlins, Bernard Hepton, David Daker and Pauline Moran.It focuses on a young solicitor who is sent to a coastal English village to settle the estate of a reclusive widow, and finds the town haunted.It was an unexpected success, though author Susan Hill reportedly disagreed with some of the slight changes screenwriter Nigel Kneale made in the adaptation.In 1925, London solicitor Arthur Kidd travels to the coastal market town of Crythin Gifford on England's east coast to attend the funeral and settle the estate of their client Alice Drablow, a reclusive widow.A local coachman takes Kidd to Eel Marsh House, which can be accessed only by a tidal causeway that appears at low tide.In the study, he finds two death certificates and photographs of a young woman resembling her, and listens to some disturbing recordings made by Mrs. Drablow on wax cylinders.It was re-released on VHS on 1 April 1991 by Video Collection International as an exclusive to WHSmith stores, but only for a fairly short time before becoming an out-of-print title.[6] In his book Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide (2000), John Stanley wrote that the film was a "chilly British ghost story in the best literary traditions of H. R. Wakefield and M. R. James... [it] has moments that will freeze your bone marrow."[9] The Woman in Black was nominated for four BAFTA awards, including Best Design, Best Film Sound, Best Make Up and Best Original Television Music.