Fantastic!

Excellent but underrated film

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

I've never read the novel this movie is based on either, but the movie made its impression on me from its debut. A BBC production that was released on the A&E channel, 'The Green Man' takes the old haunted house story and throws in a main character fighting his own personal demons, a little pseudo-lesbianism, plus an interesting mix of minor characters. Great scene where the other-wordly being pays a visit to Maurice to give him advice on dealing with Dr. Thomas Underhill! I can't decide whether the being was an angel, fallen or otherwise, or simply a messenger. We're all kept guessing as to that one! If anybody knows ghosts, it's the British. Not that we don't have our share, but there is something special about the United Kingdom. It remains a place of enchantment: the history of the Celts, Druids, and the Arthurian legends.Incidentally, even though I wasn't the one to donate it, Riverhead Free Library has this excellent video in its catalog!

Well-acted but ultimately dull adaptation of Kingsley Amis's novel. The film works best when it takes up Amis's amused bafflement at modernity--Nickolas Grace is particularly funny as an agnostic vicar--but all in all the film's not sure what kind of tone it's shooting for, and as a result it's not too scary, not too funny, not too anything else. One thing that might have helped is more of an attempt to create suspense about whether anything paranormal is going on. Finney's fine acting aside, we never really see Maurice as the other characters see him, and we don't for a second think that he's just having drunken hallucinations. This makes all the busywork surrounding his proving to himself that the ghosts are in fact real a bit tedious. In fact, the movie's overlong as a whole, and it's worth mentioning that the whole 'swinging' subplot doesn't really jibe with the updated period. (The book was published in 1969.) But it's got a real English-TV feel about it, which is always pleasant, and that may be enough for some. 5.5 out of 10.

I loved this 3 part series, and have seen it 3 or 4 times over the years. Albert Finney's character, Maurice, does have many unappealing traits. However, Finney makes the character irresistible. Finney plays the anti-hero to perfection. The script is excellent. I loved the scene where Linda Marlow and Sarah Berger (excellent performances both) pull a fast one on the `manipulative' Maurice. Just reading the other reviewers' comments makes me eager to see this British gem again!

Everything that Albert Finney `touches' turns to movie gold and he was the perfect choice for the lead role in this highly original ghost story. The mixing of his alcoholic delusions with the supposedly `objective' presentation of the ghost part gave the whole thing an usual screen credibility. One didn't know half the time what was what, glossing over the delusional to the phantasmagoric. The injection of uniquely English, character based humor, lent an important significance to the otherwise just scary (alebeit very scary) story line. Then there was the contrast of pagan hedonism with the contemporary gloss of civilized, sophisticated hedonism (the elaborate meals and wines all being eagerly consummed by mostly boorsish clients), all this being reflected in the conflicted sexual content of the ghost and his `victims'. One could go on and on about the rich fabric of this jewel. Thank God for the Brits !