Search - High Spirits on DVD

A wonderful film

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 12/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have loved this film since I was 9! HIGH SPIRITS is a whimsical comedy-fantasy from the visionary director Neil Jordan starring a superb cast.Peter Plunkett (Peter O'Toole) is the owner of Castle Plunkett, a gloomy castle set in the Irish countryside. In order to get the money-hungry Brogan family off his back, he decides to advertise the castle as the most-haunted place on the Emerald Isle (with the hotel staff doubling as the spirits)!.Among the cynical tourists that arrive are Jack (Steve Guttenberg) and his valium-guzzling wife Sharon (Beverly D'Angelo); a scientist of the paranormal (Martin Ferrero), his wife (Connie Booth) and their children; the chaste Brother Tony (Peter Gallagher) and the sexy Miranda (Jennifer Tilly).The "ghosts" are soon discovered to be fake, thus enraging the REAL ghosts of the castle who decide to make a little mischief for themselves! Jack finds himself falling in love with the elusive Mary Plunkett (Daryl Hannah), while Sharon is unwittingly courted by Mary's husband, the dead Martin Brogan (Liam Neeson).Director Neil Jordan envisioned a "Midsummer Night's Dream"-type atmosphere for this film with partner-swapping and people being seduced by other-worldly beings. However, producers soon had other things in mind and significantly re-edited the movie to their own vision. Cast members came from the set complaining that the producers had enfuriated Jordan with their antics, forcing him to walk off the project.However, the film is a constant delight, and this long-awaited DVD release will surely be relished by fans of the film.The DVD includes both the widescreen and full-frame versions of the film as well as the trailer."

Fabulous Phantoms!

Lucia Katerina | Montrose, CO United States | 11/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite the critics views, I love this movie.... Peter O'Toole is wonderful as a titled Irishman trying to keep his family castle by infesting it with home-made ghosts (the castle staff) to attract an international, phantom-following clietele. A bickering couple from America (Steve Guttenberg and Beverly D'Angelo) discover that there really are authentic ghostly denizens of the castle (Liam Neeson and Daryl Hannah--- he murdered her 200 years before in a fit of jealous passion, and they are doomed repeatedly to reenact the event)-- Steve Guttenberg falls for Daryl, and Liam is randy for Beverly D'Angelo. Peter O'Toole's relationship with his dear old deceased Dad-- wonderful... Entertaining(at times hilarious!), engaging and original; A Might-Have-Been-Great, but still WAY Entertaining movie--- and one I was lucky enough to find on video!"

A Modern Midsummer Night's Dream!

Allen R. Young | 02/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Neil Jordon has recreated the aura of Shakespeare's classic and set it within a beautifully haunting castle (whose exterior is the exquisitely picturesque Dromore Castle in Ireland's County Limerick). Here, the clash of cultures, Irish and American, and mortality, alive and Undead, are intricately woven with the comedy of conflicting personal interests -- and all set amidst the castle's dusty-and-dilapidated, labyrinthine passageways; passageways which inevitably lead to fulfillment and renewal. How could the professional film critics not see the enchantment! For those who are, at heart, a youth again, looking expectantly on a new day's adventure, or an adult, who knows the excitement of true love conquering limitless boundaries, this movie is for you. It is equal to any comedy written by the English Bard!"

Wonderful movie, I'm glad it is on DVD!

J. Autrey | Asheville, NC | 07/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of great 1980s movies are finding their way onto DVD lately. It makes my heart smile to see that a good DVD copy of High Sprits will help this movie live on through the ages. This movie is a wonderful comedy with some spooky twists. This one is a must see for ghost enthusiasts. A+"