Robert Wise's subtle but powerfully effective supernatural thriller The Haunting has earned a potent following from fans of vintage horror over the years, and this DVD release of the film should leave fans of the movie quite pleased, if not ecstatic. The Haunting has been given a letterboxed transfer at the original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which has been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors, and while the image is a bit dark in some sequences and the source print shows slight signs of wear, overall it looks quite good and preserves Davis Boulton's cinematography admirably well. The Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack is clean and clear, and features both the original English-language audio track as well as a dubbed French version; the disc also includes optional subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, which for the most part thankfully slip below the frame line into the letterboxing so as not to obscure the image. The disc's most notable bonus feature is a commentary track (first prepared for an earlier laserdisc release) which features director Wise, screenwriter Nelson Gidding, and actors Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn, all of whom sound intelligent and thoughtful in this context, and who thankfully don't overload the track with pointless anecdotes. Also fascinating is the disc's still gallery, which, along with a portfolio of production photos and advertising art, includes highlights from Wise's original shooting script, complete with handwritten notes from the director. Rounding out the package is a short text essay on other notable cinematic ghost stories, and the film's original theatrical trailer. If the minor flaws of the transfer prevent this from getting straight A's, the DVD release of The Haunting honors its source very well, and is worth a look for both fans and anyone interested in checking out a smart, atmospheric ghost story.

Without question one of the most shocking and controversial features in cinema history, director Tod Browning's Freaks arrives on DVD with some revealing extras. Presented in 1.33:1 full-frame, the image is crisp and clean -- free of debris or digital artifacting. Blacks are universally solid, and whites remain vivid without becoming too bright or washed-out. One notable exception is the film's brief coda, which appears much more washed-out and overblown than the majority of the film. Audio is rendered in closed-captioned English Dolby Digital Mono with optional English subtitles (a welcome addition even to English-speaking audiences, as a few key lines of dialogue are virtually indecipherable) and is likewise bold and clean. Though fans who have been eagerly anticipating a DVD release for Freaks may lament the loss of key footage mentioned in both the commentary and featurette (the film originally ran at approximately 90 minutes before terrifying unsuspecting audiences and subsequently being trimmed down to just over 60), the generous extras as presented here may soften the blow of knowing that nearly a half-hour of Browning's masterpiece is likely lost forever. Commentary by Browning biographer David J. Skal explodes out of the gates by christening the film one of "the strangest and most controversial films ever produced by a major studio" before the title card is even displayed, and remains an informative and exciting feature before losing some steam toward the end of the film. Clocking in at just over an hour, the supplemental documentary "Freaks: Sideshow Cinema" offers an absorbing look into the lives of Browning and his unusual cast through interviews with such figures as Skal, sideshow performer/historians Todd Robbins and Johnny Meah, and actors Mark Povinelli and Jerry Maren. A special scrolling prologue will help to prepare unsuspecting viewers for the physical anomalies they are about to witness, and after giving a tantalizing look at the long-lost original ending, commentator Skal walks viewers through three alternate endings that are little more than slight variations of the ending viewers have grown accustomed to over the years. One could only hope that some day Browning's "lost" footage will emerge and pave the way for a more definitive cut of his original vision, but until then, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's fantastic release will likely stand as the definitive version of this one-of-a-kind film.