Event

The Innocents

Reception & Book Signing

In Person: Michael Atkinson and Laurel Shifrin, authors of the new book Flickipedia: Perfect Films for Every Occasion, Holiday, Mood, Ordeal and Whim

In celebration of the publication of their new book, Flickipedia, critics Michael Atkinson and Laurel Shifrin present a rare big screen showing of the 1961 classic The Innocents. Adapted by Truman Capote from Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, The Innocents is a chilling psychological horror film about Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr), who takes a position as governess for two orphans in a stately Victorian home. Alone with the children and only a few servants, Miss Giddens soon begins to see what she believes to be ghosts and begins to suspect that the children's increasingly bizarre behavior may be the result of some supernatural power. When she learns the fate of the house's previous governess and valet, Miss Giddens takes it upon herself to rescue the children from the supernatural being that seems to have them in its grips. Ms. Kerr's nuanced performance, possibly the best of her career, and Freddie Francis's atmospheric cinematography help make this a true horror classic. USA, 1961, 100 min., b/w Director: Jack Clayton Writers: Truman Capote, William Archibald Cast: Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave

Michael Atkinson has written about movies for The Village Voice, Spin, Details, Maxim, In These Times, The American Prospect, Film Comment, Sight & Sound, and many other publications. Hes the author of Ghosts in the Machine: Speculating on the Dark Heart of Pop Cinema, Blue Velvet (BFI Modern Classics) and a debut volume of poetry, One Hundred Children Waiting for a Train. Laurel Shifrin is the data architecture manager for LexisNexis, and an inveterate lover of movies.