Ghost Story

The main extras are a collection of short films made by Stephen Weeks in the Sixties, for Southern television, an audio commentary by the writer/director himself, a theatrical trailer and a 75-minute documentary on the making of the movie.

The short films illuminate Ghost Story insofar as they show Weeks was artistically preoccupied by ideas of Englishness. Whether in a country church, a city pub, at a disused railway station or showing footage of the First World War, the films have an elegiac and reflective feel to them. They all show a filmmaker clearly playing and experimenting with medium, using stock footage, overdubbing, poetry, music and close-up all to interesting effect. Somewhat stunningly, all these were made before Weeks was 21.

The real pleasure lies, however, in the making of the feature. Although there are a few notable omissions from the talking heads present (Marianne Faithfull being one; in fact, she barely gets a mention in the 75-minute running time), some of the surviving stars, and the writer/director are present. The particularly fascinating bit is the story of how the movie got to be shot in India (of all places). It seems a Maharajah loaned the ‘house’ out on the cheap, after becoming victim of Mrs Gandhi’s clampdown on the Indian upper classes.

It’s a good, incisive package.