Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

bob the moo My years at IMDb have not been in vain and if I have been taught one thing by fellow user Theo Robertson, then it is that I should give Nigel Kneale a bit of my time when the chance arises. So it was that I found myself watching this film, one I knew absolutely nothing about apart from that it was some form of ghost story and that it had been written by Kneale. The plot sees an electronics firm moving into an old Victorian building to start a project looking at a new recording method that is beyond tape (utter sci-fi of course). When one of the team spots a ghost, project leader Peter Brock decides to investigate and more.From the very start of the film one of the main barriers to it is evident – it has not aged well. It is true to say that good stories do not age, however this is not the same as presentation, performances, wardrobe, effects, dialect and so on – mostly these things do date and not well. Sometimes the dating effect means it can be unintentionally comic to those watching years later, having seen these things many times and be spoofed as well; so for example the visual effects to convey panic and fear in Jill in the opening scene in the car park is a little bit like this and it is a problem that it never wholly will get away from for many viewers. That said, the material mostly doesn't date and the ideas are well presented, interesting and a little bit spooky – they didn't chill me as much as I had wanted but again this was down to most of the scenes on this side of the film using dated special effects where I would have preferred more to have been done with atmosphere and tone (as was the case in the more effective parts of the film).The cast are a little bit BBC-workshopy. Bryant tends to project and I wasn't helped by how much he reminded me of John Sessions in terms of performance and looks. Asher is better which is good as she has more convincing to do – visual and camera effects aside, she is really good here. The supporting cast are mostly so-so, with some odd performances and characters. One thing common amongst all the characters was the very dated language – a lot of it surprisingly racist in regards put-on accents and sentiments; I understand that it is "of its time" but again this is one aspect of the "dating" that was a barrier to me watching it over 40 years later.Despite the problems with it, the ideas and atmosphere just about make it all stay together and work. It isn't as good as it should have been and it is impossible to say that the dating of the film has had no impact on its effectiveness, but it is still decent enough to be worth a look.

jgiulini After reading the positive reviews here, I was expecting the work to have the caliber of say, "The Innocents", or "The Haunting of Hill House", ... I couldn't be more disappointed.Even science fiction/fantasy has its limits of credibility. Typing furiously into a teletype to 'program' a computer to recover 7000 year old events recorded into stones is not an intelligent premise or believable in my book, especially when the computer didn't really tell us anything more than what the human beings perceived. This group of supposedly hot shot research scientist then thought this was a breakthrough opportunity in the technology of recording medium. That just sent me howling.Now if the characters were convinced that the hauntings were nothing but recorded signals from the past, why were they so frightened by it? Finally the ensemble of actors must thought that they were performing a Greek tragedy in an open air amphitheater. You see, they enunciated loudly and clearly to one another all the time even when they are in a small room. It gets very irritating quickly.Approach it as a comedy if you must watch this.

Theo Robertson BBC four showed a tribute to the great Nigel Kneale entitled THE KNEALE TAPES and followed it with a screening of the 1972 teleplay THE STONE TAPE . I enjoyed the profile but couldn`t help thinking I would have preferred seeing the groundbreaking 1984 or even QUATERMASS 2 but never look a gift horse in the mouth I enjoyed THE STONE TAPE far more than I expected but there is a slight flaw to it - It`s highly derivative of Kneale`s other scripts from the past , especially his masterwork QUATERMASS AND THE PIT . Without giving too much away I was instantly reminded of the events of Hobs Lane with a terrified character running away and a minister turning up with a bell , book and candle THE STONE TAPE does thankfully manage to stand on its own legs and works as a haunted house story . It`s also very clever even if it`s not amongst Kneale`s greatest work though some viewers may be put off with the unsympathetic characters especially Peter Brock , but remember Kneale`s not the sort of guy who paints people black and white . Director Peter Sasdy`s direction may be a little flat but that`s not really a criticism and he does bring a certain amount of atmosphere to the play , check out the scary title and end credits . My only criticism of Sasdy is that the acting is a little over emphatic , which strangely seems to be a problem with some of Nigel Kneale teleplays no matter who the director is . But it`s still pretty good stuff from a time when watching television was a great experience ,and I`d be very interested in what people who have never seen QUATERMASS AND THE PIT thought of it .And if you`re reading this Mister Kneale I`d like to say thanks for all the outstanding drama you`ve given us over the decades

grimgrom I remember seeing the original television showing of The Stone Tape at the tender age of 11 and the vivid memory is of being scared out of my wits. I have never seen it since,I don't think it has ever been repeated except the following Christmas,why I don't know. Early BBC productions may be notorious for thier flimsy sets and low budget productions but the acting skillsbase and quality of material has always remained second to none and this is no exception. Nigel Kneale is a master of his trade and this script (which is well worth downloading before viewing the play)shows why.The idea is original and the viewer(or reader) just cant help but engage thier imagination.No monsters,no fancy special effects(although it does get noisy!) ..just good,honest story-telling at its best. I gave it a 10(well worth it) By the way if you get the chance see Woman in Black,also by Kneale.