I saw this wonderful film when I was almost twenty in a very unique and intimate theater in Eugene Oregon. The film was incredibly intense and remarkably scary. I lived out in the country at the time, and i must admit I was scared of the dark for many months after watching this what I call "classic" ghost story. The film grabbed and sucked you in to its web quickly and effectively. It is one of the best ghost stories I have ever seen on film. It is a tragedy that this film is not available on other mediums. I am shocked to find it still has not made its impact to current generations. Someone out there must have this film stored somewhere - I would love to see it again and experience the terror or a truly ghostly and haunting encounter. I encourage anyone who has ever seen this wonderful film to comment and encourage someone who may have this stored away to make it available to the general public. A timeless masterpiece. Barbie Connell, Manchester, Connecticut 2012

I TOO saw this about 20 years ago.. I was a student at the time and went to all the art films that I could. This was (and still is) at the top of my all time favorites;I still think of it. I love that it wasn't violent as so many film of the "horror" genre tend to be. I remember the scenes that the other commentators have brilliantly mentioned and will add something that also appealed to me. When the haunted girl was about to "see" the ghost there'd be a, "thud", sort of noise; kind of like your heart thumping at seeing something frightening...and there'd he'd be, just looking at her. Yes the scene where she gets into a boat and is being rowed across the lake, then she looks and sees that it is him...wow...

As with the Berkeley commentator, I too saw The Haunting of M in its theatrical release, likely after a favorable review by Siskel and Ebert. I remember a cold night, no drizzle. I remember a theater in San Francisco, somewhere in the Northpoint area. Three of us saw it, and we were all quite impressed. It had what is now considered an 'indy' feel. I don't think I ever connected the director with any film since, though I've seen a few of them (El Norte, Mi Familia -- both in the Pasadena area on the strength of friends there). I definitely remember the rocking chair, the bare visibility of its movement. I remember an old photo the characters commented on, where a blurred figure in the crowd photographed 'must have moved' to account for its indistinctness. This was very atmospheric, and really more aesthetically 'fit' than many. It's hard to get honestly scary; for me, haunted houses and hauntings generally do the trick, and this is one of the top half-dozen, whatever its budget

I saw this movie over 20 years ago, but with a few others still haunts me. The music of Chopin and Janacek, together with the sepia dark images works very effective on your emotions and mood. Years after I can still feel the effects of this movie with the final epitome when the ghost tries to take the haunted M with him (to the world of ghosts?). A soft wind can be heard blowing through the trees, the music quite soft, sombre and romantic, the light is almost absent: all is set for this final important moment in the movie.Together with the earlier movies of Ingmar Bergman, Antonioni and the also forgotten masterpiece of Schlöndorff "Die Fällschung" (destruction of Beirut), I rank this movie to the highest order of the art.