User Reviews

The appearance of three A list actors and direction by Clint Eastwood sets this story apart from almost all of the silly episodes that preceded it in this series. An artist (Harvey Keitel) about to get his big break is devastated when his wife (Sondra Locke) is killed in a horse and carriage accident, and he swears off ever painting again, to the dismay of his agent (Beau Bridges). With all but one of his paintings intentionally destroyed, Byron Sullivan (Keitel) imagines his wife coming back to life, and sees her in the garden of the home they shared. He makes a connection between his paintings of her, and the way in which she materializes whenever her image disappears from his work. Finding a renewed spirit, he begins painting again, and considers whether he might be able to join her if he creates a work of art in which they both appear. As ghost stories go, this one has sort of a fairy tale, magical quality that leaves a haunting impression, more so than the 'Ghost Train' episode that kicked off 'Amazing Stories'.

Byron Sullivan, a painter, is a happy man. He married Vanessa one year ago, and she has become his greatest inspiration. Byron's friend and agent Teddy has arranged for his paintings to be shown at a well known New York gallery, so Byron will probably be a famous man soon. He celebrates the good news at a restaurant together with Vanessa. When they drive back in their carriage, a lightning strikes and makes the horse bolt. The carriage is overturned. Vanessa dies, but Byron survives. It seems he won't get over his loss. He burns his paintings, saying he can't stand to look at the likenesses of Vanessa any more. He secludes himself and drinks too much. Then one night he finds he hasn't burnt all of the paintings of Vanessa. He finds a painting that shows Vanessa in the garden. He wants to burn it, but a (magic?) breath of wind blows out his match. When he wakes up the next day, Vanessa is not in the painting any longer but in the garden. However, when Byron moves towards her, she disappears and is in the painting again. Has Byron turned mad? Is it only a dream or has he found a way to be reunited with Vanessa?

I liked this story; I think the basic idea was a good choice for an enjoyable ghost story: Byron and Vanessa have been separated too early, so it seems she can't find rest (yet) and returns (as a ghost). I liked the acting, too. I guess Sondra Locke was the perfect choice for the role of Vanessa; Harvey Keitel as well as Beau Bridges does a good job, too. In my opinion, this episode is about as good as the first episode, 'Ghost Train', so I think if you liked that one, you will probably enjoy this one, too. (If you like ghost stories, both filmed and written, I think you will probably enjoy reading 'The Mezzotint' by M. R. James. It's also about a picture that changes (but it's more horrifying). As far as I know, it's in the public domain, so it should be easy to find it online as a free e-text. The title of the collection it appeared in is 'Ghost Stories of an Antiquary', so perhaps you will have to search for that title instead of the individual title 'The Mezzotint'.)

(Footnote (SPOILER):

There is one scene in which you can see Vanessa in a mirror; I think it's important for the interpretation of the story, but I don't want to be too specific because I don't want to spoil too much.)