Benjamin Britten the apex of his reputation: it was almost universally hailed as a masterpiece." Shostakovich told Rostropovich that he believed it to be "the greatest work of the twentieth century". In 1967 the BBC commissioned Britten to write an opera specially for television. "Owen Wingrave" was based, like "The Turn of the Screw", on a ghost story by Henry James. By the 1960s Britten found composition much slower than in his prolific youth; he told the 28-year-old composer Nicholas Maw, "Get as much done now as you can, because it gets much, much more difficult as you grow older." He did
The Turn of the Screw (2009 film) some critics. Whittaker, though generally critical of the film, felt it strongest when focussed on the house, children and ghosts. Paul Whitelaw, writing in "The Scotsman", commended Welch and Fywell for sustaining a horrific atmosphere, and noted that the soundtrack added to the horror. For him, even the use of horror clichés was effective, contributing to the film's atmosphere. "The Guardian"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Phil Hogan expressed a contrary opinion: while he thought "The Turn of the Screw" "exquisitely turned out", he felt the film's use of clichés limited the extent to which it was actually scary. In a review for "The Leader-Post",