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) d'Evercy, a manor house near Yeovil, Somerset. Brympton was chosen because of its similarity to Bly House, as described by James, including its extensive grounds and large lake. The railway scenes were filmed at the East Somerset Railway. "The Turn of the Screw" starred Michelle Dockery as Ann, Sue Johnston as Mrs Sarah Grose, Dan Stevens as Dr Fisher, Mark Umbers as the Master, Nicola Walker as Carla, Edward MacLiam as Peter Quint and Katie Lightfoot as Emily Jessel. Corin Redgrave, who played the professor, was the son of Michael Redgrave, who starred in "The Innocents", a 1961 adaption of