Home Entertainment
October 22, 2007
Martin Scorsese Presents “Val Lewton: Man in the Shadows” On DVD From Warner Home Video
(October 22, 2007 - Burbank, CA) – Horror fans will have something new to scream about on January 15, as one screen legend honors another with the Warner Home Video (WHV) release of "Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton: Man in the Shadows." Scorsese produced and narrates this fascinating study of Val Lewton, the legendary film producer who brought a new perspective to the horror genre at RKO during the 1940s. Well-known to film buffs, especially those who covet the great thrillers of the past, Val Lewton’s name has never been as familiar to the public at large as it should be. With this new production, which will premiere on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on January 14th at 8PM (EST), Scorsese and writer/director Kent Jones take the viewer on a journey into the life and psyche of the man who left his mark in film history through the creation of such timeless thrillers as "I Walked with a Zombie," "Cat People" and "The Body Snatcher," to name but a few. The new documentary features insightful analysis, on-screen interviews with Lewton collaborators, and, best of all, an abundance of classic Lewton film clips.
The "Val Lewton Horror Collection," a follow-up to WHV’s best-selling 2005 boxed set, will now consist of six discs: the new Scorsese-produced Lewton documentary and 5 double-feature discs -- "Cat People"/"Curse of the Cat People," "I Walked with a Zombie"/"The Body Snatcher," "Isle of the Dead"/"Bedlam," and "The Leopard Man"/"The Ghost Ship" and "The Seventh Victim" which is double-billed with Warner Home Video’s previously produced documentary, "Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy" which are both exclusive to the collection.
"Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton: Man in the Shadows" will be available as a single disc for $19.97 SRP or as part of the "Val Lewton Horror Collection" six disc gift set for $59.92 SRP.
In 1942, when RKO was suffering financial difficulties, the studio decided to follow Universal and start a unit to make inexpensive horror B-movies, just for profit. The studio put producer Val Lewton in charge and gave him a series of tiny budgets and lurid pre-tested titles. They wanted shorter films (under 75 minutes) so two could be shown together on double-bills. Because RKO was concerned only with the bottom line, they also gave him a relatively free hand creatively.
Between 1942 and 1946, Lewton produced eleven films (nine of which were in the horror genre), turning those meager studio resources into momentous works of psychological terror -- hypnotic gems that infused the horror genre with new intelligence and literary luster.
Lewton created his great legacy by emphasizing the fear of the unseen instead of focusing on special effects. Additionally he hired young filmmakers who had yet to prove their worth, but were amazingly talented -- Jacques Tourneur, Robert Wise and Mark Robson direct all films in this collection.
About the Films
"Cat People"/"Curse of the Cat People"
"Cat People," directed by Jacques Tourneur ("Out of the Past," "I Walked with a Zombie"), is the trailblazing first of Lewton’s nine horror classics. It marked Lewton’s RKO debut and single-handedly pulled the then struggling studio into the black. Simone Simon stars as a bride who fears an ancient hex will turn her into a deadly panther when she’s in passion’s grip. Simon returns in "The Curse of the Cat People," a sequel that has become a landmark study of a troubled child that proved to be so astute it has been used in college psychology classes. This gothic-laced mix of fantasy and fright marks Robert Wise’s directorial debut.
Special Features:
• Commentary on both movies by historian Greg Mank, with audio interview excerpts of Simone Simon
• Theatrical trailers
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "I Walked with a Zombie"/"The Body Snatcher" This disc features two great Val Lewton classics which are based on literary sources. Using the gothic romance of Jane Eyre reset in the West Indies, director Jacques Tourneur and Lewton created "I Walked with a Zombie," noted for its overriding terror of the living dead. Frances Dee plays the nurse who witnesses the strange power of voodoo. Boris Karloff, the most celebrated star in the history of screen horror, stars in the title role in the Lewton adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s "The Body Snatcher," directed with subtle calculation by versatile young Robert Wise. A doctor (Henry Daniell) needs cadavers for medical studies and Karloff is willing to provide them – one way or another. This film includes Karloff’s famous scene with fellow horror icon Bela Lugosi. Special Features: • Commentary by film historians Kim Newman and Steve Jones on "I Walked with a Zombie" and director Robert Wise with Steve Haberman on "The Body Snatcher"
• Theatrical trailers
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "Isle of the Dead"/"Bedlam" Boris Karloff headlines these two atmospheric works filled with producer Val Lewton’s trademark mix of mood, madness and premeditated dread. In "Isle of the Dead" Boris Karloff shares a quarantined house with other strangers on a plague-infested and perhaps spirit-haunted island. St. Mary’s of Bethlehem Asylum in 1761 London provides the setting for "Bedlam." Here, Karloff gives an uncanny performance as the doomed overseer who fawns on high-society benefactors while ruling the mentally disturbed inmates with an iron fist. Mark Robson, who edited three films for Lewton and directed five, guides both of these films. Special Features: • Commentary on "Bedlam" by film historian Tom Weaver
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "The Leopard Man"/"The Ghost Ship" Two more gems from innovative producer Val Lewton in which he returns to the theme of living dead to instill horror. In "The Leopard Man," an escaped leopard provides the catalyst for a foray into fear in which castanets clack wildly, a cemetery is a rendezvous for death and love, and a closed door heightens rather than hides the horror of a young girl’s fate. It’s the third and final teaming of producer Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur. Director Mark Robson ("Bedlam," "Peyton Place") helms the brilliant nautical thriller "The Ghost Ship." Richard Dix ("Cimarron," "The Whistler" series) plays the sinister captain whose port of call may be madness. Special Features: • Commentary by director William Friedkin on "The Leopard Man"
• Theatrical trailer of "The Leopard Man"
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "The Seventh Victim"/"Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy" This is Lewton’s stunner about a Greenwich Village devil cult where six people have broken a clandestine group’s code of silence. The same six have died as a result. Now a new member of the group has gone missing. Will she meet the same fate? Chris Auty in Time Out Film Guide says: “'The Seventh Victim' is [Val Lewton’s] masterpiece … a remarkably effective mix of menace and metaphysics – half noir, half Gothic.” Also a study of how Val Lewton redefined horror is in the insightful profile documentary "Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy." Narrated by James Cromwell, this features interviews with Val Lewton, Jr., Sara Karloff and directors George Romero, Joe Dante, John Landis, William Friedkin and Robert Wise. Special Features: • Commentary by film historian Steve Haberman
• Theatrical trailer
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.# # #
• Theatrical trailers
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "I Walked with a Zombie"/"The Body Snatcher" This disc features two great Val Lewton classics which are based on literary sources. Using the gothic romance of Jane Eyre reset in the West Indies, director Jacques Tourneur and Lewton created "I Walked with a Zombie," noted for its overriding terror of the living dead. Frances Dee plays the nurse who witnesses the strange power of voodoo. Boris Karloff, the most celebrated star in the history of screen horror, stars in the title role in the Lewton adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s "The Body Snatcher," directed with subtle calculation by versatile young Robert Wise. A doctor (Henry Daniell) needs cadavers for medical studies and Karloff is willing to provide them – one way or another. This film includes Karloff’s famous scene with fellow horror icon Bela Lugosi. Special Features: • Commentary by film historians Kim Newman and Steve Jones on "I Walked with a Zombie" and director Robert Wise with Steve Haberman on "The Body Snatcher"
• Theatrical trailers
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "Isle of the Dead"/"Bedlam" Boris Karloff headlines these two atmospheric works filled with producer Val Lewton’s trademark mix of mood, madness and premeditated dread. In "Isle of the Dead" Boris Karloff shares a quarantined house with other strangers on a plague-infested and perhaps spirit-haunted island. St. Mary’s of Bethlehem Asylum in 1761 London provides the setting for "Bedlam." Here, Karloff gives an uncanny performance as the doomed overseer who fawns on high-society benefactors while ruling the mentally disturbed inmates with an iron fist. Mark Robson, who edited three films for Lewton and directed five, guides both of these films. Special Features: • Commentary on "Bedlam" by film historian Tom Weaver
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "The Leopard Man"/"The Ghost Ship" Two more gems from innovative producer Val Lewton in which he returns to the theme of living dead to instill horror. In "The Leopard Man," an escaped leopard provides the catalyst for a foray into fear in which castanets clack wildly, a cemetery is a rendezvous for death and love, and a closed door heightens rather than hides the horror of a young girl’s fate. It’s the third and final teaming of producer Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur. Director Mark Robson ("Bedlam," "Peyton Place") helms the brilliant nautical thriller "The Ghost Ship." Richard Dix ("Cimarron," "The Whistler" series) plays the sinister captain whose port of call may be madness. Special Features: • Commentary by director William Friedkin on "The Leopard Man"
• Theatrical trailer of "The Leopard Man"
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) "The Seventh Victim"/"Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy" This is Lewton’s stunner about a Greenwich Village devil cult where six people have broken a clandestine group’s code of silence. The same six have died as a result. Now a new member of the group has gone missing. Will she meet the same fate? Chris Auty in Time Out Film Guide says: “'The Seventh Victim' is [Val Lewton’s] masterpiece … a remarkably effective mix of menace and metaphysics – half noir, half Gothic.” Also a study of how Val Lewton redefined horror is in the insightful profile documentary "Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy." Narrated by James Cromwell, this features interviews with Val Lewton, Jr., Sara Karloff and directors George Romero, Joe Dante, John Landis, William Friedkin and Robert Wise. Special Features: • Commentary by film historian Steve Haberman
• Theatrical trailer
• Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature films only) With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.