The Val Lewton Horror Collection with Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton Documentary (1946)

"He rescued me and restored my soul" Boris Karloff said about working Val Lewton the Hollywood genius who fused light and dark the bizarre and everyday into hypnotic gems that transcended the horror genre. Martin Scorsese produced and narrates this documentary that features insightful analysis on screen interviews with Lewton collaborators and--best of all--clip after clip from his work: The Cat People (Lewton's RKO debut which singlehandedly pulled the struggling studio into the black) The 7th Victim The Body Snatcher I Walked with a Zombie and many more. The studio brass gave Lewton shoestring budgets lurid titles and a degree of creative freedom. Lewton gave the world art.System Requirements:Running Time: 87 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/BIOGRAPHY Rating: NR UPC: 085391156727 Manufacturer No: 115672 Product Description

Reviews and Amazon product info confusing

Comparing the original collection with this one there are various inaccuracies; this one only lists four films and the original documentary "Shadows In The Dark" along with the new documentary by Scorsese, yet one reviewer here says this has all the films of the original collection. No where else on Amazon (as in by someone from Amazon) could I find confirmation of that, though the two sets are priced the same. The original collection says it contains 5 discs with a run time of 646 minutes, while Amazon clearly is mistaken listing this set as 1 disc running 733 minutes. I give it four stars based on Lewton's artistry (and because you have to rate to comment) but with the above inconsistencies and concerns over the quality of the prints it's hard to give 5 until I see for myself. Then it also seems you'll have some die hard laser disc fans who will never give dvd format it due, and people who (as one reviewer did) compare the print quality to entirely different films which is worhtless, what with them being different films and all. . .soooo, other than sharing a love for Lewton's work, I found very little information regarding these sets all that helpful. June 1, 2008

Zero hours spent restoring print quality

The poor quality of the prints mares what could have been a stellar collection. (Some parts of Island of the Dead and I Walk with a Zombie look as if they were from Alpha Video - a company that produces cheaply priced public domain dvds.) Shame on TCM for not digitally restoring these gems to the same flawless quality of the 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan box sets. March 6, 2008

Great Stuff!

The set above contains a 87 minute Lewton documentary with Martin Scorsese's name all over the cover, "Martin Scorsese presents Val Lewton", but actually written and directed by Kent Jones. I have written a full review of the documentary, offered as a separate DVD for those who purchased this set when it came out last year. (Without the bonus Scorsese documentary now included.) You can find the review, along with another great review by a huge Lewton fan, under the title above.

The documentary probably is best seen AFTER the films. It is very poetic for a documentary, but then we're talking Val Lewton films.

If you already own the original set WITHOUT the Scorsese Documentary you should pick it up in addition to the complete original set! You'll find it extremely complementary.

As for the films themselves: It should by now be clear that these films are powerful landmarks in the evolution of modern American film and should be seen by anyone who loves film. "Cat Woman", "I Walked With a Zombie", and "The Curse of Cat Woman" are tremendous films, and there is much to appreciate in all the others. True aficonadoes of Lewton might consider the recently published book, "Icons of Grief: Val Lewton's Home Front Pictures" by Alexander Nemerov, discussing the films in the context of World War II escapist entertainment.

The quality of the DVDs I will discuss in a later post after I can compare them with the Laser Discs from my Box set. (Which had it's share of sound problems, especially during "I Walked With a Zombie".) Possibly I can address some of the issues brought up in the comments. The prints used in making the Scorsese documentary, which I just watched on DVD last night, were certainly very good to excellent.
February 9, 2008

Excellent set -- but save the documentary for last!

All of the films in this set are excellent, for reasons described in numerous other reviews on Amazon. The new documentary hosted by Martin Scorsese also provides a nice, atmospheric recap of Lewton's life and career.

But be forewarned -- the documentary contains a LOT of very serious spoilers for almost all of the best films in this set! So, enjoy the documentary by all means, but do so *after* you watch all the films. Happy viewing! January 15, 2008

Same titles as previous set with a documentary

This new set from Warner Home Video will contain the exact same titles as the currently sold Val Lewton Collection except there will be a documentary - "Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton Man in the Shadows". The documentary will be available separately for just under twenty dollars for people who already own the other five discs as part of original Val Lewton Collection.

Val Lewton is not a well known name in the horror genre for most people. Everyone knows about Universal's reputation in horror during the 1930's and 1940's even though, today, most of those early monster films have dated rather badly, though they still retain an atmosphere that makes them worth watching. Lewton came to RKO in the 1940's and had a very brief output of high quality films. He was pretty much given ready-made titles and his job was to turn a profit for the studio, not make art. Strangely enough, though, he managed to do both and came up with a series of films that retain an interesting psychological aspect even today. Thus he is often remembered as the producer of "the thinking person's horror films".

If you haven't already bought the Val Lewton Horror Collection, wait and get this expanded one. If you have, you can either pick up the documenary separately, or you can just watch the documentary when it premieres on Turner Classic Movies on January 14th at 8PM (EST). From the Warner Press Release: "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." October 28, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...