Val Lewton (& Jacques Tourneur)

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Are most here in agreement with the consensus (David Thomson a major champion of course), which seems to be that this man worked miracles on small RKO budgets, and was one of the most creative of all movie producers?

Any views at all on his films with Tourneur? I'm about to finally get round to watching "Cat People", "I Walked With A Zombie", "The Leopard Man", "Curse of the Cat People", "Isle of the Dead" and "Bedlam"... interesting too that Tourneur made a supposed classic of British horror, "Curse of the Demon", in 1957.

The only bit I've seen so far was a clip from "Cat People" in one of my MA seminars on the horror film recently; the bit where the lead actress is in the swimming pool and you hear (but crucially don't see) what appears to be some sort of big-cat monster. It was beautifully eerie stuff, the whole pacing and especially the sound creating quite an effect.

― Tom May (Tom May), Friday, 19 November 2004 01:30 (twenty years ago)

Tell me about Jacques Tourneur

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 19 November 2004 02:09 (twenty years ago)

rent the seventh victim while yer at it.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 19 November 2004 02:16 (twenty years ago)

yeah look at that thread; my personal (idiosyncratic) favorite is "curse of the cat people"

they should all be out on dvd in 2005 or early 2006

― amateur!!st, Friday, 19 November 2004 03:01 (twenty years ago)

six months pass...

"Some good news for you horror fans has just arrived - Warner's announced today a 5-disc Val Lewton Horror Collection box set for release on 10/4 (SRP $59.92). The box set will contain 9 classic films, including The Cat People/Curse of the Cat People, I Walked With a Zombie/Body Snatcher, Isle of the Dead/Bedlam, The Leopard Man/The Ghost Ship and The Seventh Victim. Of these 5 discs, The Cat People/Curse of the Cat People, I Walked With a Zombie/Body Snatcher and Isle of the Dead/Bedlam will also be available separately (for $19.97 each). The rest of the films will be exclusive to the box set. Extras will include audio commentary with Greg Mank and Simone Simon on Cat People and Curse of the Cat People, commentary with Kim Newman and Steve Jones on I Walked With a Zombie, commentary with Steve Haberman and Robert Wise on The Body Snatcher, commentary with Tom Weaver on Bedlam and commentary with Steve Haberman on The Seventh Victim, along with the Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy documentary (on the life and films of the famous RKO Radio Pictures producer - the documentary is exclusive to the box set) and theatrical trailers."

― L'Histoire d'Eric H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:32 (twenty years ago)

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/protectedimage.php?image=DaveFoster/vallewton_r1collection.jpg

*drool*

I am capitalism's bitch.

― L'Histoire d'Eric H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:45 (twenty years ago)

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/protectedimage.php?image=DaveFoster/vallewton_r1collection.jpg

― L'Histoire d'Eric H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:46 (twenty years ago)

awesome. i actually used to own the val lewton laserdisc collection. that's L-A-S-E-R-D-I-S-C for the kids.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 16 June 2005 19:06 (twenty years ago)

BUMP

― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Tuesday, 21 June 2005 23:54 (nineteen years ago)

The ending of The Seventh Victim is so [SPOLIER] depressing.

― Eric H: not a troll, with one exception (Eric H.), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 02:36 (nineteen years ago)

why did you have to go and tell us that it was DEPRESSING, now it's ruined!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 02:59 (nineteen years ago)

I couldn't believe it when [SPOLIER] she walked with a zombie!

― Eric H: not a troll, with one exception (Eric H.), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

http://theeveningclass.blogspot.com/2008/01/val-lewton-blogathon.html

― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 16:55 (seventeen years ago)

i saw the unfortunately titled "curse of the cat people" (originally "amy and her friend," which would have been one of the best classic hollywood movie titles ever) tonight. what a beautiful, beautiful film.

― J.D., Friday, 18 January 2008 07:23 (seventeen years ago)

did any other film of its era deal with a child's POV so effectively?

has anyone seen "the ghost ship"? i was intrigued by the clips in the TCM lewton documentary. his later films look depressingly camp.

― J.D., Friday, 18 January 2008 07:26 (seventeen years ago)

I haven't seen The Ghost Ship, or Bedlam, or a few others.

― Dr Morbius, Friday, 18 January 2008 14:14 (seventeen years ago)

curse of the cp >> cp, no?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Friday, 18 January 2008 14:17 (seventeen years ago)

Both great but there's nothing as cinematically good as the pool scene in The Curse. Then again, I think 7th Victim might be the best Lewton I've seen.

I too am interested in the later Lewton ones, which I haven't seen.

― Zelda Zonk, Friday, 18 January 2008 14:20 (seventeen years ago)

eleven years pass...

The staircase at Simone Simon's place in Cat People was left over from The Magnificent Ambersons.

― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Monday, 28 January 2019 12:07 (six years ago)

two years pass...

https://www.gawker.com/culture/the-seventh-victim-gets-the-horror-of-living

― JoeStork, Monday, 1 November 2021 19:15 (three years ago)

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