Herb Kane
Screenwriter
- Joined
- May 7, 2001
- Messages
- 1,342
Cat People / The Curse Of The Cat People
The Val Lewton Collection
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 1943 & 1944
Rated: Not Rated
Film Length: 73 & 70 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Standard
Audio: DD Monaural
Color/B&W: B&W
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
MSRP: $19.97 ($59.97 set)
Package: Single disc/Keepcase
The Feature:
With Halloween nearly upon us, Warner Brothers released the long awaited Val Lewton Collection. The five-disc collection includes three double feature discs, I Walked With A Zombie/The Body Snatcher, Isle Of The Dead/Bedlam and the feature review set, Cat People/The Curse Of The Cat People - all of which will be available separately. Also included will be two additional discs exclusive to the collection; The Leopard Man/The Ghost Ship and The Seventh Victim which is double-billed with a new bonus documentary which focuses on the famous RKO producer entitled, "Shadows In The Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy". The individual discs list for $19.97 while the Collection lists for $59.97
Cat People
Architect Oliver Reed (played by Kent Smith) falls in love with beautiful Irena Dubrovna (played by Simone Simon) and they duly marry. But Irena refuses to give herself to him, believing that there is something evil inside herself. She tells of her Serbian ancestors who were reputed to be able to transform into cats when angered. As Oliver's frustration and unhappiness grows, he seeks consolation in the arms of co-worker Alice Moore (played by Jane Randolph). But a series of near-attacks on the two of them leave him wondering either if Irena has not become jealously deranged or if maybe her Serbian legends are true and that she is turning into a cat person to avenge herself on them.
Cat People was the first film from producer Val Lewton at RKO Radio Pictures. With it Lewton essentially created a new type of horror film - the psychological horror film. And in so doing, Lewton ended completely changing approaches to the horror film. In synopsis, Cat People could be any of a dozen similarly minded B-programmer werewolf variations of the same decade. The crucial difference was in Lewton’s approach to horror. Lewton took any overt manifestation of the supernatural away from the audience. The approach that became a dictum to his writers and directors relied upon casting doubt, both for the characters and audience, upon whether or not the supernatural menace was real or something imagined. Whether or not Simone Simon is a were-feline or merely imagining it, the film here is cleverly ambiguous about, even at the very end. Certainly no were-cat is ever seen - much growling is heard and the shadow of something is briefly glimpsed prowling through Kent Smith’s office, but that could always be the panther from the zoo to whose cage Simon stole the key. Even cleverer is a subtext of explanation offered by psychologist Tom Conway that all but states outright, that Irena’s belief that she is a were-feline could as much be a delusion caused by an extreme fear of sex.
The actual suspense scenes are structured with a careful ambiguity too. There’s the classic scene where Simon pursues Jane Randolph where in Randolph’s imagination Simon’s footsteps appear to become an animal chasing her. The scene builds with such a sense of foreboding as to what is following her and where we are so misdirected to look behind her that when a bus slams into the foreground with a hiss of brakes it is a genuine jolt, a device now known as "the bus". And then there’s the celebrated swimming pool scene that creates the sensation of something present amid the rippling light reflected on the ceiling - nothing is ever shown, only suggested by growling noise and the suggestion of a shape prowling down the stairs. It’s not a hugely subtle scene, but it does contribute entirely to the haunted mood of the film, an atmosphere that seems to derive a large part from having every set light placed at ground level pointing upwards. Indeed director Jacques Tourneur creates such a remarkably haunted mood that even a revolving door left slightly rotating is made to suggest something.
The Curse Of The Cat People
After the death of his wife Irena, Oliver Reed (played by Kent Smith) has married Alice (played by Jane Randolph) and they now have a young daughter Aimee (played by Ann Carter). But Aimee is getting in trouble at school because she spends too much time daydreaming. Oliver tries to encourage her to make friends. But after Aimee finds a photo of Irena, whose name is never mentioned in the house, Irena’s ghost appears to her and the two happily strike up a friendship much to the consternation of Oliver and Alice.
With Cat People (1942), producer Val Lewton created a new approach to horror, something that has been termed "psychological horror". Lewton’s trademark approach was something that exists in the mind of the viewer who was left in a constant state of ambiguity about whether they are dealing with a supernatural menace or whether the characters on the screen were imagining what was happening and there were purely mundane causes for events. Lewton’s films frequently arrived at their determined end with viewers still left unsure whether the menace was supernatural or mundane. But throughout his brief tenure at RKO Radio Pictures he was constantly at odds with studio management who did not understand the subtlety of his approach. With Curse of the Cat People, the studio had ordered a Cat People sequel of Lewton, but Lewton instead confounded them and produced this fine effort.
To call The Curse of the Cat People a sequel to Cat People is somewhat misleading. It is a completely different story - the first film was an existential werewolf story of sorts, whereas this is a story about childhood fantasy playmates. It shares some of the same characters - the three principals of Kent Smith, Jane Randolph and Simone Simon - but is really it’s own film. It, for example, at no point requires any understanding of or reference to the first film and it is it’s own self-contained story. Nor does it involve any ‘cat people’, despite the title.
But what it does share is the same ambiguity of fantasy elements. It is not as strongly manipulated an ambiguity as the question of whether Irena was a cat person was in the original, although the turning of Kent Smith into a parent demanding that Aimee play like other children does give a credible psychological undertow. As a film it is less concerned with ghosts than it is with the richness and power of the imagination. While Curse is not even really a ghost story, its directors adeptly create a haunted atmosphere of old houses, strange old women and oral ghost stories, and there is a great deal of imagery. A scene prowling through the old house amid gloomy bric-a-brac, with Carter’s face lit up from underneath and a supernatural wind seemingly tossing the pages of a book is the most overtly supernatural seeming of scenes, even if it is really a scene that has nothing at all to do with the rest of the film and seems inserted solely for effect. There’s a very good scene with young Ann Carter huddled on a snowy bridge, waiting for The Headless Horseman, and hearing approaching hoof-beats on the soundtrack which turn into a shadow passing her and then cuts away to shop it a vehicle passing her.
The film also has two directors. It was begun by Yugoslavian immigrant Gunther von Fritsch and taken over by Robert Wise. Up to that point Wise had worked as an editor, racking up some highly impressive credits - Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), as well as the Charles Laughton The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and All That Money Can Buy/The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941). Lewton let Wise take over from von Fritsch and then go on to direct The Body Snatcher solo the following year. Despite the two heads at the helm the film still holds together with great subtlety and finesse.
In 1942, when RKO was suffering financial difficulties, the studio decided to follow Universal's lead and start a unit dedicated to making 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 that infused the horror genre with a 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 the films in the Lewton Collection.
Ordinarily, I don't complain about such trivial things, but the box this set came in is really clunky and impractical. I don't know if the screener box I received was something intended for box-type stores, or if this is the regular box. The box is almost twice the height of a regular DVD box and the five discs just slip into the bottom opening, meaning, you have to have both hands to carry the box or to remove the box from the shelf, or the discs simply slide out (think Criterion Hitchcock set, only almost twice as high). And if your shelves are like mine, this set is far too tall to fit on any regular shelf. You're going to need to set this box on its side or remove them from the box. As I said, I don't know if I received something unique or if this is the regular box.
The Features:
Cat People 4/5 :star::star::star::star:
The Curse Of The Cat People 3.5/5 :star::star::star:
Video:
This is my first experience owning any of the Lewton films on any format. Considering how much has been talked about with respect to the problematic (read poor) presentation of these films, I have to say, frankly, I'm surprised. I was expecting far worse than what I got - at least for these two feature films. Perhaps the opinion of this reviewer may change as I progress through the set, but so far, I'm impressed. One can't help but notice how many scenes throughout these films, are reminiscent of classic film noir. Expressionistic shadows, lighting and an atmospheric moodiness are key elements throughout these films and darker scenes or sequences shouldn't be confused with a problematic transfer. Especially considering the director here was responsible for one of the greatest films noir ever (Out Of The Past) and the DP, Nicholas Musaraca worked on as many noirs as anyone in the business. Many of the old RKO films noir (and there's plenty of them) have a very similar look and appearance. No doubt, the shoestring budget of this film and those of other RKO films contributed to this look - a quality unto itself frequently seen and associated with film noir.
Presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, first thing you'll notice as these films (both of them) progress is the jitter and instability of the image (shrinkage?). There's also a fair amount of visible print damage including scratches and blemishes. Really, these are the only true issues with the prints. Contrast appears to be good and the levels of grayscale are downright impressive. Blacks were adequately deep, while whites were relatively clean. There is a moderate amount of fine to medium film grain present and the end result is a pleasing film-like image with a satisfactory and pleasing amount of image detail, if not just slightly soft. While Curse is in slightly better condition, I found it overall, slightly softer, yet a little bit cleaner.
As has been stated on this forum no less than a kazillion times, the surviving elements of the RKO library are in less than favorable condition. It's that very reason, the end results must be given special consideration. If you're expecting "Casablanca-like" results here, you're going to be disappointed. If you find yourself disappointed, I'm afraid your expectations might not be as realistic as they could or should be.
Video:
Cat People 3.5/5 :star::star::star:
The Curse Of The Cat People 3.5/5 :star::star::star:
Audio:
No real surprises here with either of these tracks encoded in DD monaural. Both of these tracks were clean and basically free of any hiss or other noisy distractions. During a couple of the quiet sequences a slight amount of hiss is noticeable, but never distracting. The overall tonality is natural and the dialogue was always bold and intelligible. There's not much heft to the track as it was bound by the limitations of the period and comes across on the thin side, but these are both solid and virtually problem free.
Overall, a nice job.
Audio:
Cat People 3/5 :star::star::star:
The Curse Of The Cat People 3/5 :star::star::star:
Special Features:
With both films being presented on the same disc, the features located on each title are as follows:
[*] The main features among both titles are a pair of Commentaries by Greg Mank with Simone Simon. Mr. Mank unleashes an avalanche of anecdotal tidbits relating to the film and its production. Clearly Mr. Mank has done his homework - and it shows. He is absolutely prepared and even the timing of his information is impeccable - and often entertaining. He starts by offering brief bios of the two main stars and offers various production notes including the location shoots within the RKO studio. Appreciably, he also points out various stylistic highlights of the film and that of its director, Jacques Tourneur. He also touches upon "the bus" effect that was invented here and still used effectively to this day. Not surprisingly, he offers up a great deal of knowledge on the featured man himself, Val Lewton as well as friends and various acquaintances of the legendary producer. Various audio clips are included from Simone Simon (who passed earlier this year at 93 years) that were obtained from a telephone interview years earlier. Mr. Mank is literally non-stop and barely takes the necessary time to even breathe - you won't get bored here, a very informative pair of tracks indeed. Rarely do I gush about commentaries, but these are both superb.
[*] Both Theatrical Trailers also appear and in the case of Cat People, is in surprisingly good shape (at least better than I anticipated), while it's follow-up film doesn't fair quite as well - but still, is in nice shape. Duration: 1:05 & 1:34 minutes respectively.
The special features here are by no means overwhelming in terms of numbers, however, they're more than we've come to expect from other studios releasing similar types of vintage releases. If you want to learn about the films however, you can't go wrong with either one. Learning about the film, that's what it's all about. It should also be mentioned, that if you pickup the entire Collection, you'll be treated to the 53 minute documentary "Shadows In The Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy".
Special Features: 3/5
:star::star::star:
**Special Features rated for the quality of supplements, not the quantity**
Final Thoughts:
Beyond true film buff's, Val Lewton's legacy has all but faded. In an attempt to recoup the studios losses on Citizen Kane (and how ironic is that?), Lewton helped put RKO back on the map with his string of reasonably successful low-budget horror films. It's been a long time coming, but the man who helped saved the RKO studio has finally been given his due - at least on DVD. Warners have put together a terrific compilation of Lewton's finest films. In re-writing most of his screenplays and hiring the best up-and-coming directors, Lewton brought more than the shock and the sometimes predictability of horror to the screen. Lewton's films were moody atmospheric suspense thrillers, not films with shock value - it's what we as viewers didn't see which is why his films are so highly regarded to this day.
Could the presentations of these films have been bettered? Sure. But to an expense that wouldn't have allowed a reasonable return of the studio's investment. The end result (beyond the obvious fact we finally have his films on DVD) is pleasing considering what no doubt, were elements that have suffered the ravages of time. I'm happy to have this set in my library.... even if I have to lay it on its side.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5 (not an average)
:star::star::star:
Recommended.
Release Date: October 4th, 2005
The Val Lewton Collection