Has Anyone A Clue As To the Fate of the Remaining Val Lewton Films? (1 Viewer)

[Dick]

I recall in some thread a couple of years ago that our resident guru Robert Harris assured us the Lewton titles "Are in good hands." I'm not sure if those hands (Shout/Scream's) are even the same ones anymore. There is a ridiculous amount of mystery involved as to why ISLE OF THE DEAD was cancelled and why such classics as I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and SEVENTH VICTIM are not even being talked about anymore. Can a company spokesperson from Shout! or WAC or someone please enlighten us? Can we look forward to ever seeing these on Blu-ray? Many thanks in advance.

 

[aPhil]

I was really disappointed when the Blu-ray of “Isle of the Dead” was cancelled.

 

[dana martin]

I'm sure Warner home entertainment has some ideas but then that depends on who they have their deals with and who they're going to release those titles through. That wasn't meant to sound sarcastic, just optimistic towards future releases

 

[Randy Korstick]

The only info I saw was that Shout said sales were very disappointing on the two titles they released so my "guess" is they cancelled Isle of the Dead because of this and this is why no further discussion but there could be other issues involved as well.. I think it was a big mistake releasing these as very expensive single titles. They should have released them in 4 film volumes similar to the Universal sets they are releasing. I would have bought them that way.

 

[SultanOfWhat]

I watched a pretty nice transfer of I Walked with a Zombie on the Criterion Channel a few months ago, and it's still available there.

 

[dana martin]

Curse was a really nice presentation

 

[Cranston37+]

I watched a pretty nice transfer of I Walked with a Zombie on the Criterion Channel a few months ago, and it's still available there.

FYI - it’s leaving Dec 31

 

[Dick]

Well, Shout! remains frustratingly tight-lipped about the reason why ISLE OF THE DEAD (and presumably other missing Lewton's on Blu) was cancelled. They don't have to share that, I understand, but damn, there are many of us out here wondering if we'll ever see any of the remaining five the way they should be seen. That would be under the heading of "Good customer relations."

 

[Thomas T]

Well, Shout! remains frustratingly tight-lipped about the reason why ISLE OF THE DEAD (and presumably other missing Lewton's on Blu) was cancelled. They don't have to share that, I understand, but damn, there are many of us out here wondering if we'll ever see any of the remaining five the way they should be seen. That would be under the heading of "Good customer relations."

I'm guessing that they didn't sell all that well.

 

[Dick]

I'm guessing that they didn't sell all that well.

Yeah, could be. I can only hope WAC or Criterion can give us, at the very least, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and ISLE OF THE DEAD.

 

[TravisR]

My hope is that maybe they're going to change things up to be like the apparently more successful Universal Horror Collection sets and they release the other Lewtons in a box set or two. And that seems like a long shot at this point.

 

[Malcolm R]

As others said, it's likely all down to sales numbers. If the first releases were selling units and making profits for Shout, you can be sure they would have pushed the others right out in short order.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Favorite Val Lewton movie if you wanted to recommend something to a viewer unfamiliar with his craft?

 

[aPhil]

Favorite Val Lewton movie if you wanted to recommend something to a viewer unfamiliar with his craft?

Since there are 9 of the Val Lewton horrors, you can expect 9 different answers as all the films are good.
My top would be “I Walked With a Zombie”, followed by “Curse of the Cat People” and “The Body Snatcher.”

 

[Thomas T]

Favorite Val Lewton movie if you wanted to recommend something to a viewer unfamiliar with his craft?

My own personal favorite Lewton is The Seventh Victim (sort of a Rosemary's Baby of the 1940s) with I Walked With A Zombie a very close second. But as Phil said, you'll get 9 different answers.

 

[TravisR]

Favorite Val Lewton movie if you wanted to recommend something to a viewer unfamiliar with his craft?

Cat People, The Seventh Victim and I Walked With A Zombie are my favorites.

EDIT: I think Cat People is the most accessible to a modern day audience member.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Cat People, The Seventh Victim and I Walked With A Zombie are my favorites.

EDIT: I think Cat People is the most accessible to a modern day audience member.

I think that's because of the Kinski remake from 1982 as it has achieved some cult status.

 

[TravisR]

I think that's because of the Kinski remake from 1982 as it has achieved some cult status.

That doesn't hurt but I also think the original is the closest to a modern day movie of Lewton's pictures with scare sequences that still work and the movie is under 75 minutes so the audience doesn't get bored because it's an "old" movie.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That doesn't hurt but I also think the original is the closest to a modern day movie of Lewton's pictures with scare sequences that still work and the movie is under 75 minutes so the audience doesn't get bored because it's an "old" movie.

Hell, even the 1944 sequel to "Cat People" has been released on Blu-ray

 

[TravisR]

Hell, even the 1944 sequel to "Cat People" has been released on Blu-ray

There's only 5 movies left at this point. My hope is that Criterion has I Walked With A Zombie and maybe after Shout Factory exhausts their Universal Horror Collection releases (they probably want to spread out their B&W horror movie sets), they do a similarly priced Lewton box with The Seventh Victim, The Ghost Ship, Isle Of The Dead and Bedlam.