The Val Lewton Collection

The Top 5 Horror Movies That Need to Be on Blu-Ray NOW

Sure a new impression has emerged in Europe, but we are still twiddling their thumbs over here in the States waiting for even the American version of the movie to hit Blu-ray.I need these Argento red and saturate the blues my player. I need dark Jessica Harper, saucer-shaped eyes looking at me in HD. And I need to hear Goblin score bursting with technology will allow greater clarity through my home theater speakers.

Re-Animator

There are not many black and white Hollywood movies on Blu-ray. Understandable, given that the average Blu-ray viewer is too young to be familiar with Vincent Price and Boris Karloff even less. But if I could have only one fear going back and white in my collection, it is now, the horror film most American revolutionaries of all time.Let's face it, people - Bride of Frankenstein remains head of George Romero. Lord knows he was not shot on 70 millimeter - and there is perhaps not as much room for improvement over DVD as is the case with some of the other films on this list - but with the popularity of zombies to a record, the band release a Blu-ray could make would be to ensure a new generation of moviegoers to discover the zombie movie the most perfect ever.

The Val Lewton Horror Collection with Martin Scorsese Presents Val ...

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.”

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!

Fearing the Dark, The Val Lewton Career

Icons of grief, Val Lewton's home front pictures

Jacques Tourneur, the cinema of nightfall

Horror Noir, Where Cinema's Dark Sisters Meet

Boris Karloff, a critical account of his screen, stage, radio, television, and recording work