Martin Scorsese's Val Lewton Documentary!

Whatever you do, don’t miss the excellent documentary on TCM premiering Monday, Jan. 14th: Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton: Man In The Shadows. The Russian-born Lewton produced a series of horror movies at RKO in the 1940s that were just unforgettable. Using talented directors like Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson and others, he released a series of great chillers: Cat People (1942), I Walked With A Zombie (1943) The Leopard Man (1943), The Seventh Victim (1943), Ghost Ship (1943), The Curse Of The Cat People (1944), Isle Of The Dead (1945), The Body Snatcher (1945).

The use of shadows and light, the suggestion of evil rather than showing the terror, the psychological complexity are these films' strengths and they continue to frighten and fascinate audiences today. The documentary written and directed by Kent Jones and narrated by Scorsese is an illuminating glimpse into this mystery producer. I never knew that Val Lewton was raised by his mother and the legendary actress Alla Nazimova in his youth, was an apprentice at MGM who rose up the rank until running this horror unit at RKO which was incredibly profitable. But the movies are just amazing. Chilling, complex, and creepy as hell. The Seventh Victim, set in New York’s Greenwich Village about a cult of devil worshipers has scene after scene that echoes later films such as Psycho and Rosemary’s Baby, and has got to have the most fatalistic ending in movie history. This documentary will be part of the reissued Val Lewton box DVD set on Warner Brothers to be released on Jan. 29th and if you don’t own it you’re an idiot.