Thursday, March 23, 2006

Val Lewton, The Final Chapter

The Seventh Victim – 1943

Well, this is it. The last Val Lewton movie. Those of you who like to read me rant against the crap will be glad to know that this spree of good movies has finally come to an end. And I must admit I’m kinda sad, because these were really enjoyable movies that I had never seen before. Intelligent and thought provoking, with great character development and artistic touches. Everything that was good about movies in the 40’s.

So here we have the story about a girl in search of her sister, who has disappeared. Evidently, she had become mixed up with some devil worshippers. This seems kinda contrite now, but in 1943, it was almost banned, it was considered so shocking. And the ending is dark, even by today’s standards. The featurette about the life and work of Lewton says it best, Lewton liked to make movies that said that death was okay.

So highlights of this movie are, the return of Dr. Judd (last seen being killed in The Cat People, so not sure how that fits into this movie. Maybe this is a prequel). Also, Hugh Beaumont is here, a decade before he would be known to the world as Ward Cleaver.

There are subtitle, as in all the other discs. That’ a great thing. And this commentary is excellent. Combining history and details about all the people, it’s a like a history lesson, without all the boredom. And then there’s the previously mentioned featurette, The Shadows of the Dark, that had interviews with famous directors (can you name a movie for each one? I could) about the influence of Lewton. Good stuff.

Four beers out of five (and I promise tomorrow’s movies will be good and trashy)