541 The Night of the Hunter

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#51 Post by **domino harvey** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:38 pm

Our own justeleblanc has broken the news that MGM will be releasing a 2-disc special edition this fall. =D>

kaujot · #52 Post by **kaujot** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:47 pm

Where?

HerrSchreck · #53 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:56 pm

Coincidence huh Michael? (He just saw this today and asked my feelings on it in pm whereby we had an approximately 10msg to and fro on the film ending about an hour ago).

But where did juste reveal this, and is there any online info?

Michael · #54 Post by **Michael** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:20 pm

WOW. I just rewatched TNOTH last night. It keeps pulling me back again and again. After knowing Schreck for some time here, my guts told me he loves the film so I asked him to share his feelings and also if he noticed any Murnau in the film since he's a Murnau nut. I thought the river sequence was very reminiscent of Murnau but anyway...I'm very excited about the new special edition dvd. There is no film like it.

Hell and Heaven to Play With is truly a fascinating book, consisting mostly of interviews. Discussing the filming of TNOTH. When they were looking for an actress to play Rachel Cooper, Agnes Moorehead and Grace Kelly (imagine!) stepped in with the desire to play Rachel but they wanted someone with a strong Depression look.

justeleblanc · #55 Post by **justeleblanc** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:44 pm

Hey guys, I posted this as I was leaving work. My friend from MGM said it was coming and that it's been sent out to "media sites" which I'm not sure if that means amazon/dvd empire etc. I assume they may have a DVD cover as well but I'm not sure if its online yet.

David Ehrenstein · #56 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:11 pm

If this is a special edtion in 2 discs, I gather it will have selections from the outtakes -- correct?

#57 Post by **domino harvey** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:13 pm

I would hope so, but I fear we're gonna be given the same idiotic puffery that fills most major label "special edition" releases-- I'm sure if Laughton has any living relative, there'll be an obnoxious commentary track with said relative talking about how much Laughton seemed to love lemonade at family reunions.

David Ehrenstein · #58 Post by **David Ehrenstein** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:23 pm

I believe both of the kids are still alive. They had no careers to speak of after this.

Jack Larson told me that the girl who played "Ruby" -- the teenager who got crush on the Preacher in the film's last quarter -- passed away several years back.

And yes it's very Murnau. But with things in it that would have given Murnau pause. For Preacher Powell is far scarier than Nosferatu.

HerrSchreck · #59 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:31 pm

The Home theater Forum is buzzing today about it. As to the extras, theres a boatload of nitrate available for study.

Edit: here's the classicflix link for it:

The Night of the Hunter (Collector's Edition) (1955)

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden, Billy Chapin, Cheryl Callaway, Corey Allen, Don Beddoe, George Wallace, Gloria Castillo, Gloria Pall, John Hamilton, Kathy Garver, Mary Ellen Clemons, Michael Chapin, Paul Bryar, Peter Graves, Sally Jane Bruce
Director: Charles Laughton
Genre: Drama, Horror, Film Noir, Mystery/Thriller
Year: 1955
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Length: 93 minutes
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Rating: NR
Format: DVD
Misc: NTSC, Black & White
Language: English(Original Language), French(Subtitled), French(Dubbed), English(Subtitled)

Discs in this Set:
The Night of the Hunter 1955
This DVD is disc 1 of 2 in "The Night of the Hunter" No Reviews

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden
Director: Charles Laughton
Synopsis: A tall, handsome "preacher" - his knuckles eerily tattooed with "love" and "hate" - roams the countryside, spreading the gospel... and leaving a trail Read More

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: 09/09/2008

The Night of the Hunter BONUS DISC

The Night of the Hunter BONUS DISC 1955
This DVD is disc 2 of 2 in "The Night of the Hunter" No Reviews

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden
Director: Charles Laughton
Synopsis: TBD Read More

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: 09/09/2008

SYNOPSIS:
A tall, handsome "preacher" - his knuckles eerily tattooed with "love" and "hate" - roams the countryside, spreading the gospel... and leaving a trail of murdered women in his wake. To Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), the work of the Lord has more to do with condemning souls than saving them, especially when his own interests are involved. Now his sights are set on $10,000 - and two little children are the only ones who know where it is. "Chill...dren!" the preacher croons to the terrified boy and girl hiding in the cold, dark cellar... innocent young lambs who refuse to be led astray.

"A finely acted, imaginatively directed chiller with brooding power" (Variety), The Night Of The Hunter stars Mitchum in the most daring and critically acclaimed performance of his career. Spellbinding, ominous, and hauntingly suspenseful, this extraordinary film noir classic remains "one of the most frightening movies ever made" (Pauline Kael).

BONUS FEATURES: TBD

As far as his mise en scene is concerned, I see a wildly unique cartoonlike recipe that registers less Murnau to me than a crazy concoction of Griffith, Jacques Tourneur, and maybe someone like sound era pabst (think latalantide or 3Penny) or maybe even late era Lang.. but all blended in equal parts for something hitherto unseen, verging on comicbook self reflexivity and wonderfully sinister extravagance. Love love love this film.. and its about time the upgrade is taking place.

portnoy · #60 Post by **portnoy** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:46 pm

David Ehrenstein wrote:I believe both of the kids are still alive. They had no careers to speak of after this.

I remember spotting Billy Chapin in Fleischer's Violent Saturday and being amused - the films came out the same year! - but yeah, never heard from again...

Person · #61 Post by **Person** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 9:50 pm

Fantastic news! I have had an inkling for about three years that a SE of this masterpiece was coming, but no substantial news ever appeared.

Here's hoping that a new edition of Kiss Me Deadly gets a new transfer and some high quality extras soon, too. A new transfer of Frankenheimer's, The Train (a huge fave of mine) appears soon, too - preferably on Blu-Ray.

Antoine Doinel · #62 Post by **Antoine Doinel** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:33 am

Amazing news! Can't wait!

#63 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:39 am

There is a wealth of supplemental material that could be included here. Preston Neal Jones, Robert Gitt, and Simon Callow would all have plenty to say about it. Most importantly of course are the rushes that Shreck alluded to. They were assembled by Gitt as Charles Laughton Directs Night of the Hunter. Gitt wrote an article about them for The Guardian, and here is Leonard Maltin's giddy response to seeing them at The UCLA Film and Television Archive, and F.X. Feeney's take on the same.

I hope that the second disc doesn't just turn out to be the Richard Chamberlain made-for-TV remake!

s.j. bagley · #64 Post by **s.j. bagley** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:39 am

it's about fucking time!

sir karl · #65 Post by **sir karl** » Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:12 am

Of course they're releasing a CE now... after I bought the barebones DVD last week

stwrt · #66 Post by **stwrt** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:47 am

Often wonderd if Laughton or Stanley Cortez had Will Eisner's black and white comic strip "The Spirit" in mind when shooting NOTH - especially the night and shadow scenes in the town near the end of the movie.

Gigi M. · #67 Post by **Gigi M.** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:04 am

I guess MGM did pay attention to that DVD petition after all.

Let's start one for Johnny Guitar!

What A Disgrace · #68 Post by **What A Disgrace** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:30 pm

Fantastic news. I hope Fox and MGM do this disc right...though MGM's recent output has been nothing to sneeze at.

Person wrote:Here's hoping that a new edition of Kiss Me Deadly gets a new transfer and some high quality extras soon, too.

Hear, hear.

Actually. What they need to do is work in some restored and remastered boxed sets of their Aldrich and Wyler holdings.

che-etienne · #69 Post by **che-etienne** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:00 pm

Will they fix the aspect ratio? It should be 1.85, but hitherto the editions have all been academy.

#70 Post by **domino harvey** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:04 pm

Shouldn't it be 1.66?

nick · #71 Post by **nick** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:06 pm

I've seen it projected at 1.66:1 and it looked correct.

Jameson281 · #72 Post by **Jameson281** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:13 pm

When UCLA restored the film they told MGM that 1.66:1 was the correct ratio, so that should be the aspect ratio of the disc.

sidehacker · #73 Post by **sidehacker** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:16 pm

From the Beaver review:

Night of the Hunter is absolutely, unquestionably 1.66. I've run both 35mm and 16mm prints of this film and if you project it 1.37 full-frame, you actually see the top of the soundstage in the sequence where the children land at the barn in the moonlight. The 1.37 DVD carefully crops in several sequences, including that one. It's such a beautifully designed film that it looks perfectly OK when "opened up", except in a few scenes such as the one mentioned.

HerrSchreck · #74 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:12 pm

1.66 is a very "gentle" widescreen.. I used to think the film was academy owing to the massive silent era tributes in it, but I've looked at the film so many times since then w the 1.66 quotes in mind, and can see it working just fine.

s.j. bagley · #75 Post by **s.j. bagley** » Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:16 pm

any word on a possible blu ray release of this?