I guess I'll be the one to let the speculating begin since I think it's pretty likely this will be an October box set but when, and what, and what goodies are we gonna get? I'm thinking there'll be a doc on Lewton himself and maybe something on Karloff....Isle of the Dead has some story/pacing problems, but might be the one I'm looking forward to the most...it's got some great lighting and a general feel of dread...plus it scared the crap out of me when I was 10....

I passed on the LD set in anticpation of this coming out this year. Can't wait.

from where did you get October as a date?

I guess that he thought that October being the Halloween month and the Val Lewton films falling in the category of horror and fantastique, it would be a safe bet to assume that. I sure hope so, too - this is my most eagerly awaited Warner boxset this year.

Call me an idiot, but besides CAT PEOPLE, which other films will be released in this boxset?

Wasn't there a 3rd CAT PEOPLE made?

Are you thinking of Schrader's 1982 "reinterpretation"?

Nope. I just thought there was a trilogy. I seem to remember, and I might be making this up, laserdiscs of a trilogy of CAT PEOPLE films.

Nope definitely only the two in the Lewton series. Are you also maybe thinking of Cat Women on the Moon, or such? No relation to Lewton and Simone Simon though.

Hrm. You might be right. I'll be sure to check out their trip to the moon though.

It's hard to imagine where they could have gone, as Curse of the Cat People is one of the most unconventional sequels I know. Maybe you were thinking of Lewton's The Leopard Man, which, though not related, is probably closer in tone to Cat People than its nominal sequel.

I think October or Fall 2005 was mentioned in one of the HTF chats; not this year, last years...but I could be wrong. I've been known to jump to conclusions before or it could just be wishful thinking....

See, the problem with asking about "all nine" Lewton classics is that Lewton made 11 films under RKO. I can only assume the two that people omit from their memory are the least-supernatural/horror-related films Youth Gone Wild and Mademoiselle Fifi. Which is too bad, because both are interesting and the latter especially is actually pretty darn good. Add the fact that it's the first of his films to merge fiction with real historical events, and it can be grouped with later films like Bedlam and Isle of the Dead, perhaps even more naturally than the earlier thrillers like Cat People and the Leopard Man can.

As much as I'd like to see all 11 released in a Complete Val Lewton boxset, most of what we've heard from the two chats indicates it will just be the 9 "horror" films. Which is actually a bit of a misnomer anyway since Curse of the Cat People can't properly be considered horror either -- it's more of a fantasy about childhood. Of course, I may be -- and I hope to be -- pleasantly surprised about this. Lewton's RKO films are so interesting that I'll be happy to see any of them released in the near future.

The latest Video Watchdog (#120) mentions that "Kim Newman and Stephen Jones recently recorded a commentary track for I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, to be included in a 9-film Val Lewton box set out next year."

Hopefully that bit about "next year" is incorrect.

According to this post at HTF, it's due on October 4.

Specs and art are up at DVD Times:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=57451

As we figured, no Youth Gone Wild or Mademoiselle Fifi, but nevertheless...

Woohoo!

i like that box artwork.

BIG EFFING SMILE HERE....and October 4th is my Birthday...heh, heh..

(and I effing love the cover art)

Flippin' heck! Strong contender for Boxset of the year on my book! This is going to be so fantastic! Not to mention the real icing on the cake that is the documentary on the bonus disc! Warner, you have a happy customer here!

Simone Simon commentaries on the CAT PEOPLE films? Simone Simon?? Bloody hell. I bet Criterion didn't have the nouse to get her to participate on their BETE HUMAINE disc before she passed on. I can't wait to hear them.

The whole boxset is mine, of course, but it's the two CAT PEOPLE films that are the ones I'm most excited about, for sentimental reasons. I saw them on a BFI double-bill re-release in one of the creepiest venues I've ever seen a film, when I was about 14, down in the almost totally-empty basement cinema of the ABC Piccadilly Circus. CURSE is very underrated, though it's a whole different kettle of fish from the original - a child's fantasy, basically.

This by far is the most exciting box set since the Lubitsch Laserdiscs.

Glorious, glorious news!!! I'm not sure the details on this release could possibly be more ideal!

Best release of the year. Best artwork ever. And the price is right too.

This news is so good that it seems surreal.