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Posted: |
Jun 20, 2010 - 8:46 AM
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By: |
eriknelson
(Member)
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You can always go out to the lobby for some popcorn. But of course, if you've read my book, then you'll know that one of Laughton's stated intentions was to get lackadaisical contemporary film goers to forget about their popcorn and lean forward in their seats, anxious to see what would happen next, just like audiences in the days of silent cinema.
***
Unless something is dreadfully wrong. tonight you will certainly have seen the version restored by UCLA just a few years ago. It is now THE version for theatrical showings (and TCM). Do me a favor, incidentally: When the two kids are in the barn, and Preacher is riding his horse on the horizon in silhouettte singing "Leaning," there should be nothing on the soundtrack besides Mitchum's voice. Did you happen to hear anything else in the background? -- There were some faulty prints made but theoretically they've all been recalled by now. Thanks!
I wish I had read your message before seeing the film. I do not recall hearing anything else in the background during that scene, but can't be sure. With regard to popcorn, etc., the audience (comprised mainly of twenty- and thirtysomethings) was unusually quiet. I didn't see any cell phone use or texting. I guess Laughton achieved his intentions!
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I always love the intake of breath I hear in the theater when Preacher suddenly appears in the back porch door...
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Yup.
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Posted: |
Aug 16, 2010 - 10:35 PM
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By: |
Essankay
(Member)
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DVD and Blu-Ray Criterion release for November:
NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
United States
1955
93 minutes
Black and White
1.66:1
English
SYNOPSIS: The Night of the Hunter—incredibly, the only film the great actor Charles Laughton ever directed—is truly a standalone masterwork. A horror movie with qualities of a Grimm fairy tale, it stars a sublimely sinister Robert Mitchum as a traveling preacher named Harry Powell (he of the tattooed knuckles), whose nefarious motives for marrying a fragile widow, played by Shelley Winters are uncovered by her terrified young children. Graced by images of eerie beauty and a sneaky sense of humor, this ethereal, expressionistic American classic—also featuring the contributions of actress Lillian Gish and writer James Agee—is cinema’s quirkiest rendering of the battle between good and evil.
Cast & Credits
Preacher Harry Powell - Robert Mitchum
Willa Harper - Shelley Winters
Miss Cooper - Lillian Gish
Uncle Birdie Steptoe - James Gleason
Icey Spoon - Evelyn Varden
Ben Harper - Peter Graves
Mr. Spoon - Don Beddoe
John Harper - Billy Chapin
Pearl Harper - Sally Jane Bruce
Ruby - Gloria Castillo
Director - Charles Laughton
From the novel by Davis Grubb
Screenplay - James Agee
Music - Walter Schumann
Photography - Stanley Cortez
Art direction - Hilyard Brown
Editing - Robert Golden
Disc features new, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
Audio commentary featuring assistant director Terry Sanders, film critic F. X. Feeney, archivist Robert Gitt, and author Preston Neal Jones
Charles Laughton Directs “The Night of the Hunter,” a two-and-a-half-hour archival treasure trove of outtakes from the film
New documentary featuring interviews with producer Paul Gregory, Sanders, Jones, and author Jeffrey Couchman
New video interview with Simon Callow, author of Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor
Clip from the The Ed Sullivan Show, in which cast members perform live a scene that was deleted from the film
Fifteen-minute episode of the BBC show Moving Pictures about the film
Archival interview with cinematographer Stanley Cortez
Gallery of sketches by author Davis Grubb
New video conversation between Gitt and film critic Leonard Maltin about Charles Laughton Directs “The Night of the Hunter”
Original theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics Terrence Rafferty and Michael Sragow
Finally!
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