Kent Jones’s documentary Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows truly is a loving look at a man who deserves more praise for what he contributed to film. If you haven’t seen any of Lewton’s films, you’re missing out. His work is beautiful, haunting and so much more than you’d expect from their shlocky titles, and yet he’s still a relative unknown. It’s because of this that I’m glad Martin Scorsese decided to produce and narrate this film, as it will definitely shine a brighter light at this important doc and turn more people on to it.
The film will have its premiere tonight on Turner Classic Movies at 8:00 PM (EST). I have my own humble review over at Creature Corner, but just know that it’s a fantastic homage to the man and his films.
After the documentary TCM will be showing off ten of his movies. Here’s the full schedule:
8:00 PM Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton – The Man in the Shadows (’08)
9:30 PM Cat People (’42)
10:45 PM I Walked with a Zombie (’43)
12:00 AM Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton – The Man in the Shadows (’08)
1:30 AM The Leopard Man (’43)
2:45 AM The Seventh Victim (’43)
4:00 AM The Curse of the Cat People (’44)
5:15 AM The Body Snatcher (’45)
6:30 AM Isle of the Dead (’45)
7:45 AM Bedlam (’46)
9:15 AM Martin Scorsese Presents: Val Lewton – The Man in the Shadows (’08)
10:45 AM Youth Runs Wild (’44)
12:00 PM Mademoiselle Fifi (’44)
You can’t go wrong checking out any of those. Get those DVRs cleaned out and ready to go into overdrive….
Check TCM’s site for more details here.