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http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/Tourneur.htm
USA 1943

The Ghost Ship is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE

NOTE: The Shout! Factory Blu-ray of The Leopard Man is compared to the DVD HERE.

A superior horror film from the partnership of producer Val Lewton and director Tourneur. A travelling zoo loses a leopard after a publicity stunt in a New Mexico town, and soon after there are a series of gruesome killings. The police and townsfolk are peering into every shadow to find the big cat, which could leap out on them at any moment, but remain baffled by aspects of the deaths. Their doubts are confirmed when the killings continue even after the body of the cat is discovered. Then the real fear begins. Not a starry cast, but good acting and some real jump-out-of-the-seat moments.

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: May 8th, 1943

Reviews                                                     More Reviews                                                     DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Warner (Val Lewton Box) - Region 1 - NTSC

NOTE: The Shout! Factory Blu-ray is compared to the DVD HERE.

Big thanks to Adam Lemke for the Review!

DVD Box Cover

Comes in the Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark) :

Purchase links:

                

Distribution

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Runtime 1.05.59
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio Stereo
Subtitles English, French, Spanish, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Filmmaker William Friedkin commentary
• Theatrical trailer

DVD Release Date: Oct. 4, 2005
keep case

Chapters 22

 

 

Comments The Ghost Ship is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE

NOTE: The Shout! Factory Blu-ray of The Leopard Man is compared to the DVD HERE.

The transfer: A seriously flawed transfer from Warner’s, which is a shame given that this is the only real fault in otherwise stupendous boxset (think of Criterion’s Renoir box and the tragedy that is The Golden Coach transfer). Lots of dirt and scratches are prevalent throughout the film, and considering how much of Tourneur’s work depends upon his play between light and shadows, you may find these print blemishes more noticeable than usual. The major flaw is the appearance of an obtrusive black line on the right hand side of the frame that rears its ugly face at about the 20-minute mark and continues to appear off and on for the remainder of the film. Whether this ‘black line’ is the result of a botched transfer or was present on the original filmic elements I cannot say, but I suspect that once others have taken a look at the disc, we will be able to report back to you with more details.

The transfer on The Ghost Ship fairs much better fortunately (see below). Present here, are Warner’s usual standards of high quality, sharp progressively scanned image, relatively dirt free and glistening with a life that we associate with only the best transfers of 1940’s black and white films on DVD.

The audio: Each transfer sounds relatively the same, and depending if you are listening to these through your TV set or through a home sound system, your impressions might vary. Each film is presented with a mono audio track. Played through your set this audio can sound a little flat and muted, but played through a sound system (which I assume it was optimized for) the audio is clear. A picky observation perhaps, but something for you to keep in mind before viewing.

Extras: Keeping the trend of The Leopard Man transfer, the William Friedkin commentary track is also a disappointment. Friedkin offers none of the meaty observations you’d suspect a filmmaker to offer up, and instead you get hour-long snooze fest where the filmmaker simply dictates the events that happen onscreen. I recommend skipping over this one and devoting your time to one of the Film historian commentaries on the other discs, preferably Tom Weaver’s on Bedlam.

 - Adam Lemke

 

 






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DVD Box Cover

Comes in the Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark) :

 

Purchase links:

                


directed by Mark Robson
USA 1943

 

The Ghost Ship is reviewed on Blu-ray HERE

 

The least known, though far from least interesting, of producer Val Lewton's exemplary, poetic B-films, withdrawn from circulation for nearly half a century due to an unjust plagiarism suit that Lewton had the misfortune to lose. Like many of Lewton's best efforts (Cat People, I Walked With a Zombie, The Leopard Man), it's a taut thriller promising fantasy in its title but offering a dark look at human psychology that becomes highly disturbing through what's left to the imagination. The plot concerns a young third mate (Russell Wade) on a cargo ship befriended by the lonely captain (Richard Dix), who's gradually revealed as a disturbed tyrant with little of the self-confidence he initially shows--a cracked father figure whose crew is mysteriously loyal in spite of his weaknesses. Like Lewton's other early pictures, it's carefully scripted (by Donald Henderson Clarke), efficiently directed (by Mark Robson), and evocatively shot (by Nicholas Musuraca). This 1943 "second feature" boasts a large and well-defined cast of characters and a very involved plot, though it lasts only about 70 minutes--there's scarcely a wasted motion, a bracing object lesson to nearly all feature makers today.

Excerpt from Jonathan Rosenbaum's review for the Chicago Reader located HERE

 

 

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 24th, 1943

Reviews    More Reviews  DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Warner Bros. (Val Lewton Box) - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Adam Lemke for the Review!

DVD Box Cover

Comes in the Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark) :

 

Purchase links:

                

Distribution

Warner Bros.

Region 1 - NTSC

Runtime 1.09.15
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio Stereo
Subtitles English, French, Spanish, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner Bros.

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:

none

DVD Release Date: Oct. 04, 2005
Keep Case

Chapters 20

 


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