Jacques Tourneur's - I Walked With a Zombie - DVD Review - Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset Jacques Tourneur I Walked With a Zombie DVD Review Val Lewton Boxset

(aka 'Vaudou')

USA 1943

"I Walked With A Zombie" is a deceptively adept film by often unrecognized master director Jacques Tourneur. The plot: A young Canadian nurse named Betsy (Francios Dee) comes to Haiti to care for Jessica (Christine Gordon), the wife of sugar plantation manager Paul Holland (James Ellison). Jessica, seemingly always in a nightgown, is in a purposeless stupor which the surrounding chanting and Voodoo respectful natives term "zombie". Betsy is determined to prove to Paul her medicinal value and stops at virtually nothing, including attending a voodoo ceremony with her charge, to help cure Jessica of her unusual mind-erasure state. The exposure of Jessica to the natives only damages the situation as the superstitious locals now view her as on the 'living dead' and she must be further exorcized.

Details of the family history slowly surface from many sources; Paul's doctoring mother, his jealous brother and a Calypso singer with clues imbedded in his lyrics. Romance curtly blossoms between Betsy and Paul as the natives grow more restless.

I preferred the ambiance of Tourneur's "Cat People" but there is no denying this films powerful blend of imagery, music and environment. The camerawork is a real treat as well. A hidden gem that many may dismiss for its repetitively abused title words. Don't let it deter you. A very worthwhile, if short and curious, film - out of

Gary W. Tooze

Poster

Theatrical Release: March 17th, 1943 - USA

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DVD Comparison:

Warner Home Video (Val Lewton Boxset) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Editions Montparnasse - Region 0 - PAL

(Warner Home Video (Val Lewton Boxset) - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Editions Montparnasse - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

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) :
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Distribution	Warner Home Video Region 1 - NTSC	Editions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1.08.36	1:08:15 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.73 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.2 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Lewton Box
Bitrate: Montparnasse
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French, None	French, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer • Commentary by Kim Newman and Steve Jones DVD Release Date: Oct. 4, 2005 Keep Case Chapters 20	Release Information: Studio: Editions Montparnasse Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Film Extracts of their "Fantastic Collection" (8) • DVD Production Credits DVD Release Date: 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

ADDITION: Warner - Val Lewton Boxset -

The transfer: Not the best disc in the Lewton set, although far from the mess that is The Leopard Man transfer. I Walked With A Zombie looks very sharp, but there are some occasional instances of heavy duty print damage that appear in hefty spurts and mar an otherwise splendid release of this Tourneur masterpiece.

The Body Snatcher on the other hand, is relatively free of scratches, but there appears to be some issues with the contrast. Now I don’t know for sure how this film is supposed to look, but this transfer is dark--very dark--even by Lewton standards. I suspect (although I'm speculating still) that the film’s black levels were cranked up to mask some flickering in the image. This would explain the lack of shadow delineation in several scenes and also the appearance of some ugly chroma effects during the outdoor sequences.

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: Both films feature commentary tracks and trailers. The Newman/James commentary is informative, but it’s the Robert Wise commentary on The Body Snatcher that has some heavy-duty replay value as he shares a wealth of information about what was happening behind the scenes at RKO.

- Adam Lemke

****

RE: French edition: There is some slight damage and contrast is boosted again. It has been taken from an NTSC source. Audio had some fluctuations, but overall for a film this old and probably poorly maintained stock, its about as good as it will get unless someone takes on the task of restoring and I hope the Val Lewton Boxset by Warner in 2005 is an improvement. No Extras about the film or director unfortunately. out of

Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Warner Home Video (Val Lewton Boxset) - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Editions Montparnasse - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

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