ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (September 2024): Criterion are releasing "Produced by Val Lewton"; Jacques Tourneur's I Walked with a Zombie and Mark Robson's The Seventh Victim to 4K UHD and Blu-ray. It is advertised as a "New 4K digital restorations of both films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions" . The 4K package has one 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and a Blu-ray with the films and special features - also available separately. We aren't able to obtain 4K 2160P captures at the writing of this review and won't until till after the release date - a function of the encode. This is presently true of many 4K UHD transfers - sometimes we get lucky - not here. We will try to add them here when they are accessible.

The 1080P should give you an idea of the strong contrast - certainly richer, deeper and more balanced than the previous digital editions. We compared two DVDs and the past Japanese Blu-ray, of Tourneur's I Walked with a Zombie, HERE. That 1080P back in 2016 was always sub-standard but all that was available for the film... until now. The Japanese IVC transfer had rounded corners and faint contrast. We reviewed the Warner DVD of The Seventh Victim HERE back in 2005. We've compared captures with the new Criterion below. It's fairly evident how the HD presentation is improved - cleaner, more grain support, consistent etc..

The 4K UHD has an uptick in the contrast depth and layering, and fine grain texture. Larger systems will proportionately notice the further, film-like, improvement.

NOTE: 110 more more full resolution Blu-ray captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: The Long Good Friday, The Ladykillers (software uniformly simulated HDR), Torso (software uniformly simulated HDR), All of Us Strangers, Last Year at Marienbad (NO HDR applied to disc), Peril & Distress (And Soon the Darkness / Sudden Terror) (NO HDR applied to disc), The Case of the Bloody Iris (software uniformly simulated HDR), Reptilicus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Risky Business (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Conversation (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perfect Days, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le samouraï  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Castle of Blood (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (HDR), Fist of Legend (HDR), American Gigolo (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Long Wait (no HDR,) Bound (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Valiant Ones (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mute Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Narc (software uniformly simulated HDR), Peeping Tom (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (software uniformly simulated HDR), High Noon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Criterion) (software uniformly simulated HDR), I Am Cuba (no HDR), The Demoniacs (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Nude Vampire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nostalghia (no HDR), Werckmeister Harmonies (no HDR), Goin' South (software uniformly simulated HDR), La Haine (software uniformly simulated HDR,) All Ladies Do It (software uniformly simulated HDR), Old Henry  (software uniformly simulated HDR), To Die For (software uniformly simulated HDR), Snapshot (software uniformly simulated HDR), Phase IV (software uniformly simulated HDR), Burial Ground (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dark Water (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fear and Desire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (no HDR), Paths of Glory (software uniformly simulated HDR), Southern Comfort (software uniformly simulated HDR)

On their 4K UHD, and Blu-ray, feature films - Criterion use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language. Both films have no graphic violence although alluding to instances of such. The scores are both by Roy Webb, who has hundreds of film music credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures including The Ghost Ship, Bedlam, Crossfire, Clash by Night, I Married a Witch, This Is Cinerama, Easy Living, The Window, Fixed Bayonets, Journey Into Fear etc. sounding flat, clean and wonderfully dramatic in the lossless transfers. In I Walked with a Zombie are also guitar and songs performed (diegetic) by Sir Lancelot, traditional O Marie Congo and Chopin's Etude in E-major, Op.10 No. 3. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on feature films of their Region FREE Blu-ray and 4K UHD discs.

Jacques Tourneur's I Walked with a Zombie and Mark Robson's The Seventh Victim loom large in Val Lewton's impressive legacy that also includes, already released on Blu-ray, Cat People, The Curse of the Cat People, The Body Snatcher, Isle of the Dead, Bedlam, The Leopard Man and The Ghost Ship. As Imogen Sara Smith points out in the extras; both films in this set, at their core, are mysteries - each with a female protagonist as a make-shift detective attempting to assist another women suspected of being in danger. One is a catatonic patient who is a walking Zombie and the other is a missing sister. The coincidences don't end there as both gals come dangerously slow to a 'secret society' and, eventually, both fall in love with the husbands of the women they are attempting to help. I Walked with a Zombie is part of the primordial soup of 'walking dead films' and the second was controversial for its depiction of a devil-worshipping cult and subtle themes involving nihilism, existentialism and homoeroticism. The late Robin Wood told me that he saw something different every time he watched I Walked with a Zombie. I'm so pleased that both films are coming out via Criterion 4K UHD. This set will easily rank highly in our Year End Poll. Our highest recommendation.

Gary Tooze