NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: IVC - Region FREE - Blu-ray (February 2016): Firstly, Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films says that they bought the rights to the RKO catalog for the countries outside France (thanks Julien!). It means that all the RKO films released by IVC have been mastered by Lobster Films and won't be sold in France. They do indeed start with the Lobster Films logo.

Our comments are similar to IVC's The Magnificent Ambersons Blu-ray.

We are excited about the forthcoming RKO Collection Blu-rays from Japan by IVC - Cat People, They Live by Night, Suspicion, The Fugitive, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Wagon Master and Bringing Up Baby. We are well aware of Warner's statement:

"Distribution rights to RKO films in Japan were sold off years before we ended up owning that library. We have no knowledge of what is being released there. We can only state that it does not involve the use of our original elements"

This HD presentation has some positives - more grain texture, more information in the frame (purists will appreciate) and contrast is more layered. It does have more speckles and very light scratches but it doesn't have the rich black levels of the Warner SD. This may be showing in the density (of lack of) of the Japanese source because the bitrate is quite high. The IVC shows some minor rounded corners (a positive to some - a negative to others.) Personally, I relish any opportunity to see the film again but it does fall somewhat short of expectations, although many sequences look pretty sweet in 1080P - improved over SD. You may judge for yourselves with the screen captures below.

An easier upgrade is the linear PCM 2.0 channel (only 16-bit) audio sounding predictably, flat with a touch of depth. The original score by Roy Webb (Cat People, Clash by Night, I Married a Witch, This Is Cinerama, Easy Living, The Window, Journey Into Fear, etc.) benefits more than the effects sounding rich and pure at times. Some may note the impressive piano in the film playing Chopin's Etude in E Op.10 No.3 in a few instances - as well as some Calypso and native chanting. This all sounds quite solid in the uncompressed transfer. The disc only offers optional Japanese subtitles and the Blu-ray is region FREE.

Only a folded poster as an extra - so, it is pricey making it definitely only for hard-core fans of the film. I happen to be one - so I'm not totally unhappy. With the lossless audio - it does indeed give a new presentation - and that counts for something. Let's hope Warner can best this IVC Blu-ray edition soon!

NOTE: The question of whether the degree of improvement is worth the cost for a bare-bones Blu-ray - is your own - for many the answer will be 'no'. Others may see value in the a/v advancement not finding the, converted currency, price prohibitive. To each his own. IMO, Don't feel obligated simply because you love and appreciate these RKO films.

***

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.

Gary W. Tooze