AFI Film Fest: Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows November 11, 2007

VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS
Documentary Showcase

USA, 2007, 77 min, VIDEO

DIR: Kent Jones
SCR: Kent Jones
PROD: Martin Scorsese, Margaret Bodde
EXEC PROD: TNT Tom Brown
DP: Bobby Shepard
ED: Kristen Huntley
NARRATOR: Martin Scorsese
FEATURING: Val Lewton

In attendance: Kent Jones

We usually regard directors, writers and actors as the ones mainly responsible for cinematic art. We think of producers as only concerned about the commercial aspects of films—or obstacles to the creative process. Val Lewton who ran a low-budget production unit for the struggling RKO studios in the 1940s was an extraordinary exception.

Working with microscopic budgets, fledgling directors and rewriting scripts himself, Lewton supervised a unique succession of horror film classics like THE CAT PEOPLE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, and ISLE OF THE DEAD. Critic Kent Jones (co-writer of Martin Scorsese’s brilliant history of the Italian cinema, MY VOYAGE TO ITALY) has constructed—in the style of a Val Lewton film—a fascinating examination of the man himself. He depicts a man steeped in high culture, struggling to express himself artistically, who manages to bring seriousness to a pop-culture genre. Executive producer and narrator Martin Scorsese has acknowledged Lewton’s influence on his own work.

VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS clarifies the contribution of one of Hollywood’s strangest, most important and least-appreciated talents.

Official Website: http://filmguide.afifest.com/tixSYS/2007/filmguide/title/detail/?AlphaRange=VV&ShowShorts=Y&ShowPast=Y