Woodyanders This 77-minute documentary covers a lot of interesting and illuminating ground on acclaimed producer Val Newton, who made a name for himself with a series of moody low-budget horror films done in the 1940's for RKO Radio Pictures. Among the things we learn about Lewton was that he was a modest and unassuming guy who grew up around powerful women and attended military school, Lewton was a writer prior to becoming a producer, and he was an idealist who loved the sea. Moreover, we also find out that Lewton was an extremely hands-on producer who preferred that things be suggested instead of shown in his movies, he married his high school sweetheart, and later on in his career Lewton had trouble getting various projects off the ground. Nicely narrated with reserved aplomb by Martin Scorsese, with insightful interviews with such folks as Newton's son Val E. Newton, Roger Corman, and director Jacques Tourneur, it's essential viewing for Val Lewton fans.

Robert J. Maxwell Val Lewton was born in Russia and emigrated as a child with his family to America. He worked around the outskirts of Hollywood for a while before becoming a producer of what were called horror films at RKO Studios. This was in the early 1940s. He died shortly after the end of the war, of a heart condition.During his active period, this melancholy and retiring man -- who rewrote all his scripts without taking any screen credit -- led a unit of friends and compatible colleagues that produced some of the most haunting, small-budget, eerie movies to come out of Hollywood, about nine all together.This documentary by Martin Scorsese is an appreciation of Lewton's work, and nicely done it is. Lewton deserves all the attention and thought that went into the documentary. There are abundant excerpts from his films and interesting commentaries from a handful of talking heads, including that of the little girl from "The Curse of the Cat People", now fully grown."The Curse of the Cat People" is emblematic of the titles and material being thrown at Lewton while he was at RKO. The studio had just produced "Citizen Kane," a ruinously expensive flop at the time, and its new motto was "Showmanship, Not Genius." An additional impetus to the formation of Lewton's unit came from the success of Universal Studios' monster movies: "Frankenstein," "Dracula," "The Wolfman," "The Curse of Frankenstein," "The Briss of Dracula," and what not. The intention was for Lewton to make competitive monster movies at less cost. He did considerably more than that. He was stuck with the lurid titles and the sometimes irrational plots but he managed to polish the stories and see that they were filmed with impeccable taste.The narration is well written and insightful. Here's an instance of what I mean. I'd never realized it before but the most hair-raising moments in Lewton's movies are handled very briefly. They last only an instant or two -- a bus hissing to a halt, a trickle of blood under a door, the hoof beats of a horse turning into a flapping old automobile tire -- whereas today one would find these effects not only made more explicit but lingered over until the audience was on the edge of exhaustion or maybe beyond that.For those who are interested, there is a boxed set of nine of Lewton's best films now available on DVD, and each film is accompanied by a knowledgeable commentary.

Neil Doyle VAL LEWTON gave us many wonderful horror films throughout the '40s, but at one time he worked as a reader for David O. Selznick and told the producer his feelings about GONE WITH THE WIND: "This is the biggest piece of rubbish I've ever read. You'll be making the biggest mistake of your career if you decide to make this." (paraphrasing, of course). Well, he may never qualify as an accurate prophet, but he did know how to use subtle horror to make films like THE CAT PEOPLE and I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE.MARTIN SCORSESE narrates this thoughtful documentary on the producer with many interesting film clips from the low-budget horror films that are now considered film classics of their kind by a man who was "drawn to the darkness of the shadow world." He trusted many of his associates when he began filming the features at RKO with men like Jacques Tourneur, Nicholas Musuraca, DeWitt Bodeen, Roy Webb, and later Mark Robson. His films had an hypnotic effect on audiences, providing subtle horror through the power of suggestion.In private, he was a sensitive man, never fully satisfied with his work or his assignments, but happily married to a woman who understood him and his needs. He was really not tough enough to be a Hollywood survivor and had a few heart attacks before the major one that killed him at the age of 46.The documentary tells how he ignited the career of BORIS KARLOFF when Karloff was assigned to films like ISLE OF THE DEAD, THE BODY SNATCHERS and BEDLAM. As the war drew to a close, people began to turn away from horror films and Lewton's career began to decline when the defining films of his earlier career were no longer being made.His low-budget films really were low-budget: for CAT PEOPLE he was given a budget of $150,000, but the film was a huge hit, made a million at the box-office when only A-budget features made as much and stayed in big city theaters longer than CITIZEN KANE that year!

Michael O'Keefe Kent Jones writes and directs this documentary about Val Lewton, the Russian born writer and producer. Lewton after the turn of the previous century wrote for newspapers, magazines and novels that were considered "pulp novels". Most of his work was under a pseudonym. He had worked for David O. Selznick and MGM before being assigned to RKO to head up a new low budget horror unit. His fame is as a producer, but he actually was very involved with picking casts, developing scenes, co-writing, co-directing...he really through himself into his love of making movies. He was not credited for a couple of scenes he created for the classic GONE WITH THE WIND. A few of his most memorable movies: I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE, BODY SNATCHER and BEDLAM appear on Turner Classic Movies. His number one fan Martin Scorsese narrates. Plus there are interviews and statements from his friends and people who worked with him like: Robert Wise, Roger Corman, Jacques Tourneur, Dr. Glen Gabbard, Ann Carter Newton and Val E. Lewton. The voice of Lewton in this documentary is that of Elias Koteas.