The Night of the Hunter
This visually ravishing, authentically terrifying Southern Gothic masterpiece is one of the cinema s great one-offs, not just because it was the only film directed by the actor Charles Laughton.
Robert Mitchum gives a career-best performance as Harry Powell, a self-appointed preacher with LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles who travels to a small town in search of his executed cellmate s stash of cash, under the impression that his two young children know its whereabouts.
But the film s melodramatic plot plays second fiddle to some of the most extraordinary images ever captured on film. Laughton and cinematographer Stanley Cortez (The Magnificent Ambersons) imbue almost every shot with a luminosity that recalls the great silent masterpieces of F.W. Murnau and Victor Sjöström. A widely misunderstood flop at the time (which put Laughton off ever directing again), it s now regarded as one of the greatest of all American films.
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Supplements
- Isolated Music and Effects Soundtrack
- Charles Laughton Directs "The Night of the Hunter" - A two-and-a-half-hour documentary on the making of the film featuring outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage
- Archival interview with cinematographer Stanley Cortez
- Original theatrical trailer