4. Night Of The Hunter
It's a shame that Charles Laughton only directed one movie, because Night of the Hunter is an absolute masterpiece. Based on the novel of the same name by Davis Grubb and gorgeously shot and clearly influenced by German Expressionism films of the 1920's, Laughton crafted the American idea of religion, money, sex and terror during the Great Depression. Like many great films, Night of the Hunter was a flop when it was released, and who knows, maybe that is why Laughton never directed again. Robert Mitchum gives a beguiling performance as Harry Powell, a tattooed traveling preacher and murderer who charms a widower (Shelley Winters) in order to steal the fortune her recently deceased husband has hid. When the widowers children catch on, the Preacher must hunt them down to claim his fortune but only if he can outwit farmer Rachel Cooper played by Silent Era icon Lillian Gish. Shown in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and presented in a new digital transfer in 1080p on Blu Ray as well as uncompressed monaural soundtrack, Night of the Hunter is a must see on Blu Ray.
Supplemental features are plentiful. In fact, it is more probably the most extensive collection of bonus material on any release. Disc one features a 15 minute documentary on the film featuring Robert Mitchum, an audio commentary with second unit director Terry Sanders and other notable film contributors. There is also a new documentary with Sanders alongside producer Paul Gregory, a gallery of sketches by Davis Grubb as he wanted some scenes shot as well as an archival interview with cinematographer Stanley Cortez whose work is simply formidable in Night of the Hunter. Disc two features a two and a half hour documentary titled, Charles Laughton Directs The Night of the Hunter. Once 8 hours long, this feature was cut from an enormous amount of dailies given to film archivist Robert Gitt by Laughton's wife Elsa Lanchester, the Bride herself.