5 STARS! *****
MAN IN THE SHADOWS: VAL LEWTON premiered at the Telluride Film Festival this year and the minute we saw it in the program book, we knew it was going to be one of the real highlights for us. We stood in line for 1 ½ hours to see it and it was absolutely worth it!
If you’ve never heard of Val Lewton, this new documentary is the perfect introduction to his incredible body of work. To say that he worked on “B-films” doesn’t do justice to the quality of work he produced during his short career or the amount of creative influence he exerted on his pictures -- a fact you’ll soon see upon viewing some of the clips included in this seriously-researched, brilliantly directed and edited documentary. Director Kent Jones isn’t content to simply surface-skim Lewton’s accomplishments but actually delves deep and reveals how much of Lewton’s personal history is reflected and used creatively in his work. Jones’ insights, coupled with the expert narration of Martin Scorsese and seamless editing of Kristen Huntley creates a thoroughly enjoyable film that, if anything, ended all too soon for us.
As longtime fans of the genius of Val Lewton, we had always wanted to know more about him. Thanks to Martin Scorsese and those fantastic people at Turner Classic Movies for producing this much-needed document that gives Lewton’s work the respect and placement in film history it so richly deserves. If you like classic films, you’re gonna love this documentary! - TONICK (www.tonickproductions.com)