Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- Sorry, this item is not available in
- Image not available
- To view this video download Flash Player
The Night of the Hunter [Blu-ray]
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Mystery & Suspense/Film Noir, Mystery & Suspense |
Format | Blu-ray |
Contributor | Shelley Winters, Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, Charles Laughton |
Language | English |
Runtime | 1 hour and 33 minutes |
Frequently bought together
Similar items that may ship from close to you
- The Manchurian Candidate 4KUHD 4K UHDJohn FrankenheimerBlu-rayFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 24
- Paths of Glory (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]Kirk DouglasBlu-rayFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 24
- The Longest Yard 4KUHDRobert AldrichBlu-rayFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 24
- The Train 4KUHD 4K UHDJohn FrankenheimerBlu-rayFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 24
- Cape Fear (1962) [Blu-ray]Gregory PeckBlu-rayFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 24
- The Killing (4KUHD) [4K UHD]Stanley KubrickBlu-rayFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Sunday, Mar 24
From the manufacturer
The classic Hollywood psychological thriller
Starring Robert Mitchum in his most notorious role
The Night of the Hunter—incredibly, the only film the great actor Charles Laughton ever directed—is truly a stand-alone masterwork.
A horror movie with qualities of a Grimm fairy tale, it stars a sublimely sinister Robert Mitchum as a traveling preacher named Harry Powell (he of the tattooed knuckles), whose nefarious motives for marrying a fragile widow, played by Shelley Winters, are uncovered by her terrified young children.
Graced by images of eerie beauty and a sneaky sense of humor, this ethereal, expressionistic American classic—also featuring the contributions of actress Lillian Gish and writer James Agee—is cinema’s most eccentric rendering of the battle between good and evil.
Special Edition Features
- New digital transfer restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive
- Audio commentary
- Over two hours of outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage
- New video interview with Laughton biographer Simon Callow
- Archival interviews with cast and crew
- New documentary on the film
- And more
Product Description
Blu-ray. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER - incredibly, the only film the great actor Charles Laughton ever directed - is truly a standalone masterwork. A horror movie with qualities of a Grimm fairy tale, it stars a sublimely sinister Robert Mitchum (CAPE FEAR, THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE) as a traveling preacher named Harry Powell (he of the tattooed knuckles), whose nefarious motives for marrying a fragile widow, played by Shelley Winters (A PLACE IN THE SUN, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK) are uncovered by her terrified young children. Graced by images of eerie beauty and a sneaky sense of humor, this ethereal, expressionistic American classic - also featuring the contributions of actress Lillian Gish (INTOLERANCE, DUEL IN THE SUN) and writer James Agee - is cinema's quirkiest rendering of the battle between good and evil.
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.08 ounces
- Item model number : 28934666
- Director : Charles Laughton
- Media Format : Blu-ray
- Run time : 1 hour and 33 minutes
- Release date : April 8, 2014
- Actors : Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
- Studio : Criterion Collection (Direct)
- ASIN : B00HVOFPD0
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 2
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,240 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #275 in Horror (Movies & TV)
- #542 in Drama Blu-ray Discs
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
As with many masterpieces, NIGHT OF THE HUNTER was misunderstood when it was first released. United Artists did not know how to market this film. What was this film, exactly? It was ahead of its time in many ways and only years later was it truly admired to become an American film classic.
As I said, there is a bit of everything in NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. It's a crime story but then it become a suspense thriller and eventually it is a fantasy view of the world from the eyes of two young children. NIGHT OF THE HUNTER was film acting legend Charles Laughton's only film. It's poor reception was one of the big disappointments of his career. He never directed a film again.
The DVD cover of this Criterion Collection version has a film noir feel as we see Robert Mitchum holding a young girl as she looks up to him. I watched this film with no background to the story. Just the DVD cover and the fact that I was watching Robert Mitchum films and this one was on the list. Oddly, I have meant to watch this film for years simply because a long-time friend of mine is one of the children seen later in the film.
What an amazing cast. Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and the superb Lillian Gish and sprinkled throughout are well-known character actors of the era. There is a feel and ambiance to the film that I noticed right away. There is reverence to silent films in NIGHT OF THE HUNTERS. It was filmed in black and white for a reason. The indoor and nighttime scenes can be downright creepy and scary. The mood is set. It seemed strange to see Shelley Winters as a young actress--attractive but in a normal, girl next door sense. Her husband (a young Peter Graves) kills two men in a robbery and is eventually tried and executed. But what became of the $10,000 that was stolen. Enter the "Preacher" Harry Powell played with delight by Robert Mitchum bent on finding the missing money. He successfull woos the widow Willa Harper. Only her 10-year-old son John, played by the remarkably talented Billy Chapin, sees the preacher for what he is. A decade later, Winters was to again play a widow wooed by a nefarious con man in LOLITA. No one seems to be suspicious of a preacher with the words LOVE and HATE tattooed on the fingers of each hand.
The lighting sets the mood in so many scenes and that becomes more and more evident as the story progresses. At first, we have a somewhat straightforward story. Only when the children are on their own trying to evade the preacher do we have a shift in the story and the world is now seen through the eyes of two children. Truly remarkable and the shift is subtle. Eventually the kids are found by Rachel Cooper played by the lovely, charming, fantastic and one of a kind silent film star Lillian Gish. Gish lights up the screen and it's a shame that her film appearances were limited in the sound era.
We know from the beginning that the "preacher" is a widow killer so I am not giving anything away. One of the most shocking and memorable scenes I have ever seen is one of his victims in the water and her hair is flowing through the water along with the lake plants (much like ocean kelp). Watch the extras to find out how this scene was shot so realistically.
The absolute surprise in this film is the talented child actor Billy Chapin. Here was a 40-year-old trapped in the body of a child. From this movie alone, I would rank him as one of the best child actors I have ever seen but apparently, he only did one more film after this one. An incredible talent that must be seen. On the other hand, the actress playing his baby sister Pearl, Sally Jane Bruce, ranks as one of the most annoying child actors I have seen with a strange voice and an odd way of saying, "John." This was her one and only film appearance.
NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is stylish, quirly, off-beat and totally addictive to any fan of classic films. I spent a week watching all the extras on the Criterion Collection version and this version is a MUST to any film buff. Here is the odd story of how the film came to the big screen directed by Charles Laughton. There is a lot of praise to be given to the Criterion Collection version and all the extras.
Film buffs can't miss the 2 1/2 hour extra CHARLES LAUGHTON DIRECTS NIGHT OF THE HUNTER.
There is probably nothing like it in film history. Laughton keep the camera running when giving directions and beyond that he SAVED all the hours and hours of outtakes. His widow actress Elsa Lanchester finally donated the countless reels to archivists who spent years and years making sense of it all. The final product takes us as close to a film set and the movie making process that most of us will ever see. Here are the scenes in order as Laughton directs his cast--their mistakes, their triumphs and his direction on how to play the scene over and over. It is remarkable. I have never seen anything like it and it can't be missed.
Before writing this review, I wanted to have lunch with my friend to discuss her memories of the film. The story was that Laughton was not good with the child actors. The outtakes and my friend prove that was not the case. She said he was gentle and patient with the kids. Lillian Gish was wonderful and she had some great stories about Robert Mitchum and his antics--here was an actor who liked his drink and stayed out late and kept the cast and crew waiting for him to show up on set. I can't imagine what it must be like to be part of film history.
One final note. Mitchum sings throughout the film and I was amazed that he can actually carry a tune and he carries it quite well. I had heard he had a hit in the 1950's with the theme to his film THUNDER ROAD. I always figured that was a fluke but I was fascinated to learn there are three Robert Mitchum CDs on Amazon that you can buy. I got the one where Mitchum sings calupso and he pulls it off. Amazing. Some people have more than their share of talent.
I am reluctant to plot-spoil, so let's just say (a) that Robert Mitchum presents one of the most menacing characters I have ever seen on screen, (b) that the cinematography is wonderful (c) that my first exposure to the acting of Lillian Gish makes me want to see much more and (d) that the whole experience was utterly compelling.
It comes as a two-DVD set. I haven't watched the second DVD. One extra on the first DVD is a Simon Callow talk about the film. In truth, I found this a fairly tedious list of superlatives. However, whilst I allow extras to increase my star rating for a DVD, I don't allow them to decrease it. Thus, however good or bad I eventually find the material on the second DVD, my 5* rating will stand.