Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		5.0

The Night of the Hunter 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 9, 2023

Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter" (1955) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by novelist and critic Tim Lucas; new program with actress Kathy Garver; new program with filmmaker Ernest Dickerson; trailers; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The legendary British actor Charles Laughton directed only one film -- The Night of the Hunter. It was a commercial and critical failure, but today it is regarded by many as one of the greatest American horror films ever made. Sadly, Laughton was so profoundly disappointed by its poor reception that he never directed again.

The story that is told in The Night of the Hunter is set during the Great Depression and is about the three infamous American obsessions -- religion, sex, and money. The great Robert Mitchum plays Harry Powell, a serial killer, who is arrested for stealing a car and thrown in jail. His cellmate, Ben Harper (Peter Graves, It Conquered the World ), a bank robber and also a killer who is soon to be hanged, shares with him that he has stolen $10,000 and only his children know where the money is hidden.

A few days after Ben is hanged, Harry is released from jail. Pretending to be a traveling preacher, he heads straight to Ben’s home and immediately befriends his beautiful widow, Willa (Shelley Winters, The Diary of Anne Frank), who shortly after that agrees to marry him. Ben’s children, John (Billy Chapin, Tension at Table Rock) and Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce), however, are not as impressed with the preacher as their mother.

When the children refuse to reveal where the money is hidden, Harry goes berserk. Eventually, he kills Willa and then goes after the children, but they run away and end up in the home of an old, religious, and remarkably feisty woman (Lillian Gish, Duel in the Sun) who knows how to use a good rifle.

A couple of years before The Night of the Hunter was filmed, Mitchum was arrested for possession of marijuana and sent to jail. By the time he was released, he had officially become Hollywood’s bad boy extraordinaire. The media followed him everywhere because there was always something juicy to report. Laughton took a risk with him, but there is absolutely no doubt that he could not have picked a better actor to play the preacher. Some of the best scenes in The Night of the Hunter are the ones where the camera simply observes Mitchum’s face and a few are undescribably creepy.

There is a lot of talk about God, love, and hate -- love and hate are tattooed on the backs of the preacher’s fingers -- that produces messages about each which are remarkably bold in tone. While the drama unfolds, seemingly ordinary conversations reveal many truths about the consequential presence of prejudice and superstition in mid-twentieth-century America as well.

The Night of the Hunter is a visual stunner. Director of photography Stanley Cortez’s (The Magnificent Ambersons, The Naked Kiss) uses light and shadow in a lot of unique ways and creates a most impressive gothic-noirish atmosphere that greatly enhances the suspense and drama.

A terrific novel by Davis Grubb provided the original material for The Night of the Hunter. Laughton and Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Agee, who also produced the script for John Huston’s The African Queen, adapted it for the big screen.

The Night of the Hunter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of The Night of the Hunter is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free and hosts the new 4K restoration of the film. The Blu-ray has only supplemental features.

Please note that all screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

The release introduces a new 4K restoration of the film that can be viewed with HDR and Dolby Vision. I chose to view it in its entirety with Dolby Vision. I did not do extensive comparisons with HDR. I spent my time comparing how the 4K Blu-ray and Criterion's Blu-ray release from 2010.

First, I see the discrepancy between the aspect ratio as irrelevant. Why? The Night of the Hunter has been screened in 1.66:1 and 1.85:1, plus I think that the film looks equally good in both ratios. So, the framing discrepancy is not an issue for me. Second, I did quite a few comparisons and I think that both presentations -- Criterion's Blu-ray release presents a 2K restoration of the film -- are equally satisfying. For example, on my system, delineation and depth looked equally impressive. The density levels of the visuals were practically identical as well. If I upscale the previous release, there are areas that essentially boast identical qualities. However, there is one area on the native 4K presentation that clearly excels and makes a noticeable difference. It is the dynamic range of the visuals. On my system, I saw darker nuances and some daylight highlights that were better balanced. I think that they affect depth, or the perception of depth, but different viewers will undoubtedly evaluate them differently. Grain exposure is slightly different, but the unique cinematography and strong density levels on the previous release negate the discrepancy. I did not see any age-related imperfections to report in our review. All in all, I liked how The Night of the Hunter looked on my system a lot. I think that when restored and presented right in 4K, black-and-white films can look astonishingly good, and this release offers that type of impressive presentation.

The Night of the Hunter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. The sound was clear, sharp, and stable. If there are any meaningful discrepancies between this track and the track that is included on Criteiron's Blu-ray release of The Night of the Hunter, I missed them.

The Night of the Hunter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by novelist and critic Tim Lucas.

• Music and Effects Track - presented as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Love and Hate - in this new program, filmmaker Ernest Dickerson discusses The Night of the Hunter and some of its unique qualities, and specifically the power of its visuals. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Little Lambs - in this new program, actress Kathy Garver recalls how she was cast to play her character in The Night of the Hunter and her work at RKO while following instructions and interacting with the adult actors. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Hing, Hang, Hung - in this new program, artist Joe Coleman discusses The Night of the Hunter and some of the symbolism in it. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Trailers - presented here are two vintage trailers for The Night of the Hunter. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Trailer One. (2 min).
  2. Trailer Two. Remastered. (2 min).

The Night of the Hunter 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you can play 4K Blu-ray discs, you should consider acquiring Kino Lorber's 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack of The Night of the Hunter. I think that the new 4K makeover that was prepared for this classic film looks very, very good in native 4K. However, keep in mind that the Blu-ray disc does not offer a 1080p presentation of the new 4K makeover, it only has several bonus features. Also, these are not the same bonus features that were included on Criterion's Blu-ray release of The Night of the Hunter from 2010. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.