Review of The Night of the Hunter (1955) by Stephen L — 04 May 2011

If you can appreciate old movies, then this is one you don't want to pass up. I love everything about this movie. the suspense, symbolism, acting, atmosphere, musical score, and timeless themes all make this movie enjoyable for everyone, not just those who love old films.

everything I've mentioned above is great, but the thing that, in my opinion, holds it all together and solidifies it as MY SECOND FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME is the scenery. The scenery is a complex hybrid of film noir-style shadows and lighting, German expressionist angles and set pieces, Gothic scenery and amazing foreground/background effects make this one of if not the most visually stunning movies I've ever seen.

A lot of the sets look like they were home made, by that I mean much of the architecture and indoor sets are very plane and flat. Believe it or not, this actually helps the look of the movie, it looks the way you would see a room in your minds eye, as if it were a memory from your childhood and although you don't remember the exact fine details, you remember the important features of the room.

I challenge you to find one shot in this whole movie that isn't impressive, I'm not kidding, I can literally find dozens of desktop background worthy shots in this movie. You could take any random from from this movie and it will look like hours of work went into making it perfect.

The music is composed of children's songs, hymns, and orchestral pieces and is blended together seamlessly. the whole atmosphere puts you in a dreamlike state that can't be explained, it's something you have to see for yourself.

I have no idea how this movie could have been so poorly received upon initial release.