I posted this almost three years ago and wrote a little about it, but I'm posting it again because Emily gave me the brand new Criterion Collection DVD for Christmas and I finally had the chance to re-watch it:

Charles Laughton: The Night of the Hunter (excerpt), 1955.

This river scene in particular features maybe my favorite cinematography-plus-music of all time. I first saw The Night of the Hunter with one of my best friends, Jen Tadaki, at Film Forum in New York. Awhile after that, she and another friend of ours gave me the soundtrack on vinyl — Charles Laughton reading the story, with bits of audio from the movie interspersed — for my birthday. Laughton's film is as beautiful as it is frightening, and the record and DVD are prized possessions/experiences.

If you haven't seen The Night of the Hunter (or if you have), check it out on Netflix or get the new DVD from Criterion.