The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark / Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton Documentary)

The Val Lewton Horror Collection is ten hours and forty-two minutes and if you include Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy it is eleven hours and thirty-five minutes and released on DVD on October 4, 2005. This set contains the seven horror film he made at RKO Studios, he made two other movie for RKO Studios: Mademoiselle Fifi and Youth Runs Wild. Some fun facts about this collection of DVDs are only The Ghost Ship, Isle of the Dead and Bedlam have no theatrical trailer, The Ghost Ship and Isle of the Dead have no audio commentary. The Leopard Man is the shortest movie in this set and Bedlam is the longest. Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy is a biography on Val Lewton career and include in this piece are Val's son Val Jr. and Sara Karloff - Boris Karloff daughter. All seven movie were made well for their day and on a low budget as well. The Val Lewton Horror Collection is a great collection piece of horror movies without monsters. The Val Lewton Horror Collection gets an AAAAA+++++.The Cat People is one hour and twelve minutes and was released in theaters on December 25, 1942. Basically the story is about Irena Dubrovna who is of Serbian decent. She believes she is from a long line of cat people who believe whenever she has a craving for sex she will turn into this cat person and kill her lover. So when Irena marries Oliver Reed she won't seal the deal with a kiss or sex. And that boys and girls is the movie in a nutshell and even today I still don't understand that movie. Some footnotes about this movie. The Cat People was the first movie produced by Val Lewton. The movie was filmed in eighteen days and look for Alan Napier who played Alfred the Butler from the Batman television show. The Cat People is an interesting movie and gets an A.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionSpecial FeaturesI. Commentary by Greg Mank with Simone SimonII. Theatrical TrailerLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Espanõld. OffI Walked with a Zombie is one hour and eight minutes and was released in theaters on March 17, 1943. The movie is told in first person and it is about a nurse from Canada named Betsy Connell (Frances Dee) and she tells about her time how she once walked with a zombie. She is employed by Paul Holland (Tom Conway) to take care of her zombie like wife Jessica Holland (Christine Gordon). As for the rest of the story it is too confusing to write about and the ending is something weird. You have to go to the Internet Movie Database or en.wikipedia.org to find out the rest. The only thing I hated about this movie was the commentary; due to their British accent I could not understand them and I don't believe they stuck to the movie most of the time. I Walked with a Zombie gets a B.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionSpecial FeaturesI. Commentary by Kim Newman and Steve JonesII. Theatrical TrailerLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Españold. OffThe Leopard Man is one hour and six minutes and was released in theaters on May 8, 1943. Jerry Manning brings a leopard to Kiki Walker to upstage her rival act Clo-Clo. Clo-Clo uses her castanets to frighten the leopard and the leopard runs away. After the leopard run away there are three deaths and only one is due to the leopard. The other two may or may not be attribute to the leopard and the suspense builds up to the last six minutes of the film. Just like the last two movies Val Lewton keeps you on your seat till the very end of the movie to find out what really happened. By the way the leopard used in this movie is the same on used in the Cat People. The Leopard Man gets an AAA+++.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionSpecial FeaturesI. Commentary by William FriedkinII. Theatrical TrailerLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Españold. OffThe 7th Victim is one hour and ten minutes and was released in theaters on August 21, 1943. The story starts of when Mary if summoned to the office of a boarding school where she is attending and finds out that her sister Jacqueline Gibson has not paid the bill in months. Mary quits school and heads to New York City to find her sister. She seeks help from Gregory Ward, a lawyer, to help find Jacqueline. It is somewhere in the middle of the movie that Jacqueline was part of a devil occult and left. The group philosophy is no killing, but six members in the past have left the group and wind up dead; therefore that is where the title of the story comes from. In the end though you are left guessing whether or not she did it. I am not going to say what it is or I would be giving away the rest of the movie. Just like the last three movies are kept on you seat till the end of the movie to find out the whole story. In this movie you might recognize a young Hugh Beaumont who would go on to fame as Fred Ward on Leave It to Beaver. The 7th Victim gets a B+.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionSpecial FeaturesI. Commentary by Steve HabermanII. Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton LegacyIII. Theatrical TrailerLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Españold. OffThe Ghost Ship is one hour and nine minutes and was released in theaters on December 24, 1943. The movie is about a Third Officer named Tom Merriam who is first voyage is aboard the ship the Altair. At first everything is smooth sailing. But after the second death on the ship Tom suspect that Captain Will Stone is the murderer because one of the crewmen confronted the Captain earlier. During the course of the movie you can see Captain Stone slowly losing his marbles. When Tom is trapped on the ship Captain Stone tries to kill him. The big finish is something to see with the fighting knife scene with Captain Stone and Finn the Mute. Shortly after the movie came out there was a lawsuit over The Ghost Ship and it was of fifty years before it was ever seen again. The Ghost Ship is a very good suspense movie and gets an AAA+++.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Españold. OffThe Curse of the Cat People is one hour and nine minutes and was released in theaters on March 2, 1944. This movie is the follow up to the Cat People and is set about six years after Irena Dubrovna death. Oliver Reed and Alice Moore are now married and have a six year old daughter named Amy. Amy is somewhat of a troubled child because she is always day dreaming and has a hard time making friends. One day while Amy is out trying to make friends gets teased and runs into the old house where a retired actress lives with her daughter. She throws Amy a ring and she takes it home where Edward the butler\cook tells Amy it is a wishing ring. Amy sit necks to the family pond and wishes for friend. Irena comes back to life and becomes Amy friend. One day dad finds out about Amy friend, takes her to her room and spanks her for lying. Amy calls for her friends and goes looking for her. In the end Irena saves Amy life. That is sort of the cliff note version. Due to the film running over budget and ran nine days behind schedule. The Curse of the Cat People was the smallest profit margin of all Val Lewton's film. Just like some of his other films, reused sets from the Magnificent Ambersons were used in this film. The Curse of the Cat People is a good but not great movie and gets a B+.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionSpecial FeaturesIII. Commentary by Greg Mank with Simone SimonIV. Theatrical TrailerLanguagesIII. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishIV. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Espanõld. OffThe Body Snatcher is one hour and eighteen minutes and was released in theaters on May 25, 1945. The story is about a body snatcher (played by Boris Karloff) who digs up dead bodies and sell them to Dr. Wolfe MacFarlane so he can use them in his anatomy classes. Cabman John Gray (the body snatcher) starts killing so Dr. Wolfe MacFarlane an adequate spinal specimen to practice for an upcoming operation on a child's back. When he finds out that the dead woman is the street singer and that Gray has also killed Joseph, Wolfe feels he must stop Gray. Also Gray has a secret about Dr. Wolfe that he uses for blackmail. Dr. Wolfe visits Gray to bribe him to just go away and refuses the bribe. A fight develops and Dr. Wolfe kills John Gray. That is not the ending of the movie and I don't want to give away the rest of the movie. Also there is more to the movie and I gave the edited version the Body Snatcher. This movie would mark the last time that Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi would be pared together. Some of the scenes were left over sets from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The only thing I did not like about this movie was the commentary by Steve Haberman and Robert Wise. Robert Wise more or less talks about his career with RKO and Val Lewton and Steve Haberman talks about the movie but only for fifteen minutes of the film though he is on longer. The Body Snatcher is a good suspense horror film and gets an AAAA++++.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionSpecial FeaturesV. Commentary by Steve Haberman with Robert WiseVI. Theatrical TrailerLanguagesV. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishVI. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Españold. OffIsle of the Dead is one hour and eleven minutes and releases in theaters on September 1, 1945. The main story is nine people are trapped on an island where there is plague has infected the people and now live in self-imposed exile. While waiting out the plague Madame Kyra convinces General Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) that Thea is a vrykolakas or a vampire because she is nearby when the people die. Boris Karloff was two weeks in production with this movie when Boris Karloff needed a back operation. When he recovered work was already started on the Body Snatcher. So when the Body Snatcher was completed, he went back to shooting the Isle of the Dead two weeks later. The movie is set around the First Balkan War (1912-1913). Isle of the Dead holds you in suspense to the end guessing what is going on. Isle of the Dead gets an AAAA++++.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Españold. OffBedlam is one hour and nineteen minutes and was released in theaters on May 10, 1946. Bedlam is based on William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress, and a hospital in England. The movie is set in 1761 England and is about St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum. Master George Sims (Boris Karloff) runs the asylum and treats the patients with cruelty. Master George Sims tricks Lord Mortimer into sending Nell Bowen into the asylum because she wants to make reforms. In the end Master George Sims is put on trial by the inmates he mistreats and Nell is helped into escaping by one of the patients. Bedlam would mark Val Lewton last movie with RKO Studios and his first movie not to make a profit. Also this movie would be the last paring of Boris Karloff and Val Lewton. Also this is the only Val Lewton movie to have a happy ending. Bedlam is a good movie to watch though is does not have the previous suspense as his other movies. Bedlam gets an AAAA++++.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionCommentary by Tom WeaverLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Françaisc. Españold. Off

This is the definitive collection and deserves a lot of praise. However, I’ve slowly been upgrading to Blu Ray but decided to dig out this collection to check and back them up. I originally bought the set around 2012. There seems to be a problem with a few of the discs - they are dual layer and one or two of the films won’t play. Happens if the disc layers get “separated” over time. It not something that any seller could guard against. Just bear it in mind if you buy this set and make sure you can play all the discs.

At RKO between 1942 and 1945, an elegant producer named Val Lewton helped very talented actors, writers, and three directors make nine of the greatest horror films in movie history. Behind such lurid titles as THE SEVENTH VICTIM, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, CAT PEOPLE, and THE LEOPARD MAN lie fatalistic and pessimistic portraits of life, subtle psychological thrillers, very scary tales of the supernatural, and horror films with the emphasis on implying violence.Val Lewton's nine great films are finally grouped together on one magnificent boxed set from Warner Home Video called THE VAL LEWTON HORROR COLLECTION. The movies average 70 minutes and are grouped two to a disk as convenient evening-length double features. The fifth disk has THE SEVENTH VICTIM sharing space with an original hour-long documentary called SHADOWS IN THE DARK: THE VAL LEWTON LEGACY. Start with it as an introduction. Each disk has elegantly lurid poster art for the two movies on that disk.CAT PEOPLE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, and LEOPARD MAN were all directed by Jacques Tourneur. They are gems of the supernatural, masterpieces done on an impossibly low budget with gorgeous sets and photography to hide the budget. CAT PEOPLE stars French actress Simone Simon as a woman descended from a race of cat people. She marries architect Kent Smith with the warning that he must never kiss her or the curse will continue with him. Tom Conway introduces the role of psychiatrist Louis Judd here that he will play in other Lewton tales. And Jane Randolph will also appear in many Lewton films. CAT PEOPLE is renowned for "the bus scene" and "the swimming pool scene", masterpieces of terrifying horror with nothing actually shown.I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE has been called Val Lewton's version of JANE EYRE, but fans of Charlotte Bronte will probably be disappointed. Lewton's movie is about zombies, normal people, and devil worship on a Haitian sugar plantation. Like all Lewtons it has a stunning use of soundtrack (or lack thereof), magnificent photography, and the suggestion of violence. This also applies to THE LEOPARD MAN, which is actually an adaptation of Cornell Woolrich's brilliant BLACK ALIBI novel. There is a leopard loose and several killings that take place in a carnival time New Mexico desert town. Dennis O'Keefe and Margo star here. Based on these three "B" suspense movies, Jacques Tourneur is definitely a director to be reckoned with. I am not that familiar with him.No less than four of the nine Val Lewton productions were directed by Mark Robson, who started out as a film editor for Lewton and later directed masterpieces like my favorite PEYTON PLACE (1957). The four Lewtons/Robsons are THE SEVENTH VICTIM, ISLE OF THE DEAD, THE GHOST SHIP, and BEDLAM. THE SEVENTH VICTIM is Lewton's crowning achievement for me, a chilling and powerful and brilliantly made "B" programmer about devil worship and a missing sister in Greenwich Village. Kim Hunter made her film debut here, and LEAVE IT TO BEAVER's Hugh Beaumont has a key supporting role as a lawyer. The ending is unforgettable. THE GHOST SHIP was out of circulation for sixty years (!) because of copyright problems. It is a powerful would-be adaptation of Jack London's THE SEA WOLF. In the role of his career, Richard Dix plays an authority-crazed sea captain who lets a man be killed. When first mate Russell Wade reports the crime, he finds the rest of the crew siding with Dix until, one by one, they realize Wade is telling the truth. The only flaw here is a curiously abrupt ending.ISLE OF THE DEAD and BEDLAM both star Boris Karloff at his best, given a literate script for a change. In ISLE, a group of people (including a possible vampire) are held hostage on an eerie Greek island during a war in 1912. Karloff plays a Greek general. The art direction is notable here, as it is with BEDLAM, which is the nickname for St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum in 1761 London. Karloff runs the place with vengeance. These are four of director Mark Robson's best films ever.Also starting as an editor at RKO (on CITIZEN KANE and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS!), Robert Wise directed THE BODY SNATCHER and co-directed (with Gunther V. Fritsch) THE CAT PEOPLE for Lewton. Both films are "B" programmer masterpieces for me, Lewton at his best. THE BODY SNATCHER teams Karloff as a grave robber, Bela Lugosi as his scared but loyal assistant, and Henry Daniell as the doctor who needs the bodies for scientific research in 1840's Edinburgh. This is a terrifying adaptation of a Robert Louis Stevenson novella. And CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE has a young child conjuring up the ghost of her dead mother in a secret garden and making friends with an old woman in a haunted house. Once again, the production design and photography and fine performances help hide the minimal budget.If I had to pick a favorite Val Lewton movie, I'd pick THE SEVENTH VICTIM, but THE BODY SNATCHER and CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE would be right behind. These are such elegant and intelligently written and beautifully made tales of horror and the supernatural. They are guaranteed to give you sleepless nights. Buy THE VAL LEWTON HORROR COLLECTION from Amazon.com, if you can afford it and admire the horror genre, for Christmas. It retails for $60, but Amazon has it for $42. That is more than reasonable for nine movies plus a documentary.

Some great classics and some really good movies in this massive collection. Certainly worth it for the horror lovers.

If you are looking at this because you want to see either 'Cat people' or 'I walked with a Zombie'.. and wondering if the rest will live up to them..Well the answer (in my opinion) is very, very nearly. Close enough to make this a very worthwhile purchase.Those two take some matching .. they are the two most notable ones.. but if you like them you should be pretty happy with all the others.And hey.. you get commentary tracks on.. some of them.. Superb ones.. especially on 'I walked with a zombie'Be aware this is a region one.. But let me tell you.. i bought a R1 player mainly so i could then buy this set.. and well worth doing so.. it's that good.

The Val Lewton Collection features nine of Vals wonderful works for RKO pictures in the 40s.Generally speaking,Val was just a small cog in a very big wheel,but his influence and sophistication on celluloid continue to this day.I cannot say I am a Lewton aficionado in any way.What little I know is that he came from working with Selznick to RKO to helm their newly made "horror"unit to compete with Universal.He was given the task of taking the most mundane and ridiculous script titles(the molehills),with the lowest budgets possible, and making something big out of them(the mountains)to produce some money making hits.RKO was not in good financial straits at this time(early 40s) due to Welles box office debacles of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons.That's the real extent of my knowledge.Now,after having watched all nine of the films(out of order),I can tell you Lewton was definitely someone with a totally different mindset for 1940s Hollywood.He didn't have a bunch of guys dressed up in monster suits running around terrorizing the towns folks.Instead each film became a set piece working on many levels,creating moods and through clever manipulation of sight and sound(or lack thereof),getting the audience to fill in the gaps with their own imaginations,much like the lost art form of the "silent" movies.He created some beautiful psychological melodramas whose influence can be seen in later films on the big and little screen.The Caine Mutiny owes a lot to the captain of Lewton's The Ghost Ship,and many of the later Twilight Zone eps were shot using the Lewton style,The Jungle with John Dehner being a prime example.Now let's look at the films themselves.For this occasion I will dispense with my usual rating of each one,but instead opt for an overall grade.The first disc has Cat People and The Curse of the Cat people.The Cat People(released Dec/42)stars Simone Simon,Kent Smith and Tom Conway.This has Smith falling for Simon and marrying her.But he soon finds that her fears from her past in a small Serbian town get the better of both of them.When he is forced to divorce her the heat ramps up and in the end Simon commits suicide by opening a panther cage.This is a film that "plays"with the audience.Is the old town "curse"Simon speaks of real or just in her mind? The wonderful use of shadows and well placed sound effects drive this picture and it remains one of his most powerful today.The Curse of the Cat People(released March/44)stars,Simone Simon,Kent Smith and Jane Randolph.Smith and his wife from the last film are here again.They now have a young daughter who is very introverted and loves to play alone,in fact making up fictional play friends.When her newest friend becomes Smith's ex from the first film(Simon), everyone gets worried.Is she real or just in the imagination of the girl? This film beautifully explores the mind of a young child and her realistic reactions to every day stimuli.The second disc has I walked with a Zombie and The Body Snatcher.I Walked With a Zombie(released Mar/43)stars,James Ellison,Frances Dee and Tom Conway.This story concerns a young Canadian nurse who gets a job to care for a lady in the Caribbean.The lady in question appears to be in a constant trance.Before long the nurse is involved with local voodoo superstitions,something she was ill prepared to handle.This film is another Lewton set piece and his lighting and music creates a beautiful and deliciously somber mood.The Body Snatcher(released May/45)stars,Boris Karloff,Bela Lugosi,Henry Daniell and Edith Atwater.Karloff shines as the unwanted thorn in the side of Daniell.Karloff is the man Daniell has relied on for years to get bodies for teaching purposes.But there is more to this sour relationship than meets the eye.When Daniell can take no more the characters spin wildly out of control until the last terrifying moment.This film works on many levels and Karloff does a superb job as the wretched body snatcherThe third disc finds Isle of the Dead and Bedlam.Isle of the Dead(released Sept/45) stars Boris Karloff and Ellen Drew.This is a tale set during the Greek wars of 1912.Karloff is a well known,but not well liked,general in the Greek army.Because of the amount of dead the plague has broken out all around the battle field.While visiting an island where he wife was buried to pay his respects,he finds the grave has been despoiled.He inquires at a nearby house and he and the occupants soon find out that they are now under quarantine for the plague.There is also some evil presence afoot.Will it take their lives before the plague does? And who or what is this evil? The last question is definitely what keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout most of the film.Another Lewton specialty-misdirection.Bedlam(released May/46)stars Boris Karloff and Anna Lee.Karloff is the keeper of the local insane asylum.He has the favour of a local society man but his consort is not as kind in her thoughts and actions towards him.When the chance comes Karloff has her committed and she must somehow survive amongst the lunacy and degradation around her.The inmates manage to capture Karloff and put him on "trial".When they set him free he is killed,but not by one you expect. Again misdirection rules the day here,as does the superior script and Karloff's presence.The fourth disc has The Leopard Man and The Ghost Ship.The Leopard Man(released May/43) stars Dennis O'Keefe and Margo.A local talent manager persuades his client to bring a leopard on a leash into a local nightclub as a publicity stunt.The animal escapes and is soon responsible for the death of one young lady.However the deaths don't end there.When they find the body of the leopard outside of town they realize that the leopard has had nothing whatsoever to do with the deaths ,other than the first.Who is it? Will they catch him/her? Again the title has little to do with what you think the plot will consist of.The acting is solid and tension builds beautifully throughout until the climax and the real killer is caught.More of the Lewton touch as the judicious use of sight and sound permeates this film.Ghost Ship(released Dec/43)stars Richard Dix.Dix welcomes a new third mate onto his ship.Both men have much in common in their background,however Dix's bonhomie and fatherly advice begins to slowly but surely break down over time.When the third mate realizes the captain has a screw loose and men are dying at his hands,he cannot get anyone to help him.Eventually he becomes the captains target.Will he live to tell the tale? This is a Lewton mood piece once again.The title has nothing to do with ghosts of the spiritual kind but of men becoming ghosts within their own skins.The entire cast is running on all eight cylinders.Disc five contains The 7th Victim and the documentary Shadows in the Dark:The Val Lewton Legacy.The ninth and final film is the 7th Victim(released Aug/43),starring Tom Conway,Jean Brooks,Isabel Jewell and Kim Hunter.This one finds a woman who lives at a boarding school.However her sister who pays the tuition has not done so for the past six months.Something has happened to her sister and she cannot find her.Through a lot of hardship she eventually manages to track her down but it is a sister who has changed and is involved with a devil worshiping society.When the sister wants out of this society they insist she kill herself;the seventh only to do so in the history of the sect.Will her little sister save her in time? Another Lewton mood piece and the clues/red herrings mount up considerably.There is more to every character we come across in this film than meets the eye.The documentary Shadows in the Dark on this disc is 7l minutes long.I have not watched it yet but look forward to it after I write this.An FYI.This has always been my way,as I do not want documentaries or featurettes to influence my thinking on my reviews whatsoever.Finally there has been a sixth disc added, and it is the documentary Val Lewton:The Man in the Shadows.This one is about 87 minutes long and is narrated by Martin Scorsese.Again.I look forward to watching it.It seems they have taken the original 2005 release of this set and have just added this disc in on top of it.They have a cream coloured wrap around piece that partly imitates the outside of the original box and holds the extras disc in place.Technically speaking all films are in full screen mode and are clear and crisp.However many do exhibit periodic defects throughout.Considering their age,this is not unexpected.Each disc is in a separate snap case with two films per disc.All in all we have a wonderful collection of the major films of a little known producer/writer at RKO.His influence continues to extend to writers ,directors and producers to this day.Lewton made sophisticated and smart "horror" films on a shoe string budget.He elevated the most mundane material to a level that had never been done before,or since.And he appears to have put a cadre of talented people around him;directors,writers,actors,etc,to accomplish just that.He used many of this same staff on most of his pictures he did and they worked wonderfully together.There are very few folks in the industry that could be said to have had such an impact as Lewton,with such little recognition.This set will hopefully change that.4-4 1/2 stars.

This set features 9 movies,cat people ,curse of the cat people,isle of the dead,bedlam,I walked with a zombie,seventh victim,the body snatcher,leopard man and ghost ship.With stars such as boris karloff,simone simon,tom conway,kent smith and kim hunter.Directors jacques tourneur,mark robson(earthquake)and robert wise.Seven of the movies have commentaries,by the likes of william friedkin,kim newman,steve haberman,robert wise,tom weaver and greg mank with audio interview excerpts by simone simon.There is a documentary "shadows in the dark;the legacy of val lewton"(53:20) and one extra documentary,that was not in the previous set,"man in the shadows"(76:36),the latter is presented by Martin Scorcese.For around £30 you cant go wrong.I am most looking forward to body snatcher,the two cat people movies and bedlam,and of course the two documentaries.

Entertaining film art. Essential viewing for those who want to know about how to make good interesting psychologically frightening movies.