Jerzy Skolimowski

The Shout

The Shout

A tour de force of psychic dread that begins as an ambient murmur and builds to an existential shriek, legendary Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski’s provocative adaptation of a short story by Robert Graves is a hallucinatory confrontation with the unknown. In a small English village, an experimental composer (John Hurt) and his wife (Susannah York) see their routine existence upended by the arrival of an enigmatic stranger (a seductively sinister Alan Bates), who claims to possess knowledge of Aboriginal magic and the ability to kill using a deadly scream—a power that makes him an object of both terror and desire. With its puzzle-box structure, unnerving ambiguity, and otherworldly electronic sound design, this Cannes Film Festival award winner quivers with the primal fear of mysterious and uncontrollable forces.

Film Info

  • United Kingdom
  • 1978
  • 86 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #1331

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 2K digital restoration, approved by director Jerzy Skolimowski and director of photography Mike Molloy, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New interviews with Skolimowski and producer Jeremy Thomas
  • Excerpts from Skolimowski’s appearance at the 1997 Midnight Sun Festival
  • On the Set of “The Shout,” a short UK television program from 1977
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by scholar Leo Goldsmith

    New cover by Rafa Orrico Díez

Purchase Options

Coming soon, available Oct 13, 2026

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 2K digital restoration, approved by director Jerzy Skolimowski and director of photography Mike Molloy, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New interviews with Skolimowski and producer Jeremy Thomas
  • Excerpts from Skolimowski’s appearance at the 1997 Midnight Sun Festival
  • On the Set of “The Shout,” a short UK television program from 1977
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by scholar Leo Goldsmith

    New cover by Rafa Orrico Díez
The Shout
Cast
Alan Bates
Charles Crossley
John Hurt
Anthony Fielding
Susannah York
Rachel Fielding
Robert Stephens
Chief medical officer
Tim Curry
Robert Graves
Julian Hough
Vicar
Carol Drinkwater
Cobbler’s wife
John Rees
Inspector
Jim Broadbent
Inmate/cricket player
Credits
Director
Jerzy Skolimowski
Producer
Jeremy Thomas
Screenplay by
Michael Austin
Screenplay by
Jerzy Skolimowski
Based on the story by
Robert Graves
Music
Anthony Banks
Music
Michael Rutherford
Electronics
Rupert Hine
Director of photography
Mike Molloy
Art director
Simon Holland
Editor
Barrie Vince
Associate producer
Michael Austin