Halloween (1978)
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles
Writers: John Carpenter & Debra Hill
Director: John Carpenter
Synopsis (from Anchor Bay):
Anyone who's ever watched a horror film in the last 35 years knows the story of Michael Myers, who as a child, butchered his sister with a kitchen knife. Committed to a mental institution and watched over by Dr. Loomis, he engineers his escape 15 years later, returning to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night to terrorize anyone who gets in his way, including babysitter Laurie Strode.
Review:
There's not much I can say about
Halloween that hasn't already been said by many other fans. I can't
even remember when I first saw it; I just know that it's been in my
life for a very long time. When I was a kid, I felt like this movie
totally captured the true essence of October 31st (though, now
I feel like that award goes to Halloween III and Trick 'r Treat). I didn't realize that it
was shot out of season. All it took for me was to see some leaves
blowing around, a few trick or treaters, and some jack-o-lanterns,
and I was sold. I lived on a street with similar looking homes and
giant trees, so the movie just always felt real to me.
When it comes to seasonal horror films,
there's only a select few that I will watch outside of the holiday
they are based around. Halloween is one of them. I can watch it any
time. Now that it has an all new HD transfer supervised by
cinematographer Dean Cundey, I'll probably be watching it double the
normal amount. This presentation of Halloween looks absolutely
gorgeous, folks. Widescreen (2.35:1) in 1080p. This was my first time
seeing it on Blu-ray, so I can't make comparisons to past Blu releases. But, I
can state the obvious and say that it looks miles better than the
25th Anniversary DVD release. It's super cleaned up, but
all the grain is in tact. Ultimately, Halloween deserves to be
experienced this way.
For audio, there's an original mono
track and a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround track. Unfortunately, I am
still living like a fossil with 5.1, so I can't comment on how much
more amazing the audio probably sounds. But for what it's worth, I
was more than pleased even without the 7.1 luxury. The wood flooring beneath my feet
vibrated wildly every time Carpenter's score got intense. That
single note bass rhythm that comes in when Michael begins walking
down the steps flows right through you. It's awesome.
Special Features
New Audio Commentary with
Writer/Director John Carpenter and Actress Jamie Lee Curtis – This
one is a lot of fun. It's honestly pretty amazing how much Jamie Lee
remembers from the production. She's pretty funny here; super
energetic and excited, and you can tell Carpenter gets a kick out of
revisiting the film with her. Curtis gives him a lot of credit for
how beautiful shots look and ow truly terrifying certain scenes are.
Carpenter tries to play the compliments down, to no avail. I mean,
c'mon man! We're talking about Halloween here. TOTALLY fun
commentary.
New The Night She Came Home Featurette
– Hour long video of Jamie Lee Curtis' visit to HorrorHound
Weekend. I gotta say, she seems really genuine with the fans and kinda goes out of
her way to please. It was a lot of fun to watch and makes me happy
that fellow horror nerds got to meet someone they'd probably dreamed
of meeting for ages.
On Location: 25 Years Later Featurette
– This was included on the 25th Anniversary release, but
it's still cool. 10 minute video featuring Debra Hill and PJ Soles,
and it covers the desire for the location of Halloween, as well as a
trip back to the infamous houses from the film.
TV Version Footage – a couple of
clips not seen in the theatrical presentation. I honestly wish we got
the option to include these cuts in the theatrical version of the
film, but unfortunately, we do not. I feel like they add a good
amount of extra depth to the story. Either way, they're here, and
will be a real treat for anyone who has never seen them before.
Trailer – Awesome. That is all.
TV & Radio Spots – I love these
things. I enjoy TV Spots more than actual trailers. They rarely
spoil; they just give you enough to say “holy wow, I need to see
this!” I can't imagine seeing these on television when they
originally aired. The Radio Spots are equally awesome. The narration
voices are so good.
Now, two things that the 35th
Anniversary release is missing that the 25th Anniversary
release has is a Poster and Stills Gallery, and more importantly, the
Halloween – A Cut Above the Rest Documentary. That doc is 87
minutes long and filled to the brim with awesome. So, I'd definitely
recommend holding on to the 25th Anniversary release for
that feature, alone. As far as trailers and stills go, those items
are all over the internet.
Also worth mentioning, the case for the Blu-ray is great. Sure, you don't get the original cover art on the front, but I like what you do get. And the inside is wonderful.
Also worth mentioning, the case for the Blu-ray is great. Sure, you don't get the original cover art on the front, but I like what you do get. And the inside is wonderful.
Final Word:
So, with this release, you get an
absolutely beautiful sounding and gorgeous looking presentation of
Halloween. It's an iconic movie, and this is how a fan should watch
it. On top of that, you get a great commentary and an awesome hour
long walk through HorrorHound weekend with Jamie Lee Curtis. Whether
or not to buy the 35th Anniversary Blu-ray of Halloween is
a no-brainer, if you ask me. Do it!
Available tomorrow from Starz/AnchorBay. Order HERE.
- Eric (Brobocop)
