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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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Halloween:
Expanded TV Version
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Reviewed
by: |
John
Kavanagh |
| Genre: |
Horror |
| Video: |
Widescreen
2.35:1, Color |
| Audio: |
Mono |
| Language: |
English |
| Subtitle: |
English |
| Length: |
104 mins |
| Rating: |
NR |
| Release
Date: |
August 7,
2001 |
| Studio: |
Anchor
Bay Entertainment |
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
12 minutes additional
footage |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
5x7 Postcard,
THX Certified |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Jamie Lee
Curtis, Donald Pleasance, Nancy Loomis, P.J. Soles |
| Screenplay
by: |
John Carpenter
& Debra Hill |
| Produced
by: |
Debra Hill |
| Directed
By: |
John Carpenter |
| Music: |
John Carpenter |
| The
Review: |
Jamie Lee
Curtis, in her first staring role, is Laurie Strode, a quiet,
ordinary and seemingly meek high school student who finds that
she is being stalked by a masked murderer on Halloween night.
Donald Pleasance is the notably named Sam Loomis (A 'hats off'
from Carpenter to Hitchcock's Psycho…a masterpiece in which
many critics and fans consider Halloween to be on par with),
A psychiatrist who is hunting the evil Michael Myers, who in
turned is played by none other than William Shatner!…actually,
no it isn't…but you hardcore fans out there know what I'm talking
about ;-) …Okay, before I get into any details about this edition,
let me go over aspects of the film first. Well, at almost 25
years, this timeless masterpiece still holds up well and still
remains the model for countless clones that are STILL being
made! Now, I gotta laugh at the Irony of this...Let's see, many
things in the world of filmmaking are being improved upon more
and more. Techniques, special effects, stunts, etc. However,
Hollywood CAN'T improve on many formulas and stories. To this
day, NO clone comes close to Halloween! Not even the intelligent
and refreshing 'Scream'. However, this film may be considered
by some to be slow by today's standards, but not too slow to
be lost on a new audience. (The only person to tell me this
was a bad movie because it was slow, was the same person who
told me 'Sometimes they come back, AGAIN' was a "Great" movie…Yeah!
So, quite obviously I'm not taking their opinion too seriously
*L*). Many people may think it's slow because it was made in
a time when movies like this were slower than today. Only partially
true…the pace is actually on purpose as well. Much like 'Psycho',
'Exorcist' and other classic thrillers, Halloween takes its
time. It builds up the suspense (especially this version…One
of the reasons I love the early Dr. Loomis/Mike Myers scene
so damn much is because it REALLY takes its time). Unlike its
modern clones which try and throw you into their faster pace.
The film was originally called 'The Babysitter Murders', and
thankfully changed to 'Halloween'. Not that 'Babysitter Murders'
is a bad title, but I feel 'Halloween' helps lend to better
the atmosphere of the piece, and the atmosphere Carpenter created,
is one of the better qualities of this film. With only one million
dollars (I may be wrong on that number…the point being, it's
LOW), only 3 weeks of principal photography, and a small, largely
inexperienced crew that doesn't even fall into the 'skeleton'
category, this film went on to phenomenal box office success
for that time. It even managed to become the most successful
independent film ever. And it was only very recently 'till one
beat it. It all goes to show you that a little hard work and
a little imagination may be all that is needed. Many of the
best films are made this way. Okay, with all that now aside,
we finally get into the specifics of this version! NBC bought
the television rights in 1980 and called for some cuts to be
made (don't worry…even though this is labelled the TV version,
these cuts survive onto this disc), and to make up for lost
time the network called for new scenes to be shot to fill the
time slot on TV. Carpenter, who was filming the sequel, wrote
a few extra scenes and took the sequel's crew and three days
to shoot them. Even though it was for Television, Carpenter
being a director of scope, shot these new scenes originally
in widescreen. Thus, allowing the presentation of this disc
to be in beautiful widescreen! Now, there are 12 minutes of
added footage, and in my opinion, it all makes a good movie
even better! Unlike some films that have added footage which
can overall hurt the movie rather than improve it. There is
NOTHING wrong with any new footage here. They add depth to the
movie. One long scene in particular which takes place early
in the film, shows Dr. Loomis' relationship with Mike Myers
and his desire for tighter security, etc. This scene alone adds
so much. I believe it may even be my favourite scene. Only a
hardcore purist will disregard this version on principle only.
It would have to be principle because there is no other reason
to dislike this one. This disc is the same disc released earlier
in Anchor Bay's special 2 disc Limited edition, only now it
is separate and repackaged. This film is also the beginning
of the great Carpenter/Cundy duo! Carpenter knows just what
to shoot and Cundy knows just how to shoot it! (The man is not
afraid of shadows! A bonus for such a movie) This is one of
Carpenters best! Right up there with Escape from New York, The
Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China! In twenty years, it
won't be the 'I know what you did last Friday the 13th on Elm
St. and Screamed blah blah Valentines blah blah Urban Legends….'
Movies people will be renting…I'm sure it will still be this
one! |
| Image
and Sound |
A
beautiful THX picture! The movie has never looked so good. Specks
are gone! Grain is gone! Cinematographer Dean Cundy over looked
the mastering process for this movie, and in my opinion, he
is only complementing his already outstanding, earlier work
of shooting. Unfortunately, the sound is the original Mono…MOST
unfortunately because as I have said, this is the same disc
earlier released in the limited 2 disc set, in which the soundtrack
of the theatrical version in that set had a brand new Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix. I believe the reason why they stuck to the
original Mono for this TV edition is because the new footage
was only recorded in mono and things needed to be consistent…(?)
…just a guess. Like, if the new scenes were shot for the television
frame and not widescreen, then the whole movie on this disc
would have been full frame. Oh well, Carpenters musical score
still kicks ass even in mono! |
| The
Extras |
None…The
picture quality, widescreen, and additional footage are the
only real features of this disc. |
| Commentary |
None |
| Final
Words: |
A great movie is improved on! Lack
of extra's aside, THIS is the version fans of the film should
have. And if you were unfortunate to miss the Limited Edition,
here's your chance again to get this TV version…BUT, this
is also limited! So, if you're lucky enough to find this on
the shelves, don't put it off too long! Grab it!!
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