Rating: 
Summary: The all time horror masterpiece
Review: When Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel, and their merry crew decided to make a movie, they crafted one of the greatest, most shocking, disturbing, and unrelenting horror films ever made. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre managed to pull out all the stops to be shocking and terrifying with little or no blood and gore. Tobe Hooper was ingenious to just implying what you were seeing as opposed to what was on screen and off; and his grainy, documentary style filmaking approach to the film makes it all the more scary and realistic. We all know the story by now: a group of young kids go out in the backwoods of Texas and are stalked, murdered, chopped up, impaled on hooks, and served for dinner by a deranged cannibalistic family which includes the chainsaw wielding maniac called Leatherface who would go down in horror film history as a horror icon. Hooper would follow up with a lesser (but still worth watching) sequel in 1986 where he was given a bigger budget and more tools to his disposal; but nothing could ever match the pure ferocity and insanely dark humor of this original film. All in all, forget New Line's recent re-make, this is the horror film to end all horror films.
Rating: 
Summary: Get the Region 2 DVD from Amazon UK
Review: I have the Region 1 edition of this DVD (the original Pioneer edition which is exactly the same as this reissue except for the cover) and it's pretty good...but the Region 2 edition from Universal blows it out of the water as it also contains the documentary The Texas Chainsaw Massacre-The Shocking Truth which is about 70 minutes long. It features interviews with most of the cast and the creators of the original movie as well as covering the sequels. It's definitely essential viewing for all fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and it's well worth importing the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk. It also contains a small booklet and the packaging is pretty good too.I'd like to warn my fellow Australian fans of this film to avoid the 2-disc Region 4 edition at all costs. Yep, it contains the same features as the R2 set but it has major problems. The movie itself is the same print as used on the R1 and R2 sets but there's a problem with it that causes a smearing effect whenever there's movement onscreen. This isn't so noticeable during the daylight scenes but the night scenes are almost unwatchable, particularly when Leatherface is chasing Sally. Also, the documentary is slightly different from the R2 version. All references to Bill Mosely from TTCM2 have been removed as have scenes from the comedy short The Texas Chainsaw Manicure. There are some other slight differences too.
Rating:
Summary: Defined low-budget independent film making
Review: TCM just happens to be a brutally brilliant accident that the director, production company, sequels or spin-offs have yet to recapture or surpass. TCM stands alone as a brainwave of selling a movie on the bases of its title alone and manages to deliver on a shoe-string budget. TCM has its background in blue movie film making. Due to the success of the blue movie "Deep Throat" the production company saw fit to launch some funds in the direction of a "nobody" who just happened to come up with the right idea at the right time while standing in line at a crowded hardware store picking through his thoughts as to which device he could use to get through the crowd quicker. Getting hold of a 16mm camera, some extras and some fake blood Tobe Hooper decided it would be a good idea to make a family value suspense thriller with a PG rating where he would keep the on-screen violence down low along with the body count, by cutting away from the horrors when on screen. What he did not realize is that by doing this he simply let imaginations run riot in the audience and succeeded in having his film not only cut, given a R rating and banned in various countries, but had religious groups having an uprising on every radio station across the land. This movie IS as disturbing as everything it has been made out to be, but for all the wrong reasons. There is very little blood on the screen and only one person is killed by a chainsaw! So what makes this film so alarming? It is violent because of the victims and how they are treated. Psychologically this film is a nightmare. Leatherface who cuts up women has a psychological age of six. His family are worse! His brother cuts himself, his father batters women in sacks with a stick and granddad is... well we will let you see that for yourself. The truth is that the violence towards cripples and women is savage. There are women here repeatedly hit over the head with a stick or hung up on meat hooks. They are tortured, toyed with and played with like animals. Forget the title of this movie which is not really that much on display except in various chase sequences. This is all about humiliation and exploitation. The last thirty minutes is screaming from start to finish until the very last scene of the unforgettable leatherface chainsaw overture as the sun sets. Truth be told this film is a winner. It does everything in aces without drawing that much blood (however several sequences do feature real blood including the finger knife wound and the main protagonist cutting herself for real on branches and trees). A huge percentage of it is mostly psychologically implied but the scene with the hammer is exploitation through and through. TCM delivers on all counts, just not in the way that you expected it. Its low-budget and 16mm look just make it all the more real. Nowhere has a low-budget production looked better for all its limitations. By the way, the scene in the attic with a Skelton is really a human Skelton! Turns out that purchasing a Skelton from India was cheaper than making one up at the time. Also a lot of the screaming and facial expressions are also real because the special effects used in creating these sequences actually hurt the actors and actresses. The scene with the meat hook actually involved an extremely painful crotch strap. How can you fail to miss this classic! Its amateur film making at its best and certainly knocks most high budget productions for six. An undisputed must have for any DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Nightmare
Review: I read the reviews on this site for the movie and was unsure what i would be getting myself into and not sure if the film would be boring like some said or a work of art-the minute the opening credits rolled i knew this was going to be a good movie and i was right. I'm a Horror movie lover and believe it or not this is one of the only films i didnt see , basically because i heard how boring it was and remember seeing a scene from it when i was younger and not seeing any gore- but thats all i remember was a scene of the barn - i'm so glad i bought this film because this is a masterpiece. I thought micheal myers, jason and freddy were good villians but noone can be more disturbing and terrifying than leatherface. I do not scare easy and can sit through any other horror movie without even flinching but i sat in my room and watched this movie with headphones on the tv and a feeling came over me that cant be described when i saw leatherface and the whole terror of that evening and the movie in general. The images of the sun , moon , the spiders in the house, the chainsaw are so unique and imbedded in your mind- the images , the sounds , and the way he hit the guy on the head with the hammer sounded so real and like you were there it was shocking. It was worse than a 100 killings by any other villian in the world of horror. This was even scarier than the exorist because that girl could be helped and saved but these maniacs will always be twisted and insane till they die. It didnt bother me how most of the characters got killed off in begining because the film was so good it didnt matter plus it was more real -this was more (( real )) than any horror film ive ever seen before. Usually when a villian kills in horror film im just like yea , that would be scary if i was there but it dosent even do anything for me sitting here but this movie shocked me- the depravity , the realness, the insanity and the fact that this could happen- they make you beleive it could happen to you. I loved this film so much i wish it were a little longer but even though the shortness it is still a masterpiece. I shouldve bought this years ago- this movie should be in any horror fans collection and might end up being your new favorite. This movie is so good it dosent even need blood to be shocking or scary. That should tell you somthing- with the characters, plot, images, sounds, suspense and depravity that is worse than blood. When you see the guy on the table after leatherface knocks him out with his sledgehammer and you see the girl on the hook watching her own boyfriend sawed up by leatherface and the scene at the end of the other girl being tortured by the family, just watching that is worse than seeing micheal myers slaughter 100 people with plenty of blood and gore.- It is truly a horror nightmare masterpiece. You will never forget this film when you see it and im sure all the horror buffs will love this. Highly Recomended. 5 stars - A horror essential.
Rating:
Summary: Texas Chainsaw Massacre - a classic one !!
Review: First of all, can I ask all of you something ? Is this one cut ?? This question is quite important for understanding the movie. I'm from Germany, where a version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is being released that is awfully cut, you know: the censors in Germany know their job. I'm even coming home from watching the 2003 remake, I must say that it ain't so bad, but it's also been cut ! Nothing against the original ! But it is very rare to get it in Germany ! But if I ordered it from the USA, I'd make sure that it's uncut ! Yea - the movie is cruel, no question, but that's what makes it so terrifying ! So I don't think it should be cut. I hope anyone of you can help me to solve that problem ! Greets from Germany !
Rating: 
Summary: the better b movie
Review: the texas chainsaw massacre is probebly the best cultmovie i have ever seen .
i grow up with this film and i can not believe that the new version is better than the original movie..i dont say that the 2003 version is a bad movie but with all the money spend on this one it would be cruel if it wassent a better production..now its just another hollywoodmovie..
just like freddy vs jason...to much is to much
Rating:
Summary: horror classic
Review: this DVD could have had alot more, but it cleaned up the quality of the picture considering the movies 30 years old.
this film is about a group of unlucky teenagers coming into the grasp of possibly one of the most terrifying boogymen in film history: leatherface.
leatherface is a adaptation of the character of serial killer Eddie Gein. Gein's actions and killings in the 50's launched a franchise in the horror film industry, spawning films like "massacre" and also Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, and Seven. this movie isnt really scary more like disturbing.
if your looking for pyschological scary blockbusters, recommendations are the exorcist, rosemary's baby, jacobs ladder, pyscho and in the mouths of madness
if your interests lay along the lines of serial killers and mysteries, i recommend Seven, From Hell, the silence of the lambs and manhunter
Rating:
Summary: The Most Brilliant Piece Of Artwork Ever To Be Made . . .
Review: After hearing reports of graverobbery, Sally Hardesty, her boyfriend Jerry, her invalid brother Franklin, and their friends Pam and Kirk set off to the cemetary to check if Sally's Grandfather has been dug up. When they get back on the road to where Sally's Grandfather used to live, they catch them selves picking up a psychotic hitchhiker that stabs one of the five youths. They quickly drop him off and head for an old brokendown Gas Station/Barbeque Shack. When they arrive at Sally's Grandfather's old house they're afternoon becomes a neverending nightmare when they stumble upon a ghoulish family that pratcices cannibalism, graverobbery (*remember the graverobbery in the beginning of the film*), murdering, and enjoy decorating their home with bizarre pieces of art made from their vitcim's flesh and bones. This is the family of Leatherface, who wears his victim's flesh, and chases you with a chainsaw. Here, they are brutally tortured, butchered, and cooked for dinner. This movie is the most horryfying masterpiece ever created. Who cares if it's low budget? This movie terrified people all over the world to this very day. Even though this movie lacks gore, it is one of the most horryfying movies ever made. Sure, it does have a little blood here and there. Unlike other horror movies where they throw the gore in your face, Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" shows you the kill but not the blood to make you think and imaginate. It messes around with your head. The movie is much more based on suspense and adds bizarre scenes that are disturbing to the audience. This film spawned 2 sequals and 2 remakes which were all very poor and didn't match the suspense and atmosphere to the 1974 original. The film is inspired by the 1950s serial killer Ed Gein. The similarities of Gein and the film are very strong: Gein lived on an isolated farmhouse in rural Wisconsin, The Sawyer family (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) lived on an isolated farm in rural Texas. Gein dug up corpses from his local cemetery, The Sawyer family digs up corpses from their local cemetary. Gein decorated his house with his victims flesh and bones, The Sawyer family decorates their house with their victim's flesh and bones. Gein practiced cannibalism, The Sawyer family practices cannibalism. Gein wore his victim's skin, so does leatherface. There are some differences also: Gein was one person, in Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" it's a family. Gein shot his victims, The Sawyer family tortures them and bruttaly hacks them to death. Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel basically took Ed Gein's crimes and made it into a more horryfying story. They did an excellent job with that too. I recommend that every horror fan should have this movie in their top ten. 5 out of 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much screaming.
Review: The ending of this movie has to be the most annoying ever. There is a girl screaming non-stop for what seems like 40 minutes. Don't waste you time.
Rating:
Summary: GEt the earplugs ready.
Review: How, how is this film so dear to fanboy type horror fans? I fail to see it. What is it about this so called seminal work in terror that grabs the public imagination and makes mainstream film critics giddy with glee. Why, this has to be one of horrors top 10 right? Right!!!!
The answer is no. Do not bye into the hype. This is one dull and ordinary horror film. Yeah, so its a little original. You'll never think of family the same way after this one. But its boring. And considering its supposed to be the granddaddy of terror, the godfather of gore etc etc, what a letdown. If feeling your ear drums burst from the non stop shrieks of the lead actress for an hour is your idea of terror, than go hide under the covers for you will be afraid. If instead, the womans wails get to be even more annoying than leatherface's chainsaw, you will be in for a long viewing experience. How many times did i pray for that inbred dolt to put a saw to the lass and end her perpetual whine?
Was there anyone else in the film you say? Well there was the family. An entertaining lot and they get their props. But thats about it. The victims are cardboard cutouts of the worst kind. The one who got put on the meathook was a cut (oooohch) above the rest..i almost felt a residue of sympathy for her as she squirmed on the hook. It was in the eyes I guess.
Gore-Little. Mostly implied. Woman gets skewered.
T&A-don't know.closed my eyes and covered my ears from girls shrieks so many times, I may have missed something.
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