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Summary: Those complaining about the new color scheme in HalloweenDVD
Review: You idiots who are complaining about the new color scheme in Halloween,read this from dvdauthority.com
Halloween is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a brand new visual treatment and while it is superior to Anchor Bay's previous transfer in some ways, the differences are sure to divide the film's fans. The prior transfer was supervised by director of photography Dean Cundey, who made some changes to the color scheme, in order to more closely represent his own visual inclinations. That meant the visuals were altered from the original theatrical presentation, but the results were splendid. This new treatment restores the theatrical color scheme, which is a move destined to cause some division with Halloween's fanbase. As nice as the new color patterns looked, I have to be a purist and side with the original theatrical visual touches. There is a little more grain this time around, but the compression problems have been cleared up. In the end, I think fans will want this version, if just to have the film as first shown in theaters.
I guess if you don't like the color scheme on the new dvd, you wouldnt of liked the way it looked when it was originally released in theaters.But most of you like the way it was later altered.It wasnt originally meant to be seen that way with the more vibrant blues and oranges.
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Summary: Horror classic, still going strong
Review: HALLOWEEN (USA 1978): Fifteen years after he was institutionalized as a child for murdering his sister, the grown-up Michael Myers escapes from custody and heads back to his home town, where he stalks a number of teenage babysitters on Halloween night.Dismissed by many critics on its original release as a routine quickie with few redeeming virtues, this low-budget shocker - director John Carpenter's follow-up to another cult favorite, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976) - built its reputation via word-of-mouth at a time when movies could open small and hit big during a prolonged release schedule, and it ultimately emerged as one of the most successful independent productions of the 1970's. Aided immeasurably by Dean Cundey's expansive scope photography - whose autumnal color schemes and deep, deep shadows recall a similarly-styled Halloween sequence in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) - and an unforgettable music score (composed by the director himself), Carpenter's film is stronger on mood than narrative drive, building tension through an accumulation of details before letting rip with a series of nerve-shredding set-pieces during the second half of the movie. Donald Pleasence dominates proceedings (in a role turned down by no less than Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing!) as an obsessive doctor who arrives in small-town America to convince anyone who'll listen that 'boogeyman' Michael Myers is nothing less than Evil Incarnate, while second-billed Jamie Lee Curtis - who seems a little too old to be playing a frightened high-schooler - is sympathetic as the vulnerable heroine targeted for destruction by an unstoppable killer, and her climactic face-off with 'The Shape' contains more than a few heartstopping shocks and surprises. A classic horror movie for some viewers, and a slow-burning bore for others, HALLOWEEN has nevertheless withstood the test of time, and its influence on the modern horror genre is undeniable. Followed by HALLOWEEN II (1981) and a host of increasingly lackluster sequels, until the franchise was dusted off and revitalized for a whole new generation of fans in Steve Miner's impressive thriller, HALLOWEEN H20 20 YEARS LATER (1998). The movie itself runs 90m 45s on Anchor Bay's all-region DVD, which letterboxes the wide Panavision frame at approx. 2.35:1 (anamorphically enhanced). The original 2.0 mono track is included, along with a newly created Dolby 5.1 version, which is sonically impressive (and runs a few seconds longer than the mono print) but is largely unrepresentative of the original theatrical experience. Closed captions are included, but there are no open subtitles. Anchor Bay has released several versions of this movie on disc over the years, each one featuring an array of supplemental materials (including a laughable full-screen/pan-scan version of the film), though viewers are advised that the 25th anniversary 'Divimax' edition released in 2003 appears to have lost some of the vivid colors evident in the earlier THX version, released in 2000 and personally approved by cinematographer Dean Cundey.
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Summary: Micheal!
Review: A boy of 6 yrs old murders his sister and is committed to a mental hospital. 15 yrs later he escapes to return to the scene of the crime on Halloween night and stalks babysitters. Jamie Lee Curtis in her prime. This movie is creepy because there is a mental hospital in my town.
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Summary: Two stars for bonus features
Review: Were this a review solely on the film, this would have rated a one star. The transfer has been altered, with blues and oranges washed out. Along with that, it is the theatrical version of the film. Nit picking maybe, but you would think a 25th anniversary edition would have warrented the film being presented in its full glory. The bonus features are basically the only reason to buy this DVD. You can't ask for anything more from the commentary and excellent documentary. Just too bad Artisan couldn't make this a real treat for the fans.
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Summary: Re:best slasher flick ever!!!
Review: I love this movie so much and have seen it so many times i can't even count. I am happy so many other people love this movie too, but in the previous review, made by James D. Murphy, he made two mistakes in his movie summary. First, he said that Micheal is sent to the hospital for life, that is not true. Micheal is sent to the hospital only until his 21 birthday so that they may try him as an adult for his sisters death. Secondly, his sister Laurie did not change her name, instead she was adopted because she was only a baby when micheal killed his other sister. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew the straight facts. I hope you may find this interview sum what helpful in understanding the movie.
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Summary: SCREWED IT UP
Review: Buyer Beware! This edition is hideous. The extras are good, but the actual film has been butchered. The colors are all wrong.. I could go on & on. Anchor Bay should just re-release the 2 disc special edition & be done with it! Stay away from this one-- try the previous edition instead.
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Summary: Halloween Review
Review: This movie is so cool. Its the greatest horror/slasher movie of all time by far. Friday the 13th is good but its not no Halloween. It's about a psycho named Micheal Myers who murdered his sister when he was six years old. He was sent to a sanitary and escaped 15 years later. He returns to his home Haddonfield (hence the nickname "The Night HE Came Home") and stalks Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and you'll find out in H2. Anyway she babysits for a boy on Halloween night and Michael Myers stalks her and her friends and kills them all except her. His doctor at the sanitary, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) is trying to find Michael and stop him. I love ... when he sticks the guy to the door with the butcher knife. The closet scene is in my opinion the greatest horror scene ever. This movie is great.
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Summary: Loved it, few extras
Review: This is still like the best horror flick ever. I never get tired of it. I am just glad I didn't tramp around in high school, drink, and live in Haddonfield because Jamie Lee's trampy hard-drinking friends meet some pretty gruesome ends! I love her dark-haired friend whose dad is the cop. She rocks. Too bad she didn't realize locked car doors don't unlock on their own. Anyway, even after 20 some odd years, this movie still scares me to death every time I watch it. I love it. There is some boobies, a ton of suspense, and, actually, a lot of humor. I loved it and highly recommend it to anyone who likes a horror flick, and if you do, then I am sure you have already seen it, but if not, or you haven't seen it for years, try it again. It's not dated. The DVD is fine. There was a special edition out with loads of extras, but I missed it and I think now it's gone. Try to track one of those down, the one I have doesn't really have any extras, just a few trailors, and you can select wide v. full screen. This is the movie you want extras. But the DVD itself is fine.
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Summary: Before there was Mike Myers... there was Michael Myers
Review: Simply put, "Halloween" isn't scary anymore. I hate to admit it, as my childhood memories of the film have haunted me for years, but it just doesn't have the same effect 25 years later that it did in 1978. Why is it dated, you ask? The reality is... this film created all of the clichés. There have been SO many "Halloween" imitators down the years that the original seems like a barebones prototype. It's historically important, but the only terrifying aspect of this flick is the acting. P.J. Soles and Nancy Kyes are atrocious, and poor Donald Pleasence, a veteran of the British stage, delivers an over-the-top performance in this film that only Christopher Lee could have matched. If there hadn't been a Halloween, there never would've been "Friday the 13th." There never would've been thousands of horror films. But honestly... what is scary about this plot: Childhood trauma of discovering sister having sex drives Michael Myers to murdering her, as well as to returning to the scene of the crime years later on Halloween in a mask. Sex leading to death, babysitters, Bob getting knifed into the wall, even the ending... all cliché by today's standards. But you HAVE to give Carpenter credit. Even if the film looks dated and phony (e.g., the first murder, shot from behind the mask.), it's one that any serious horror film collector must have in his/her collection.
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Summary: Sucker punch
Review: Pointless '25th anniversary' edition. Sure the film looks and sounds great but so did the last two DVD incarnations. Commentary tracks provided by Carpenter, Hill, and Curtis are adequate and somewhat disappointing. As for the 86 minute 'new' documentary, it's nothing more than a trumped up version of the 30 minute documentary (Halloween Unmasked 2000) with endless, ENDLESS, ENDLESS, ENDLESS, ENDLESS clips --make that entire sequences-- from the movie. Curtis's own 2000 interview is again repeated here as are the same stories from Hill, Carpenter, Tommy Lee Wallace, P.J. Soles, and Nick Castle. I'm not sure what the point was in marketing another version except to cash in on the Halloween title and make money from unassuming customers, like yours truly. Save your money.
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