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Summary: Pure unadulterated horror
Review: This is the purest horror movie I have ever seen, and easily the scariest. No comic relief, no supernatural b.s., no social justice ("These monsters are created by greedy corporations!") b.s., no absurd plot twists, no gaffes by the actors or the director, and no hope. Nothing to take you out of the movie or distract you from the straight line descent into hell that Hooper has paved for us. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" depicts a world in which evil is inexplicable and irresistable, a world in which we are powerless to understand, much less avoid or fight, that evil. It is a world that is utterly, and horribly, believable.
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Summary: Tecas Chainsaw Massacre 2003
Review: I've never seen the original or any of the other movies, but I have seen the remake that came out in to movie theatres a few months ago. I'll say this: I wasn't expecting much, but that movie disturbed me. The situation and the violence was so realistic. I could envision myself as one of guys having to endure that. This is not a movie where you can watch at any time. You have to be emotionally prepared to see it. People hanging on meat hooks by the spine, brutal beatings, they touched on necrophilia, and of course people being chainsawed.
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Summary: A Classic, but NOT the first !!!
Review: Hello!!If you think that "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is the first modern-horror movie ever, you MUST see the 60's brazilian director COFFIN JOE (José Mojica Marins, AKA "Zé do Caixão"). Looking for him at Amazon !! Don't Miss that !! COFFIN JOE - The REALLY First One !!
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Summary: On Of the Best
Review: Scaryiest Damn movie...It will keep you at of you're seat.The Plot is A buch of Teens are in the middle of texas when they meet up a family of cannibal's and one who wield's a chainsaw.
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Summary: The Granddaddy of Modern Slasher Flicks
Review: Most serious fans of horror are already familiar with director Tobe Hooper's magnum opus THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, but for those who aren't, here's a basic rundown: In the early 1970s, a group of friends are traveling through rural Texas on their way to visit the ancestral home of Sally and Franklin, two members of said group. A chance encounter with a bizarre hitchhiker is the first in a long string of unimaginable horrors that eventually lead to death for some members of the group. Included in these shocking events are whacks on the head with a sledgehammer, folks hanging from meat-hooks, and, of course, the titular chainsaw killing. One member of the group actually gets a vis-à-vis meeting with those responsible for all the carnage, a cannibalistic family that includes, among others, a blood-drinking grandfather and big brute that wears a mask made of preserved human flesh. One of the first contemporary slasher films, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is also often cited by filmgoers as one of the scariest and most disturbing. And THAT even after 30 years since its first release! One of the reasons the film is still so effective as a shocker is its sense of realism. The film begins with a voice-over that proffers the film as a depiction of true events. This is a quite effective device--one "borrowed" by several later films--as it plants a subliminal seed in the mind of the audience and thereby makes the film's images seem all the more startling and realistic. The film was also shot in 16mm and then resized to 35mm for theatrical release, and as many cinema aficionados know, this resizing often results in a detracting grainy quality to the overall aesthetics of a film. But with THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, the resulting graininess gives the film a documentary-like feel that only serves to heighten the illusion that one is watching real-life events. In addition, most of the actors in the film were basically inexperienced unknowns, but their actions and delivery of dialogue come across as very authentic and sincere, and such acting makes the audience relate more fully with the characters, which in turn helps the production to seem less like commercial entertainment and more like slice-of-life filmmaking. Hooper has often stated that his inspiration for the film's plot was the infamous necrophiliac and purported cannibal Edward Gein, a real-life ghoul whose reported deeds frightened Hooper in his youth. For those who don't already know, Ed Gein was a backwoodsy Wisconsin farmer who, during the 1950s, raided cemeteries and collected various body parts from the corpses. He is known to have made clothing and household items from the preserved skin and bones of his "trophies," and, although it was never substantiated, it was rumored that he ate some of the human flesh. Gein was caught and arrested in 1957 after actually killing the proprietor of a hardware store, then taking her body to his barn and preparing it in the manner of a hunter dressing a deer. It is true that Hooper's film retains some of the elements of the real-life case--specifically the mask of human flesh and the bodies on meat-hooks--but it can hardly be considered a retelling of Gein's activities. Nonetheless, Hooper's aesthetic approach to directing, together with the film's aforementioned production values, enable Hooper to successfully recreate on film the fear he felt as a child when listening to stories of Gein's grisly exploits. Despite the film's reputation for being chock-full of blood and gore, there is really very few scenes of actual bloodletting. Most of the violence and gore is implied via set dressings (lots of bones and blood spatter), the lead-ins to the killings, and the bizarre behavior of the nefarious family of flesh-eating miscreants. Still, the acting is genuine enough and the narrative intense enought that both work to embellish the gruesomeness in the mind of the viewer, and many filmgoers who have seen the film only once swear that it is the most graphically violent and the bloodiest film they have ever seen. As mentioned above, the acting in this film--specifically that of the then-unknowns portraying the group of friends--comes across as very genuine and slice-of-life. Playing Sally, Marilyn Burns is especially effective as she emotes true terror through her facial expressions...and her screaming. Yes, Ms. Burns is one of the first in a long line of slasher-film Scream Queens, and she's also one of the best. All true fans of classic horror or slasher films will want to add this groundbreaking film to their collections. So that you can see it in its intended widescreen aspect ratio, be sure to purchase one of the recent DVD versions of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. Most of these DVD editions also include a cool feature commentary with director Tobe Hooper, director of photography Daniel Pearl, and the actor who wielded that titular chainsaw, Gunnar Hansen. Some of the DVDs also include other extras like deleted scenes, alternate footage, bloopers, and other fun stuff.
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Summary: The First Modern Horror Film.
Review: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE was the first modern horror film (well, besides PSYCHO). EVIL DEAD and HALLOWEEN both came later (but all three films formed the foundation for the modern horror film). Tobe Hooper's low budget picture sets itself to be a picture "based on a true story" (twenty years before THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT), though there never really was a Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There really was an Ed Gein who killed people and chopped them up and made clothes from skin and he serves as the inspiration for the inbred family in the film. The plot of the film is fairly simple. A group of young adults (probably just out of high school) are driving through Texas on a road trip. One of the members of the group (who also happens to be in a wheelchair) is curious to look at the old family house where he grew up. After stopping at an off road gas station and being told the gas truck won't be in until evening, the gang decides to check out the old family abode. While wondering through the fields, two of the people hear a gas motor and decide to check it out and see if they can borrow some gas. This leads them to a spooky house which they end up investigating and where they end up getting killed at. Their folly leads to the death of everyone else in the group, except for young Sally. Sally learns all about the perversity and sadism around her and eventually is able to escape right before having her skull bashed in. You would think that the film would be rather gruesome, but it isn't. Other than a few flicks of blood off screen, there is hardly any gore in the picture at all. Instead, the movie takes a lesson from Hitchcock and scares by not showing much and leaving the horrors to one's imagination. Why does Leatherface have a mask that looks sewn from some sort of hide? Why are all those cars hidden beneath a camoflauge canopy? You have to put the pieces together yourself. Because this film was one of the first modern horror films and because it was made on such a shoestring budget, the movie does feel somewhat dated and many may not enjoy it. Also, segments of the film are so common place in horror films today, they seem comical in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (such as the final part of the movie when Leatherface and his brother are chasing Sally). Maybe it will shock you, maybe it won't, but if you have any interest in horror movies or are a film buff, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is worth watching.
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Summary: What Is This Trash?
Review: I rented this with high hopes of seeing an excellent and terrifying horror film after hearing that the number one horror fan, Rob Zombie, loves this. I watched it and was sickened by how awful and boring it was. It is mind blowing how little blood there is. One scene, the lead is completely clean and the next she's soaked in what looks like ketchup. And all she does is scream and run in place. Suddenly, she runns into a tree branch. There are absolutely not enough words in the English dictionary to describe how bad this was.
Oh, and just thought I'd let everyone know that in it we see Letherface sporting a pair of BLACK HIGH HEELS AND A WOMAN'S FACE!!! What IS this CRAP!!?? If you wanted a good TCM movie, go see the remake because it is out of this world scary, gory, and Oscar-worthy acting.
What a waste of my time and money. An hour and a half of my life gone to this trash when I could have had a better time trying to COMMIT SUICIDE!!!
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Summary: You need this now
Review: if you're reading this, you probably don't need to be told how amazing this movie is. all you need to know is that the extras on this disc are the same as the other dvd, with the exception of the trailers to the sequels (But not the remake). The commentary is one of the best i've ever heard, and the new film transfer is much nicer than the other dvd release, and with a price tag at only $19, you can't lose.
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Summary: A true horror classic ! !
Review: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974): I saw this movie nearly 2 decades ago, while attending high school, ...and, even now, I remain impressed with this 1974 horror classic. For those of you who recently viewed the current 21st century, 2003 remade version, staring Jessica Biel, you may not find this 1970's Tobe Hooper (Director) original quite as interesting for the fact that its script, cinematography & props aren't nearly as elaborate (low budget film quality). However, for those of you who truly admire a good horror show for what its storyline has to offer, you just might regard this rendition of Texas Chainsaw with interest. Said to be founded on a true story, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a fateful tale of 5 youth companions who fall victim to a group of maniacal cannibalistic killers, dwelling in an insolated area of the Texas countryside. The story focuses mostly on the character, Sally Hardesty, who becomes the desperate last victim after her friends are slaughtered by a chainsaw wielding maniac, member of the cannibal family (Leather face). The story intensifies after the young girl is captured by the cannibals and held against her will in their, proverbial, house of horrors (their home). What emerges, thereafter, is a truly terrifying situation as she franticly attempts her dire escape. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, and will always be, one of America's most memorable horror classics. Personally, I feel it's a film all horror show enthusiast should experience, at least once. WARNING: Not recommended for the fainthearted, or for persons weary of desolate countryside locations. ---------------------------- About this SPECIAL EDITION DVD: Though the special features on this dvd are a bonus, I found myself not too impressed with their presentation. I understand that the "Deleted Scenes & Alternate Footages," along with the "Blooper Reel," and "A Study in Filming" clip, are from years ago (before ever being conceived of relaseing them to the general public), but because most of the film segments within them don't have any audio, and you have to "read" the commentary beforehand, I feel the purpose of including these footages along with this dvd is bascially lost; and, not to mention, a waste of time. The "Trailers & Sequel Trailers" sections was okay, though (they had sound). I rate this product 4 of 5 stars, not because of the movie itself (it was great), but because the "special features" section left me mostly disappointed. Could have been better.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a major improvement over regular edition
Review: The movie looks about as good as it's ever going to considering the low-budget production values; it is undeniably a classic. My issue is with the dysfunctional packaging (the outer plastic sleeve fell apart completely my first time opening it). There was a quick change to the packaging about two weeks after its release, but that doesn't do much for those loyal fans that purchased it the day it hit the market. There is also a lack of extras above and beyond the last edition. Sure, a commentary is nice but where is the making of featurette?! Don't be fooled by the "A Study In Filming" segment, it's a novel concept, but it's really just a bunch of raw footage -- for anyone that has ever made a film before it's nothing new. This is probably the best edition we'll get for another five years or so, and it's not bad. Maybe next time they'll do this film the complete justice that it deserves.
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