Halloween (Divimax 25th Anniversary Edition)

Rating:
Summary: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!
Review: This was the DVD that convinced me to buy a DVD player. To see this film digitally restored was breathtaking. Details I had never noticed before constantly jumped from the screen. And of course, the film itself is one of the best that the horror genre has to offer. One of the greatest strengths of this movie is that it manages to capture the creepy atmosphere of the Halloween season through subtle lighting and music. Scream is a pale imitation of this excellent thrill ride.

Rating:
Summary: Groundbreaking Horror
Review: "Halloween" is the first genuinely scary horror film I had
the displeasure of seeing as a 10 year old boy. I still
have nightmares to this day of Michael Myers' simple, plain white
mask that was a stroke of genius on Carpenter's part. it's
an image that has become synonymous with terror! With groundbreaking camera work, fresh actors, and goreless killings, this was a new blueprint for horror films. Following in the footsteps of Hitchcock's "Psycho," Carpenter created an extraordinary environment as dark and merciless as Michael Myers
himself. This is a film to be felt and experienced. "Halloween"
may end as you view the final credits, but Myers lingers just
outside your window for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: scary scary scary
Review: very scary iused tolike noes better until i bought halloween 2 i loved halloween i thougt wow this is series wantedmore i rented halloween i loved it its my favorite movie i still have trouble sleeping i have it the car scene in halloween makes me never want to stay in the car alone the greatest horror movie ever madeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Rating:
Summary: Horror Movie Par Excellence!
Review: The first time I saw Halloween as a youth I was genuinely petrified. Okay, now I know the ending but I find this movie the summit of horror movie making. Its classic rise to status from a low-budget production to a multi-million $$$ industry & cultural influence (both of the horror genre & indeed of movie-making) is now legendary. However nothing is as legendary nor as grandiose as the movie's 3 principal influences. 1. Its creation of the most inemotive serial killer ever, Michael Myers/The Shape. 2. Its creation of the classic ''scream queen'' through the divinely brilliant Jamie-Lee Curtis, whose ingenuity renders her trauma all the more startling as she is pursued by Michael (unbeknown to her nor the audience that he is infact her brother) & heroically takes charge despite her fear. 3. The music. Its simplicity is more chilling than The Exorcist (& is my ringtone on my cell phone!). On Black & White, 3 strands or themes seem quite simple for a movie, yet it's these lietmotiv which have not only ensured that this movie series has survived, but whose simplicity merely exercises a more profound influence on the audience, as it concentrates on simple techniques to scare audiences - & scare it does. Myers appears out of nowhere at times. His murder of his victims is as stark & inhuman as his mask, which ensures the audience cannot empathise with the Shape, because that's all he is in his boiler suit & white mask. Curtis' screams are harrowing & Donald Pleasence's pursuit of Myers, his patient, is intent & passionate. We feel Myers' evil through Pleasence's narrative of Myers' life in his care since brutally murdering his sister, makes Myers mythical in his insensitivity & brutality. Carpenter & Hill's music, imagery (the dark sequences are eery) & dialogue synthesise to create what I can best describe as a discordant harmony. A now classic movie which chills by its simplicity, brevity & determination. Its classic status (along with its ''celebritisation'' of Myers as an anti-hero, & Curtis as the ultimate horror heroine) shall go on for years. I can never tire of this movie. Definitely worth purchase!

Rating:
Summary: The best Halloween movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: You should all know the plot of this movie by now. So I won't go there. But if you seen the other Halloween sequels as well then you'd know tht the original is the best because none of the other sequels run close to what the original provided. The orginal was the best feature ever because Micheal's work was the bes tin this origianl film. If you think that one of the other Halloween movies were better than the original then you must be crazy because the orignal is the best. It has the best music, the best features, the best killings and the list goes on forever. So if you haven't seen the orginal Halloween then rent it tonight because this the best Halloween today. It's probably even better then Halloween Resurrection which hits theaters on July 19th. So if you haven't seen Halloween see it tonight. Because if you don't then Micheal will get you and slaughter you. Like he slaughtered Haddonfield to pieces.

Rating:
Summary: The best horror film of all time
Review: I first saw Halloween when I was a wee girl and can remember so clearly being beyond terrified and running to jump under the covers with my dad. The next day I popped it into the VCR and sat smack down in front of it, absolutely entranced by the eerie music and the jack-o-lantern glowing with evil. I am a huge horror fan and not a single one I've seen can even compare to this masterpiece! This movie is perfect with everything: the scenery mostly with the creepy neighborhood and autumn atmosphere; then there's that white mask Michael Myers wears with the hollow, unfeeling eyes and no expression; next are the characters which are all perfection, I think. Dr. Loomis is so serious and obsessed with finding Michael that he drives such fear in us. Jamie Lee Curtis is brilliant as the plain, responsible babysitter who won't believe Tommy when he tries to convince her that the bogeyman is coming after him that night; lastly there is that music. The heart-stopping, eerie, terrifying music. What else can one ask for in a horror film? Yes, there have been numerous slasher/stalker horrors made after this but "Halloween" was the one who began it all so it should get its much deserved recognition. The sequels to this movie are okay but somehow don't manage to set off the same spooky mood.

Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: In the space of twenty two days in 1978 USC graduate John Carpenter created a classic of the horror cinema and was responsible for changing the course of horror
history. In the wake of his classic Halloween a veritable tidal wave of similarly themed normally masked maniacs hacked, slashed and stabbed their way across the cinema screen. Few however matched the terror contained within this film.
It starts with a prologue set in 1963. Michael Myers, a six year boy, from the small town of Haddonfield kills his sister Judith Myers on Halloween night. He is then put away. The film then cuts away to October 30 1978 and Myers breaks out of the
psychiatric hospital which he has been kept in since he murdered his sister. His doctor Loomis (Donald Pleasance) sets out in pursuit believing, correctly as it turns out, that Myers will return to his home town. When Myers returns to Haddonfield he attaches himself to a group of teenagers: sarcastic Annie (Nancy Loomis), bubble head Lynda (P.J. Soles) and the bookish Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis). During the course of the halloween night Myers proceeds to murder his way through the trio.
The plot of Halloween was not wildly new, but what rises in to the class of a classic is Carpenter's handling of the material. Heavily influenced by such directors as Howard Hawks it takes a what could have been an exploitation picture and makes a
classic from it. The opening scenes which end with Myers as a six year old being met at the front door by his parents after stabbing his sister to death is one of the all time
classic shots from 1970s horror cinema. The numb look on the face of the actor whose plays Michael aged six (Will Sandin) seem to show that he both understands, but at the same time does not understand the significance of what he has does.
Incidentally the person who was holding the knife during the filming of this scene was Carpenter's then girl friend Debra Hill. She also wrote and produced the film. She went on to produce a number of other films by Carpenter.
Carpenter in the course of the film throws in numerous references to other films. One is the choosing of Jamie Lee Curtis to play the heroine. She is the daughter of Tony
Curtis and Janet Leigh. Leigh played the victim of the maniacal Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho (1960) and the casting of her daughter as some one who survives a horror film was its way of playing her back. In addition the Psycho
comparisons do not end there with the naming of the doctor Loomis was surely another reference to the film. This film catapulted Curtis to fame and fortune, but it as
Laurie which she will forever be associated with in the eyes of horror fans. There is another reference to George Romero's classic zombie film Night of the Living Dead
(1968). When Laurie is trapped in the wardrobe Myers smashes his way in. During the course of it he hits the light causes it to strobe like in Romero's film which was in turn influenced by Hitchcock's. There is also a unintentionally huge debt of gratitude to Black Christmas (1975) in Carpenter's film. In it a group of sorority sisters are picked off one by one by an unseen psycho over the Christmas period. The point of view shots (POV) used by Carpenter are similar to the ones used by Christmas's
director Bob Clark. In addition Clark thought about writing a sequel in which the killer in the first film would have been caught, but escaped on halloween. He collaborated on this with Carpenter. The opening lengthy shot is similar to the one
which opens Orson Well's Touch of Evil (1958).
The music and especially the instantly recognisable theme score were done by Carpenter. His usage of the soundtrack is very good and adds to the tension within the film. Ironically on the car journey towards the baby-sitting the music playing as Annie
and Laurie share a clandestine cigarette is Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper.
Another good thing which Carpenter did within the film was his use of Steadicam. The Steadicam was the invention of Garrett Brown and allowed hand held shots to be comparable to a tracking shot. This allowed to Carpenter to have elegant tracking
shots in which a good example was the lengthy shot which opens the film.
The acting on display is good, but mention should be made of Donald Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis. Pleasance was the film's one star name and upon whom most of the modest budget was spent on. He turns in a fine if slightly over the top performance.
Some of his lines though do have an unexpected poetic flair. He would star in almost of the sequels and did get slightly type cast in his roles. Curtis emerged as the film's star. She would go on to star in a clutch of similarly themed horror films including Carpenter's The Fog (1979) before becoming equally well known for her acting in such films as A Fish Called Wanda (1987).Although Halloween is now well over twenty years old the
scariness of the picture does not fade and it has become an acknowledged classic of the genre. Followed by sequel: Halloween II (1981).

Rating:
Summary: An Absolute Classic
Review: The original Halloween is one of the greatest horror movies of all time and my personal favorite. Even though I've seen it numerous times I can't get enough. On Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his sister in the small town of Haddonfield Illinois. Now, 15 years later, he has escaped from a mental institution to reek havoc amongst the trick or treaters. Jaime Lee Curtis stars in her first role as Laurie Strode and is pursued by Michael Myers throughout the entire movie. Donald Pleasance plays Dr. Sam Loomis (Michael Myers doctor) and warns Haddonfield Police of Michael's return. Hesitant to believe the wild accusation Dr. Loomis must hunt Michael down before he can do anymore harm. Halloween will scare and delight you at the same time. The music score for Halloween is still creepy almost 25 years later and is synonymous with the movie. If you only see one horror movie in your lifetime, see this absolute classic, Halloween.

Rating:
Summary: the best halloween movie i have ever seen in my life!!!!
Review: in my hole life i have never seen such a movie i dont have the movie but i give it 5 stars because it haves more series and keeps me in suspense so much! and i give it 5 stars because it has a good story behind it and it gives me the felling and i cant describe that felling thats why i give it the 5 stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sincerley yours truly your #1 fan lorie waterist.

Rating:
Summary: The definition of horror
Review: One of the movies that cemented John Carpenter as a visionary director, the original, and still the best, Halloween is a landmark in horror. We all know the storyline by now so I won't go into that, but what I will say is this is what a real horror movie is, able to be scary without blood and gore flying everywhere, its the atmosphere and Carpenter's patented creepy as hell musical score that makes this movie truly horrifying. It was followed by six sequels, none of which can hold a candle to this original classic, and this movie also started the slasher movie craze of the 80's. Extremely recommended if you want a real horror movie.