Halloween

Rating:
Summary: movie-excellent,dvd-worthless
Review: everyone knows halloween is probably the best horror film ever made with its suspenceful thrills and it proves horror movies dont need gore to be good. the dvd however has so many mess ups though-the picture is good although you see many dots througout the movie in dark scenes. the dvd video gets 2 stars END

Rating:
Summary: Halloween ! There is no match...
Review: This is the ultimate horror,this is the movie that set all standards in horror movies of the 70's 80's and 90's.it shows that you dont have to have gallons of gore n blood to get people to like a movie.those type of movies are cool but they lack in real horror and suspence.i saw it for the first time in 1978 and iv'e seen it at least twice a year since it's my favorite horror of alltime. i'll probably be buried with the video when i'm dead of course! so to john carpenter,thanks for one hell of a movie... END

Rating:
Summary: An independent masterpiece of horror and suggestion
Review: John Carpenter's 1978 horror film is one of the icons of the genre. With heavy homage to Hitchcock's "Psycho," "Halloween" proves that it is possible to have a truly frightening horror film without excessive gore or on-screen violence. Rather, Carpenter relies on the power of suggestion and of the unknown.

While the plot and characters of "Halloween" are rather thin, the film is so relentless in its pacing and horror that the deficiencies are not apparent on a first viewing. To date (1998), there have been five sequels (though "Halloween III" was a sequel in name only), but none matches the original. This may well be the best horror film since the seventies. END

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I'd been told lots about this movie, and I was anticipating something more. I can see how it must have been great when it came out, but I was constantly rolling my eyes at the predictability of it.
Also, the sound track. Why the same music, over and over?
Jamie Lee Curtis was excellent , but all the other characters seemed very scripted and monotonous.
It also seemed to me that the movie ended to soon and I wanted to know more, but didn't get enough out of the first movie to rent the second.

I enjoyed the movie and some parts made me close my eyes, but I wouldn't say it was my favourite. I guess I'm a special effects kind of a person.

Rating:
Summary: The Truth About this DVD .......it's the best!
Review: I have read the reviews for this 25th Anniversary DVD and I have to say the ones criticing it are wrong and customers shouldn't value their opinion. First off, most of you are familiar with the plot of this movie, back in 1978 John Carpenter directed a independent film with a budget slightly over $300,000 about a psychotic maniac named Michael Myers aka The Shape who terrorizes a group of baby-sitters in his childhood town. Seven sequals and twenty five years later Halloween has went on to be the probably the best horror film ever because it is so much more than a horror movie. Like most, I was a bit suprised by Anchor Bay deciding to release another version of Halloween on DVD, but hey I knew I was gonna buy it anyway. For the 25th anniversary, they decided to impliment the Divimax mastering format onto this DVD. For those who are complaining about the quality of the picture or colors, they are near perfect. The day shots in Halloween seem to leap out of your screen as everything is more clear and crisp, everything has more texture to it. Their is a slight mis cue in the opening credits with the tints of the oranges but unless you seen this movie in the theatres 25 years ago, who is to say whether or not that is the way it is supposed to look or not, but the pumpkin is cleared up more as you can see the texture on it better and the scrapes also. The night shots are also much, much better. Everthing is much more clear and in constrast. One prime example is the scene where Tommy notices the bogeyman across the street, The Shape is much more clear in this version. Alot of the nightshots in the older versions were a bit blurry. The sounds is in a word; phenemonial. The Smith's Grove scene where Michael breaks free is incredible in sound (although I did rush home to watch this DVD on a $10,000 plus home entertainment system) the rain and thunder come across so real. Halloween is now able to complement your home entertainment system because of what Divimax has done for it. The widescreen ratio is also terrific as we get to as close a theatric view as possible, seeing every angle of the orignal shot, every tree or part of Michael as he is stalking. I have also noticed people slamming this DVD because it lacks the extra scenes. Mind you, this is a 25th anniveresary celebration of the film, not a celebration of how corporate empire NBC made Carpenter film those new scenes in 1980 for the tv airing of Halloween. Though I do like thess scenes, I do not think they are essential, and I feel including them is in a way disrespectful to the orignal film and the maker's vision. The special features are great, espicially the 89 minute documentary (which is fascinating) and of course; trailers, tv spots and stills. All in all, this is about as good as Halloween gets, but the fun in it is seeing what Anchor Bay and friends can do for the 30th anniversary and so on!

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant piece of suspense
Review: "Halloween" is by far the best horror film I have ever seen and is also my personal favorite. The story is so simple: 6 year-old Michael Myers stabs his sister to death on October 31, 1963 in Haddonfield. He is locked up but 15 years later, he escapes and returns to his hometown, where he sets his sights on Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends, Annie (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda (P.J. Soles). His psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), is hot on Myers' trail before he kills again. This movie is so scary and suspensful, easily the best of the bunch. For Jamie Lee Curtis' first movie, she did an excellent job of acting. Veteran actor Donald Pleasence is also terrific, he is performance is convincing, you actually KNOW that Michael Myers is pure evil when he talks about him. What adds to the suspense and horror of the film is that Michael is hardly seen, he is always in the shadows, waiting to kill. The music is also fantastic. The main piano theme is one of the most famous to ever grace the screen. All in all, this is a terrific film, watch this with the lights off and guarantee you'll be scared!

Rating:
Summary: What Else Can I Say About A True Classic
Review: Halloween was the very first horror movie I saw as a kid, at age 4.Ever since then, no Halloween or anytime of the year is complete for me without Dr.Loomis, Laurie Strode, Sheriff Brackett, and of course the man himself, Michael Myers. This movie epitomizes everything that Halloween is..the bogeyman laying in the dark shadow of the room , waiting for the perfect moment to strike..It's got everything..From the typical American small town, horror movies in the city just don't work..The great horror flicks of all time:Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror, Last House on the Left, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, and Scream, they all took place in small towns or in the middles of nowhere..
Plus Halloween films for me have always somehow managed to get the intangible down:Atmosphere.They nail the Halloween , late fall atmsophere perfectly..I loved the whole bunch of them..I'm a sucker for horror though. I also love all the Friday the 13ths, Texas Chainsaws, Screams, and Nightmares.

Rating:
Summary: H25: A Few Treats And A Very Bad Trick
Review: John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN, is my favorite horror film, and is for sure the best of its kind. Over the last several years, Anchor Bay, has released different versions of the film on DVD. As much as I hate when there are multiple versions of the same film on DVD, I had to check out the 25th Anniversary Edition of one of my favorite films

On Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers, kills his sister in cold blood, and is put away in a mental hospital. His psychaitrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) soon discovers that his patient is "waiting for some secret silent alarm to trigger him off". Fifteen years later, Myers (Nick Castle) escapes and heads back to his home town of Haddonfield Illonois, to continue his reign of terror. This time he goes after three high school friends, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), Annie (Nancy Loomis), and Lynda (P.J. Soles). Dr. Loomis rushes to Haddonfield to try and stop him.

The film's story and simple style has been with me ever since I saw the movie when it first aired on NBC-TV in 1981 From its script, effective cinematography by Dean Cundey, and that unforgettable theme and film score from Carpenter. It is that winning combination and fine acting from Pleasence and Curtis that set this film apart from any of its wanna be contemporary clones. It's hard to put into words but its magic. I forgot how little gore was in the film until I sat down recently to watch it. The film's "style over substance" approach really works. The amazing thing about all of this, is the fact that part of the style was by design, and the other part was dictated by a limited budget. It is what I like to call "filmmaking on the fly".

Before I get into the extras on this DVD, first, a word or two about the television version, which is now avaible as part of a limited edition 2 DVD set (I also own that version as well-but the TV cut is not included in this Annversary set), or as a separate purchase with no extras. The T.V. version adds 12 minutes of footage that was shot to satisfy network execs, who wanted to pad the film, after some of its more violent and objectionable material was edited for broadcast. Carpenter stated that he doesn't care for the additional scenes, but I kind of like them, since they were part of the film, the very first time I saw it. Either cut of HALLOWEEN works very well.

The commentary from Carpenter, Hill, and Curtis hasn't been available since the Criterion Laserdisc went out of print. It is a good track, that's lots of fun, even though each participant was recorded separately, it's still a winner. The retrospective documentary A Cut Above The Rest leads off disc 2. Part of the program aired in 2002, as part of the AMC channel's annual Monsterfest. The 87 munute documentary repeats some stuff heard on the commentary-but I can live with that. All new to the mix is a 10 munute featurette on California locales that subed in the film for Haddonfield Illinois. Poster/still gallery, talent files, TV spots, radio ads and trailers (from the previous edition) are included. DVD-ROM material rounds out disc 2. Wallpapers, screensavers, and a printable script can be yours.

With all the hoopla and "new" extras, I still don't consider this edition all that great, over the limited edition from '98. Here's why: For some reason, the folks at Anchor Bay, decided to tweak with the print of the film. Certain scenes seem like the color has been tampered with. Not all of them, but enough, for this fan to notice. That's why I can only give the Anniversary Edition only **** stars Recommended, but I still plan to keep my Limited Edition around, just the same. Together, both sets, make for the ultimate scare.

Rating:
Summary: This movie will never get old
Review: Yes this is a classic masterpiece of genius, this mayb the best killer horror movie ever, this played the other day, its like my 100th time watching it, what do you expect it's Michael Myers this is were it all starts.

Rating:
Summary: STILL THE BEST
Review: I`ve seen this film numerous times and it still is the most frightening film for me.... I still have nightmares after watching this... It was made for very little money and has the quality of authencity and realism; yes you get the feeling it could happen in your o w n neighbourhood... Indeed - now that`s why it scares the hell out of me hehehe