- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,396
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
The first itineration of Stephen King's Salem's Lot, hit TV screens in November of 1979, and it was his first work arrive on that medium.
Although Carrie, which had a theatrical release three years previous, had given the non-reading public, some concept of what was to be expected, Salem's Lot still caught many viewers unaware of what they were going to see.
And it was, especially for TV, a downright frightening experience.
The film itself, as created by WB Television, was an interesting casting melange of current TV actors, along with some of Hollywood's great talents.
Headlining Starsky and Hutch's David Soul and the great James Mason, it gave us Lance Kerwin, Julie Cobb, George Dzundza, Bonnie Bedelia, Ed Flanders, and Fred Willard...
along with the likes of Lew Ayres, Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook, Jr.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, it's definitely more TV than feature, but when James Mason enters that wonderful old house on the hill, audiences were enthralled.
Warner Home has gone back to the basics to present Salem's Lot on Blu-ray, and the final result is nothing less than astounding. Retaining it's original broadcast aspect ratio, we're given the opportunity to view the production as never before, direct (with the exception of a single reel) from the camera negative.
A dazzlingly, perfect presentation.
From a historical perspective, there were initial attempts by WB to turn the book into a feature, until it was realized that a mini-series would better fit the subject.
The project originally screened as two two-hour broadcasts, and was re-cut to a single three-hour version a year later. Foreign territories received a 112-minute theatrical cut in 1980.
Other cuts include different and alternate scenes, but this release is the original.
A new version was released in 2004, with Rob Lowe and Donald Sutherland.
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH
Although Carrie, which had a theatrical release three years previous, had given the non-reading public, some concept of what was to be expected, Salem's Lot still caught many viewers unaware of what they were going to see.
And it was, especially for TV, a downright frightening experience.
The film itself, as created by WB Television, was an interesting casting melange of current TV actors, along with some of Hollywood's great talents.
Headlining Starsky and Hutch's David Soul and the great James Mason, it gave us Lance Kerwin, Julie Cobb, George Dzundza, Bonnie Bedelia, Ed Flanders, and Fred Willard...
along with the likes of Lew Ayres, Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook, Jr.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, it's definitely more TV than feature, but when James Mason enters that wonderful old house on the hill, audiences were enthralled.
Warner Home has gone back to the basics to present Salem's Lot on Blu-ray, and the final result is nothing less than astounding. Retaining it's original broadcast aspect ratio, we're given the opportunity to view the production as never before, direct (with the exception of a single reel) from the camera negative.
A dazzlingly, perfect presentation.
From a historical perspective, there were initial attempts by WB to turn the book into a feature, until it was realized that a mini-series would better fit the subject.
The project originally screened as two two-hour broadcasts, and was re-cut to a single three-hour version a year later. Foreign territories received a 112-minute theatrical cut in 1980.
Other cuts include different and alternate scenes, but this release is the original.
A new version was released in 2004, with Rob Lowe and Donald Sutherland.
Image - 5
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 5
Pass / Fail - Pass
Highly Recommended
RAH
What they're basically saying, these folks, is that this release is cut by whatever number of minutes that repetition represents and then all these other folks come on and say they're not buying it because it's MISSING SCENES. Honestly.
