UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Howling -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Joe Dante's The Howling is both a genuinely fun film, and a huge fan favorite, and Scream Factory has done a beautiful job bringing it to 4k.

Their new 4k / Blu-ray combo has a couple of commentaries on the 4k disc, and replicated on the Blu. But it's the Blu that contains a cornucopia of extras, that one will normally find commensurate with a Criterion release.

The Howling (1981), was a follow-up to Piranha, another genre crowd-pleaser. But it's The Howling that raises the level of his work above the New World from whence he came.

Taking a serious look at what Scream Factory has presented, I've come away thrilled, as everything seems proper and in its place.

Color, densities, black levels, and the 4k killer, grain structure are all beautifully rendered.

For clarity, this is a film that did not achieve positive reviews upon release. And yet, audiences loved it - possibly in the same vein as the old AIP horror classics.

And it's still a crowd-pleaser.


Image – 5 (Dolby Vision)

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA monaural and 5.1)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k - 4

Upgrade from Blu-ray - Absolutely

Recommended (for both humans and others)

RAH

 

[Robert Crawford]

I plan on watching my 4K disc next month during my Halloween Challenge.

 

[Wayne Klein]

Nice. Love The Howling.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I bought this for When Worlds Collide on Blu. The extra of War on 4K is nice but I have the Criterion.

The think you posted in the wrong thread.

 

[sbjork]

I've got the StudioCanal version, which does seem to be the same encode as the Shout!/Scream version, and it's truly a thing of beauty. Given the low-budget nature of the film, and John Hora's use of diffusion filters, I wasn't expecting a huge increase in detail, but it's definitely there. I spent a lot of time walking up to my screen to look at the textures more closely. Watch the shot at the beginning where Lew Landers is practicing his broadcast voice in the bathroom mirror -- his jacket as an intricate pattern that's not necessarily clear at normal viewing distances, but the fine detail is there. It's a beautiful disc regardless of which version that you choose.

This might only matter to me, but it's worth noting that like all other DVD/Blu-ray versions of The Howling, this one has the censored version of the original Image laserdisc commentary track. In fact, it's got the most recent iteration of the censored version, since it's been picked at repeatedly over the years. MGM legal at their best. The unexpurgated version was my favorite commentary track of all time, and it's still a good one, but a few of the best parts are missing. For instance, when they were discussing the gelatin makeup on Eddie late in the film, Bob Picardo talked about being in the chair for hours while it was being applied, and apparently Dennis Dugan walked by and said, "Next time, Bob, read the script." Dante quipped, "That says a lot coming from the director of Problem Child." That's missing. There were no pauses or gaps in the commentary as it was originally recorded, so if you hear one, that's a part where something was removed.

 

[Wayne Klein]

The think you posted in the wrong thread.

Yep.

 

[jayembee]

I hadn't seen this since its original theatrical release. Well, I know that I'd seen it sometime later on a friend's laserdisc, but don't recall when that happened. I enjoyed it then, but felt it suffered in comparison to An American Werewolf in London released a few months later. There's still a lot to like about it, but I never felt a great urge -- unlike AWIL -- to pick it up on home video until now. This was another film, like Alligator, where I wanted it mostly for John Sayles's (co-)screenplay. But it certainly delivers in all arenas. Maybe it's because I haven't seen it in 40 years(!) that it feels a little fresher.

Still get a charge out of the late, great character actor Dick Miller's performance. As always, he makes the most of what he's given, even when his appearance is barely more than a cameo.

All in all, I'm gld that I decided to pick this up.

 

[Reed Grele]

One of the few horror films that I saw upon its original release in a packed theater! You had to be there.The audience reaction was unforgettable! You could actually taste the apprehension and fear in the air. My date screamed during one of the supreme fright moments! One of the few films out there that still sends shivers up my spine.

 

[Felix Martinez]

What a beautiful release. For some reason, I had been cooling on this film for the past 10 or 12 years and this wonderful presentation rekindled my appreciation of this fun ride.