"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Part 2" 20th Ann. SE DVD Coming Fall '06 From MGM/Sony (1 Viewer)

[Scott Temple]

http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=6170

 

[Steve_Knutzen]

It'd be nice if they included the theatrical "Breakfast Club" art.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

I wonder if the deleted scenes (the football team massacre, Joe Bob Briggs' cameo, etc.) will still consist of the horrible quality umpteenth-generation stuff we've seen before? Or, perhaps, did they unearth the actual workprint???

 

[Jack Johnson]

Still the most manic, maniacally over-the-top and gleefully demented film I've ever seen... And oh, so misunderstood!

Very worthy of restoration.

But hang onto your existing MGM discs if you like the open matte version. While it probably wasn't lensed by Hooper this way, I've grown attached to a lot of that image lost on the vertical in the wide version, especially when it comes to Caroline Williams' gams.

 

[Shawn DuHast]

I was at a lecture by Tom Savini on 7th Dec 1997 at Watford Leisure Centre, just outside London (they were selling From Dusk till Dawn Laserdiscs next to him to sign, the English version without the extra's from the US double disc set I still remember!) and he showed excellent quality footage edited from the Friday 13th films and others he's worked on but also the footage mentioned above in pristine condition.
When I asked why his footage was not used for the laserdisc he said simply because he wasn't asked for it!!
Hopefully as he seems to be involved this time they will use the best quality footage available.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Cool, I'll buy it!

 

[Ruz-El]

This is great news as this is one of my all time favorite films. Of course, I finally broke down and bought the original disc not 2 weeks ago in a $5 bin.

I'll gladly do the double dip though, a Kevin Smith commentary could be pretty amusing.

 

[Drew Reiber]

Most of, if not all, the deleted scenes found on the laserdisc were just abortions shot by a second unit director that Menaheim and Golan hired behind Tobe Hooper's back. After screening the sequences and cutting them from the film, Golan-Globus tried to get back at him by butchering Dennis Hopper's performance.

His entire backstory was deleted, as was the scene in his hotel where he has a nightmare about chainsaws coming through the walls around him and his later descent into madness as he downs tons of drugs (in preparation?) just before going into the family' lair to fight them.

Hooper said he had hoped to restore the film, but that there was not enough interest or money to do it. If MGM/Sony just ports over the previous LD's supplements, then it's just a waste of a release. At the very least, they could incorporate those critical cut scenes with the dropped second unit material, accompanied by context from Hooper. I'm not going to hold my breath, though.

 

[Jack Johnson]

Drew,

Was all that Dennis Hopper material shot? I've never heard about that before; fascinating stuff, especially the pre-raid drug binge. It's obvious "Lefty" goes off the deep end, but it never seemed too jarring to me in that he always seemed on the brink. But it would've fleshed out his transition to hollerin' loony a little better. Would this scene have been placed before his chainsaw shopping spree and subsequent test log evisceration?

Odd that Golan and Globus would elect to trash their own film over a few of Hooper's edits.

By the way, if you're a Hooper fan, you have to see his Masters of Horror episode, "Dance of the Dead". He's in rare form, which is probably why most people hate it. Take it from me, it's brilliant.


--Jack

 

[Justin_S]

I agree 100%. I think Hooper's episode is by far and away the best of the MOH series. It leaves me dumbfounded that so many people hated it while they all sing the praises of Argento's Jenifer, an extremely disappointing misfire that's more softcore porn than horror.

Anyway, I look forward to picking this film up. I never was the biggest fan of TCM 2, but I look forward to revisiting it.

 

[Jeff McMillan]

Great news. I love this movie way more than I should. I never expected the deluxe treatment, but I'm not complaining!

 

[Drew Reiber]

I like them both, though Hooper does go way over the top with his use of flash edits. Jenifer's porno-like design is what worked so effectively for me, the dirty and uncomfortable way that she controlled her men was enough to stick in my head for a weeks. I was surprised Argento could still manage to draw up atmosphere after so many recent failures, I just wish the script was a bit better.

 

[Jack Johnson]

Hooper's was so stylistically aggressive people forgot there was a narrative. My best guess on why it was dismissed, at least... But you can really feel Hooper playing with the form and trying for something that no one shoots for anymore: a novel and transporting experience, something that feels completely new. And he succeeded with me. It was just a great story, too. Great marriage of material and director. It was the weirdest blend of geek-show frenetic, horrific...even poignant and sad. Certainly disturbing. Quite a mix!

I liked the Argento piece fine. I hope he comes back for Season 2. The good news is I understand Hooper's already on board for another!

 

[Sean Richardson]

Without wanting to threadjack, yes, that's pretty much how I remember that story. I'd read the original Matheson story, and I still couldn't find the narrative thread. The strange thing to me, though, was that the aggressive style was so antithetical to Hooper ... or, at least, the classic Hooper of TCM. It reminded me much more of the Hooper who made 'The Mangler'; now, I had fun watching 'The Mangler', but not because it was *good*, if you get me ...

I don't mean to knock Hooper's MoH ... The only two I thought were really good were 'Jennifer' [say what you like about the aesthetic, it was the only episode that was genuinely creepy] and 'Incident On and Off a Mountain Road' [possibly only because I'm a Joe Lansdale fan]. I thought Hooper's was much better than, say, 'Chocolate', 'The Deer Woman' (a horror-comedy where the attempts at comedy are terrible, and the attempts at horror are hilarious), or the Joe Dante one (which, I thought, had a wonderful idea but got WAAAAAY buried in overtly explaining what should've been the subtext). I even liked it more than 'Cigarette Burns', which I thought was highly over-rated. It was definitely one of the better eps; I'd pick it up once the price drops.

I'm up in the air over this new TCM2 ... I like the movie, in a completely different way than the first one (and I understand people who don't, because it's so different), but I don't know that I'll rush out to upgrade immediately. Part of why I own it at all is that it was so cheap.

But if they get interviews with Kinky Friedman about why he's in it, I'm there.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Geez...I had no idea about those missing Hopper scenes! No wonder he doesn't come off very well in this...I always thought it was kind of a nothing character.

That's it...this film has GOT to be properly restored. Perhaps I'd like it better than I do now, which is to say, not a hell of a lot. Great soundtrack, though.

Good news also about Savini having better quality elements on the other missing stuff.

 

[Scott Temple]

The release date has been bumped two weeks, from September 26th to October 10th. From Fangoria




I wonder what happened to Kevin Smith's commentary track?

 

[Don May Jr]

He was just too busy and they couldn't get it scheduled. The original commentary date, when he was going to do it, was cancelled due to the fact he had to go to Cannes. Because of his schedule after that with CLERKS II, etc., he just couldn't do it by the time of MGMs deadline.

The good news is they at least DID get Tobe Hooper and it is moderated by "Shocking Truth" docu-filmmaker David Gregory. I haven't heard the commentary yet (it was recorded at a place where I do a lot of work myself), but I hope to hear it soon. I hear it's quite good.

 

[Matt Stone]

I liked the commentary for the TCM Elite LD, so I'm definitely in for Tobe's take on part 2. I actually really like the second film. It's completely different than the first, but a lot of fun.

 

[Ruz-El]

In all my excitement for the first one, I kinda forgot that this was getting the SE treatment as well!

This might be blasphemy, but this is my favorite Chainsaw picture. It was the first one I saw, and I jsut completely fell in love with it. Whenever asked what my favorite horror movie is, this is what almost always pops in my mind.

 

[jon_farthing]

Would love to see the deleted scenes talked about above, but get the feeling we will just end up with the stuff off the old vhs / ld. I still have a soft stop for this and part 3 so will probably double dip.

Awful cover art though (and also yet another ridiculous special edition name - the 'gruesome edition'