DVD Review HTF Review: The Howling Special Edition (Recommended) (1 Viewer)

[ChuckSolo]

This was one of the first movies I bought on DVD a couple of years back. The film is full framed and only in Dolby Digital Mono so I have to use a "virtual" surround mode to get decent sound. I might just have to upgrade this movie to the more recent one, especially if it is in 5.1 and widescreen. The transfer of the film I have now is pretty good. The sound sucks though. Great to know that they are gonna release an improved version of this great werewolf film.

 

[Jack_TN]

Nice review. Guess I'll have to put this on my wanted list, too. It'll have to go some to beat An American Werewolf in London, though

Jack

 

[Steve Christou]

Excellent review Jason, The Howling is one of my favorite werewolf films, although I would put American Werewolf in London ahead of Howling as best lycanthrope movie, and I also have a soft spot for Lon Chaney Jr as Lawrence Talbot, the most famous werewolf of them all.

I'll definitely be buying this, and watching it when the moon is full and bright.

 

[Ted Lee]

jason -

a great review. informative and well laid out.



btw - the font is a touch big for my tastes, but that's a very minor (and silly) quibble.

[edit] oh yeah...does your "recommended" equate to the oft-seen "highly recommended"? or are you using some other sort of recommendation scale?

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Jason Perez wrote (post #1):

Tom Burman did the effects for the latter.

I agree completely, however, about the transformation effects in The Howling. I like them so much better than Rick Baker's stuff (done on a significantly higher budget, no doubt). And the end result is a lot "scarier" as well. The good part about them is that they made the transformation look the way any radical disruption in body systems is likely to be: extremely painful and traumatic. And, of course, the work here is just a "warm-up" for the masterful effects of John Carpenter's The Thing (1982).

The only major problem I've ever seen with this film is that it is too self-consciously aware of the tradition: there are too many "inside" references to previous films in the sub-genre, and the tongue-in-cheekiness is sometimes too outrageously inconsonant with the gory horror. But the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and it ends up as one of the best "werewolf pictures" ever. (Not that there's much by way of strong competition.)

 

[Jason Perez]

Ted (and everyone else), thanks for your feedback! I will consider your suggestion, as the font does make for a lot of extra scrolling :frowning:!! Keep the comments coming, as that is the only way my reviews will serve you best...

 

[Jason Perez]

Rex, point well taken! I have not seen Wolfen in a long time, and it slipped my mind, but you are indeed correct when you say it is not a lycanthrope film. It has also been a long time since I heard anyone mention the Beast Within. My grandmother took me to see that when it came out (I was 8 years old), and it creeped me out! I think I had nightmares for about a month. Thanks for bringing back the memories....

 

[Jason Perez]

Hello all!

I was thinking about what Ted Lee said (post #25), and I believe there should be some kind of standard established, so from now on I will use the following:

Title only (Rent It, Purchase at a Discount, or Pass)
Recommended (Worth a Purchase)
Highly Recommended (A No-Brainer!)

I hope this helps, but I will let you know up front that you might not see "Highly Recommended" from me too often.

Regards,

Jason

 

[Stephen_J_H]

So this disc is double-sided? No sale, then.

Why no sale? Because you actually have to get up to flip the disc, or because you are worried about scratches? I, for one, have no issues with double sided discs and consider the double sided MGM SEs among some of the finest discs in my collection.

 

[Henry Gale]

** Audio Commentary:
Originally recorded for the laserdisc release, the feature-length commentary, in stereo, re-unites Director Joe Dante and stars Dee Wallace Stone, Christopher Stone, and Robert Picardo.

Don't know what date this was recorded for the LD but Christopher Stone died October 20 1995.