A Few Words About A few words about...™ Halloween - The Complete Collection -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris · Sep 19, 2014

There's something that disturbs me about "Complete," or occasionally "Compleat" collections.

They are, for a while, and then they aren't.

Who would take a bet that there will never be another film in the Halloween canon?

That said, at least for the time being, this particular "Complete," courtesy of Anchor Bay and Scream Factory, is just that.

Ten feature films, plus an exclusive Blu-ray of the Unrated Producer's Cut of H6. Both of the Rob Zombie takes on the subject are Unrated.

Hidden neatly away (I had to search for it) as a second disc in the Halloween II (2009) case, was a special Blu-ray, loaded with (mostly) new special features.

These films have been released so many times, in so many formats, and in varying quality, that it's difficult to keep track.

For the casual viewer -- that would be yours truly -- the new boxed set is a superb means of keeping everything together, especially as they're now (newly) packaged in elegant black cases.

What's special here, for anyone who desires to own the entire series, and does not, is the price -- currently $110 on Amazon for 15 discs. A bargain, at least as a pre-order.

I checked a few of the discs to see if they appeared any different from previous versions, and didn't see anything abhorrent. Quality varies, with a few titles being less far than stellar.

I did spend some time with the new special disc of H6 -- the Producer's Cut, and came away extremely pleased.

Presumably, this was the latest transfer, and it looks terrific.

A wonderfully stable image, with superb color, blacks, shadow detail, and a totally film-like grain structure.

I came away extremely impressed. Audio is now DTS-HD MA, and measures up to the quality of the image.

I've not the time to go through the other titles, but those who are fans are aware of their positive and negative attributes. If one knows there Halloween home videos, new elements are hidden on various discs, with certain extras exclusive to the Deluxe Edition.

You'll find the Television Cut of Halloween II on Disc 4;

Disc 9 is the Producer's Cut of H6;

Disc 10 includes new commentaries and featurette material for H20

For completists, the new Complete Collection gathers together all of the various multi-disc editions.

Might I be missing something?

Probably, as the set is huge.

Bottom line, if your a fan, you get the Producer's Cut and a myriad of extras, along with a monograph by Michael Gingold...

and last but not least -- all black cases.

I can only rate H6 Producer's cut:

Image - 5

Audio - 5

For those who are huge fans, or don't yet have the set, it's...

Recommended.

RAH

EddieLarkin · Sep 19, 2014

I find it a little obscene that a terrible alternative cut to one of the worst sequels gets a brand new 5/5 transfer*, whereas most of the other sequels in the original series languish on very old, mediocre transfers. This was the first time the entire series has been collected together, and a good opportunity to give these films nice new transfers; instead we get replications of discs we've owned for years. An expensive endeavor certainly, but then this is a set coming from two well known indie labels, rather than just one. I can only wonder how different things might have been if it said Synapse on the box instead.

*that's not to say that I think the cut getting a new transfer isn't a good thing, in fact I think it's an excellent thing, my point being that other cuts/films should have taken priority.

Powell&Pressburger · Sep 19, 2014

One disc of Halloween (1978) now includes the original MONO track. so that is a nice bonus. I can't wait to hear it. previous releases were a 5.1 downmix.

McCrutchy · Sep 19, 2014

Powell&Pressburger said:
One disc of Halloween (1978) now includes the original MONO track. so that is a nice bonus. I can't wait to hear it. previous releases were a 5.1 downmix.

I have to be honest, this disc is the only one of two I want in this set. I never saw 3-6 didn't care particularly for Dir. Cummings' versions, although I have nothing against them.The corrected Universal edition of the second film suits me just fine as well.

The only other one I want is H20, which I enjoy for Curtis. I assume that Shout! have bettered the atrocious 1.78:1 Echo Bridge encode, and I'm intrigued for the new extras, especially those with Curtis.

I will wait patiently for either a bargain price, or single releases.

MattHR · Sep 19, 2014

Curious to know if the "Halloween 4/5 Discussion Panel" from the previous H4 blu-ray has been included. I don't see it listed anywhere as being included on the new set's H4 or bonus discs.

The bonus disc's (seemingly last-minute) placement inside the RZH2 case is really rather awkward. With all of its newly-produced exclusive features, certainly it deserves its own separate case. Heavily focusing on H1, H4 and H5, placing it inside one of those cases would have made a lot more sense.

I understand the inclusion of both RZ films, but why the "unrated" cuts only? This new sets preserves virtually every incarnation of the other films with multiple versions (extended, TV cuts, producer cut), so why not the theatrical versions of the RZ films?

In an otherwise comprehensive set, there are a few blunders that disappoint. Perhaps cost-cutting measures were employed, which I could understand, as they must certainly be running out of consumers to which they can sell this franchise. Along with the Evil Dead films, I don't think there is another franchise that has been milked/double-dipped/repackaged as much as Halloween.

bgart13 · Sep 19, 2014

The unrated cuts of RZ's movies are the only ones here as that's all that the owners of them wanted to be used. H2O is 2.35:1.

TravisR · Sep 19, 2014

bgart13 said:
The unrated cuts of RZ's movies are the only ones here as that's all that the owners of them wanted to be used.

Did the theatrical cut of Zombie's Halloween II even get released on DVD? I know the first one was on DVD (but not Blu-ray) but I can't remember if the theatrical cut of the sequel was only released uncut.

FanboyZ · Sep 19, 2014

The RZ movies being included is really just bonus, the fact that only their director's cuts are on there is really of no concern.
They're there to be nice, the set is already "complete" without them.

Plus without them, it would then be 13 discs and that would send the wrong message...

FanboyZ · Sep 19, 2014

If one were so inclined both of Robert Cumming's movies in "theatrical form" are on Blu Ray in Canada in a double pack.

Oblivion138 · Sep 19, 2014

EddieLarkin said:
I find it a little obscene that a terrible alternative cut to one of the worst sequels gets a brand new 5/5 transfer*, whereas most of the other sequels in the original series languish on very old, mediocre transfers. This was the first time the entire series has been collected together, and a good opportunity to give these films nice new transfers; instead we get replications of discs we've owned for years. An expensive endeavor certainly, but then this is a set coming from two well known indie labels, rather than just one. I can only wonder how different things might have been if it said Synapse on the box instead.

*that's not to say that I think the cut getting a new transfer isn't a good thing, in fact I think it's an excellent thing, my point being that other cuts/films should have taken priority.

Obscene or not, Halloween franchise fans have been clamoring for the H6 Producer's Cut on home video for over a decade now, and had all but given up hope. Many are rejoicing over the fact that it has been given a pristine presentation after years of nothing but godawful bootlegs.

The tangle of licensing agreements that had to be traversed in order to make this set possible is enough for me to just be happy that such a collection is even happening. The Producer's Cut and the new extras are icing on the cake. And I say this as someone who already owns three separate BD releases of Halloween, three of Halloween II, two of Zombie's Halloween remake (theatrical and unrated), and one of everything else in the franchise. Not including all the times I bought the movies on previous formats. I still have my 1979 Media VHS release of Halloween. And this set is pre-ordered.

EddieLarkin · Sep 20, 2014

How can one be happy about the Halloween films finally being collected together when for the most part the end product is merely your old discs with a box around them? You say yourself that the Producer's Cut and new extras are just icing on the cake, that it's the box set that is the big deal. Why? Anchor Bay and Shout! promoted the set this way when they announced it, and the Halloween fandom went nuts at the idea of finally having all of these films in one box. What am I missing? What possible incentive do I have, as a Halloween fan, to get this box when 11 of the 15 discs are already sat on my shelf and have been for years? If this had been a set full of new transfers, like last years 35th Anniversary disc was, I'd be handing Shout/AB the $200-300 they'd want for it, no problem. I'll choke before I give them $100 for 11 discs I already own.

Powell&Pressburger said:
One disc of Halloween (1978) now includes the original MONO track. so that is a nice bonus. I can't wait to hear it. previous releases were a 5.1 downmix.

The 2007 disc included the original mono, not a downmix. The 35th Anniversary disc advertised a mono track but it was a downmix. The fact they've actually repressed the same disc but now with the proper mono included is a bit of a slap in the face to people who bought the individual disc expecting it to be on there as advertised. If they've gone to the expense of correcting it, they should be offering an exchange programme instead of expecting people to spend $100 to get the new transfer with the original soundtrack.

I went to the trouble myself of taking the proper mono from the 2007 disc and remuxed it with the 35th Anniversary transfer.

TravisR · Sep 20, 2014

EddieLarkin said:
What possible incentive do I have, as a Halloween fan, to get this box when 11 of the 15 discs are already sat on my shelf and have been for years?

The four new discs. You don't seem likely to change your mind but I'd recommend selling off all your other discs and putting that money towards the new set. If you sold off all the other movies as a lot, I'd imagine that you could get somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 on eBay. At that point, the set is going to run about $80 so the four new discs are costing $20 each. That's a lot of money per new disc so it's far from perfect but I would prefer it to not getting the new content.

EddieLarkin · Sep 20, 2014

$20 is fine for a new disc if it's actually a film that's on there, rather than just extras/alternative cuts. The only box set exclusive disc I'm interested in is the Producer's Cut one, so we're actually down to one disc. And I'm confident it'll be released separately anyway after a year or so.

I can understand people who care about new extras wanting the new discs, but Oblivion specifically stated that the extras were only the icing on the cake, the main attraction is the fact these films are now collected together in a single set. It may have taken a lot of legal wrangling to make it happen, but I fail to see how this offers any benefit to the consumer one way or the other. If this is such a milestone in Halloween history, the end result is hugely disappointing.

Oblivion138 · Sep 20, 2014

It seems pretty cut and dried. Don't want it, don't buy it.

Bryan^H · Sep 20, 2014

Thank you for your thoughts on this Mr. Harris.Great to know it is jam packed with goodies. I hem hawed on Halloween 2, and 3 from Scream Factory , and now I'm glad I passed on them(well the covers are great, small sacrifice). I get this in the mail next week, and I have a vacation day on Friday. I know what I'm going to be busy doing

MattHR · Sep 22, 2014

MattHR said:
Curious to know if the "Halloween 4/5 Discussion Panel" from the previous H4 blu-ray has been included. I don't see it listed anywhere as being included on the new set's H4 or bonus discs.

My set arrived this morning, and a quick check revealed that the "Halloween 4/5 Discussion Panel" has indeed been removed from the H4 disc. With the exception of that feature's omission, the disc's menu is otherwise identical. The discussion runs about 18 minutes long and was shot on amateur video from the crowd. Hard to imagine some rights or licensing issue forced its removal.

As has been mentioned previously, it's odd that the franchise's (arguably) worst film, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, has been given the most deluxe treatment for this set, while the others are (mostly) repackages of previous editions. It's a very costly means for fans of H6 to obtain a high-quality version of The Producer's Cut, given most everything else is a forced double-dip (which I'm sure is exactly why it was released this way).

On a positive note, it is nice to finally have the films in one collection, with consistent (and very attractive!) packaging. The individual black cases are a nice touch. Although I loathe "eco" cases, these black ones aren't nearly as flimsy as the typical blue ones.

TravisR · Sep 22, 2014

Mine shipped today. I'm just hoping that, unlike last year's Halloween 35th anniversary disc, the original mono track is actually the original mono track this time.

Bryan Tuck · Sep 22, 2014

EddieLarkin said:
How can one be happy about the Halloween films finally being collected together when for the most part the end product is merely your old discs with a box around them? You say yourself that the Producer's Cut and new extras are just icing on the cake, that it's the box set that is the big deal. Why? Anchor Bay and Shout! promoted the set this way when they announced it, and the Halloween fandom went nuts at the idea of finally having all of these films in one box. What am I missing? What possible incentive do I have, as a Halloween fan, to get this box when 11 of the 15 discs are already sat on my shelf and have been for years? If this had been a set full of new transfers, like last years 35th Anniversary disc was, I'd be handing Shout/AB the $200-300 they'd want for it, no problem. I'll choke before I give them $100 for 11 discs I already own.

The 2007 disc included the original mono, not a downmix. The 35th Anniversary disc advertised a mono track but it was a downmix. The fact they've actually repressed the same disc but now with the proper mono included is a bit of a slap in the face to people who bought the individual disc expecting it to be on there as advertised. If they've gone to the expense of correcting it, they should be offering an exchange programme instead of expecting people to spend $100 to get the new transfer with the original soundtrack.

I went to the trouble myself of taking the proper mono from the 2007 disc and remuxed it with the 35th Anniversary transfer.

I've contacted Anchor Bay a couple of times to ask if there would be an exchange program for those who bought the single 35th Anniversary release, and they don't seem to be interested in it. However, I'm still awaiting a response to my last inquiry.

Technically, since they've added a new commentary track to that disc in addition to the mono track, maybe they aren't considering it a simple repressing. Still, the packaging on the 35th Anniversary release clearly states "Original Mono," so the inclusion of the downmix does seem to have been an honest error, and it would have been nice if they had done a simple repressing of that disc months ago, when the error was discovered.

And as always, Mr. Harris, thank you so much for your thoughts.

Dave MJ · Sep 22, 2014

Any comment from those who have the set about the H20 transfer? Is it new? Is the aspect ratio indeed correct?

JohnMor · Sep 22, 2014

From the reviews I've read and the accompanying screen caps, the ratio is indeed corrected. Beyond that, the transfer (or encode) appears to be a modest improvement, but not leaps and bounds.

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