Any reviews for "Halloween" yet....????? (1 Viewer)

[Scott*E]

Has anyone else noticed the music cue flaws on the 2.0 and 5.1 soundtracks on the THX version? The most noticeable one I've found so far is when Laurie is sitting in class and looks out the window to see Michael standing by the station wagon. On the mono track the music starts with a piano and the moment the scene cuts to Michael outside, the sythesizer kicks in making a big emotional impact on the scene. On the 5.1 and 2.0 remixes the music starts about two seconds late and the cues don't match with the cuts. I'm not sure if they fixed it on the 25th anniversary edition or not.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Yes, brother , I noticed that problem, too. I looked at few today and I was selected the three tracks during scenes and that one popped up. I don't like the 5.1 remix. I like the original mono track.


Gordy

 

[Kevin M]

...the music used for the 5.1 mix is actually from the studio re-recorded re-mixed soundtrack album from 1983 and does not sound quite the same as the original mix on the mono track.

Just compare the mono original and 5.1 remix versions of the main title theme to hear the difference.

 

[JonZ]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie.Its a holy relic to me.

I bought the 2 disc version for like $10 using that old site discountdvd. I almost gave it to my brother when I heard about a new transfer and Im glad I didnt.

I dont mind tweaking in the right case - like what Oliver Stone did for the Pioneer Laser disc of Platoon,but I dont understand why it was done here.

NO WAY Im buying this - Ill be keeping my OOP 2 disc version.

 

[Michael Allred]

Hey gang, I heard from the Carpenter camp today and was told Carpenter was *not* involved with the new transfer, however he has "no thoughts" on the matter.

I *might* buy the new release but only for the extras, I'll keep my previous disc when I wanna watch the movie.

 

[Dave H]

That just goes to show how crucial it is for the director to be involved in such a process.

It's ashame too since the new tranfers looks as if it's better (except for the coloring).

Looks as if I will just stick with my THX version. However, I have a Halloween question: does the extended cut improve the movie? And, how does the quality compare to the theatrical? I have the 2000 Hologram release that has the full and widescreen versions on the same disc with all those extras. I was just wondering about picking up the extended version and if it would look slightly better.

 

[Matt Stone]

The picture/sound quality on the extended version is the same as the theatrical cut. Personally, I don't like the extra TV scenes in the extended version...I think they add nothing to the film and throw off the pacing, but that's just my opinion.

They're included on the Criterion LD anyway, so I'm set...but if the scenes pique your curiosity, it's not too much of an investment to pick up the extended version.

 

[Arnie G]

FYI, the extended version has the original mono soundtrack, not the 5.1 remix the other releases have.

 

[Dave H]

I was just thinking since the extended cut has no extras or pan and scan version that it would look a little better. The THX version I have has a LOT of stuff on it for a one sided disc.

 

[Matt Stone]

FYI, the extended version has the original mono soundtrack, not the 5.1 remix the other releases have.

The theatrical version of the DVD has the original mono track as well. I don't know about the new version, but both '99 versions (and obviously the LE) have the original mono track in addition to the 5.1 track and a 2.0 surround track.

 

[WillG]

"I have a Halloween question: does the extended cut improve the movie?"


What was the deleted footage? I haven't seen the alternate T.V. cut in years

I remember

SPOILER WARNING

1. Loomis in front of the review board pleading about how dangerous Michael is(I actually kind of liked that scene. I saw the T.V. version first and when I saw the theatrical some time later I had wondered where it was until I surmised that it was probably indeed added footage for T.V.)

2. Loomis telling Michael that he has not fooled him

3. Loomis in the Hospital the morning after the escape. Sees "Sister" scribbled into Michael's Door

4. Laurie's Friends at her house talking about being followed

That's all I can remember but the above does not seem to me like a full 12 minutes. Was there more? I know most people do not care for the footage, but I am dissapointed and fail to see why it was cut from this new Release unless it's just A.B. Milking another DVD that is already out there, which I guess the completist in me is going to have to get

 

[Jack_TN]

You could also just go out to the store and buy the single disc 1999 DVD and then the TV disc as well. Then you would have the exact same contents as the LE.

Are these the two from AB, with one having a cover similar to the new release and the other with a cover showing pictures of Michael's mask and the Myers house?

Jack

 

[Aaron Garman]

Just checked out DVD file and the screenshots of the 25th Aniversary DVD: what a monstrosity. (In the voice of Cpt. Jack Sparrow) Why is the Blue gone!? I will NOT be purchasing this set. I have the previous 1999 single disc release as well as the Criterion LD, so who needs this slop!?

AJG

 

[Geoff_D]

I bought this set purely for the extras (and it was cheap!) as I've already got the THX version, but the different colour timing really is a bit of a shock. And (as mentioned by others) the movie's day scenes now have a spring-time feel rather than an autumnal one. Everything looks too "green"; at least on the previous transfer Cundey had done his best to alter our perceptions of the lush Californian foliage in the background. And the night scenes have almost totally lost the blue tint that made them stand out so much in the first place. The real kick in the teeth is the lack of haloing on this transfer, whereas the other current Divimax title (Manhunter Director's Cut) is plagued with it! Maybe they ramped up the sharpness on Manhunter to get the most out of the 1" tape footage in the movie? Not that it actually helped the transfer in any way, of course.

Anchor Bay (for me) have gone from being a respected "cult" dvd producer who made the odd mistake, to an amateurish outfit who are altering classic movies with startling regularity. And all this neatly coincides with Bill Lustig having left the company to set up Blue Underground. PLEASE, dvd gods, let Dawn of the Dead be okay...

 

[Chad R]

Well, I have the new version and am not that disappointed with it. The daytime scenes still "feel" autumn to me. The sky is not bright blue spring, it appears properly overcast and dull. More white than grey, but the same as on the last disc. The foliage is green, but it was green on the last disc. Maybe not as green, but not a huge change. It was really important to make this distinction while watching the frame move as opposed to the static screenshots. With the music and the falling leaves, the effect holds.

The blue is missing from several shots, but is still there in others. The offending door shot is indeed devoid of blue and that's a bit disturbing--but honestly not a deal breaker for me. It's just not the drastic change I had feared.

Now I saw this movie in the theater last year and the print was wretched. It had gone to cyan and had a good 5 minutes spliced out from wear and tear. So I know what the worst case scenario can look like. Therefore I'm not going to sweat the subtle changes since, to me, the effect is still the same (I'm talking about the autumn feel).

 

[Matt Butler]

Im picking my copy up today after work. I am excited but for the extras only. This is one of my top 10 fav movies of all time and it is disturbing to hear about the travesty of how this transfer is.

 

[DustinC]

I agree with what others have already said. The color change is definitely noticeable, but it certainly is not that bad. The blue is there in a lot of shots, but totally missing in others. The whole thing still ticks me off, but it isn't as bad as I was fearing.

Sure, the movie is sharper, but I still think I will stick with my LE.

 

[WillG]

Can anyone tell me what store I can find this at? I went to 3 places, Costco, Stupid Mart and Circuit City and just as I thought....nada (Don't live near a Best Buy). I'm really getting pissed off by Stores not carrying re-releases of older titles. I really don't want to have to order it off the web because I don't feel like waiting for it to arrive

 

[Lyle_JP]

FYI, the extended version has the original mono soundtrack, not the 5.1 remix the other releases have.

No, it doesn't. Believe it or not, it contains a mono mixdown of the new soundmix created by Alan Howarth for the 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 tracks. It'e clearly not the original mono mix. You can tell in lots of places, but the most obvious place is the sound of the thunder as Loomis and the nurse are driving to the hospital.

On the other hand, the Theatrical version disc (the THX one from 1999) and the new 25th Anniversary disc both contain the original mono mix as a sound option.

-Lyle J.P.

 

[Lyle_JP]

My Mini Review

Well folks, I'm not a professional DVD reviewer, but I'd be glad to share with you all my feelings about this new disc so far.

First, a little background. I bought the Criterion CAV disc the day it first came out for a whopping $70, and it was some of the best money I have ever spent. I loved that disc, loved being able to see the film widescreen as it was meant to be seen, and the commentary is still the best I've ever heard for a film.

I'll also admit that I've never been a fan of the THX transfer on the previous Anchor Bay disc. I guess I got so used to how the Criterion disc looked, that some of the garish blue coloring put me off, as well as how dark the DVD was. Nighttime scenes which had depth and shadows on the laserdisc simply looked solid black on the DVD, and I was never happy with that.

I for one am thrilled with this new DVD. Those too-dark scenes have been lightened up a bit and now the details shine through again. There is virtually no haloing anywhere on this disc, nor is there any block noise in the gradients. The old disc was moderately plauged by both, most likely because Anchor Bay squeezed two versions of the film (P&S and LBX) with three soundtracks each plus a 30+ minute documentary, trailers, and TV Spots all on one disc. Now the widescreen version of the film can stretch it's legs over the entire real estate of the disc, and the result is easy to see.

Now, about the color timing issues. Yes, I know Dean Cundey was involved with the creation of the THX DVD. In truth, I think he was doing a little revisionist telecining, making it look the way he had always wanted it to look, but not really the way it ever did look in 1978. This DVD is much more representitive of film prints I have come across as a projectionist than the previous disc was. Sorry, but the Pasadena scenes always looked pretty darn green. It was springtime in LA, what did you really expect? This was decades before we could "paint with pixels" and completely digitally alter the look of a film (a la "O Brother, Where Art Thou"), and color timing tricks in the lab could only get you so far.

There are no sound difference between the two versions that I could hear (other than the inclusion of the superb Criterion commentary track, of course).

As for the new documentary, I have mixed feelings. This is very similar to the the AMC special that aired last Halloween, but the padding, oh the padding... I know it's customary to flip back and forth between clips of the film and real documentary content nowadays, but seriously, if all the clips of the film were removed, this thing would be like 25 minutes long! When they cut to a clip it seems to go on for minutes, and some of the same clips are used 4 or 5 times! The editor needs a good flogging.

As for DVDFile's claim that this disc presents a new, previously unseen trailer, I don't believe that's true. This is the same trailer that appeared on the previous DVDs and Criterion laser, but it's a new transfer, and they found one that still had its red band attached. Aside from that, nothing new.

All in all, if you're a fan, this is really a no-brainer purchase. If you are merely a casual fan who is more than happy with the current disc... you should still buy this one, dammit!

-Lyle J.P.