Wes Ray
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- May 11, 2001
- Messages
- 507
If Warner Bros. insists on ignoring the gold mine of classic films in their vault (including a great deal of classic horror films) then we must try to get this film released by someone competent. I have contacted Criterion about the release of this film, and I'm sure they will contact me back within a few days like they did my last request for a film. This one has a much greater chance of seeing the light of day, as there is no current US DVD release of Black Christmas.
Looking at the list of previous horror/suspense films that Criterion has released (The Lady Vanishes, Carnival of Souls, Sisters, etc.) I believe Black Christmas would fit in perfectly. It is considered by many to be the first true slasher film, and was definitely the first to use any sort of holiday theme. It has a classy cast, including Keir Dullea, Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon, and unlike a lot of slashers that you only watch for the special effects and/or gore (not to say that there's anything terribly wrong with that) this film is genuinely scary.
What better company to release a quality US DVD of this film, which will no doubt go unreleased for many years. Criterion should try to obtain the rights to this one and give horror fans, and movie fans in general, a real treat. I'm sure many of you have never seen this movie, and many of you may have never even heard of the movie, but try to rent it if you can. You'll see what I'm talking about. You'll see why Criterion should release this film, and deliver a disc with more features than the previous Critical Mass disc.
Possible Features:
- Audio Commentary with director Bob Clark and one or more members of the cast.
- Interviews with cast members who aren't involved with the Audio Commentary.
- A documentary about the history and making of "the first slasher film"
- Interviews with horror directors (perhaps John Carpenter) about the influence this film had on genre pictures following this film's release.
- Essays on the film and/or the history of slasher films in general.
- Fangoria magazine's retrospective article on the film from a couple of years ago.
- Original Theatrical trailers for Black Christmas and possibly the other name changes it went through when it was released to different markets throughout the country ("Silent Night, Evil Night")
- Possibly, an essay detailing why horror movies from this period (1974) went through so many name changes at times.
- Maybe an interview with the artist (if still alive) of the artwork on the original 1-sheet poster about the artwork and importance of posters to horror films of the period.
I'm sure some of you can think of other ideas for extras that you'd like to see. The ones I've already listed are things I believe would be very interesting and easily obtained by a company like Criterion (who usually includes similar extras on their discs).
Horror fans, movie fans...Let's stand together to show Criterion how much we want this film. I own the Canadian Critical Mass DVD, but there was a lot left to be desired and I would instantly buy re-purchase the title if Criterion released a special edition of it. The film is right up Criterion's alley and I think that if enough of us request it, they will seriously look into it. They have been really good in the past about listening to fan feedback and I'm sure I will hear back from them within a couple of days. Give me some news to report to them. Give me a thread full of support for this title. Let's show everyone how powerful the members of the HTF and the fans of Black Christmas can be.
Anyone unfamiliar with Black Christmas can look at the Internet Movie Database listing for it... Link Removed
So, who is with me? Anyone seen the film and would love to own a Criterion Collection version of it?
[Edited last by Wes Ray on July 10, 2001 at 01:54 PM]
Looking at the list of previous horror/suspense films that Criterion has released (The Lady Vanishes, Carnival of Souls, Sisters, etc.) I believe Black Christmas would fit in perfectly. It is considered by many to be the first true slasher film, and was definitely the first to use any sort of holiday theme. It has a classy cast, including Keir Dullea, Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and John Saxon, and unlike a lot of slashers that you only watch for the special effects and/or gore (not to say that there's anything terribly wrong with that) this film is genuinely scary.
What better company to release a quality US DVD of this film, which will no doubt go unreleased for many years. Criterion should try to obtain the rights to this one and give horror fans, and movie fans in general, a real treat. I'm sure many of you have never seen this movie, and many of you may have never even heard of the movie, but try to rent it if you can. You'll see what I'm talking about. You'll see why Criterion should release this film, and deliver a disc with more features than the previous Critical Mass disc.
Possible Features:
- Audio Commentary with director Bob Clark and one or more members of the cast.
- Interviews with cast members who aren't involved with the Audio Commentary.
- A documentary about the history and making of "the first slasher film"
- Interviews with horror directors (perhaps John Carpenter) about the influence this film had on genre pictures following this film's release.
- Essays on the film and/or the history of slasher films in general.
- Fangoria magazine's retrospective article on the film from a couple of years ago.
- Original Theatrical trailers for Black Christmas and possibly the other name changes it went through when it was released to different markets throughout the country ("Silent Night, Evil Night")
- Possibly, an essay detailing why horror movies from this period (1974) went through so many name changes at times.
- Maybe an interview with the artist (if still alive) of the artwork on the original 1-sheet poster about the artwork and importance of posters to horror films of the period.
I'm sure some of you can think of other ideas for extras that you'd like to see. The ones I've already listed are things I believe would be very interesting and easily obtained by a company like Criterion (who usually includes similar extras on their discs).
Horror fans, movie fans...Let's stand together to show Criterion how much we want this film. I own the Canadian Critical Mass DVD, but there was a lot left to be desired and I would instantly buy re-purchase the title if Criterion released a special edition of it. The film is right up Criterion's alley and I think that if enough of us request it, they will seriously look into it. They have been really good in the past about listening to fan feedback and I'm sure I will hear back from them within a couple of days. Give me some news to report to them. Give me a thread full of support for this title. Let's show everyone how powerful the members of the HTF and the fans of Black Christmas can be.
Anyone unfamiliar with Black Christmas can look at the Internet Movie Database listing for it... Link Removed
So, who is with me? Anyone seen the film and would love to own a Criterion Collection version of it?
[Edited last by Wes Ray on July 10, 2001 at 01:54 PM]
