Halloween: The Complete Collection/Limited Edition (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Winston T. Boogie]

I always liked John Carpenter's idea to turn the Halloween films into a variety of different films that all take place on Halloween. His effort to end the Michael Myers saga with Halloween 2 and then tell a new story in Halloween 3 was an outstanding idea. Unfortunately there was a cash cow to be milked in delivering more films that featured Michael Myers...and milk away they did. I've never been able to sit through any of the features that came after Halloween 3 as they all seemed to be dreadful films so my interest in these films ends with Season of the Witch. These first three films have all been released in nice single packages that are all very well done so nothing about this set appeals to me.

I've tried the other films during the annual Halloween marathons they run on television but all of them just could not hold my interest and made it more apparent that they should have let the whole Michael Myers thing end with Halloween 2.

Oh well, despite my lack of interest I think this looks like a solid set for people that want the whole series of films.

 

[Ignatius]

If the Halloween re-release is "kick in the teeth", there are many fans out there with a lot of teeths missing. Same thing with The Evil Dead, Romero's Z films, T2, The Exorcist... For some reason horror sells!

There certainly is a tendency to release popular horror films over and over and over again, though the sheer number of Halloween re-releases has always seemed a bit OTT to me. I just think that if I were a big Halloween fan I would be a bit annoyed to have already bought good releases of most of the films on Blu-Ray, only to be told that I could only get the special features that have garnered the most interest over the years (TV version of 2, Producer's Cut of 6) by shelling out for all of them all over again.

I have no problem with buying better releases of favourite films as they come out, and I imagine that getting all the licensing deals in order to make this boxset happen took quite a while, it just feels like asking people to buy the same film more than twice on any given format is a bit much. I suspect the massive boxset may have felt a bit more welcome had it come out around the same time as the 35th Anniversary edition.

 

[TravisR]

What mono track was it? Was it just a re-mixdown of the 5.1 or something?

That would have been my guess but it's more like they took the 7.1 track and remixed it to mono (and that doesn't make much sense) because in a handful of scenes, the dialogue is now buried under music on the mono track but it's not buried on the 7.1 track. The 7.1 mix sounds more like the original mono track than the mono track on that disc.

I griped about it last year here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/326593-a-few-words-about™-halloween-35th-anniversary-in-blu-ray/?p=4003453

and here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/326593-a-few-words-about™-halloween-35th-anniversary-in-blu-ray/?p=4003858

 

[Michael Elliott]

The 10-disc version isn't going to include the television cuts, producer's cut of 6 and the extras, at least that's what's been posted by one of the studios on Facebook.

I'm slightly tempted by this IF all the extras that are currently out there are included here. If you have to buy this and other releases to get a full set then no way. I'm also a little surprised that they're not offering this on DVD.

There are at least four different versions of HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS so I hope they at least include the various outtakes and alternate scenes as well as a documentary or commentary talking about the various issues.

 

[TravisR]

There are at least four different versions of HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS so I hope they at least include the various outtakes and alternate scenes as well as a documentary or commentary talking about the various issues.

Since Scream Factory is handling parts 6 to 8, I think those movies will be well done in terms of extras. There might not be multiple versions of the producer's cut but I'd think that all the footage will be on the disc as an extra.

 

[Charles Smith]

I always liked John Carpenter's idea to turn the Halloween films into a variety of different films that all take place on Halloween. His effort to end the Michael Myers saga with Halloween 2 and then tell a new story in Halloween 3 was an outstanding idea. Unfortunately there was a cash cow to be milked in delivering more films that featured Michael Myers...and milk away they did. I've never been able to sit through any of the features that came after Halloween 3 as they all seemed to be dreadful films so my interest in these films ends with Season of the Witch. These first three films have all been released in nice single packages that are all very well done so nothing about this set appeals to me.

I've tried the other films during the annual Halloween marathons they run on television but all of them just could not hold my interest and made it more apparent that they should have let the whole Michael Myers thing end with Halloween 2.

Oh well, despite my lack of interest I think this looks like a solid set for people that want the whole series of films.

This is my feeling. What we have now covering the first three films is wonderful and serves me well, and I don't think anything stands to be gained by plopping down my gold for this set, as worthy as it sounds for those interested. I'd never even watched #4 and above till just a couple of years ago, and that was my first and last time. No interest at all in the remakes, either. That said, I'm happy to hear that the right thing is finally being done for fans of the entire series.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

That would have been my guess but it's more like they took the 7.1 track and remixed it to mono (and that doesn't make much sense) because in a handful of scenes, the dialogue is now buried under music on the mono track but it's not buried on the 7.1 track. The 7.1 mix sounds more like the original mono track than the mono track on that disc.

I griped about it last year here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/326593-a-few-words-about™-halloween-35th-anniversary-in-blu-ray/?p=4003453

and here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/326593-a-few-words-about™-halloween-35th-anniversary-in-blu-ray/?p=4003858

You're right; that really doesn't make any sense at all. I guess it's possible that a 2-channel stereo mixdown of the 7.1 was created for broadcast purposes, and somehow that got accidentally exported as mono and was mislabeled as the original mono. That's total speculation, of course, but it's the only explanation I can think of if it is indeed a mixdown of the 7.1.

 

[Jari K]

Good news from Scream facebook:"Due to fan demand, the first Halloween film will now also include the original mono audio track and the set will include both versions of the original Halloween - the original Blu-ray release and the recently remastered 35th Anniversary version with the mono track added back in!"So does this mean that it actually has both "color versions" (that was released on BD)? At least they're giving options.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Good news from Scream facebook:"Due to fan demand, the first Halloween film will now also include the original mono audio track and the set will include both versions of the original Halloween - the original Blu-ray release and the recently remastered 35th Anniversary version with the mono track added back in!"So does this mean that it actually has both "color versions" (that was released on BD)? At least they're giving options.

Like I said, sounds like a terrific set, so I hate to be snarky about this, but...

They goofed on the 35th Anniversary release, so instead of correcting it and offering an exchange, they're going to correct it only on the massive set. So you'll have to buy the entire series just to get what should have been on the single release of the first film to begin with?

 

[Jari K]

"So you'll have to buy the entire series just to get what should have been on the single release of the first film to begin with?"Pretty much, yes. But then again I doubt that people buy this set for the original mono track. I guess it's also good that the "mistake" (not sure what's was, though) is corrected.And I'm sure there are people who don't like either of the two "color" choices on BD. So the quest for the original color continues... At least for some.

 

[TravisR]

They goofed on the 35th Anniversary release, so instead of correcting it and offering an exchange, they're going to correct it only on the massive set.

I'm not sure that they're going to correct anything. There is a mono track on the 35th anniversary disc so the press release and Facebook post saying "...the recently remastered 35th Anniversary version with the mono track added back in!" would still be accurate even if it's the same disc with the messed up track. If they were saying that the CORRECTED mono track was being added back in, I'd quit whining.

I hate to keep being the negative guy who always finds something to complain about (especially when the set isn't out for 4 months) so I'll say again that I think that Scream Factory is going to do an excellent job on Halloween 6 to 8.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I'm not sure that they're going to correct anything. There is a mono track on the 35th anniversary disc so the press release and Facebook post saying "...the recently remastered 35th Anniversary version with the mono track added back in!" would still be accurate even if it's the same disc with the messed up track. If they were saying that the CORRECTED mono track was being added back in, I'd quit whining.

I hate to keep being the negative guy who always finds something to complain about (especially when the set isn't out for 4 months) so I'll say again that I think that Scream Factory is going to do an excellent job on Halloween 6 to 8.

I don't know; to me, the fact that they made a point of referring to this (twice) in the press release suggests that they are going to change something on the disc.

 

[TravisR]

^ I sure hope so.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I hate to keep being the negative guy who always finds something to complain about (especially when the set isn't out for 4 months) so I'll say again that I think that Scream Factory is going to do an excellent job on Halloween 6 to 8.

Also, I'm with you here. You feel bad for being so nit-picky, but it is frustrating when a studio goes to the trouble of mounting a special release and then screws up something so basic.

On the 35th Anniversary release, the packaging clearly states "Original Mono," so I think it's likely this was just a case of the wrong audio file being used.

 

[John-Weller]

On the old UK DVD of Halloween, the original mono and 4.0 surround tracks got mixed up, so what is encoded as mono is the remix and what is encorded as the surround is the original audio.

 

[Corey II]

Will the wonderful documentary 25 Years of Terror be included as a blu-ray transfer? And while we're at it, for the amount of money that it will cost to purchase this boxset, they may as well throw in Terror in the Aisle, transferred to blu-ray of course.

 

[Corey II]

For me, the selling point will be how in depth and plentiful are the new bonus features. 25 Years of Terror covered a lot of ground, but it has been 8 years since its 2006 release and much has happened in the Halloween fracnchise. According to Wikipedia, there was another documentary that debuted in 2010 called Halloween: The Inside Story. It was released through the Biography Channel. I never saw, so I wonder how it is and if it will be included in this new blu-ray box set? Hopefully Anchor Bay and/or Shout Factory will have a panel discussion about this upcoming release at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. Shout Factory (Scream Factory) has had Comic-Con panels before and they are quite informative.

 

[moviebuff75]

I prefer the Universal disc of "Halloween II" to the Shout disc. The latter contains too much DNR and some brief instances of macroblocking. The Universal disc has a lot of specks but is more filmlike.

 

[Tony J Case]

Since Scream Factory is handling parts 6 to 8, I think those movies will be well done in terms of extras. There might not be multiple versions of the producer's cut but I'd think that all the footage will be on the disc as an extra.

Yeah, the rock solid extras that Shout! delivers time and again is the one (really shining) silver lining to the set. The movies may be crap, but the extras will be brilliant (especially, I'll wager, Halloween VI). I may not be a big fan past #3, but fans of the series must be thrilled!

 

[cineMANIAC]

I didn't know Shout will be handling the 6th, 7th and 8th films - I feel a little better. Anchor Bay always manages to screw something up so I was a little underwhelmed by this announcement when I learned they're the ones releasing this. I'm in it mainly for the Producer's Cut of 6 even though I'm fairly sure it won't be definitive - they'll have to include ALL of the excised footage for it to be so and we all know that's not going to happen. So far this set looks to be the real deal for fans looking for a close-to ultimate collection.