The Halloween Movies (1 Viewer)

[RogerH]

Since I have all the movies of The Elm Street and Jason Franchises the next one on my list is the Halloween series. Since there have been numerous editions of the first movie put out I don't know which edition is the better one. Can anybody help?

Also is it only the first movie that has numerous releases or are the other movies like that as well? Man I wish they would do a box set although I think its different studios.

 

[TravisR]

There's a good thread about the multiple release and how they differ here:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...44#post2376444

In my opinion, the best choice is the 25th anniversary edition from 2004. It may not be perfect but I think it's the best that's out there.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I'll go on record right now and say that the 25th anniversary edition IS perfect IMO. The transfer taken from a new hi-def master is absolutely stunning, even on large projection screens, and the extras are plentiful. You can't beat an almost 90 minute documentary on the film!

Heck, it's worth it just for the commentary from John, Jamie and Debra.

Also, if you can find it that is (good luck), track down a copy of the 2 disc limited edition, it also has a lot of extras on it. I have both and they compliment each other beautifully.

It's a nice companion dvd, but it isn't crucial by any means, I would say go for the 25th.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I agree... 25th Divimax Edition and don't even bother with the suckuals


(well maybe H20, that wasn't bad)

 

[RogerH]

I must be in the minority then because I did like the sequels.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Here's the thing that I find interesting about the Halloween series, they are sort of like those books we used to read in school where you get to a certain point and then you have the option to choose the outcome by turning to certain pages.

If you want to follow the Laurie Strode storyline, skip film's 3,4,5 & 6 and go right to 'H20', if you want to follow an alternate path and are interested in the Jamie storyline, just keep going after Halloween II and stop before you get to 'H20'.

And if you really want to get creative and put the old noggin in gear, you could watch all of them (except for III which had nothing to do with Michael) as one story and try to figure out what happened and how they relate to one another.

It's actually quite fun.

 

[Scott Temple]

It should also be noted that Anchor Bay is re-releasing Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers this fall as Divimax titles. I hope they get Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell on the commentary tracks. A massive Halloween documentary covering parts 1-8 (with new interviews from most of the actors from all 8 films) is also due to hit DVD this fall.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Anchor Bay is truly a friend to us horror fans!

BTW, Scott, I never tire of looking at your signature.

 

[TravisR]

Just to clarify, isn't that documentary being put together by people involved with the Halloween fan convention and not Anchor Bay?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

If it's going to be a mass produced and mass distributed dvd for the public, someone has to be putting it out, not fans. I'm not too savvy on this stuff, so I could be wrong.

Or am I right in assuming that it's being put togeher by fans and then distributed by AB?

 

[Scott Temple]

Yes. I don't know who will be releasing the DVD.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Now, if someone will just give Halloween II the treatment it needs, we'll all be cooking with gas. Every dvd of that film has really sucked so far.

'H20' is still non-anamorphic, that could also use an update.

 

[Scott Temple]

Yes John, Halloween II really does need a SE. If Universal ever gives us one I hope they use the original "screaming skull" jack-o-lantern art. What a creepy piece of art that is - perfectly fitting for Halloween II. At least Universal did re-release it in 16x9 though. That's much better than Goodtimes' disc with its non-anamorphic transfer.

Dimension really needs to get busy and re-release both, Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers and H20. Both are non-anamorphic and for the most part extraless.

 

[TravisR]

I checked the official Halloween site and it appears to me that it's a fan made documentary with the help of people that worked on the movies (sorta like that new Jaws doc that people are making). They don't say a word about who's distributing it which leads me to believe that they'll distribute it themselves. That being said, I don't think that hurts its chances at being good because they interviewed a heck of a lot of people for it. You know that there's gonna be some good stuff for Halloween fans on there

Here's a link to it from the official Halloween site. It also plays a clip from the doc too.

http://www.halloweenmovies.com/H25/h25.htm

 

[BrettGallman]

I agree with the above post about the H2 box-art, as both DVD incarnations have had truly crappy covers. The original art is one of my favorite horror pieces for some reason. I wish Anchor Bay could get their hands on 2, 6, and H20 somehow and give them the treatment the others have received. They really do a great job, and usually give us a reason to double-dip, unlike many studios. I'm interested in these new H4 and H5 releases.

Sort of off-topic: in a dream world, I wish I could direct Halloween 9, and completely ignore H20 and Resurrection just to make the Halloween continuity all the more interesting. In all seriousness, I found H20's ignoring of 4-6 to be pretty disrespectful to everyone involved in those films; it wouldn't have been that difficult to reference those in some way.

 

[Kelvin Lennon]

I also agree that Halloween II needs a new version, preferably with Rick Rosenthal's director's cut cut, which includes more character development, and much less violence in some of the scenes.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Kelvin,
you had me until the "much less violence" part.

Did anyone else see a cut of the film on television where Laurie's in the ambulance at the very end and there's a body with a sheet over it that sits up, and we think it's Michael but it turns out to be Jimmy?

BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

that's part of the director's cut.

I'd like a version that is less violent of part 2. I found the scenes that John Carpenter went back and tinkered with to be overly gratuitous and unnecessarily violent. They made a mistake by ignoring the moody nature of the original and trying to compete with the Friday the 13th films...

 

[TravisR]

The scene at the end of Halloween II is more a reincorporated deleted scene in the TV version than part of a director's cut. For the TV version, they just took a pile of deleted scenes and jammed them all into the movie whether it was a good idea or not. Whereas a director's cut would put some scenes in and may not have used that, in my opinion, terrible alternate ending.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Robert,
I hear you, but IMO part II has both, violence as well as mood, and as long as the mood is presant, the blood doesn't bother me. Now, i'm not saying add even more blood and violence, but they should leave what's there intact IMO.