HOME   News   Reviews   Adv Search   Features   My DVD   About   Apps   Stats     Search:
  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Surround
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Cast/crew biographies
  • Featurette - Halloween Unmasked 2000
  • Photo gallery
  • Animated menus
  • 2 TV spot - and 3 radio spots

Halloween

Force Entertainment/Infogrames . R4 . COLOR . 87 mins . R . PAL

  Feature
Contract

So, John Carpenter. Here we have a man who co-wrote (with Dan O'Bannon of Alien fame) and directed an impressive student film (Dark Star), then released a stunningly effective low-budget debut in '76 (the criminally under-appreciated Assault on Precinct 13). His followup was Halloween, which promptly broke all records for independent cinema and became the most successful indie film of all time. Carpenter has never managed to recreate that triumph, that perfect capturing of an audience's imagination.

I've had the luxury of listening to the commentary track of the Criterion SE laserdisc of Halloween, and Carpenter states that his intention was to emulate Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, but draw the key moments of suspense out for the entire film. For the most part, he succeeded brilliantly and despite having watched Halloween many times over, I still felt tense while reviewing this disc.

The plot is simple, archetypal. We are introduced to Michael Myers, a 6-year-old boy, already mentally disturbed, who kills his older sister on Halloween night in the infamous POV shot that opens the film. Flash forward fifteen years, and Myers has been declared a lost cause by his psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Pleasence, whose character is named after a character in Psycho). In fact, Loomis is now petrified of Myers, and believes he is not a man, but the embodiment of pure evil.

Myers escapes the mental institution, steals Loomis' car and heads back to his home town of Haddonfield. It's not long before he sets his eyes upon teen babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis in her debut movie role) and begins a pursuit that will not stop until she is dead.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Much has been read into the plot of the film, with some critics suggesting that as Laurie's promiscuous friends are murdered while bookish Laurie survives, the film has a prudish, moralistic subtext. Carpenter and producer/co-writer Debra Hill refute this outlook in the Criterion commentary, stating that the other girls were simply too busy thinking about or engaging in sex to notice the danger and that their deaths were merely a result of this lack of attention, not a moral judgement or punishment. Regardless, the 'virginal survivor' theme did become a running cliche in the waves of Halloween ripoffs in the 80s, and was mentioned as a crucial horror movie 'rule' in the teen hit Scream.

Though Halloween itself spawned a number of sequels, none of them came remotely near to the quality of the original, which still stands as one of the most impressive horror films of all time alongside Night of the Living Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I purchased the THX-approved dual-disc Limited Edition from the US quite some time ago, and took the time to compare the versions. I'll make references to the differences where appropriate.

  Video
Contract

The US THX reissue was Anchor Bay's apology for their original transfer, which was widely regarded as a total balls-up, with MPEG macro-blocking galore and murky greys instead of blacks. In fact, it was one of the titles that rabid laserdisc fans used as an excuse to dismiss DVD in the early days of the format, wrongfully assuming it to be the best that MPEG 2 encoding was capable of. For the new edition, a new 35mm interpositive was struck from the original camera negative, and cinematographer Dean Cundey approved the final video transfer which was performed by award-winning colourist Adam Adams under the supervision of the THX certification program.

Our edition may not be taken from exactly the same interpositive, but the qualities exhibited are identical. Blacks are extremely deep, to the point of obscuring shadow details in dark scenes, but I must assume this is what Cundey intended. Colour is pleasing, and obviously more natural in the PAL version, although the NTSC edition is by no means poor. Cundey has not gone for the flat, unemotive look of his recent efforts such as Jurassic Park, which elicit about as much emotional response as a Ken Done painting.

For such an old (and cheap) film, sharpness is extremely pleasing, although it does cause strong aliasing during some early scenes. This is more apparent in the Australian release due to the higher resolution - the scanlines on the US edition mask the effect a little. While both versions are 16:9-enhanced, neither of the discs use RDSL formatting to improve picture quality. The US edition can't because it contains a widescreen and a pan-and-scan edition on the same dual-layer disc (which is a great way to show guests why widescreen is preferable!), and I assume we miss out for simple financial reasons.

Bottom line: Both editions look fantastic with the medal going to the R4 transfer, and I seriously doubt the image quality can be improved given the age of the film stock, the limitations of DVD and current telecine equipment. Fans should be ecstatic with either disc.

  Audio
Contract

The Australian disc loses out to the US version in the sound department. Halloween was originally released in mono, and the US disc contains this original soundtrack, restored to perfection. If you've read many of my reviews, you'll know I value the inclusion of the original theatrical soundtrack nearly as much as the original theatrical ratio.

You might say, 'Ah, but I prefer 5.1 remixes of those old films anyhow!'. To which I'd counter, 'Double Ah! Only the US edition has a 5.1 remix!' (of course, then you'd probably cry and secretly hate me, and spend long, lonely years plotting my destruction).

Ahem.

Yes, folks, the US edition has a glorious Dolby Digital 5.1 mix created by Chace Productions in association with longtime Carpenter stalwart Alan Howarth, working with the original 16-track music studio master and the recently discovered original 35mm dialogue and effect tracks. Our version has a Dolby Surround mixdown which simply doesn't compare. The score on the US disc engulfs the soundstage, dynamics are stronger and the surrounds are used far more effectively, such as the scene where Loomis is being driven towards the asylum during a storm, where the rain fills every channel with a satisfying rush of noise.

I also noticed some slight imbalances in dialogue levels in the Australian edition. They're due to the original location recording work which wasn't flawless, but the dialogue normalisation built into the Dolby Digital specs seems to have levelled the dynamics out for the 5.1 mix.

Okay, so things sound pretty bad for the Australian version, right? Well, it's not all bad - the 5.1 mix has low-level hiss in the surround channels which is not a distraction in the Pro-Logic track (which, by the way, is also present on the US disc).

Darn. I'm down to nitpicking now. Yes, the US disc has more sound options, and a better mix, but if you'd never experienced it you'd find the local release more than adequate, and certainly an improvement over a muddy unrestored optical mono track.

  Extras
Contract

The only obvious extra missing from the disc is any form of running commentary. The Criterion laser has a good commentary from Carpenter, Hill and Jamie Lee Curtis, but there's no way that Criterion will license that! Hopefully they'll release their own version one day so that DVD fans can get their hands on all that exclusive material.

What we do get are a few television and radio spots, the re-release theatrical trailer and a recent documentary that runs just shy of half-an-hour and contains interviews with most of the guilty parties. It's a good watch, and fans should find it entertaining.

My US Collector's Edition also contains the network-only version, which cuts a small amount of 'violent' footage (though fans would know that very little gore is shown on screen) and adds 12 minutes of new footage, for example, a board review where Loomis declares Myers unsafe to ever be let free, another scene where Loomis speaks to the young, near-catatonic Myers, and another where Myers obtains a change of clothing. Oh, and it has a really groovy cover. No, it's not for sale.

  Overall  
Contract

Argh. This is difficult. Infogrames have done a great job here, and if it wasn't for the better audio and extra features in the US disc, I'd unreservedly recommend the local disc.

My job is made a little easier because the two-disc Limited Edition which I own is no longer available, but you still have the choice of taking the R4 disc with a slightly better picture, or the single-disc R1 version with the markedly improved sound.

I refuse to make your decision for you. Both are valid options. Choose now. Go!


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=393
  • Send to a friend.

    Cast your vote here: You must enable cookies to vote.
  •   
      And I quote...
    ""
    - Paul Dossett
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Rom:
          Pioneer 103(s)
    • MPEG Card:
          RealMagic Hollywood Plus
    • TV:
          Mitsubishi Diva 33
    • Amplifier:
          Yamaha DSP-A1
    • Speakers:
          Richter Excalibur
    • Centre Speaker:
          Richter Unicorn
    • Surrounds:
          Richter Hydras
    • Audio Cables:
          Monster RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Monster s-video
      Recent Reviews:
    by Paul Dossett

    Vampyros Lesbos
    "As sexy as washing your hands, but longer."

    The Chronicles of Riddick - Dark Fury
    "Like.. a bridge. Over troubled waters."

    Pitch Black: SE
    "Pitch Black: Consolidated Edition"

    Bad Taste: Special Edition
    "The bastards have landed!"

    House of Sand and Fog
    "If tragedy was pudding, you wouldn't be able to get off the couch."

      Related Links
      None listed

     

    Search for Title/Actor/Director:
    Google Web dvd.net.au
       Copyright © DVDnet. All rights reserved. Site Design by RED 5   
    rss