Halloween

During the fall of 1978, the devil came home - to Haddonfield, Illinois. Upon its initial release, Halloween had difficulty finding its traction with moviegoers, but after a few positive reviews, John Carpenter's horror flick was off and running. Even more spectacular is that fact that the film was produced on a ridiculously tiny budget of $325,000, eventually cashing in big with an impressive $70 million. By now, most everyone is probably at least vaguely familiar with the concept of the boogeyman and quite possibly even well-acquainted with the boogeyman himself - the man in the white mask that walked around stalking babysitters, Michael Myers. This cold-hearted killer has engrained himself in pop culture, creating legions of fans, endless merchandise, and several sequels featuring the character, including two reboot films. Myers is the villain everyone loves to hate, having been forged into the spitting image of evil - unrelenting in his mission to stalk and eventually eliminate his prey. The creation of the Michael Myers, one of the most iconic and recognizable characters in the horror genre, leaves little doubt that Halloween is the greatest horror film ever created. Directed by John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog) and co-written with Debra Hill, Halloween stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, who along with her high school friends, Anne (Nancy Kyes), and Lynda (P.J. Soles), is stalked by an escaped murderous mental patient, named Michael Myers (portrayed by five different actors, including Nick Castle & Tony Moran). Desperate to find him before he kills innocent people in the small town of Haddonfiled, Illinois, Myers' doctor, Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), sets out to stop him. However, Myers' whereabouts is unknown to everyone, except for two young children, Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) and Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards). Charles Cyphers also stars in a supporting role as Sheriff Leigh Brackett. Halloween is not only the best horror film ever created, but it's also the most important horror film ever created - okay, maybe it's the second most important film, slightly behind Psycho. Following in the footsteps of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Halloween continues the trend of a modern day killer unleashing his fury on the innocent women of suburbia. Both of these films took the simple premise of a mysterious killer shadowing beautiful women - just before mutilating them, and made it, well - hip and frighteningly entertaining. There's just something so nail-biting and downright creepy about a man lurking in the shadows waiting to strike a moment's notice. While Halloween is responsible for elevating the career of director John Carpenter, it's also responsible for introducing Jamie Lee Curtis - the (at the time) unknown daughter of "scream queen" and Psycho star, Janet Leigh. The amount of screen time devoted to her character was quite sizable, regardless of the fact she'd never acted in a feature role. Regardless, Curtis demonstrated the scared, vulnerable qualities required to be the leading lady in this unnerving, often unpredictable slasher flick. She's innocent, likeable, and had the make-up of a future Hollywood star - even though it's safe to say no one could have predicted the future roles she'd amass. She would go on to star in several popular films, including True Lies, Trading Places, and three Halloween sequels (Halloween 2, Halloween H2O, and Halloween: Resurrection). Today, John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis are the top names that casual movie lovers typically associate with Halloween, but let's not forget that back in 1978, there was only one star of Halloween (pre-release): Donald Pleasence. As the hard-nosed Dr. Sam Loomis, Pleasence has the film's most memorable lines, including the famous "...the devil's eyes" line. He took on a role that he was incredibly uncertain of at the time - and wasn't even the first choice for the character. As such a low-budget production, Halloween was unable to gain the interest of original sought-after, popular actors Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Still, Pleasence turned out to be the right man for the role of Dr. Loomis - which quickly became the role that would define the rest of her career. His professionalism illuminates this role as the overly concerned doctor, and he obviously become a fan favorite - which is never more evident in the way he returned to the role for four sequels (five Halloween films in total). The success and legacy of Halloween led to the creation of several similar, yet moderately unique horror films, including Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Regardless of the success of those individual franchises, Halloween still stands out as the one film that jump-started the slasher craze of the 1980s and beyond. Without Halloween, there's little doubt that the more recent horror franchises, like Scream, Saw, and a slew of easily forgettable knockoffs, would have enjoyed the same successes that they achieved. And, while the slasher "craze" is currently non-existent (at least for the moment) from overuse and a lack of progressive originality, there's little chance Michael Myers won't rise from the ashes again one day to stalk babysitters (or his female relatives if you liked the direction of the sequels). Overall and on its own, the original Halloween is the best and most important horror film ever conceived or created. Even today, the story is as solid as ever, but the acting, camera shots (in which we see through the killer's eyes), and imagination also have withstood the test of time. Sure, the film owes some of its success to Psycho, but the character of Michael Myers/The Shape/The Boogeyman has taken on a life all its own - which eclipses the wildest dreams of his creators. The fan base of Halloween is strong, despite that fact that the original conception might not be as scary to this generation as it was the previous generations. Although the inclusion of several sequels to the franchise certainly diluted the original storyline, Halloween will forever and always be one of the greatest films (and not just of the horror genre) to ever grace the big screen. GRADE: A FNDNreview.com

I will split this review into two parts - The Movie and The Blu Ray. Part One - The Movie. Not many people will argue that John Carpenter's seminal horror classic "Halloween" would not rank as one of the top suspense/horror films of all time. In fact, it may actually be the most influential horror film of all time (even surpassing Alfred Hitchcock's timeless classic "Psycho" in this regard). Like 'Psycho', 'Halloween' affected the moviegoers long after initially seeing it in the theaters. It wasn't long after that imitators such as 'Friday the 13th', 'My Bloody Valentine', 'The Funhouse', and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (among many, many others) used the 'Halloween' formula of a psychotic killer after helpless, unsuspecting teenagers to great effect. It has been 35 years since it's initital release, and yet 'Halloween' still maintains a lofty perch on the horror landscape and is still a beloved holiday classic (despite being terribly re-made by Rob Zombie, who has no business touching a classic like this), culminating in annual holiday theater re-runs as well as finding a special place as the final film showed (on Halloween night) on AMC's yearly 13+ day 'Fear Fest' horror film marathon. It's hard to list many movies that have held their grips on the minds and hearts of moviegoers over years and decades like 'Halloween' has. The plot is so well known that I wont even attempt to go into it. I will instead describe my first encounter with this film. Originally I had seen the sequel 'Halloween II' first. So, I was already familiar with Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, but there were obviously details that were omitted from the second film because the filmmakers assumed that the viewer had already seen the original. Fast forward to Halloween night, 1992 - a saturday. After a night of trick-or-treating I retreated to my bedroom with my generous Halloween haul to enjoy some candy and some TV on my "huge" 19 inch RCA color tv (having retired my 13 in. black and white Zenith the prior year). I orignially planned a night of NES, but didn't want to have to stop every minute or so to open another piece of candy, so I tuned in WDRB-41 (the Louisville area Fox affiliate) instead, and just before 10:00 p.m. saw that 'Halloween' was due to air. I had never seen it and decided to go ahead and watch (I recorded it on VHS as well). I loved it and immediately after popped in my old VHS recording of 'Halloween II' from an old tv airing on WGN 9 and watched that all the way through, mainly so I could see how the pieces fit together. My first impressions of the original film were that I thought it was one of the coolest horror movies I had ever seen. I couldn't wait to watch it again on my recorded VHS, and did so the next morning. The viewing had such an effect on me that I remember it so vividly now, more than 20 years later. In the simplest of terms, 'Halloween' is a masterpiece of psychological horror. Carpenter drew on inspiration from not only Afred Hitchcock, but directors such as Howard Hawkes (who he pays homage to in the film with Laurie and Tommy watching Hawkes film "The Thing From Another World") and even elements from Stanley Kubrick as well. It is an amazing movie and there's no wonder why it is universally praised as being one of the top 100 films of all-time. Part Two - The Blu Ray. Although I expected the picture to be far better (after being spoiled by the amazing restoration jobs done on Spielberg films "Jaws", "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial", and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", the film does look better than it ever has, with deep blacks and rich vibrant colors (particularly in things like pumpkins and grass/trees, etc.). I did, however, expect a bit more from the Dean Cundey helmed HD transfer and was a bit disappointed, but not much. The film still looks amazing and maintains just the right level of film grain. The sound mix is great and really enhances the mood of the picture. The coolest thing about the Blu Ray release, however, is the Carpenter/Curtis commentary track which I will update this review with my thoughts on once I listen to it this weekend. I've been waiting for this for years, since listening to the Carpenter/Russell commentaries on "The Thing" and "Big Trouble in Little China". Overall, this is a great Blu Ray release of one of the greatest films of all-time.

Ho acquistato la versione uk in blu ray 35th anniversary e devo dire che la qualita' audio/video e' ottima. Un capolavoro del genere merita il giusto trattamento. Speriamo in un cofanetto con tutta la serie. Magari come quella anchor bay (perfetta) da 15 blu ray e packaging spettacolare. Magari!!!

Great quality great movie

Uma bela edição física e sem dúvidas um belo achado para iniciar uma coleção

Quel plaisir de revoir ce film avec jaimie lee curtis, la fille de tonny curtis, et donald pleasance,le faussaire de la grande evasion.On ne fait plus la reputation de john carpenter, qui nous plonge dans une ambiance à la hitchkock.Sans nous abreuver de sang,l'intelligence du cineaste nous fait frissonner ,sans en ajouter. L'idèe de se personnage au masque blanc,qui est le visage du capitaine Kirk de star strek,en fait un serial killer ,toujours à la mode aujourd'hui. encore bravo et merçi Xavier Delattre.

What can one say about Halloween that has not been repeated a thousand times? This 1978 classic may not have been the very first slasher stalk em', but it was not far off. What sets Halloween apart from the rest is it's relentlessness in overempowerment. Michael Myers does not stop, the music does not stop, John Carpenter the director does not stop. What other horror movie especially at the time did not care if it's serial killer turned up at the school gates in broad dayylight. Or meanced its would be victims in front of their friends before the sun had gone down? Michael doesn't care, because Michael is a psychopath who wants to get caught, that's the game. And Carpenter executes this to the maximum. I've always wondered if Carpenter really meant to make a classic or if it just happened. Of course when you look at what he went on to make, The Fog, The Thing, then one knows that Carpenter will always be a horror legend, but did he really mean to make such a masterful film at this stage in his career? I say that Halloween is the ultimate No.1. horror film of all time. Though my mind is open and if I come across a movie from any period then who knows if the movie will retain that position? However I have watched close to a thousand horror movies ranging from Universal's Frankenstein right up to what we unfortunetly have now with polished remakes and reboots. But I still haven't found a movie that can challenge Halloween's simplicity but all out tension. Halloween is just pure brillance and pure horror and if you are a horror fan and do not have this movie in your collection then you have more than a gaping hole missing. Now I want to talk about the various dvd's out there on Halloween from Anchor Bay. The first 2 disc set was released in 2001. Disc 1 features a few extras, such as a retrospective and bios, trailers. But disc 2 is a treat as it features the extra 12 mins USA TV version of the film. What's more the dvd box does not mention this extra, so it's a real surprise when you pop the dvd in your machine. Nice. Two years later Anchor Bay released the 25th anniversary. Great picture here and different extras including cast commentary and an 87 min doc on the movie, so well worth getting. However in 2006, Anchor Bay released the 'cash cow' version with just the movie, absolutely no extras, not even chapter selection. So if you are a fan of the movies it is worth getting the 2001 and 2003 versions.