Actors: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis
Directors: John Carpenter
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: ANCHOR BAY
Release Date: September 24, 2013
Run Time: 91 minutes
Film: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
With Halloween right around the corner, I always make sure to find time to watch one of my favorite horror films of all-time. “Halloween” is something that I feel confident calling the perfect horror film. It is celebrating its 35th anniversary and yet it has never lost a single ounce of its effectiveness. It has also never been really given a great Blu-ray release either. But I am happy to say that Anchor Bay finally got it right this time and delivered this film in the best condition that I have ever seen it. In fact, the transfer has been overseen and approved by the film’s original cinematographer, Dean Cundey. So I had a feeling that this was going to be quite awesome and I was not let down. “Halloween: 35th Anniversary” Blu-ray also comes in a super cool DigiBook package with great behind-the-scene black-and-white photos and text. A must own for any fan of this film and a great way to welcome the holiday season.
Official Premise: Halloween stars Jamie Lee Curtis (A Fish Called Wanda, True Lies) in her debut role. Anyone who’s ever watched a horror film in the last 35 years knows the story of Michael Myers, who as a child, butchered his sister with a kitchen knife. Committed to a mental institution and watched over by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance, Halloween II, IV & V, Fantastic Voyage), he engineers his escape 15 years later, returning to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night to terrorize anyone who gets in his way, including babysitter Laurie Strode (Curtis).
If you recall the original Blu-ray release “Halloween”, hardcore fans complains about the transfers color timing and other issues but there is nothing to complain about here. Like I said above, this 1080p transfer is gorgeous and I have been more satisified watching this film then I was the first time I saw it on VHS tape (without my parents knowing over 20 years ago – sorry guys!) If the gorgeous transfer isn’t enough for you Anchor Bay also upgraded the audio track delivering us now with an all-new Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround track. This 7.1 track is a thing of beauty. I absolutely love Carpenter’s score for this film and it really works well with it. I wish there was an isolated score track. There is the original Dolby Digital 2.0 included for those purists out there.
In terms of special features, I can’t say that I am disappointed at all since there is a nice collection of goodies. There is a brand new audio commentary track with Writer/Director John Carpenter and Actor Jamie Lee Curtis, who were reunited for this track. It is a blast and honestly worth the purchase of the set alone. “The Night She Came Home!!” is another new feature, which runs about an hour and showcases Jamie Lee Curtis’ first (and supposedly only) convention visit last year. The rest of the extras are previously available including the behind-the-scenes look with “On Location: 25 Years Later”. There is a collection of scenes television cut scenes, which are cool to see them included. Lastly there are a trailer, some TV spots and radio spots included.