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Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Ultimate Edition (The)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Dark Sky Films Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (6th October 2008). |
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The Film
 If you read my review of the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" you'll already know that I'm a fan of this film. There are many forgettable horrors and then there are few iconic horror classics, films such as "Halloween" (1978), "Friday the 13th" ('1980), "Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" fall in that category of greatness. Back in 1974 filmmaker Tobe Hooper didn't realise he was creating a cult masterpiece, what he was doing was making a film that would literally scare the flesh right off your bones. And he succeeded, so much that the film was banned in the UK for quite some time until recently where it was finally released on high-definition on this Blu-ray disc. The film centres around a group of teenagers who are recruited by Sally (Marilyn Burns) who upon hearing that vandals have desecrated their grandfather's grave, travel across Texas to investigate. As they travel across the wasteland they pick up a hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) who isn't exactly normal. He takes a picture of the group and suddenly expects to be paid for it, when the group refuse he goes psycho on them and starts slashing himself with a razor. Freaked out by the incident they kick the hitchhiker out him out of the van. Strung out by the incident they stop at a gas station for a breather and suddenly find themselves at an old family home... where they come face to face with Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his family of cannibals. From that point on the nightmare begins and Leatherface won't stop until they are all dead! For many years this film has been given a bad rap, people have called it vile, offensive, violent, disgusting and sick. Audiences, critics and even public officials have called this film a shocking and sick film that has no redeeming value whatsoever. If this film made you afraid to open your eyes, if it made you sick and repulsed then I think it did what it was supposed to do, after all it is a horror film. If you don't want to be subjected to it then don't see it, simple as that. But let's not get into a critic bashing censorship issue as this will certainly lead in that direction. Let's talk about the impact this film has had over the 32 years since it's release. After 32 years this little no-budget film is still considered by most horror fans to be one of the scariest films of all time, why? Because Hooper managed to tap some of our very primal of fears by introducing the film as a true story. That something this vile actually happened. When in fact the film and most notably it's villain Leatherface was loosely based on the mass-murderer and cannibal Ed Gein. Mixed with stark images, gritty documentary-like camera work, real life locations in a small Texas town, and a brilliant sound mix came together to deliver a truly memorable horror flick. What added to the overall scare factor was that Hooper managed to let the viewer use their own imagination instead of show direct on-screen violence, for a horror flick there is very little gore. Perhaps this was either deliberate or was a result of having hardly any money to make the film, either way it was effective. Also for what is essentially a B-movie the performances aren't bad at all, while certainly not Oscar worthy they are at least not as cheesy as some B-grade horrors. This film is not for everyone, If you're a horror fan than you'll already know what I'm talking about, if you're new to horror genre then I suggest you don't see anymore contemporary horrors until you take this film for a test drive. If you don't like films of this genre and are easily scared then perhaps it's a good idea you stay away.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1, this is a new high definition transfer that was carefully and painstakingly restored by Don May Jr. of "Synapse Films" which was created from the film's original 16mm negatives and the result is fantastic. It's the same source used to created the previous "UE" disc from Dark Sky. This image is presented for the first time in 1080p 24/fps and has been mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression. Although the film does have some inherent problems being so old, but this film hasn't looked better in years, finally fans are given a high quality transfer that has been totally restored and remastered. The image is sharper than it's ever been with color saturation at a normal level, no bleed was detected at all, now there are shotness issues here and there, which is expected but the sharpness here is better than any previous release. There are remnants of damage that may have been too difficult to repair such as the occasional deep scratch that runs down the entire frame, but otherwise this transfer is not plagued by a continius amounf of dirt and damage like many other editions of this film that I have seen in the past. I was pleased that this HD image is a slight bump in imporvement over the DVD release, detail is slightly better and the image looks a little brighter in the day exteriors, whileblacks hold up well but can sometimes look a bit flat. There was still prominent grain, especially in darker shots but the limitations of the film stock are to blame, and after all it provides the film with an eerie documentary feel (despite the fact that Hooper never intended the film to look like a documentary, it's become somewhat of a happy accident). Overall this brand new transfer is the absolute best that this film has looked and I'm sure both director Tobe Hooper and cinematographer Daniel Pearl would approve.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included on this release, a new English DTS 5.1 surround mix as well as an English PCM 2.0 stereo track as well as the original English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its new DTS 5.1 track. As mentioned in my previous review of the DVD, there have been some rather dissapointing releases of this film especially when it comes to the soundtrack, while this DTS track does a ok job, it's still a bit processed in its feel. The problems with up-mixing a film that was originally in mono to 5.1 is a major task, and often there's limited depth (because the original track had none to begin with) but this 5.1 effort isn't bad. At least the dialogue is clear, the film's score is well rendered and overall the track is much cleaner and removes the hiss (though not all, there's still so present), pops and drop outs (I counted only a couple as apposed to many from other releases) that tracks of its age seem to have collected over the years. Optional subtitles are included in English and Spanish.
Extras
Dark Sky has included a wealth of extras, some of which can be found on previous releases as well as a few new surprises, the extras on this new 2-disc release include two audio commentaries, two feature-length documentaries, a featurette, deleted scenes and outtakes a collection of theatrical trailers, TV spots, radio spots as well as still galleries. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is a new feature-length audio commentary by actress Marilyn Burns, actors Paul A. Partain and Allen Danziger along with production designer/art director Robert A. Burns which is moderated by David Gregory who directed the documentary "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth ", the track also features actor Edwin Neal] who is reached via phone near the end of the track just before the credits roll. The participants provide an in-depth track full of information surrounding the making of the film. They comment on the various locations scouted for the film, including places that belonged to friends. Art direction tricks are revealed as to how certain scenes were set up, the cast talk about their experiences on the film in working with the other cast members and also with the director. The moderator propels the participants by asking questions along the way regarding key scenes that have entered the lexicon of horror. For a low budget film it's most interesting to hear how they achieved what they did and for fans of the film this is a must listen. The next feature-length audio commentary is one that has been available on previous releases of this film on DVD and is by actor Gunnar Hansen, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and director/co-writer/co-producer Tobe Hooper. This is a great commentary with the three sharing a plethora of background information regarding the film and it's production as well as stories and memories from the set as well as a wealth of technical info about the making of the film, this is a perfect track for fans of the film to sink their teeth into, if you already haven't that is. First up we have the in-depth "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth" documentary which runs for 72 minutes 45 seconds. This is a great documentary that interviews just about all of the cast and some crew members and delves into the background of the film, it's influence from Ed Gain's life, the shooting of the film and details such as the importance of the art direction from the locations to the Leatherface mask and of course covers the controversy the film generated when it was released. More documentaries need to be made like this. Next is the equally interesting and well made "Flesh Wounds: 7 Stories of the Saw" which us a documentary that runs for 71 minutes 37 seconds. In this feature we are presented with 7 chapters that cover 7 stories surrounding the film, first we hear from cinematographer Daniel Pearl as he discusses the events that led him into his chosen field and working on the film as well as his involvement in the remake, we get to visit the original house, the history behind it and where it is now. Actor Ed Neal amuses us with memories from the set and we are also provided with a montage tribute to members of the cast and crew who have passed away which includes Paul A. Partain, Jim Siedow and Robert A. Burns. Furthermore Dr. W.E. Barnes takes us through the make-up creation process for Grandpa, we visit the fan conventions and finally are treated to a candid conversation with Leatherface himself Gunnar Hansen. Next is a "Tour of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house" featurette with actor Gunnar Hansen which runs for 8 minutes 2 seconds and was recorded in 1993 as Hansen takes us through the house and reveals where scenes from the film were shot. Deleted scenes & outtakes follows and runs for 25 minutes 21 seconds. This reel includes footage of the corpses from the beginning of the film plus additional takes of the kids in the van, inside Leatherface's house as well as being chased by Leatherface, we are also given a lot of outtakes of Grandma and Grandpa's room plus a lot of footage of the hanging bones from the walls and dangling from the ceiling. Some footage is silent, while other have sound and the roll near the end of the bones is set to music. A blooper reel follows and runs for 2 minutes 21 seconds, this is mostly the cast falling over or breaking character, it's too brief and may as well have been included in the outtakes section. A still gallery entitled "Dr. W.E. Barnes presents: Making Grandpa" a look at the process of creating the Grandpa make-up application in 72 images which also includes some images from the shooting of that scene. Finally we are also treated to a stills gallery which is made up of 67 images consisting of poster art, lobby cards, magazine ads, promotional photographs, productions photographs and photos of props. Next up are some outtakes from the "Shocking Truth" documentary which runs for 7 minutes 39 seconds and features unused interview clips from the various participants. Also included on this disc are 2 theatrical trailers, the first is from the Brianston release of the film and runs for 1 minute 43 seconds, the second is from the New Line release of the film and runs for 1 minute 30 seconds. Next are 3 TV spots from the original advertising campaign created by New Line during their theatrical distribution of the film, all three of these spots run for 32 seconds. We also have 2 radio spots from the New Line ad campaign and also run for 32 second each. There's a Blu-ray exclusive extra: entitled "Off the Hook" which is a featurette that runs for 17 minutes 1 second and is an interview with actress Teri McMinn who played Pam in the film as she shares some of her memories from the production, fans will enjoy this clip as well. She provides some interesting stories from the set among other things.
Overall
Overall this "Ultimate Edition" has earned its moniker because this set is littered with extras that will keep fans happy, along with the beautiful new transfer this makes a must buy for fans of this classic horror film.
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