Halloween (Divimax 25th Anniversary Edition)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 08/05/2003 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: R

Amazon.com essential video
Halloween is as pure and undiluted as its title. In the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, a teenage baby sitter tries to survive a Halloween night of relentless terror, during which a knife-wielding maniac goes after the town's hormonally charged youths. Director John Carpenter takes this simple situation and orchestrates a superbly mounted symphony of horrors. It's a movie much scarier for its dark spaces and ominous camera movements than for its explicit bloodletting (which is actually minimal). Composed by Carpenter himself, the movie's freaky music sets the tone; and his script (cowritten with Debra Hill) is laced with references to other horror pictures, especially Psycho. The baby sitter is played by Jamie Lee Curtis, the real-life daughter of Psycho victim Janet Leigh; and the obsessed policeman played by Donald Pleasence is named Sam Loomis, after John Gavin's character in Psycho. In the end, though, Halloween stands on its own as an uncannily frightening experience--it's one of those movies that had audiences literally jumping out of their seats and shouting at the screen. ("No! Don't drop that knife!") Produced on a low budget, the picture turned a monster profit, and spawned many sequels, none of which approached the 1978 original. Curtis returned for two more installments: 1981's dismal Halloween II, which picked up the story the day after the unfortunate events, and 1998's occasionally gripping Halloween H20, which proved the former baby sitter was still haunted after 20 years. --Robert Horton

Amazon.com
Halloween is as pure and undiluted as its title. In the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, a teenage baby sitter tries to survive a Halloween night of relentless terror, during which a knife-wielding maniac goes after the town's hormonally charged youths. Director John Carpenter takes this simple situation and orchestrates a superbly mounted symphony of horrors. It's a movie much scarier for its dark spaces and ominous camera movements than for its explicit bloodletting (which is actually minimal). Composed by Carpenter himself, the movie's freaky music sets the tone; and his script (cowritten with Debra Hill) is laced with references to other horror pictures, especially Psycho. The baby sitter is played by Jamie Lee Curtis, the real-life daughter of Psycho victim Janet Leigh; and the obsessed policeman played by Donald Pleasence is named Sam Loomis, after John Gavin's character in Psycho. In the end, though, Halloween stands on its own as an uncannily frightening experience--it's one of those movies that had audiences literally jumping out of their seats and shouting at the screen. ("No! Don't drop that knife!") Produced on a low budget, the picture turned a monster profit, and spawned many sequels, none of which approached the 1978 original. Curtis returned for two more installments: 1981's dismal Halloween II, which picked up the story the day after the unfortunate events, and 1998's occasionally gripping Halloween H20, which proved the former baby sitter was still haunted after 20 years. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews: Read 904 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

An Absolute Classic March 21, 2002
59 out of 66 found this review helpful

The original Halloween is one of the greatest horror movies of all time and my personal favorite. Even though I've seen it numerous times I can't get enough. On Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his sister in the small town of Haddonfield Illinois. Now, 15 years later, he has escaped from a mental institution to reek havoc amongst the trick or treaters. Jaime Lee Curtis stars in her first role as Laurie Strode and is pursued by Michael Myers throughout the entire movie. Donald Pleasance plays Dr. Sam Loomis (Michael Myers doctor) and warns Haddonfield Police of Michael's return. Hesitant to believe the wild accusation Dr. Loomis must hunt Michael down before he can do anymore harm. Halloween will scare and delight you at the same time. The music score for Halloween is still creepy almost 25 years later and is synonymous with the movie. If you only see one horror movie in your lifetime, see this absolute classic, Halloween.

5 out of 5 stars

"Everybody's Entitled To One Good Scare...." July 18, 2003
59 out of 72 found this review helpful

Another milestone or anniversary, another re-packaged film. One wonders how many more times this 1978 classic will be released onto the public. If they keep making the DVD treatment with great special features like this one, then more the merrier. What could they possibly do with another re-issue?. Outdo themselves. That's what. This is a great 25th anniversary edition of the film with special features that every hardcore fan will devour. As a fan who has three different versions of this film, I can't wait for this. This edition features the film looking and sounding incredible, but what really makes it is the extras. As usual, there are radio spots, trailers, bios, and a still gallery. What makes it fantastic is that there is audio commentary from writer/director John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, and producer/writer Debra Hill. There is an all new 87 minute documentary with interviews with Carpenter, Curtis, Hill, and dozens more. There is also a 10 minute special with Hill and actress P.J. Soles(Lynda) re-visiting the original Myers house used in the film. Plus there is a 16 page booklet!!. How can any fan refuse?!. You can't. Apparently, the one star review below doesn't know what's going on. I've seen the TV version and it definitley wasn't 104 minutes. 13 extra minutes?. I doubt if the deleted scenes totaled 10 minutes. Anyways, this is a great set with plenty of new stuff to offer. The story takes place in a quaint little town of Haddonfield, Illinois. 6 year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his sister in 1963, and was then sent to a mental institution. While there, he was observed by Dr. Sam Loomis(Donald Pleasence). 15 years later, in 1978, Michael manages to escape the place and head back to his hometown to reak terror and vengeance upon the unknowing little town. Loomis, with the help of the town sheriff, Sheriff Brackett(Charles Cyphers), tries to track down the cold blooded killer before a body count happens. Enter virginal Laurie Strode(Jamie Lee Curtis). She is the unlucky target, as Michael stalks her and two friends Annie(Nancy Loomis), and Lynda(P.J. Soles), while they are babysitting across the street from each other on Halloween night. This was supposed to be a creepy, scary, suspenseful film, and that's exactly what it is. No gore or blood and guts. It's a very simple, basic movie that tells a very simple, basic story, and is done in a very basic, simple way. If only future sequels were made that way. What makes it even more chilling is how real it is. It takes place in a nice little town, in a charming, family type neighborhood. It shows that this kind of thing can happen to anyone anywhere. The realisticness of the film and characters lost some credibility in later films, but this one is what's out there in the real world. Scary to think. Curtis is wonderful as Laurie. She gets the shy, awkward, gawky thing down pat. She makes Laurie a real fleshed out person, instead of just another pretty face actress trying to seem innocent and pure when we know she isn't. Pleasence is teriffic. Loomis is a classic screen character that gets even madder as the films go on. Carpenter knows how to scare us. What's so amazing about it is how easy it is to do it, and how easy it was for him to accomplish it. While other films try too hard and create ridiculous circumstances with gore and effects to try to scare you, this one just relies on what is real. What could be outside your door, or under your bed. This is one of the scariest movies ever. The theme, also done by Carpenter, is another classic. All in all, "Halloween" is a monumental film classic that should be cherished by all. This special new edition is chalked full of nothing but goodies and every fan should rush out to get it when it is available. Happy trick or treating.

5 out of 5 stars

A Great, Scary, Classic Made Even Better! October 9, 2001
46 out of 48 found this review helpful

This new, Extended version of Halloween is something no fan should be without! 12 minutes of additional footage (4 scenes) has been put into the original version, and the result is awesome. These scenes were not deleted. They were really shot in 1980, when the film was released on cut TV. The scenes were shot using the cast and crew of Halloween II (another must see!) and directed by John Carpenter, himself. These scenes include:

#1 A very well made scene where Dr. Loomis (Doneld Pleasance) has an intense conversation with two sanitarium officials. He begs that they move Myers to a maximum security ward, saying that the boy is dangerous and has an instinctive forsce within him. The officials are unimpressed by what Loomis says, and simply keep Myers in the minimum security ward.

#2 A scene directly following the previous added scene. Loomis walks into young Michael's cell. For about 1 minute he simply stares at the boy, who stares out the window. Loomis then says "You've fooled them, haven't you Michael? But not me!"

#3 This scene is after Myers escape. Loomis walks with a nurse into Michael's room, which is completely trashed. The nurse shows him that the word "Sister" is carved in the door. (If you've seen Halloween II, then you know what this means).

#4 This final additional scene is my personal favorite. In this scene we get a bit more of Jamie Lee Curtis, a bit more of PJ Soles, and a bit more of Nancy Kyes/Loomis. Lynda (Soles) comes over to Laurie's (Curtis) house, and they have some girl chat. Then, Annie (Kyes/Loomis) calls and asks (unsuccesfully) if she can borrow some of Laurie's clothes.

I really love this new version of Halloween. It just feels more complete. I know that these scenes WERE NOT in the original version, but it's way better off with them in there. John Carpenter has said he hates these scenes (as some other reviewers may tell you) but that is HIS opinioun. I love these scenes. They make the movie make a bit more sense. For example, the scene wher Loomis fights with the officials really shows how hard he tried to get them to move Michael. Later on he talks about how much he tried to get them to move him, and this added scene shows you how right he is. The scene with "Sister" really helped connect this to the 2nd (making a great double feature). And the scene with Lynda, Annie and Laurie shows a bit more of their personal lives. Awesome. This version was only available on either the two tape Special VHS editions (where they were AFTER the movie) and on the THX Two Disk Anchor Bay Limited Edition (which is 150 bucks to buy on Amazon used!). I tried really hard to find that two disk limited edition, but I was to late. So this here DVD is like a dream come true. Thank you Anchor Bay! I suggest (unless you have the two disk version) that you buy one now, before it, too, goes out of stock!

Halloween is Rated R for Small Violence, Brief Nudity, and brief Language. The new scenes contain nothing to offend parents who were OK with their kids watching the other version.

If you found my review helpful, be sure and give me a vote! Thank you!

1 out of 5 stars Halloween The Deja Vu Edition... August 3, 2007
24 out of 28 found this review helpful

This movie is one of the best I've ever seen, and to be fair Anchor Bay does put out some good special edition DVDs for this title. However I think its only fair to point out the obvious. This is almost the same DVD that was released back in 1999 (Halloween: Restored Limited Edition). Hopefully, this explains the single star rating.

As all true Halloween fans already know, about a year ago all of the "lost footage" or the unused portions of the film that was left on the cutting room floor was discovered. But this never-before-seen footage is not included on this DVD (not weaved into the original film or even available as an extra). I was really hoping to see some of this "lost footage" but it looks like we Halloween fanatics are in store for a longer wait.

I visited the Anchor Bay website to get the details on this latest Halloween installment. Here they are:

Features:
-Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs

-Full-Frame Presentation

-Theatrical Trailer

-TV Spots

-Radio Spot

-Talent Bios

-Still Gallery

-Behind the Scenes Still Gallery

-Featurette: Halloween Unmasked 2000

5 out of 5 stars Hide your wallet - Anchor Bay wants your $$$$$$$. August 1, 2007
21 out of 25 found this review helpful

What is this - the sixth time Anchor Bay is releasing Halloween? Let me guess, it will be ultra-re-re-re-mastered. Of course, they could have released it that way ten years ago, but why do that when they can play us for the jackasses that we are and squeeze all the $$$$$$$$$ from our wallets that is humanly feasible? Halloween is one of my favorite movies of all time, but I am simply disgusted by the manipulating venality that has characterized Anchor Bay's business ethic from the company's very inception. For those of you who already bought one of Anchor Bay's previous releases, DO NOT BUY THIS ONE. If we continue to reward the efforts of Anchor Bay to exploit us by purchasing the same product repeatedly, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

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