Halloween

John Carpenter's second film was largely responsible for kicking off the whole slice and dice genre of slasher films that plagued the late 70s and early 80s (Friday the 13th, ad infinitum, etc.) None of the copies came remotely close to this low-budget horror original. Jamie Lee Curtis came to screen fame as Laurie, the teenage babysitter stalked by a killer who murdered his sister one Halloween night fifteen years before the film's main action. Halloween has some corny lines and a few moth holes in the plot (somewhat filled in by this "extended edition" with an additional 12 minutes shot for television), but these drawbacks are quite forgotten while you're gripping the edge of your armchair (which is most of the film). Unlike its sorry progeny and awful sequels (with the exception of Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later), this is not a gorefest; it's just a minor masterpiece of modern suspense. Disappointingly, the disc features no extras and Dolby Digital mono sound. Still, this is definitely recommended, especially for those who don't already own the theatrical release version.Halloween: 25th Anniversary Edition--DVD Review--September 9, 2003--Anchor Bay, 2 discs, 91 min., R, $29.98--Halloween: 25th Anniversary Edition marks the fourth (or maybe fifth; I've lost count) release of John Carpenter's seminal 1978 slasher flick on DVD, this time using "Divimax" technology (or "Digital Video to the Max") to produce the sharpest image yet. Notable extras on this double-disc set include a scene-specific (though recorded separately) audio commentary by Carpenter, producer/co-writer Debra Hill, and star Jamie Lee Curtis; the new 87-documentary "Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest" (with all-new cast and crew interviews), a 10-minute "on location" featurette with Hill and actress P.J. Soles revisiting Michael Myers' house; and the DVD-ROM accessible screenplay. One additional note: although the image is much clearer than in previous editions, the new transfer has a definite color shift (particularly noticeable in the evening shots, where houses formerly bathed in a blue light now appear to be lit by standard white lighting). Bottom line: not quite the definitive edition (the extended TV version is not included here), this is still the best-looking version with the most extras available.(R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Oct. 8, 2013—Anchor Bay, 91 min., R, $34.99—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, 1978's Halloween (35th Anniversary Edition) features a fine transfer and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 sound. Extras include new audio commentary by writer-director John Carpenter and star Jamie Lee Curtis, a new “The Night She Came Home” featurette with Curtis (60 min.), “On Location: 25 Years Later” (11 min.), footage from the TV version (11 min.), TV and radio spots, and trailers. Bottom line: for those who did not pick up the first Blu-ray release, this is definitely recommended.]