The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Special Edition

The mere concept of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre "blooper reel" seems a sick joke born of Saturday Night Live, but for TCM completists this is one of the supplemental features on this definitive DVD edition of Tobe Hooper's cult classic based on the exploits of Wisconsin mass murderer Ed Gein (who also inspired Psycho). Once this squalid little shocker revs up, it is near-relentless, as a group of wayward travelers runs afoul of a cannibalistic backwoods family that make those Deliverance mountain men seem like Noel Coward in comparison. It is a tribute to the film's visceral power that viewers think it is more violent than it really is (much of the mayhem and slaughter occur offscreen). TCM's Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) has long lived in the shadow of contemporary horror icons Freddy and Jason--although the 2003 remake put him briefly back in the public eye--but you know that somewhere some studio executive is desperately trying to hook all three up for a showdown. Boasting a true-to-the-original grainy transfer, this 30th anniversary edition DVD features commentary by Hooper, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and a too-upbeat Hansen, as well as deleted scenes and alternate footage, among other extras. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD Review—Sept. 19, 2006—Dark Sky, 2 discs, 84 min., R, $29.98—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (2-Disc Ultimate Edition) sports a pretty good transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by costars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, and Allen Danziger, and art director Robert A. Burns; the other by director Tobe Hooper, cinematographer Daniel Pearl and costar Gunnar Hansen, a.k.a. “Leatherface”), the 73-minute “making-of” documentary “The Shocking Truth,” the 72-minute production documentary “Flesh Wounds,” 26 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes, eight minutes of outtakes from “The Shocking Truth,” a tour of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre house with Hansen (8 min.), a “Making Grandpa” picture slideshow featuring the work of makeup artist Dr. W.E. Barnes, a still gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: I know we said that the “special edition” was the definitive release, but that was before this extras-laden “ultimate edition,” which trumps the earlier one.][Blu-ray Review—Oct. 14, 2008—Dark Sky, 84 min., R, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre looks as good as a grainy 16mm film can and boasts a 5.1 DTS soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are almost identical to the previous DVD release, including two audio commentaries (one by costars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, and Allen Danziger, and art director Robert A. Burns; the other by director Tobe Hooper, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and costar Gunnar Hansen, a.k.a. “Leatherface”), the 73-minute “making-of” documentary “The Shocking Truth,” the 72-minute production documentary “Flesh Wounds,” 26 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes, eight minutes of outtakes from “The Shocking Truth,” a tour of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre house with Hansen (8 min.), a “Making Grandpa” picture slideshow featuring the work of makeup artist Dr. W.E. Barnes, a stills gallery, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a 10-minute “Off the Hook” interview with costar Teri McMinn. Bottom line: the best presentation yet of this landmark horror film.][Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—Sept. 23, 2014—Dark Sky, 4 discs, 83 min., R, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $49.98—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) features a great transfer and a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray disc. Extras include four audio commentaries (the first by writer-director Tobe Hooper, costar Gunnar Hansen, and cinematographer Daniel Pearl; the second with costars Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain, with production designer Robert Burns; the third, a new commentary by Hooper; and the last a new commentary with Pearl, editor J. Larry Carroll, and sound recordist Ted Nicolaou), “The Shocking Truth” making-of documentary (73 min.), the production documentary “Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw” (72 min.), deleted scenes and outtakes (26 min.), a “Horror's Hollowed Grounds” featurette (21 min.), “The Business of Chain Saw” interview with production manager Ron Bozman (17 min.), a “Grandpa's Tales” interview with costar John Dugan (16 min.), new deleted scenes and outtakes (15 min.), a “Cutting Chain Saw” segment with Carroll (11 min.), an “Off the Hook” interview with costar Teri McMinn (10 min.), a house tour with Hansen (8 min.), outtakes from “The Shocking Truth” (8 min.), a blooper reel (3 min.), a “Making Grandpa” picture slideshow with makeup artist Dr. W.E. Barnes, a stills gallery, TV and radio spots, and trailers. Bottom line: although we called the 2008 Blu-ray release of this horror classic the best version, this one—with additional features—is even better.]