Cheap Halloween (Divimax 25th Anniversary Edition) (DVD) (Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran) (John Carpenter) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Halloween (Divimax 25th Anniversary Edition)

Dismissed by many critics on its original release as a routine quickie with few redeeming virtues, this low-budget shocker - director John Carpenter's follow-up to another cult favorite, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976) - built its reputation via word-of-mouth at a time when movies could open small and hit big during a prolonged release schedule, and it ultimately emerged as one of the most successful independent productions of the 1970's. Aided immeasurably by Dean Cundey's expansive scope photography - whose autumnal color schemes and deep, deep shadows recall a similarly-styled Halloween sequence in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) - and an unforgettable music score (composed by the director himself), Carpenter's film is stronger on mood than narrative drive, building tension through an accumulation of details before letting rip with a series of nerve-shredding set-pieces during the second half of the movie. Donald Pleasence dominates proceedings (in a role turned down by no less than Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing!) as an obsessive doctor who arrives in small-town America to convince anyone who'll listen that 'boogeyman' Michael Myers is nothing less than Evil Incarnate, while second-billed Jamie Lee Curtis - who seems a little too old to be playing a frightened high-schooler - is sympathetic as the vulnerable heroine targeted for destruction by an unstoppable killer, and her climactic face-off with 'The Shape' contains more than a few heartstopping shocks and surprises. A classic horror movie for some viewers, and a slow-burning bore for others, HALLOWEEN has nevertheless withstood the test of time, and its influence on the modern horror genre is undeniable. Followed by HALLOWEEN II (1981) and a host of increasingly lackluster sequels, until the franchise was dusted off and revitalized for a whole new generation of fans in Steve Miner's impressive thriller, HALLOWEEN H20 20 YEARS LATER (1998).

The movie itself runs 90m 45s on Anchor Bay's all-region DVD, which letterboxes the wide Panavision frame at approx. 2.35:1 (anamorphically enhanced). The original 2.0 mono track is included, along with a newly created Dolby 5.1 version, which is sonically impressive (and runs a few seconds longer than the mono print) but is largely unrepresentative of the original theatrical experience. Closed captions are included, but there are no open subtitles. Anchor Bay has released several versions of this movie on disc over the years, each one featuring an array of supplemental materials (including a laughable full-screen/pan-scan version of the film), though viewers are advised that the 25th anniversary 'Divimax' edition released in 2003 appears to have lost some of the vivid colors evident in the earlier THX version, released in 2000 and personally approved by cinematographer Dean Cundey.

"...the definitive horror movie of all time..."
When I'm asked what my favorite scary movie is, I take no hesitation in the simple reply of "Halloween." And while by today's standards, this may fall into predictable and cheesy, when it came out, it was a ground-breaking cinematic experience into a new genre that inspired a seemingly endless string of imitators.
"Halloween" was made in March of 1978 with a simple budget of only $320,000. It was made by a group of struggling young filmmakers out to make a movie. And, at first, the movie wasn't doing that great. But after a few weeks, Halloween kept rising and rising, that it made a new box office record.
The plot? Simple, simple, simple. The storyline centers around an escaped maniac who fifteen years ago killed his sister on Halloween night. Now, he's at it again, as he relentlessly stalks babysitters in his hometown, pursued by his ever-determined psychiatrist.
And that's it. Composer-writer-director, John Carpenter, along with producer and co-writer Debra Hill kept it at a very direct and simple premise, allowing the film to build and build as it goes on. And boy, does it ever. Instead of focusing on blood, guts, and gore to get the audience to squirm, "Halloween" relies on suspense and atmosphere to get the fear across, and does possibly the best job a movie could do. Carpenter also added in one of the most memorable and truthfully frightening music scores in movie history that lived with me for awhile to make me scared to see this movie again.
Starring veteran actor, Donald Pleasance, who portrays Dr. Loomis, he puts on a memorable performance that made this probably his most famous film since the 007 hit, "You Only Live Twice." Co-starring, and introducing Jamie Lee Curtis in her first movie role, her character hit a fear chord with the vulnerable and hapless victim, Laurie Strode, adding a sympathy towards her in the most intense scenes.
"Halloween" had all the elements needed for the perfect horror film: the quiet little Midwestern town of Haddonfield to soon add in the new dimension of evil, put in with a great script.
Those memorable, tense scenes are ones that will always live with me and are known by horror films world-wide. The classic point-of-view from the killer as we enter the house and take a knife from the drawer all the way to the spine-tingling climax with a deadly battle in a bedroom closest.
We get a foreboding discussion on fate, as a teacher talks on and Laurie stares out the window seeing the killer, Michael Myers across the street:

"...fate caught up with several lives here. No matter what course of action Collins took, he was destined to his own fate, his own day of reckoning with himself..."

We also get one of the classic well-known movie lines, said by the Haddonfield Sheriff, Leigh Brackett, played by Charles Cyphers when he accidentally scares Curtis's character:

"...you know it's Halloween. I guess we're all entitled to one good scare, huh?"

Philosophical implications also include great speeches on evil wonderfully acted by Pleasance, as his character tries to convince the sheriff of that night's oncoming danger:

"...with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes, the devil's eyes...what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil...death has come to your little town, Sheriff..."

For now and in my opinion, "Halloween" will forever remain the definitive horror movie of all time and the best in its series, always good to look back to when I need "one good scare."

What Else Can I Say About A True Classic
Halloween was the very first horror movie I saw as a kid, at age 4.Ever since then, no Halloween or anytime of the year is complete for me without Dr.Loomis, Laurie Strode, Sheriff Brackett, and of course the man himself, Michael Myers. This movie epitomizes everything that Halloween is..the bogeyman laying in the dark shadow of the room , waiting for the perfect moment to strike..It's got everything..From the typical American small town, horror movies in the city just don't work..The great horror flicks of all time:Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Amityville Horror, Last House on the Left, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, and Scream, they all took place in small towns or in the middles of nowhere..
Plus Halloween films for me have always somehow managed to get the intangible down:Atmosphere.They nail the Halloween , late fall atmsophere perfectly..I loved the whole bunch of them..I'm a sucker for horror though. I also love all the Friday the 13ths, Texas Chainsaws, Screams, and Nightmares.