Halloween
(1978/Anchor Bay U.S.
Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- Sound: B Extras: B Film: B+
PLEASE NOTE: This same title has been released
in a slightly different Australian Blu-ray edition that you can read more about
at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11369/Halloween+(1978/Umbrella+Region+F
After the
dreadful remake of the John Carpenter classic Halloween bomb at the box office, it is also nice to see the
original become an early independent hit arrive on Blu-ray in a repeated
version of the DiviMax DVD edition. That
was for the film’s 25th anniversary, while this Blu-ray is one year
short of the 30th. For more
on that DVD version and the film itself, try our coverage at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/317/Halloween+(Divimax+Ed
With that
old Criterion commentary present, that makes this disc, by default the debut of
any Criterion extra in an HD format. Now
the big problem with the HD transfer on that old DVD was that Dean Cundey’s
guidelines were not followed and the film that was shot in the summer and made
to look like it was taking place in October was a disaster. The DVD has since fallen out of print. So did Anchor Bay (now part of Starz) fix the
problem?
No.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is the same HD master used for the DiviMax
DVD and it still has the same phony look as the DVD, for whatever reasons. Maybe all involved thought they could rename
the film Memorial Day and we would not notice, but it is a wreck. Good thing the original extras are still in
tact, making this as good as any other edition save the picture.
I hoped
for DTS on the original edition and was stuck with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0
Mono, but the new PCM 16/48 5.1 mix will remind people of the PCM mono on the
Criterion 12” LaserDisc, but expanded and sounding fresher, which is really the
best the film had sounded until now.
Sure, the original optical mono was limited and the score here in the
5.1 mixes are still a bit warped, but it is better than just mono. Like the picture, Carpenter recorded the
score separately and the soundmaster of the score should have been duped and
dropped into the PCM mix. Maybe they’ll
upgrade that too when the fix the picture next time.
Even with
these problems, it is still more watchable than the Rob Zombie version.
- Nicholas Sheffo
