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Stars:
Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen
Opening
Narration By: John Larroquette
Writers:
Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper
Based
On A Story By: Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper
Director:
Tobe Hooper
Feature
length: 84 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary Featuring Director Tobe Hooper, Director Of Photography Daniel
Pearl, and Star Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface), Deleted Scenes And Alternate
Footage, Blooper Reel, Still Photos, Poster and Collectibles Gallery, Theatrical
Trailers and TV Spots, Trailers From Other Films In The “Chainsaw” Series
Languages:
English Dolby Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 17
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Year
of Original Theatrical Release: 1974/DVD Release: 1998
Theatrical
Distributors: Bryanston Theatrical Releasing/New Line Cinema
Home
Video Distributor: Pioneer Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
With
remake of Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” having opened up
theatrically on Friday, October 17, 2003 from New Line Cinema, I have decided to
take a DVD trip back in time to explore the bizarre legacy of “Leatherface”
and the rest of the Sawyer clan now that they are all finally on DVD-Video from
several respective studios and distributors. Pioneer Entertainment distributes
the first film in the series “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” On August 18,
1973, five young adults are traveling across the back roadways of Texas while an
investigation in grave robbing has been going on. After a brief stop by the
cemetery where these disturbances have occurred to make sure the grave of two of
the passenger’s father has not been disturbed, they proceed to travel to the
old farmhouse that belonged to their father. Along the way they pick up an
insane hitchhiker who lacerates his own hand and the arm of a wheelchair bound
invalid and subsequently marks the van with his own blood after he is kicked
out. Low on gas, the startled group stops by the dilapidated house they were
heading to, but ignore the warnings of a deceptive neighborly man and poke their
heads into another seemingly disserted house only to be confronted with a horror
beyond imagining. A horror described by the sole survivor as being in Hell.
“The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is one of the most effective horror films from the
1970s. It predates every other commercial horror icon franchises from the last
quarter of the twentieth century and has inspired many imitators as well as
films that have paid it with props whether it be the chainsaw wielding hero
“Ash” from the “Evil Dead” series or Rob Zombie’s “House Of 1000
Corpses.” There are also so many memorable moments that mix dark humor with a
foreboding atmosphere whether it be the opening shots of the macabre body
sculptures left in the cemetery or the dead armadillo on the road. Other
memorable creepy moments include the foreboding discussion on the negative
influence of Saturn on their anthropological charts, the first victim to be hit
by Leatherface’s hammer followed by the classic slamming door scene on chapter
20 of the DVD or final scenes of the film all the way from our first
introduction to “Grandpa” through the closing tantrum. I just love the scene
where Leatherface chases both Sally (Marilyn Burns) and the black truck driver
around the big rig. It has this sense of immediacy and humor that makes the film
seem more real even though the story is of course a fabrication inspired in part
by the actions of the notorious serial killer Ed Gein, who also served as an
inspiration for “Buffalo Bill” in Thomas Harris’ “The Silence Of The
Lambs.” I also really loved Gunnar Hanson’s portrayal of “Leatherface,”
which is both darkly comical and menacing at the same time. Perhaps one of the
most interesting aspects of the film is that it is not really a splatter flick.
Many people who have seen the film insist that they saw the hook actually impale
the woman in Leatherface’s kitchen or saw the chainsaw cut someone up into
pieces with blood splattering everywhere, but really much of what people think
they saw is filled in by their own minds the same way a person can miss a typo
over and over again because their mind fills in that missing comma or whatnot.
Released
in 1998 as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Pioneer Special Edition,” this is
actually a direct port over of the popular Elite Entertainment Laserdisc from
the mid 1990s. The source print used as detailed within the insert inside the
DVD keep case was restored from the original 16mm negatives to create a
letterboxed high-definition SuperScan™ release that minimizes the film grain
and gives greater detail and sharpness not possible with the standard
film-to-tape transfer system. The film’s look was redesigned to reflect
Hooper’s original vision of high contrast images and color. The hot sun now
casts an amber hue upon the dry Texas landscape and the night sequences are a
moody mysterious blue. The house interiors are dark and evil like Hell itself to
immerse the viewer in an even more nightmarish movie experience.
The
original audio elements were used to create a digitally remastered Dolby Stereo
Surround Soundtrack. This true directional surround track adds a new terrifying
dimension to the film making the sound effects and music more ambient to create
a creepier atmosphere for the home theater user. A clear two-channel English
Monaural Soundtrack is also included as a listening option. Since this DVD was
originally released in the early years of DVD and basically transferred from
elements that existed on the Elite Entertainment Laserdisc, there are scenes
with consistent compression artifacts and shimmering visible in the transfer.
Pioneer has reissued the DVD once again, but sadly aside from the new cover art,
the DVD is essentially the same exact release from 1998 taken from the Elite
Entertainment laserdisc. However if you do not have this disc in your collection
yet, now is as good a time as any to add it to your horror DVD collection. I
found the difference in picture quality difficult at best to judge. They look
about the same. However, again I must stress that if you have been waiting to
buy this, you might as well pick this up since it contains all the extra
features and for now there are no plans for an anamorphic re-release of the
original though things can change. If they do, I’ll post it on the upcoming
DVD calendar on this site.
The
extra features on this disc are superb with a screen specific audio commentary
featuring Director and Co-Writer Tobe Hooper, Director Of Photography Daniel
Pearl, and Star Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface.) The conditions this guerilla
filmmaking crew underwent to make the movie come to fruition were extraordinary
harsh, with many crewmembers getting sick and poor Mr. Hansen having to get into
the same sweaty dirty costume and makeup day in and day out to the point that no
one could stand to be near him toward the end of the shoot. This is an
articulate, informative, and screen specific audio commentary that in my opinion
justifies purchasing this disc just to hear it for the fans of this series
alone.
Next
are a series of deleted and alternate scenes presented in their original 16mm
(1.33:1) aspect ratio. All but two have no soundtrack and most of them look as
if they were transferred from film to video using archaic equipment complete
with the fluttering of the projector. However each scene features an onscreen
text introduction and many also include the segments from the screenplay
onscreen so one can get a better frame of reference as to what was going on
where in the film. The scenes are detailed as “Van Outtake” (1:22), “The
Campsite” (1:26), “Tantrum Outside Service Station” (1:28), “Makeup
Scene” (1:51), “Death Of The Hitchhiker” (: 40), “Sally’s Escape” (:
31), “Corpse In The Graveyard” (2:55), “Original Opening” (: 26), and
“Sally In The Service Station” (2:44). Of all the deleted and alternate
scenes, only the “Van Outtake” and “Sally In The Service Station”
sequences feature sound. Then there is a montage of the production design
(2:02), a montage of the props (6:25), a blooper reel (2:19), and still
galleries of film production and promotion shots as well as posters, lobby
cards, the press book, and other memorabilia.
The
original theatrical trailer (1:39) and TV spot (: 29) as well as the New Line
Cinema reissue trailer (1:27) and TV spot (: 30) wrap up the extra features
included on this DVD along with bonus trailers for the three sequels that
followed as noted “The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” (1:00), “Leatherface:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III” (1:09), and a rough cut for trailer for
what was originally released as “The
Return Of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” but since then has been released
on DVD as “The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation” (2:49).
The
menus feature animated transitions with the chainsaw cutting the way to the next
subsequent interactive menu selections and all are easy to navigate. Until one
with a better picture and soundtrack transfer is created, this is the definitive
DVD release of the original film and in spite of whatever flaws, is still a good
DVD special edition.
“The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 30th Anniversary Special Edition” is
available on DVD-Video now from Pioneer Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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