Stars:
Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Houseman, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook,
Tom Atkins, George “Buck” Flower, Nancy Loomis, and Charles Cyphers
Writers:
John Carpenter and Debra Hill
Director:
John Carpenter
Feature
length: 90 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary By John Carpenter and Debra Hill, New Documentary, Original
1980 Documentary, Outtakes, Storyboard To Film Comparison, Advertising Gallery,
Photo Gallery, Trailers, and TV Spots
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and English and French Language
Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 32
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1979/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Avco Embassy Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
In
1880 the people of Antonio Bay bought a curse upon themselves with stolen gold
belonging to the doomed leper colonists whose ship they lured to a watery grave.
Now 100 years later the spirits of the dead are back within an otherworldly fog
to exact their revenge upon the six remaining descendents of those responsible
for the tragedy and to get back their gold. John Carpenter’s theatrical
follow-up to “Halloween” is a classic for Carpenter fans and one of the
better ghost stories made in the late 1970s. There was a lot of anticipation for
“The Fog,” which had a larger budget than “Halloween,” but still quite
low by modern standards and actually went through extensive reshoots, as is the
case with many movies, and fortunately the pickups greatly enhanced the final
film presentation. The cast features Hal Holbrook, John Houseman, Janet Leigh
and her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis along with Carpenter film regulars Adrienne
Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Nancy Loomis, George “Buck” Flower, and Charles Cyphers
among others. “The Fog” was a part of a two-picture deal John Carpenter and
Debra Hill garnered with “Escape From New York” being the second film in the
agreement. Long requested by DVD consumers, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home
Entertainment’s upcoming “Special Edition” features a combination of new
and older features that should please fans of the film.
The
film is presented in an anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio on the dual
layered side of the DVD and a full screen (1.33:1) aspect ratio presentation on
the single layered side of this DVD-14. The presentation is a mixed result with
some scenes looking quite clear while others showing a lot of grain that appears
to be from age and not MPEG-2 artifacts. The grain is a bit less on the
full-framed presentation, which is a shade or so brighter in appearance when
compared to the widescreen version, but the flesh tones seem a bit washed out as
a result. One thing that is great about films made before VHS players were as
common as televisions in every American homes is that the filmmakers were not
framing their shots with home video in mind so as a result the compositions
really take advantage of the cinemascope anamorphic lenses and instead of seeing
a bunch of people squeezed in one area or another, every bit of the screen is
used in a way that a painter uses his canvass for the desired visual effect.
Both presentations feature a new English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack
that mixes Carpenter’s signature music for an effective atmospheric feel
though the age and low budget cannot be hidden with the digital tweaking.
However the original English Monaural Soundtrack is also included on this DVD
for film purists and a French Language Monaural Soundtrack coupled with English
Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish
Language Subtitles are also encoded on to both sides of the DVD as options.
Both
presentations also include the feature length and screen specific audio
commentary track with Writer and Director John Carpenter and Writer and Producer
Debra Hill. Anyone who has heard Carpenter on DVD or laserdisc, which I think
this commentary is actually ported over from, should know the he usually
delivers a very articulate and entertaining audio commentary and this is no
exception. Exclusive to the widescreen dual layered side is a brand new
28-minute documentary featuring new-videotaped interviews with Carpenter, Hill,
Barbeau, and other members from the film’s production as well as interview
clips from the original 1980 featurette with Jamie Lee Curtis and a much younger
John Carpenter and Debra Hill. The original featurette is also included and runs
for nearly 8-minutes.
A
4-minute reel of outtakes presented in a (2.35:1) aspect ratio is included along
with a scratched up theatrical trailer and two teasers as well as 3 TV spots and
all are presented in a (1.33:1) aspect ratio. A gallery of poster art with
memorabilia, behind-the-scenes photos and publicity shots wrap up the extra
features included on this DVD release. An insert with liner notes by John
Carpenter is contained within the DVD keep case and interactive menus on both
sides feature full motion scenes from the film with animated transitions to
standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“John
Carpenter’s The Fog: Special Edition” will debut on DVD-Video from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Home Entertainment on Tuesday, August 27, 2002.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.