World Famous Comics: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Special Edition)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Special Edition)
Starring: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail Directed By: Tobe Hooper Average Rating: Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 14, 2003 Running Time: 83 minutes Studio: Geneon [Pioneer] Theatrical Release Date: October 01, 1974
Amazon.com essential video: This sensational, extremely influential, 1974 low-budget horror movie directed by Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist, Lifeforce, Salem's Lot), may be notorious for its title, but it's also a damn fine piece of moviemaking. And it's blood-curdling scary, too. Loosely based on the true crimes of Ed Gein (also a partial inspiration for Psycho), the original Jeffrey Dahmer, Texas Chainsaw Massacre follows a group of teenagers who pick up a hitchhiker and wind up in a backwoods horror chamber where they're held captive, tortured, chopped up, and impaled on meat hooks by a demented cannibalistic family, including a character known as Leatherface who maniacally wields one helluva chainsaw. The movie's powerful sense of dread is heightened by its grainy, semi-documentary style--but it also has a wicked sense of humor (and not that camp, self-referential variety that became so tiresome in subsequent horror films of the '70s, '80s, and '90s). OK, in case you couldn't tell, it's "not for everyone." But as a landmark in the development of the horror/slasher genre, it ranks with Psycho, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. --Jim Emerson
Description: The ultimate version of a classic horror film. Painstakingly restored from the original 16mm ECO negatives, this special edition presents Tobe Hooper's classic film as you've never seen it before. Now...step into the twisted world of the ultimate dysfunctional family and rediscover the total madness of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Includes: audio commentary featuring Tobe Hooper, director of photography Daniel Pearl and Gunnar Hansen ("Leatherface"), 30 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes, blooper reel, original theatrical trailers and television spots and still photos. Starring: Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Gunnar Hansen.
Give this guy a chainsaw and you've got some serious mayhem! ^ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre may not be one of my personal favorite horror films, but MAN is it good! This is the ultimate independent horror film that defined the slasher genre. You know the basic premise: it's about a psycho named Letherface and his chainsaw. It seems like a simple plot, but you should take a look at what he and his friends do with his victims. I won't spoil anything for you, but I will tell you that almost every horror fan adores this one. The scenario is simple but superior to those of more recent horror flicks: a group of young people need gas, so they search for some....and that's when the notorious Leatherface comes in. Gore is minimal, but take a look at all the bones! And the protagonists.....well, that's the only problem I have with this movie. The good guys/girls are very annoying. I couldn't care for them, especially Sally & Franklin Hardesty. When they get to the house where Leatherface dwells, these two cannot stop screaming and arguing. Franklin keeps talking, and Sally keeps screaming. Sally is much worse than Franklin, because all she does in the second half of the film is scream and scream and SCREAM! I know we're supposed to root for the protagonists, but honestly I was actually rooting for Leatherface rather than her. Fortunately, that's the only flaw in this movie. I had a really good time with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's not one of my personal favorites, but I can still see why it's a cult classic all these years.
Grade: B (due to the unlikable protagonists)
All Time Classic ^ The first, the best, I would hope if you are a horror movie fan that you have already seen this amazing masterpiece. But if you havent, let me tell you about it. Made by Tobe Hooper back in 74' this is the story of a group of kids who go to visit there grandparents grave because they heard that there were grave robings going on in that part of Texas. Two people from the group stumble into this old farm house to see if they had any gas for there van. But danger lurks just inside the old farm house. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is out and he is hungry. Can the group of kids make it out alive from this night of fear. If you are a fan of any horror movies check this out. They remade this movie but this classic one is better "I think" Pick it up at amazon.
A Truely Disturbing Film I Believe is Culturally Significant to American Cinema. ^ The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a film made by Tobe Hooper, back in his early film directing days in the 1970s, before later making The Poltergeist. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is very low budget and was filmed on 16mm cameras. Tobe thought of going for a PG rating under the film title Headcheese. Despite the nearly bloodless film, a PG rating was not possible and a R rating was smacked on instead. After the release of the film audiences were shocked, the film was criticized, and banned in other countries. Though the film sparked controversy, it pulled in alot of money in the millions(I believe over 30 million), even making it the highest grossing independent film(don't know if that's still fact).
Darksky Films released the film as the Ultimate Edition in a steelbook with two discs. The film is fully remastered and restored using the original 16mm transfers, new 5.1 surround, new 2.0 stereo, and original remastered mono. Has specials like commentaries, trailers, TV/radio spots, documentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, bloopers, and stills. The combination of the special features run over 180 minutes.
The film is about a group of friends including siblings out on a road trip through Texas of course. Though not all is known about where they are going but one reason is looking to see if relatives were graverobbed in a cemetery. The group pick up a strange hitchhiker. The hitchhiker becomes violent and is kicked out. The group, except for one of them, try to brush off the experience and later go to an old house. Leatherface is not friendly to people looking for help and punishes trespassers.
I cringed at this movie and laughed too. The movie's disturbing factor isn't really by the violence, it's by the tormenting on the protagonist. The antagonists torment the protagonist so bad the audience feels it. The blood and gore is minimal and offscreen but the audience strongly implies what's offscreen. The movie too has dark comedy. There is funny dialogue and slapstick in the beginning. Even the antagonists try to be funny by abusing each other for their ignorance.
I have seen the sequels and remakes. Some good and some bad. They all differed by the changing balance of comedy and horror. They don't disturb like the way this does. This movie is culturally significant since it pulled in alot of money, was made after Vietnam, showed the theme(I don't want to give it away but are there dysfunctional families?), and made people think the story was true. The story however is actually loosely based on Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein so the story is completely made up.
I was scared watching this movie but I thought the actors were realistic and well. Marilyn Burns is a very good scream queen. I found this more original(though Psycho's Norman Bates is like Leatherface) than other slashers that usually have the typical slasher out for revenge. Fans of this movie should get the Ultimate Edition of the Texas-Chain-Saw-Massacre!
You don't want to go fooling around other folks' property. Some folks don't like it, and they don't mind showing you... ^ There's been far too many people who have already sung the praises of this benchmark film, and I could do little to add to what has gone before; suffice to say that I'm in total agreement that this is one of, if not THE, most important horror film since the inception of the genre. No other film comes to my mind out of the many (and I do mean MANY) horror films that I've seen that in conversations with other fans, people describe graphic scenes that they recall from the movie that DID NOT HAPPEN ONSCREEN. I don't believe any other movie has had that kind of power; that just through mere suggestion creates images so vivid and complete that they are remembered as actuality...that is a testament to it's power.
This two-disc special edition is excellence squared. I owned a previous "re-mastered" release, but this transfer simply blows the old one away...it's crisp and clean, but not TOO clean; you don't lose that cinema veritas "documentary" feel, but it's definitely the best print I've ever seen. For the audio, you have a choice of either the remastered original mono, or a new 5.1 mix that sounds fantastic in my home theater system...the ambient sounds alone were enough to give me goosebumps as I screened it.
For special features, there are two very informative and entertaining documentaries. The "house tour" is not all that I expected, but it is entertaining to us fans. Along with the fine still galleries and deleted scenes (which most were unfortunately but expectedly without sound) this all makes a fine addition to any horror collection, and is indispensible to TCM fans.
Highly recommended to fans of the series, the genre, and horror films in general.
Classic cult movie ^ Disturbing & graphic, absolutely fascinating and repulsive at the same time. A true cult horror classic movie.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
