Halloween: Best Versions

[gjkendall]

I own the remastered Anchor Bay Halloween, but want all the others. What are the very best (LONGEST VERSIONS POSSIBLE) versions available, are the Anchor Bay Halloween 4 & 5 any good?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Incidently, when are decent versions of Friday the 13th series coming out?

[Rock]

IMO, the 1978 original theatrical version is the ONLY one worth seeking out and it sounds like you already have it...don't waste your time or money on the others...

[AceRimRat]

If I'm reading you right, you have the newest AB version, which to my knowledge is the best version of the movie out there - the LE has the TV cut as well.

If you mean you want all the other Halloween movies, GoodTimes' DVD of part 2 is decent but unspectacular - as most GoodTimes DVDs are in my experience - and AB's 4 and 5 are pretty good, though apparently AB is going to re-release 4 as an SE down the line. I think that was mentioned on halloweenmovies.com after some convention or something.

I regard those four flicks as the core of the series and I am perfectly pleased with the DVDs, though GT's 2 is bare-bones and AB's 4 is almost. And as an SE, AB's 5 is nothing special.

[David666]

I'll go out of the way to say that I enjoyed all the Halloween films. Sure, there are entries that are less then wonderful (my least fav is Curse of Michael Myers)... but that goes without saying. But, a film franchise doesn't go this long by being just plain horrid or bad. And they have all been theatrical... most long running sseries arn't (Children of the Corn, The Howling). No Halloween film has fallen to the depths that some of those direct to video franchises have (think Howling: New Moon Rising).

I love my LE two disc set of Halloween. Great extras, bonus footage and both versions of the film in dynamic anamorphic transfers. Definitive! Part 2 and 3 are with Goodtimes right now, and I'm just gonna wait. They arn't anamorphic and the majority of comments from owners have been pretty similar... good but not great. Part 4 is getting tin treatment (or so it has been announced) and I'm gonna wait until then to get it... as I do so love those tins. I haven't seen the older AB disc, so I'm not certain how good it is. Part 5 is better then 4, imo. And of course there is already a tin of this. The extras arn't all that they could be, but the tin is cool with me. The picture is grand and I think well worth getting. If you are a fan, you simply have to have it (tin or not).My least fav is Curse of Michael Myers (or part 6) and the DVD of this film is from those pesky, petty and miserly mouse folks over at Disney. It's too expensive, has almost zero extras and is not anamorphic. This of course, is not to mention that it is the cut version of the film. I'll ignore this until a better version comes along. Idealy, I would like a two disc treatment in the AB Holloween LE or future Legend vein. I'm not drooling over this, so the wait will not be difficult. I have seen the producer's cut... very different, but still not a great entry. H20 is a damn good sequel, one that I've been waiting for for a very long time! Laurie fights back! How could any series fan resist that? The quality is often debated, but I loved it. The DVD is a rotten apple, however. It lists many extras that are not on the disc, and of course Disney didn't make it anamporphic. It was expensive, and I quite frankly felt ripped off. False advertizing to the extreme, as I understand that many people bought the disc upon it's initial release just for the extras. SO I can imagine them being more pissed off then I was.

As far as getting the longest versions possible, I don't believe that anything other then the R rated cuts of the films "officially" exist. Though we are all aware of the TV versions of parts one and two. Disney and the Halloween website have said there are no plans to release the producer's cut of part 6, period. Sad.

Go with Anchor Bay on this one. They are your best bet. I will certainly check out Universal's future part 2 release, and as someone mentioned... I hope it's a two disc set similar to AB's part one. We'll just have to wait and see.

[MovieFan]

Halloween (Anchor Bay first edition)
- 2.35:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen
- 4x3 Pan and Scan
- Dolby Digital Mono
- Trailer
Video: D-/Audio: D-/Extras: D-
Now OOP

Halloween (Anchor Bay Limited Edition)
- 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- 4x3 Pan and Scan
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital Mono
- THX Certified
- Halloween Unmasked Documentary
- Photo Galleries with over 500 photos
- Theatrical Trailers
- Television Spots
- Radio Spots
- Trivia Notes
- Cast and Crew Biographies
- TV Cut of the Film (in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby Digital Mono)
Video: A-/Audio: B+/Extras: B+
Now OOP

Halloween (Anchor Bay Regular Edition)
- 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- 4x3 Pan and Scan
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital Mono
- THX Certified
- Halloween Unmasked Documentary
- Photo Galleries with over 500 photos
- Theatrical Trailers
- Television Spots
- Radio Spots
- Trivia Notes
- Cast and Crew Biographies
Video: A-/Audio: B+/Extras: B+

---

Halloween II
- 2.35:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
- English, Spanish, and French Subtitles
- Production Notes
Video: C+/Audio: C-/Extras: F

---

Halloween III: Season of the Witch
- 2.35:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
- English, Spanish, and French Subtitles
- Production Notes
Video: C+/Audio: C-/Extras: F

---

Halloween 4: Return of Michael Myers
- 1.85:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
- Theatrical Trailers
Video: B/Audio: A-/Extras: D

(SE and Tin Coming October 2001)

---

Halloween 5: Revenge of Michael Myers (LE Tin)
- 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- 4x3 Pan and Scan
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
- Production Featurette
- Trailer
- 48 Page Booklet
- Poster Replica/Chapter Card
- Tin
Video: A-/Audio: A-/Extras: C+
Now OOP

Halloween 5: Revenge of Michael Myers (Regular Edition)
- 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
- 4x3 Pan and Scan
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
- Production Featurette
- Trailer
Video: A-/Audio: A-/Extras: C-

---

Halloween 6: Curse of Michael Myers
- 1.85:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
- English Subtitles
- Trailer
Video: B-/Audio: B-/Extras: D

---

Halloween H20
- 2.35:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- English Subtitles
- Production Featurette
- Trailer
- Music Video
Video: B-/Audio: B/Extras: C-

[Zombie Keeper]

I agree with Rock here. Besides, in comparisian to the original, the rest suck ass!

[gjkendall]

Thanks very much for all your response!

You have really helped!

Any news on the Friday 13th series being remastered UNCUT.

[David666]

Other then rumors and speculation I don't think there are any actual plans from Paramount to re-release the ones currently available, or issue the forth-coming entries in unrated form. I have been holding off on purchasing the films just to see what happens down the road. I hate buying films several times (Suspiria and Halloween being the two I have purchased way too many times and there is at least one more purchase of Suspiria coming up), and would rather have a spiffy box set then individual discs all in a row. It's a collector thing, I guess. And, not to sound cheap... but when you are buying between 10 and 20 discs a month you need to be frugal... a box set is usually cheaper then buying all the discs seperatly. And at $25 a pop for these films, that could add up quickly!

[AceRimRat]

Originally posted by David666:
<STRONG>and there is at least one more purchase of And, not to sound cheap... but when you are buying between 10 and 20 discs a month you need to be frugal...!</STRONG>

Man, I wish I could define frugal the same way you do! ;)

[rhett]

Heh, ya! 20 discs a month! You've got it tough! :)

[David666]

I have had my player for 18 months and have aquired 312 dvds, an average of about 17 per month. But listen, I am a bargain hunter from hell! With this addiction you have to be. I rarely pay MSRP for a disc. The vast majority of my DVDs were clearance purchases, previously viewed or going-out-of-business sale items. (example... Believe, Deuce Bigalow, The Truth About Demons, VooDoo, The Fear, Waking The Dead, Morgan's Ferry, Jessica: A Ghost Story and many others I paid between $5 and $8 for.) Be frugal, be on the look out for those bargains and used sales... they really do come in handy. I've picked up quite a few long out-of-print discs at used movie stores for a hell of a lot less then people want for them on e-Bay (Halloween 2 disc set, Army of Darkness 2 disc set at $24 each). Of course you practically have to haunt those stores, but such is an addiction. Keep your eyes open for going-out-of-business sales...they are the best, but few and far between. I've passed up an occasional new release I wanted because I'd find a sale in which I could get several titles for the same amount of money (Firestarter, Prince of Darkness, Serpent and the Rainbow, Cat People, They Live and a few others I found at a mere $6 each. You can't pass that up!) :D