Every time I rewatch this one, I'm surprised how strong every element of this film is. The performances, the production design, the music, the writing, the editing and direction are all so damn good. This isn't just effective because it got in early and managed to shock audiences before they were desensitized; this is an excellently crafted films made by virtual amateurs that all the major studios consistently fail to match, decade after decade. A genuine masterpiece.
Texas Chainsaw is, I suppose, the next step after Psycho: a disturbing film that takes loose, tabloid-esque inspiration from true crime horror and turns it into twisted psychological theater. Both films capture mental illnesses in a more raw, realistic film than any of their peers and mix it up with an over-the-top exploitative thrill ride. And both famously pushed the envelope of what was acceptable to put on screen; the difference is that decades later, Hitchcock's shock pieces now feel quaint, whereas most horror even today is afraid to go as far as Hooper went. But they wind up closer together than further apart, since both are more than capable of standing up as compelling art pieces once you get past their initial shock value. They're great twisted tales.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre debuted on DVD back in 1998, with a barebones, non-anamorphic DVD from Pioneer. They re-released it in 2003 with new artwork, but it was the same disc, which is the first one we'll be looking at here. Then Dark Sky got the rights, remastered the film and proper, 2-disc special edition in 2006. We've got that one, too. They put that same transfer on blu in 2008, but they replaced that with an even more loaded 40th Anniversary edition blu with a 4k remaster in 2014, which we've also got on hand. And in the US, that's still the definitive edition. They've re-issued it multiple times, in limited steelbooks, Best Buy and FYE exclusives, and even a special 5-disc set that comes in a box shaped like the truck from the film's finale, but it's all basically that same 40th edition. In Germany, however, Turbine took it one step farther, giving us the 4k master in actual 4k with a BD/ UHD combo-pack in 2016. That 3-disc set was later repackaged as a steelbook release in 2019, which is the final version we'll be looking at here. So let's dive in.
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1) 2003 Pioneer DVD; 2) 2006 Dark Sky DVD; 3) 2014 Dark Sky BD; 4) 2019 Turbine BD; 5) 2019 Turbine UHD. |
At any rate, this film was shot on 16mm, which means detail is inherently low, and so there's some question how useful higher-def presentations are. Well, one look at the DVD makes it obvious that the original DVD isn't high enough. But the gains going from the Dark Sky DVD to the BDs and eventually to the UHD are more subtle. Every iteration after the first has more detail and life to the image. But even looking at the Dark Sky DVD, it's clearly softer, with the film grain just semi-visible as smoothed over blotches. Despite being just 16, the new 4k scan really is a beautiful upgrade. If you're still holding onto a DVD thinking this film doesn't need an upgrade, think again. But how about the UHD? It has no HDR and uses the same 4k master, so the only real distinction is in the still higher resolution disc. And there the difference really is hard to spot on first glance.
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2014 Dark Sky BD left; 2019 Turbine UHD right. |
As far as audio, the original DVDs used the original audio elements "to create a digitally remastered stereo surround soundtrack." They had no subtitle options. Dark Sky, then and went and recovered the original mono track... but, it turned out, with a few sound effects missing. They also included the newer stereo mix as well as their own 5.1 mix. And yes, they created optional English and Spanish subtitles. For their 40th blu, then, they kept all three sound mixes and also made a newer 7.1 mix, in lossless DTS-HD and LPCM, and kept the subtitles. Because the mono track was flawed, though, they replaced it with a downmix of their 7.1 track, which made things less authentic, not more. In the Turbine set, we get mono, stereo and 7.1 in DTS-HD, plus newer Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D 13.1 mixes. It's a bit of overkill, but as you'll soon see, that's the name of the game with this set. They also have four versions of the German track, plus optional English and German subs.
The extras for this film just keep getting to the point of being overwhelming, but happily, not too redundant. The original DVDs basically bring us the extras package from the Elite laserdisc: a great audio commentary by Hooper, Gunnar Hansen and cinematographer Daniel Pearl, a brief featurette on the sets and props, deleted/ alternate scenes, a brief gag reel, and a bunch of trailers, TV spots and stills galleries. Then Dark Sky kept all of that but added a bunch more including a second audio commentary by stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danziger and infamous production designer Robert A. Burns, which is more of a light-hearted chatty affair. They also include a brief featurette where Hansen revisits the house they filmed in and two feature length documentaries. The first, The Shocking Truth, made by Blue Underground, is still the definitive, over-all TCM doc. Then the second, Flesh Wounds, made by Red Shirt's Michael Felsher, seems deliberately designed to compliment the other pre-existing special features, and present only new, additional info about TCM rather than retelling all the stories and anecdotes from the other docs and commentaries. That helps a lot. Dark Sky's DVD set also includes additional outtakes from The Shocking Truth, some additional bonus trailers, and came in a cool steelbook.
For their 40th Anniversary blu-ray, Dark Sky kept everything and also cooked up a few more nice treats. There's two additional audio commentaries, including a new Hooper one, where the director of Shocking Truth quizzes him for for the few remaining niggling answers he's been left wondering over the years, and an interesting crew commentary by Pearl, editor J. Larry Carroll and sound recordist Ted Nicolaou. During their new 4k scan, they uncovered some more deleted scenes and outtakes, different from the ones already released on the DVDs, though most are without sound. And they conducted new, on-camera interviews with actress Teri McMinn, who up 'till now had never participated in TCM interviews and such, "grandpa" actor John Dugan, J. Carroll and production manager Ron Bozman. Felsher did these as well, and they again seemed specifically designed to fill in the gaps of the existing Chainsaw coverage, which I really appreciate. Plus they add some vintage radio spots. Also, if you bought the limited edition "Black Maria" version, the one in truck packaging, you got an additional bonus disc that consists of an hour long discussion between Hooper and William Friedkin.
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Teri McMinn happily rejoins the family. |
Now, I read on DVDCompare that on the Turbine release, "'A Family Portrait' is in a mix of German and English audio, with German subtitles for the English portions," which is correct, so I hung onto my 2000 MTI Home Video DVD. But, while that quote did turn out to be true, it's misleading by omission since Turbine also includes a second audio track of the complete, original English audio. That German/ English mix thing is just a second, alternate language option for German audiences we English natives don't need to bother with. Oh and yes, both are the extended "Revisited" version. I don't think there's any way to get the original version, which was originally actually ten minutes longer and included an interview with Chief Gorehound #1 Chas Balun, outside of the original VHS release. So yeah, there's no reason to hang onto the separate DVD, unless... the picture quality's any better on the blu?
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1) 2000 MTI DVD; 2) 2019 Turbine BD. |
When you look at the massive list of extras that've piled up over the decades, it can look overwhelming and you'll probably be tempted to skim through a lot, if not skip things completely. But it's all surprisingly watchable as a massive whole. Sure, you'll hear a few of the most famous anecdotes two or three times. But in general, it all works well together. The only little one I'd recommend maybe jumping over is the house tour, since the Hallowed Grounds and two documentaries also revisit the same house. Some talk to different people - Flesh Wounds talks to the head of the TCM fan club and Hallowed Grounds talks to one of the owners who's embraced the fanbase coming to visit the home - so they all feel fresh and original. But one of the docs even uses footage from the Gunnar house tour featurette, so that's really the one you can save yourself a few minutes by passing over.
So yes, Turbine has really created the ultimate edition, whether you prefer the standard or steelbook edition. It's the best presentation of the film and the best extras package. So if you want to go all in, you know which one to get. But, with that said, Dark Sky's 40th Anniversary blu-ray may well be enough for most fans, especially if you've already sprung for the truck edition with that exclusive bonus disc. If you have any previous edition, it's definitely time to upgrade. But if you've got a 40th, and you're not just made of money, you may be good to just hold. Both are packed and look as terrific as this movie deserves.
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