Halloween 4K UHD (1978)

[steel_breeze]

Watched the 4K disc of Halloween last night (my notes from two days ago were from skipping through it) and really loved it. Like I said before, this will henceforth be my go-to. But there are some things that took some getting used to.

1. As I mentioned in my previous post, I cued this up on my projector to 35s with my shutter closed. Then, when I dimmed the lights and hit "play", that sweet sweet Carpenter music started over black -- instead of those new modern, obnoxious logos for Trancas and Compass I posted about earlier.

2. I don't know if it's all the chatter on this forum or what, but honestly the mono on this sounded MORE hollow -- not more punchy, unfortunately -- than the previous releases that used the filtered original mono. I've literally never watched Halloween with anything but the CORRECT original mono track, so I know it pretty well... and while this is indeed the correct track, the dynamic range seemed exaggerated, making some of the lower-volume portions awkwardly quiet. Could totally just be my imagination, but that was my experience of it last night.

3. The color grading seems a little more erratic from shot-to-shot than previous versions; like they didn't quite even it out. The sequence with the girls walking home from school AFTER they encounter Michael and the station wagon really jumps out. And then, after Laurie bumps into Sheriff Bracket, the wide shot of Laurie walking across her front yard is wayyyy brighter than it's been in a long time. Not necessarily bad, mind you, but takes some getting used to.

4. Similar to 3... the color "blue" is a lot more erratic in the latter half of the movie. It almost looks like Linda and Bob are in a rave black-room with the ultraviolet glow on the walls, as they move to the couch in the living room of the house where Annie's been babysitting. On the other extreme, the dreaded teal creeps in only for the moment when Laurie is calming down Tommy at the window, after he's seen Michael carrying Annie's body into the house across the street.

5. Overall contrast and brightness is AMAZING. Objects and faces that are lit "pop" as they should. Dr. Loomis' face in particular -- often in darkness at the Myers house -- once again looks properly lit instead of blending into the background like it did on the previous releases. The beauty of Dean Cundey's lighting is how he uses pools of light and pools of darkness, and all of that range is once again restored. Lovin' it.

6. Texture and film grain is spot on. Halloween will never look better than this. (Lol, how many times do people proclaim things like that... until the next release)

[Darth Maher]

So Best Buy had these out on the shelf already, yet the delivery estimate that I just received from Amazon is Monday, October 11, 2021. Nearly an entire week after they are released. What the hell is the point in pre-ordering then?

[aaron2970]

i may have missed this-but-has anyone reviewed the blu ray in this package? i thought it was a new scan-let me know.thanks much

[maverick22]

Believe it or not, this is a blind buy for me ha. Honestly, it’s the third time I have bought this and still haven’t watched it!

I see that it’s an upgrade, but I wonder if it’s worth $30 for a casual fan/blind buy if I already own the LG release.

[d3nt0n]

Got a shipping notice from BB!

[Member-496152]

Originally Posted by maverick22

Believe it or not, this is a blind buy for me ha. Honestly, it’s the third time I have bought this and still haven’t watched it!

I see that it’s an upgrade, but I wonder if it’s worth $30 for a casual fan/blind buy if I already own the LG release.

I would watch the LG first before buying this version then, but 'Halloween' is a film I recommend as it is one of the best films from the 1970's and of the horror genre.

[JediJones77]

Originally Posted by cminer72

Still works. Just add to cart for location that has it. Pickup Today is an option.

No it doesn't. It says store pickup is not available. We had it in tons of stores here. As soon as they changed the release date, you can no longer order for in-store pickup or even see what stores have it anymore.

[cminer72]

Originally Posted by garyd97

Will it still let you go into store and buy a copy if they have it?

Why wouldn’t they? It’s a movie that’s been released about 150 times. No one cares about a street date. Plus the release date was moved. So Best Buy just stuck with the original date since they have stock.

[cminer72]

Originally Posted by JediJones77

No it doesn't. It says store pickup is not available. We had it in tons of stores here. As soon as they changed the release date, you can no longer order for in-store pickup or even see what stores have it anymore.

Halloween 2 works.

[JCRW82]

Originally Posted by steel_breeze

Watched the 4K disc of Halloween last night (my notes from two days ago were from skipping through it) and really loved it. Like I said before, this will henceforth be my go-to. But there are some things that took some getting used to.

2. I don't know if it's all the chatter on this forum or what, but honestly the mono on this sounded MORE hollow -- not more punchy, unfortunately -- than the previous releases that used the filtered original mono. I've literally never watched Halloween with anything but the CORRECT original mono track, so I know it pretty well... and while this is indeed the correct track, the dynamic range seemed exaggerated, making some of the lower-volume portions awkwardly quiet. Could totally just be my imagination, but that was my experience of it last night.

More hollow? Sounds like they may have followed another horrible 90's trend by adding some smiley face EQ to the track on top of normalizing it. Either way I guess it proves that Louder ≠ Better.

[steel_breeze]

Originally Posted by JCRW82

More hollow? Sounds like they may have followed another horrible 90's trend by adding some smiley face EQ to the track on top of normalizing it. Either way I guess it proves that Louder ≠ Better.

Don't take my words about the mono being "more hollow" too seriously; it was just my experience of it last night, now that I'm, paying too-close attention to it, after all the chatter on this forum. But I'm a "visual" guy, not an "audio" guy... so I don't want to mislead anybody. But I'll say this: it definitely isn't BETTER than what we've been getting previously.

[garyd97]

Originally Posted by cminer72

Halloween 2 works.

This isn't the Halloween 2 thread.

[JediJones77]

Originally Posted by cminer72

Halloween 2 works.

Yep, but this message chain was talking about trying to order part 1. Part 2's date hasn't changed yet, so pickup still works. No stores have added stock of it around me today though. Just the same ones as yesterday minus the ones that sold out.

[Film Effect Ed]

Just got back from my local BB store. Was able to get the first film as they had 3 on the shelf but the second film was not there even though there was a tag for it

[mad_max2000]

Originally Posted by steel_breeze

Don't take my words about the mono being "more hollow" too seriously; it was just my experience of it last night, now that I'm, paying too-close attention to it, after all the chatter on this forum. But I'm a "visual" guy, not an "audio" guy... so I don't want to mislead anybody. But I'll say this: it definitely isn't BETTER than what we've been getting previously.

Agreed with the bolded part. The mono on this release it's better or worse in quality, it's just a slightly different presentation of the same source.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by JCRW82

No matter how much they hate it when they get flogged by the consumer base for questionable choices (the new artwork for example), they know that ultimately they cannot make the same mistake again and the next physical release they will use only the original artwork.

On this "issue" - I think there needs to be some perspective. Yes, a few people here have repeatedly ragged on the new covers - but I don't see any widespread outrage.

I actually LIKE the newly commissioned art. And of course, since they know people want the original art, too, the interior covers are reversible. I reversed mine. So it's the best of both worlds - the new art on the slipcase, and the original art when I take the disc case out. If it really offends someone, they can just toss the cardboard case and they still have the disc with the OG art.

In this case (no pun intended) I'm glad they don't change everything they do based on scattered gripes on the internet.

[Torgon]

Originally Posted by cminer72

Halloween 2 works.

Originally Posted by garyd97

This isn't the Halloween 2 thread.

lol

[Jay Mammoth]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

On this "issue" - I think there needs to be some perspective. Yes, a few people here have repeatedly ragged on the new covers - but I don't see any widespread outrage.

I actually LIKE the newly commissioned art. And of course, since they know people want the original art, too, the interior covers are reversible. I reversed mine. So it's the best of both worlds - the new art on the slipcase, and the original art when I take the disc case out. If it really offends someone, they can just toss the cardboard case and they still have the disc with the OG art.

In this case (no pun intended) I'm glad they don't change everything they do based on scattered gripes on the internet.

This, a few Karens on the internet aren’t going to change SFs way of doing things.

[JediJones77]

This is definitely not the worst of the fan art and "pop art" we've gotten on a lot of steelbooks to my eyes. Those leaves floating in front of Myers look crappily pasted on though.

[therock666]

Wonder if these will be in Walmart stores?