Halloween 4K UHD (1978)

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The more I watch this the more I appreciate the little things. Grain looks a bit fuzzier in the 35th, for want of a better word, it's just not as well defined as it is on the 4K. And I never noticed before that on the cut to the house just after Annie is killed in the car it's momentarily out of focus and then it racks into place.

For a laugh I dug out the old Anchor Bay THX DVD and the later Divimax DVD and compared the audio across them, the messed up thing - and why I'm not as bonkers about the original audio missing as I oughta be - is that there isn't an original audio track between them! In other words: had I ever even heard the original mono until I bought the Spanish Blu-ray just last year?

Even the "original theatrical mono" on the THX DVD is a downmix, with the other "2.0" track actually being a 4.0 L/R/SL/SR layout which is weird enough, and weirder still it has the proper stinger when Michael grabs Annie in the car but also has the added thunder during the drive to Smith's Grove. The 5.1 on the THX has the alternative stinger, as does the "original mono" track. So bizarre. On the Divimax DVD they didn't even try to pretend that they had the original mono, the only audio is "2.0 surround" and 5.1.

Yeah, there's a lot of strange "hoopla" about the audio mixes on those old DVD versions -- I own the THX DVD (the single-disc edition, not the deluxe double-disc, which I didn't snap up unfortunately because they were limited) and always loved the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track Chace prepared for this release. The rumbling of the thunder with some nice LFE, the richness of the opening title sequence score, the placement of surround activity in a subtle, appropriate, respectful-to-the-origin materials way...and that same track's master seems to be the one used for Anchor Bay's first Blu-ray release circa 2007, albeit in an uncompressed PCM variant.

I never listened to the other audio tracks on the THX DVD, but I suppose it makes sense, given everything I've read by diehard enthusiasts of this film in forums like this one, that the mono track would be a kind of "downmixed" 2.0 variant of the original stems.

[Martoto]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The more I watch this the more I appreciate the little things. Grain looks a bit fuzzier in the 35th, for want of a better word, it's just not as well defined as it is on the 4K. And I never noticed before that on the cut to the house just after Annie is killed in the car it's momentarily out of focus and then it racks into place.

For a laugh I dug out the old Anchor Bay THX DVD and the later Divimax DVD and compared the audio across them, the messed up thing - and why I'm not as bonkers about the original audio missing as I oughta be - is that there isn't an original audio track between them! In other words: had I ever even heard the original mono until I bought the Spanish Blu-ray just last year?

Even the "original theatrical mono" on the THX DVD is a downmix, with the other "2.0" track actually being a 4.0 L/R/SL/SR layout which is weird enough, and weirder still it has the proper stinger when Michael grabs Annie in the car but also has the added thunder during the drive to Smith's Grove. The 5.1 on the THX has the alternative stinger, as does the "original mono" track. So bizarre. On the Divimax DVD they didn't even try to pretend that they had the original mono, the only audio is "2.0 surround" and 5.1.

The entire score on that 2.0 surround mix sounded almost a semitone higher in pitch too. IIRC.

[IntelliVolume]

Sorry if this has been covered before in any other countless discussions about this film (or in this thread), but is there any version that corrects the odd "pitch problem" when the theme is playing and Michael stops the car after Annie screams out "HEY JERK, SPEED KILLS!"?

Did the TrueHD mix on the 35th Anniversary correct this? I know it's there on the THX DVD and the original Blu...

[okko]

Lol, I can't believe that after all of these years and numerous times watching this masterpiece I've never noticed this until recently:

In the scene where Annie is in the kitchen talking to Paul and the Shape is at the garden doors, when Annie moves toward the garden doors and the Shape is gone, you can notice his shadow moving, cast by the lighting and at the edge of the right garden door you can very briefly see him moving off screen.

I always thought, "man, Nick must've moved real quick when the camera panned away from the garden doors then back again." Well, obviously not fast enough. lol

Best.Horror.Movie.Ever.


Kev

[Martoto]

Originally Posted by okko

Lol, I can't believe that after all of these years and numerous times watching this masterpiece I've never noticed this until recently:

In the scene where Annie is in the kitchen talking to Paul and the Shape is at the garden doors, when Annie moves toward the garden doors and the Shape is gone, you can notice his shadow moving, cast by the lighting and at the edge of the right garden door you can very briefly see him moving off screen.

I always thought, "man, Nick must've moved real quick when the camera panned away from the garden doors then back again." Well, obviously not fast enough. lol

Best.Horror.Movie.Ever.


Kev

I've often wondered if that's Nick's shadow you see. Or the shadows of the hanging baskets and foliage that were already cast while the Shape was standing there.

[IntelliVolume]

I just don't like when Michael kills Lester...

[Martoto]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

I just don't like when Michael kills Lester...

"That's not dog. That's imitation."

[IntelliVolume]

^^^

Ah-haa! Very good Thing reference!

I still don't like the scene, especially when he cries out; I know he wasn't "real" in that sequence, but I don't like what it suggests.

[crissrudd4554]

EDIT: Misread post.

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Even the "original theatrical mono" on the THX DVD is a downmix, with the other "2.0" track actually being a 4.0 L/R/SL/SR layout which is weird enough, and weirder still it has the proper stinger when Michael grabs Annie in the car but also has the added thunder during the drive to Smith's Grove. The 5.1 on the THX has the alternative stinger, as does the "original mono" track. So bizarre. On the Divimax DVD they didn't even try to pretend that they had the original mono, the only audio is "2.0 surround" and 5.1.

Really? If nothing else, I could have sworn the extra thunderclaps at the beginning weren't there on the mono for that release.

[okko]

Originally Posted by Martoto

I've often wondered if that's Nick's shadow you see. Or the shadows of the hanging baskets and foliage that were already cast while the Shape was standing there.

I just watched again a couple of times and am convinced that it's Nick trying to get out of the shot. Oh well, doesn't matter.

I can't tell you how many shots that I've watched, would rewind, watch again to try to catch anything that I might have missed.

The most ingenious scenes are the ones that take place in the daytime (the Shape outside of her classroom staring at her, behind the hedge, outside her bedroom window). The reason that these are so chilling is because they take place in the BROAD FRIGGIN' DAYLIGHT! Jesus, things are supposed to go bump in the night, not scare the sh*t out of you when it's light out.

When the Shape was standing in Mister Riddle's back yard looking up at Laurie then in the next shot he's gone, I studied the trees beside the clothesline and at one point was convinced that he leaned and took another peek at her through the trees, but it was the sunshine on the leaves when they were blowing that I mistook for his white mask.



Kev

[okko]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

^^^

Ah-haa! Very good Thing reference!

I still don't like the scene, especially when he cries out; I know he wasn't "real" in that sequence, but I don't like what it suggests.

Lol, you know my wife is the same way - she can watch a horror movie with people getting skewered and maimed, but if a show has the possibility of an animal getting hurt, she's out.


Kev

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by okko

Lol, you know my wife is the same way - she can watch a horror movie with people getting skewered and maimed, but if a show has the possibility of an animal getting hurt, she's out.


Kev

Based on what I have experienced with people, I can certainly understand that...me and my wife actually feel the same way.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by BNex99

Really? If nothing else, I could have sworn the extra thunderclaps at the beginning weren't there on the mono for that release.

Laserdisc, it's the only way too be sure

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by BNex99

Really? If nothing else, I could have sworn the extra thunderclaps at the beginning weren't there on the mono for that release.

They're there alright, the main one that always sticks out to me is when we first see Loomis in the car, there's an extra one that sounds so new compared to the old-school effect that hits a few seconds after that. It's right there in all three audio tracks on the THX DVD, and the altered stinger when Annie is grabbed is also in the "original mono" as well.

What annoys me about that new stinger is that they originally re-used her gasps twice in quick succession when she first gets grabbed, right, and the original stinger has another layer of synths which take longer to decay so it kinda muffles the first set of gasps when they switch to the view from outside the car, and when it cuts back to the interior the re-used gasps aren't so obvious. But with that extra layer missing the new stinger decays much more quickly and the repeated gasps stick out a lot more to my ears.

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Laserdisc, it's the only way too be sure

Yep, the Criterion mono is the weapon of choice I believe?

[clifford finch]

Well I've now watched this 4K edition 3 times now and I'm quite sure this is the best home presentation of Halloween to date. As far as the missing original mono track I'm no audiophile and both the tracks offered sound just fine to me, granted my audio equipment is nothing special perhaps that's why I'm so satisfied. I'm also very surprised how many folks are disappointed with this release. It just goes to show, "You can please some of the people all the time, all the people some of the time, but you cant please all the people all the time!"

[Geoff D]

It's not about it "sounding fine", as has already been explained far too many times in this thread to the hard of comprehending amongst you, it's not about quality gear either as I mostly watch movies thru my TV speakers (true story). It's about it sounding how it was.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

I just don't like when Michael kills Lester...

"Lester is barking again and getting on my nerves again!"

[clifford finch]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

It's not about it "sounding fine", as has already been explained far too many times in this thread to the hard of comprehending amongst you, it's not about quality gear either as I mostly watch movies thru my TV speakers (true story). It's about it sounding how it was.

I understand. I just really cant remember how it sounded in the theater in 1978 so I guess that's why it doesn't bug me.

[Geoff D]

"Lindseeeeeeeeeeey!"