Is Halloween (1978) on BD worth buying?

[Horrorview]

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Halloween fanatic, and I have every version of the flick released in the US, from the VHS days to now. With the exception of the early Anchor Bay DVD's, all of the transfers look different. Some are too dark, some are too blue, others suffer from contrast issues. To me, the BD looks superb. It's sharp, vivid, and the level of detail is fantastic. I think if Carpenter were to oversee his own transfer, especially given the technology afforded him today, we'd probably see a whole bunch of changes to suit his vision that purists would decry as much as they have Cundey's transfer. When compared to the BD transfers of flicks like The French Connection and Dracula, the differences here are so minimal that I've never understood what the fuss was about. I've even gone back to the earlier AB DVD's and, while the image is noticeably lighter and more "natural" in spots (ie; less blue?), overall, the new transfer is a massive improvement in this fan's eyes.

[csdot]

Originally Posted by Horrorview

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Halloween fanatic, and I have every version of the flick released in the US, from the VHS days to now. With the exception of the early Anchor Bay DVD's, all of the transfers look different. Some are too dark, some are too blue, others suffer from contrast issues. To me, the BD looks superb. It's sharp, vivid, and the level of detail is fantastic. I think if Carpenter were to oversee his own transfer, especially given the technology afforded him today, we'd probably see a whole bunch of changes to suit his vision that purists would decry as much as they have Cundey's transfer. When compared to the BD transfers of flicks like The French Connection and Dracula, the differences here are so minimal that I've never understood what the fuss was about. I've even gone back to the earlier AB DVD's and, while the image is noticeably lighter and more "natural" in spots (ie; less blue?), overall, the new transfer is a massive improvement in this fan's eyes.

AMEN. a beautiful transfer of an absolute classic.

[zeze]

Get the movie. It is an awesome movie and has a transfer to match.

[Grim Reaper]

Originally Posted by bladerunner2007

i do love the movie, it's a masterpiece. But i heard the colors were changed on the bd. I love the blue-ish tint on the 1999 u.s. Anchor bay dvd. So is the bd better or worse? I heard the '99 dvd has the original color timing, which was always intended by director of cinematography dean cundey. Can anyone help, or post some screenshots of their bd?

buy it!!!

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by retablo

Point of contention is that Carpenter approved the Criterion laserdisc master was before the Anchor Bay DVD, and it didn't have all the blues. Then Cundey approved that 1999 master which bumped up all the colors. So who's right? My feeling is that the blues were oversaturated because of DVDs lack of clarity and resolution and were never supposed to be THAT bright, but that's just my guess. Either that, or Cundey was offering a sort of revisionist history regarding the film — or maybe those colors were intended from the beginning but never achieved until then. I just don't feel like Carpenter would approve a transfer of his own film is it had the wrong color timing.

I'd tend to agree with you honestly. The most telling obvious flaw with that release is the colour of the "black" bars (to fill above the 2.35 image) - they are not black. It was painfully obvious when I saw it initially as I had a 4:3 TV so I had proper black above from the DVD player, plus the bluey grey from the DVD, then the picture.

Likewise with Fincher's Seven - the approved colour correction they did in that was just woeful. A lot of the scenes at the end under the power lines made Morgan Freeman looking like he was suffering from renal failure. The DP approved those too. But they still looked crap. I sold the DVD after seeing it and have never got another copy. That was all just revisionist crap due to them not being able to shoot properly in the first place. They also cheated with framing too like having the frame dynamically pan up and down to frame it more to their liking - eg, it was NOT as it was shown in the cinema with the static framing, because they couldn't even freaking frame the shots how they wanted when they shot. Just revisionist B.S. They were showing this in the doco's like they were proud of what they were doing. They ought to be ashamed.

[BladeRunner2007]

Well, I guess I'll re-watch my old DVD upscaled on my HD TV soon. If it looks good (for its age) then I'll just stick to it. But thanks a lot for any of your answers! Really appreciate it

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by advdfreak

It's the best looking version that I have seen and like others have said, you can get it for $10! It's a no brainer!

I agree with you and the rest of the people in this thread. A great purchase in Blu. A great movie at a great price...really!

[Jhouston]

Pretty good transfer. All the day scenes were crystal clear. I found the night shots (the second half of the movie) to be very much the same as the Anchor Bay dvd.

Great transfer,you'll enjoy it!

[Blu Myers]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

Well, I guess I'll re-watch my old DVD upscaled on my HD TV soon. If it looks good (for its age) then I'll just stick to it. But thanks a lot for any of your answers! Really appreciate it

Bladerunner, I did a side by side comparison with the oop 2 disc limited edition dvd with "Cundey approval" and the blu-ray...the bd blows any dvd transfer out of the water. It's one of the nicest upgrades of an old movie that I've seen. The daylight scenes really stand out. The night scenes have the blue toned down just a notch, but you won't notice by then because you'll be so into the movie. Trust me, Halloween has never looked this good. Buy it!!

[jhiggy23]

I can't believe how good the film looks for a 30+ year low-budget horror film.

[BladeRunner2007]

Originally Posted by leem6453

Bladerunner, The night scenes have the blue toned down just a notch, but you won't notice by then because you'll be so into the movie.

That's what I am afraid of... what if i can't get into the movie because of the different color timing? I am so used to the blue night scenes...

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

That's what I am afraid of... what if i can't get into the movie because of the different color timing? I am so used to the blue night scenes...

[BladeRunner2007]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

It means that it bugs me when the colors are too different, and therefore I can't concentrate on the movie and enjoy it.

[Cory Lendon]

I'll cite a quote from the HDD forums regarding all this;

If the "colour timing issues" mean the BD transfer doesn't look like it was shot through a blue filter... then I like colour timing issues.

The blue actually takes away from the detail of the HD transfer.

You can find the comparison screen caps here;

Halloween Cundey THX vs BD

[Rob J in WNY]

Originally Posted by MaCruz

It will be $9.99 at BB from 1/10 - 1/16 ..

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=127048

Very cool. I picked it up from Walmart for $10 a couple months ago. I'm not a huge fan of pure horror, but I had to pick this one up. PQ is suprisingly good, and for an easy $10, it's worth it.

[nolfoc]

def. get this.. looks amazing

[BladeRunner2007]

Just checked my old "1999 THX Cundey DVD" in fast forward mode.
First: The blue tint does only appear in certain scenes and NOT throughout the entire night scenes!
Second: When Michael is bursting through the kitchen door, the color changes from blue to gray/white in between shots! So the new BD transfer might actually be closer to Carpenter's original intention? I don't know.
But I realized that the blue tint gives the movie more of a surreal feel and a very eerie mood, whereas the gray tint makes it feel more realistic and natural. I don't know which is scarier, I have to check that myself. But I think I'll buy the BD by the end of Jan or early Feb along with a few other items

[GGX]

I just watched the original Halloween on Blu-ray for the first time with the trivia track enabled. I noticed that the first bit of trivia about the film originally being titled 'The Babysitter Murders" gets repeated only a few short moments later.

Does everyone else's copy do this? Or was it corrected in subsequent pressings?

[GGX]

Anyone?

[V.I.N.CENT]

I will check my copy for you. At what time does the 'babysitter murders' trivia first appear?