Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013)

[returnofthemack]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

While Crystal Lake Memories is a clear labor of love, I was not as "wowed" as I hoped to be. From my perspective there are a few reasons for this...

- Maybe it is because there hadn't been a definitive document of the Elm St series prior to the release of Never Sleep Again which therefore made it seem more epic, but I personally feel that film (which was made by the same people) was an overall better and more in-depth production. I could honestly see myself watching that a few more times in my life just to be entertained by all of the talking heads and good memories, whereas the Crystal Lake documentary might get one more spin, if that.

- The depth and the breadth of the interviews were just not satisfactory enough for me, especially in comparison to the highly engaging Crystal Lake Memories book. Perhaps they should have held out a bit longer to get more interviews? Plus, it really seemed like the filmmakers were hesitant to delve into some of the controversial aspects of producing the series that were covered very well in the book. Also, I personally would have liked (but can understand why there wasn't) more information and interviews about the television series! WHERE WAS ROBEY?!

- Fans like to slam the Friday DVD and Blu Ray releases, but I think their relative worth is finally proven since many of the anecdotes in Crystal Lake Memories can be found in the old bonus features and commentaries.

With all that being said, it is a relatively well made documentary that was clearly made by people who cherish and appreciate the series (in particular, I loved the homage title cards for each new chapter). If you don't already know much about the production of the series and some of the surface level controversy with the MPAA, you will learn a lot. Any Friday fan, from the casual to the hardcore, will at least get a lot of enjoyment from the documentary for nostalgia purposes. If you are really on the fence though and already have the new Blu Ray set or the DVD sets, then you can probably hold off to see if you can get it a bit cheaper down the road.

thanks for your opinions on the set. I just bought the book crystal lake memories like 2 months ago and Im kind of worried that buying this so soon will be Friday the 13th overload.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Mine finally arrived in Denmark today, including the bonus disc. Thankfully no customs fee as the value was marked quite low.

[Bouncy X]

finally finished watching this whole thing.....

[Show spoiler]i loved the little jason mews throwback to NSA at the very end, didn't see that coming and quite funny

[jdw89]

Mine should be here Monday.

[Ill_Be_Back]

Watched the full documentary very happy with it, the only thing I was disappointed with was the Jason Goes to hell segment. Where was Steven Williams who played Creighton Duke? He was in the crystal lake memories book event but nowhere to be seen in this documentary. Does anyone know why he didn't participate?

[JoeBuck]

In the middle of watching this right now and so far its pretty good! Only on Part 4 so far.
I never read the book so theres quite a few things I never knew.
Also, goddamn a lot of these women still look really great!
Looking really forward to getting to part 6!

[Wernski]

Originally Posted by Ill_Be_Back

Watched the full documentary very happy with it, the only thing I was disappointed with was the Jason Goes to hell segment. Where was Steven Williams who played Creighton Duke? He was in the crystal lake memories book event but nowhere to be seen in this documentary. Does anyone know why he didn't participate?

They talk about it in the commentary, but there's not really a great, satisfactory reason.

[jvorhees]

Been watching this as an end of night supplement over the last week and have been really enjoying it......informative since I have never read the book. Just finished the Jason X chapter and it was the first one that I found really weak....only a few actors brought back in and only runs 15 minutes or so.....even though the film itself is pretty weak, I would still like to hear more.

[Ill_Be_Back]

Monica Keena had to be the worst participant in the whole documentary. I seriously thought she was high through the whole interview.

[Blu Myers]

Mine finally arrived yesterday after looping the same USPS hub about 8 times...no kidding. It was supposed to arrive on the 20th, but it finally arrived. Love the doc so far, and the bonus disc fits nicely on the right side of the case in the inset ring.

So far I've watched Parts 1 through 3, Freddy vs Jason, and the Reboot. I like to skip around. They did use quite a bit of material from the His Name Was Jason doc, but all the new stuff more than makes up for it.

[ausamerika]

Originally Posted by Ill_Be_Back

Monica Keena had to be the worst participant in the whole documentary. I seriously thought she was high through the whole interview.

I sort of see where you're coming from with her delivery, but I found myself surprised at how articulate she was. Huh. YMMV

[SGB]

Received my Amazon-ordered copy of the blu today. Will start watching it this evening.

[Uncle Meat]

In case folks in Europe, specifically Germany, are still waiting for their order:

I placed my order on September 5 and got it today, Bonus Disc included.

I'm perfectly fine with that.

[RickWJ324]

Originally Posted by Ill_Be_Back

Watched the full documentary very happy with it, the only thing I was disappointed with was the Jason Goes to hell segment. Where was Steven Williams who played Creighton Duke? He was in the crystal lake memories book event but nowhere to be seen in this documentary. Does anyone know why he didn't participate?

I haven't watched the set yet (going to watch all of the movies first with my wife). Too bad Steven Williams isn't participating in it... I like that guy (even though I hate JGTH). Mr. Williams is/was AWESOME on SUPERNATURAL and I remember watching him on 21 Jumpstreet back-in-the-day.

Rick

[BladeRunner2007]

Gonna watch Disc 2 now. The first disc was already amazing.

[jdw89]

Mine should arrive today after waiting over 2 weeks, we'll see what happens.

[Blu Myers]

I'm on Part VI now. I like that they devoted some time to Debbi Sue Voorhees in the Part V section. It's interesting that her part was originally supposed to be played by the girl in the RV from Part VI. She basically lost the part because she refused to show her breasts in the audition office.

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by ausamerika

I sort of see where you're coming from with her delivery, but I found myself surprised at how articulate she was. Huh. YMMV

I thought she was one of the more lively ladies and seemed to be really into the whole Friday legacy (I thought she seemed to be more into it in the interviews then anyone else from after Part 8 movies). But yeah, she had her quirks.

[jdw89]

Well there must be something really wrong with the way they ship these damn things, mine should have been delivered Saturday, and it wasn't ok no big deal, but today? Yeah it should have been but it doesn't look like it will be.

[kdawq]

Can these be found at any retailers in the US or just amazon?