The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [DVD]

Since the dawn of time, man has entertained one another by telling chilling tales of the mad and macabre. In the beginning merely illuminated by the flickering lights of a campfire, later the stories of horror was put on to paper and the theater stage as the institution of man grew more sophisticated, through the annals of time.When the magic of motion pictures first dawned upon us in the early 20th century, that grand tradition naturally continued in this new medium and now, almost a hundred years later, an extensive catalogue of titles have been responsible for generations upon generations of nightmares, chronicled and passed down through the ages to invoke joy and wonderment in the hungry masses of scare crazed fans.In the 21st century however, one of the ultimate truths in the way of fright flicks is that something changed back in the smoldering summer heat of 1974 (just as it did when George A. Romero created the modernized version of the zombie in 1968). The change? From them on out, all roads traveled in the ways of horror would inevitably lead to Texas.After hearing rumors about grave robbing and ritualistic desecration of the corpses at various rural graveyards in and around Texas, five youths, consisting of Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her invalided brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) accompanied by three of their friends are subsequently en route to examine the condition of their grandfather's resting place and afterwards spend a few days crashing at an old family heirloom - an abandoned farmhouse, that's as desolated as it is sheltered - for a bit of relaxation under the blistering hot summer sun. As the group ventures though the bucolic landscape, they pass a depleted and crumbling old slaughterhouse, where they decide pick up a dense looking hitch-hiker (Edwin Neal) standing at the side of the road, but this benevolent act backfires horribly as the mood turns increasingly sinister, culminating in the ominous stranger attacking the wheelchair bound Franklin and cutting his arm with a filthy straight razor before the group can managed to push him out of the van.As the party reaches the confides of the old family home, the mood is understandably a bit tense, with Franklin in particular, distressed by the preceding events, getting on everyone's nerves with his excessive whining about the matter.As the mood starts to settle and the group begins to unwind, the faction soon separate and while some stay at the house to get settled, others turns to exploring the area - an initiative that will prove highly ill-advised as a certain part of the region's residents doesn't take too kindly to strangers. Soon the kids plunge into a seemingly never-ending nightmare as they are attacked by the monstrous Leatherface (Gunner Hansen) and his nefarious family of cannibals who proves that you don't need much in the way of etiquettes or social skills, when equipped with a bloody big chainsaw and a full-size supply of meat hooks.You might wonder why I chose to incorporate the little intro on the history of horror, preceding the synopsis. Well, you see, I was going for that epic feel - a touch of grandeur, if you will, as I not only regard The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the greatest horror film of all time but quite possibly the greatest motion picture ever produced, period!Just like it pertains to most examples of great filmmaking, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is utterly unique - a movie that completely obliterates genre conventions and transcends the boundaries of its form. I cited Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968) earlier, which is the film that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre undoubtedly shears most of its attributes.Both were conjured up during times of great turmoil, globally as well as within the United States. Both movies also reflects an alarming distrust in authorities and societies' appointed leaders and their escalating lies and deception, while simultaneously operating as a stake through the heart of the American myth concerning the altruistic good guys sporting white hats while forever prevailing against the deficient elements. In these films man as a whole, was the deficient element. Another funny coincidence is that both films have also been added to the permanent collection of New York City's Museum of Modern Art, thus validating their claim as legitimate, unconventional art. Not bad for a film originally entitled Headcheese.Co-written by Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, just as Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) and Deranged (Alan Ormsby, Jeff Gillen, 1974), inspired by the heinous crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, and introduces gritty Texas-atmosphere in a sizzling heat with discomfort, disgust and death along with the now almost mythical chainsaw and one of the most iconic masks in horror cinema history. But the film is not just cruel and horrifying. It's also a kind of social satire (without being funny), which turns and twists 'the American dream' and the gloss image of the perfect American family.Daniel Pearl's secure sense of eerie cinematography is one of this film's many strengths. Shot on 16mm using a Bolex and Eclair NPR camera, the visuals and the compositions are a work of pure incontrovertible art (you could hang any frame on the wall) and Pearl's handheld, free-wheeling, pseudo-documentary cinema-vérité style with almost panic-like zooms on skulls, bones, rusty birdcages and dilated eyes, is an ideal fit for the frantic and unsettling narrative, palpable throughout the piece. But that doesn't mean that there isn't room for some sly and rather sophisticated set-ups along the way. Check out the scene where Teri McInnis' Pam walks from her previous position by a swing set, towards the ominous looking farmhouse, for further proof of this.A grainy and nicotine yellow color pattern seems to be all pervading in the scenes depicting daytime activities, capturing the desolated landscape of the lone star state flawlessly, with its desiccated dirt roads and untamed vegetation, whereas nighttime as a fusion of shadowy black and steely blues invokes similar awe and astonishment at the capacity of the film and the people behind it.The score by Wayne Bell and Hooper himself is another triumph. This experimental soundtrack is reminiscent of twisted uncontrolled metal sounds and squeals, and is highly unorthodox in its chaotic sound design, tailor-made for evoking anguish and discomfort.Last I want to mention the film's brilliant set-design courtesy of art director Robert A. Burns, which truly act as a benchmark for the genre and has acted as inspiration for every "Hillbilly Horror" following.The acting performances are also incredibly effective. Especially Marilyn Burns and Paul A. Partain are extremely valuable in bestowing the film with an almost impenetrable sense of tension and despair, throughout its 90 minute of run time. The rest of the fresh faced cast seems to act primarily as fodder, but personally I enjoyed the fact that they are portrayed with an air of naive innocence about them.But let's face it, you came here for the family and boy do they deliver, as this is quite possible the baddest bunch of hombres ever depicted on film. Edwin Neal is absolutely radiant as the psychotic Hitch-Hiker, attacking each scene with a manic energy befitting a true berserker; he doesn't so much draw you in as pull you violently face to face with his epic performance.Equally impressive is the character of the cook, the irascibly family patriarch, who is brilliantly brought to life by veteran character actor Jim Siedow. Sadly he passed away in 2003 but left us this immaculate part to enjoy. Leatherface meanwhile is a full-fletched horror-icon, celebrated by all as the true face of the franchise and it's not difficult to see why. Gunner Hansen embodies this monstrosity with all his might and he truly is Leatherface, reducing all others who have subsequently donned the human skin mask to a mere afterthought.Tobe Hooper's almost apocalyptic landscape is a deserted wasteland of dissolution where vibrant colors and hope for a future is all but desiccated. The lone star state has metamorphosized into a hellish bone yard of dying cattle, rusted gas stations and desecrated cadavers, and now functions as home base for a pack of psychotic killers whose hunt for rations is the standard when it comes to challenging the established American experience in movie terminology.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is without a doubt Tobe Hooper's masterpiece and an utterly flawless motion picture experience and its impact on the unsuspecting viewer, neither can nor will be replicated, ever again. Hooper has never since managed, or even gotten close, to reaching the majestic heights of his debut feature. Much like a young Orson Wells, Hooper hit the ground running, only to gradually run out of steam throughout his subsequent career. Never the less, I have lived this film like few others, through the times of VHS and Laserdiscs up until DVDs and Blu-ray and a viewing of this magnum opus have come to constitute a homecoming. To me, the saw is family!The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has more releases then there exists jokes about pedophilia in the Catholic Church, but for true TCM aficionados there is only one real choice, that being the pricey yet absolutely beautiful Japanese 5-disc box set from DEX Entertainment.Not only do you get the discs housed in a fantastic digi-pack confined in a sturdy hard cover box but the film's iconographic artwork is gorgeously recreated on the package for maximum effect.Furthermore you get the film's Japanese lobby cards, two booklets (one of which has a hardback spine) with lots of great pictures, the Japanese movie poster and some sort of certificate.Disc one is home to the main feature presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 and the picture quality is absolutely flawless, the same goes for the audio track available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0, and mono for purists.Extras on this disc consist of various trailers, TV and radio spots for the film. There are also two audio commentaries available. One features director Tobe Hooper, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and star Gunnar Hansen and it's an essential listen filled with tons of making-of info about the development of the script, shooting in crazy, harsh conditions and the success of the film.The second track features art director Robert A. Burns intercut with cast members Marilyn Burns, Paul Partain and Allen Danziger and it's a fun albeit fluffy listen.Disc two presents a wide variety of extras, starting off with the hour long documentary `Flesh Wounds' and two featurettes entitled `Chainsaw House Tour' lasting 20 minutes where Gunnar Hansen gives us a walking tour of the infamous halls of horrors and `Off the Hook' which lasts 10 minutes. Last you get deleted scenes and outtakes, blooper reel, still gallery and various promotional materials to round off the disc.Disc three is somewhat exclusive as it presents the Japanese TV version with a plethora of Japanese promo material like trailers and poster art.Disc four and five houses the two excellent feature length documenters entitled `A Family Portrait' and `The Shocking Truth', and there's a wide selection of extras, but these consist of Japanese filmmakers in interviews talking about the impact the film has had on their lives and doesn't have any subtitles so unless you speak the language it's filler, I'm afraid. Most of this material is already available on other releases but there is absolutely no way you'd be able to refute the awesome presence that this stunning release will instill on your DVD/Blu-ray collection. Enjoy!

You must own this 4K/Blu-Ray set of the best Horror film of all time as at the moment this is the release of the year until Second sight release something else or another distributor releases something that comes out of nowhere.I didn’t think that the picture quality of this near 50 year old masterpiece could get any better but it has and I can’t believe it’s this good, the restoration work done by Second sight is crystal clear nearly as much as the OCN can allow this new fresh new 4K scan so there might be a few tiny soft issues but with all BD'S 4K restorations it's the OCN not the new clean up work! Also, the audio has been given a new dolbyatmos5.1/7.1 track with the existing DTS HD 5.1/7.1 and LPCM mono original track if this is correct. The sound is amazing and you hear everything, foreground & background noises and dialogue are balanced well so it’s the best audio any Blu-Ray has to offer and it’s ultra reference quality to hit streaming where it hurts so in terms of this great release of the year - take that streaming viewers!!Extras are through the roof and the special features are covered over the 2 discs with a brand new 83 minute documentary and a new commentary track from pod cast experts of the film, all the old and existing extras are intact and ported over of which you’ll need a chainsaw to go through them as there’s so much to watch and listen too. There’s also a couple of swag items with the 4K version including a book and some postcards.So this Blu-Ray is the best set of the year so you just need to buy this if you love Horror films, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is the greatest Horror film and it’s top of the pile as it’s my number one, not even the greatest film director of all time – Stanley Kubrick could better it with his masterpiece – The SHINING. I don’t think that any Horror film coming up in the near future will ever beat Chainsaw, there could be but if there is will it last half a century? This is such a well made film as I don’t know how some people don’t like it as the Horror film grabs you and never let’s go until the end, it’s just a great nasty and violent disturbing Horror film of which this is. It is violent, not graphic but the on screen deaths are brutal, Teri being put on the meat hook, Kurt being hit hard over the head, Franklin being killed by Leatherface and Sally being tortured at the dinner scene at the end and her escape through the window of her being cut while running away from Ed Neil him being run over by the truck and Sally covered in blood, yes it’s violent and shocking so it is violent, so if some people are saying it’s a non-violent film then you are wrong!I don’t need to explain the plot of the film as by now I think that everyone has seen this Masterpiece it’s an emerald gem of a Horror film and it should be owned and viewed by everyone so if you haven’t seen it watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) now!I can’t rate this set more highly as this is nearly a perfect Blu-Ray release of which I have purchased it twice on both formats, the film, picture and sound and the special features are out of this world and Second sight have knocked this one out of the park - great stuff!Here’s to another chainsaw film as the recent one from Netflix sucked and as a fan of the original trilogy of films 1 -4 I would love Rob Zombie to direct The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 5 as I love The Devils Rejects!!If you love this film and Horror films like I do then just purchase this set at once!Film: 5 stars.Picture & sound: 5 stars.Special features: 5 stars.Overall product verdict: 5 stars.This is the best Blu-Ray to beat at the moment and I thought that Dawn of the Dead (1978) from Second sight was great!This work and Blu-Ray set should be given awards!

Item exactly as described.

Texas chainsaw massacre, is by far one of the scariest horror films I’ve have seen and own in my dvd collection. Leather face and his family are truly frightening and film is very eerie. Overall I’m pleased I brought it on dvd, and I look forward to watching it again soon.

Ogólnie wszystko ok, ale przy odbiorze należy zapłacić opłatę celną, więc dochodzi to do kosztów zamówienia. Także lepiej jednak zamówić na Amazonie uk, gdyż oni opłacają z góry wszelkie opłaty celne.

As a lifelong fan of horror films, I am ashamed to say that it took the death of director Tobe Hooper to finally prompt me to order a DVD copy of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Though this movie has been a horror staple ever since it opened amid enormous controversy in 1974, I’d somehow avoided viewing the film despite it being easily available for decades via videotape, and then DVD. And I must admit, I stayed away because most low budget gore movies from back in the day are just about unwatchable…think Herschell Gordon Lewis. But with the passing of Hooper, and the tremendous praise poured upon CHAINSAW, I decided to finally check out what I had been missing out on all these years, all the while wondering if the movie would still hold up.I can definitely say that TCM more than holds its own and lives up to the hype; in fact it towers over all the remakes, reboots, and the hundreds of rip-offs that have come down the road in the years since. TCM is arguably the most perfect representation of pure terror ever put on a movie screen, and, like Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, one of filmdom’s great visual recreations of a nightmare. One of the many genius moves Hooper made was to go heavy on the sensory overload – the jarring metallic clanging noise, the ominous breeze blowing over the hot Texas landscape, insects skittering about, a dead Armadillo in the road, a blazing red sun in a black sky, a full moon revealing itself behind wispy clouds in the night, a quick shot of listless cattle awaiting slaughter, a room filled with furniture made of human bones, the clucking chicken in a birdcage – to create a false face rural America behind which lies dread and horror unimaginable. The plot, what there is of it, concerns a van full of college students traveling through the boondocks of Texas to visit and old family homestead; of course they run out of gas and walk right into the clutches of the cannibalistic Sawyer clan, where one by one, they are butchered like the cattle in the pens they passed earlier. Only Sally manages to escape, but not before enduring one of the most horrific nights of terror any character has ever been through in any movie ever. That was Hooper’s other genius move, that there be no buildup of tension before the villains revealed themselves to their victims, they just walk straight into the frame without fear or hesitation and kill their defenseless prey. There had never before been a character quite like Leatherface before TCM, with his hulking frame, mask of human skin, butcher’s apron, and a roaring chainsaw that never freezes up. From the moment he steps out of the dark and guts Sally’s annoying crippled brother, Franklyn, through the relentless chase in the woods, to the ghastly family “dinner” scene with Grandpa, to the final escape on the highway, we are treated to a sequence of pure terror like no other. Yes, it is repetitive, and even today, almost unwatchable in parts, yet the very fact that it plays out like a scratched record is what makes it feel like a nightmare without end. No wonder movie goers at a sneak preview back in 1974 walked out and threatened to beat up the theater manager.Hooper’s other genius moves were to make us believe we have seen far more gore than is really on the screen, like when Pam is hung up on the meat hook before Leatherface begins carving up Kirk; his use of dark humor, as when Leatherface looks furtively looks out the window and then sits down an beats his head in frustration, as if these kids who keep wondering into the house were interrupting him from baking a pie in the kitchen. I love the camera work by cinematographer Daniel Pearl, especially the low angle tracking shot of Pam getting up from the swing and walking toward the Sawyer house until it fills the frame, along with Leatherface’s pursuit of Sally through the country side, whining chainsaw in hand. And who can forget Leatherface’s defiant final dance in the middle of the highway? The film was shot in 16MM and then blown up to 35MM, which helped give it that classic grainy look, which is one of its most memorable aspects. So too is John Larroquette’s opening narration, where he does his best Orson Welles.Hooper got great performances out of his cast of unknowns, most of whom were ready to kill him after the grueling shoot on location in triple digit heat during the summer of 1973, where some of the working days stretched to over twenty hours in a race to get the movie done before equipment rentals expired. One stand out is Paul Partain as Franklyn, a truly irksome character with a Texas twang. We never see Gunner Hansen’s face, but he creates the iconic Leatherface through squeals, grunts and body language alone. That he wears a tie is even more unnerving. It is a horror performance that rivals Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein Monster. That is John Henry Faulk, whose lawsuit famously ended the Hollywood blacklist, as the man at the cemetery in the opening scene. Like Tobe Hooper, most of the cast has passed on now, and it is sad to know that most of them were done out of residuals and payments over the years by unscrupulous distributors.One of the joys of watching TCM now is the snapshot it gives us of the Nixon era 70’s, with its shaggy hair and bad fashions, it was also a time when the Vietnam War, the Manson family, the Texas Tower killer (one the first mass spree killings), and the Weather Underground bombings were in the very recent past; a dark time in an America filled with dread and random violence (sound familiar?). All of this darkness and tension is palpable in the film. As it stands, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, is a classic in the fear-the-rural-South genre, where outsiders become stranded in Dixie and at the mercy of malevolent locals; a fear that was compounded in the wake of the murder of three Northern civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi, in the summer of 1964. In that, TCM belongs in the same company as DELIVERANCE, MACON COUNTY LINE, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, and SOUTHERN COMFORT.One of the best things about the excellent DVD copy I received is the audio commentary by Hooper himself, along with Gunner Hansen and Daniel Pearl, in they are quite honest about the troubles on the set while making the film. There are many influences for TCM, including the crimes of Ed Gein, along with the first movie take on that character, Hitchcock’s PSYCHO. But the one influence no one seems to mention, but to me is obvious, is Scooby Doo, the cartoon where a bunch of kids travel across the country in a van encountering various monsters, who usually turn out to be some villain wearing a costume. In this way, TCM is like the Scooby Doo episode from Hell, where the mask wearing Big Bad slices and dices up the kids.Tobe Hooper never quite got the respect of that some of his contemporaries (John Carpenter, George Romero, William Friedkin) who made great horror films back in the 70’s, but his legacy is a solid one. He would go on make a great TV adaptation of Stephen King’s SALEM’S LOT, the classic POLTERGEIST, and the unique scifi horror film, LIFEFORCE among others. But it will be THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE that he will most be remembered for, a fierce, uncompromising gift to all of us who love to be scared in the best possible way.And bonus points to anyone who remembers the Mark Harmon 80’s comedy, SUMMER SCHOOL and that great joke whose punch line is, “New film from district, Safe Use of Power Tools.” That’s Hooper’s legacy too.

Seguramente la mejor edición jamás publicada de la película ¡y en edición limitada de 1100 unidades!Los discos sólo tienen la opción de audio y subtítulos en inglés y alemán, pero si te defiendes en cualquiera de los dos idiomas y estás dispuesto a hacer un esfuerzo, esta pedazo edición merece la pena.Si el dinero es un problema, aún quedan algunas copias circulando por ahí de la edición estándar limitada a 5000 unidades (aunque las primeras 1100 son las que vienen incluidas en esta caja) o la metálica, tambien de Turbine, ambas con la misma particularidad de contener la versión remasterizada en 2K.La calidad de imagen del blu-ray sí supone una mejora con respecto a cualquier edición previa (incluyendo la "Seriously ultimate edition" de 2009) ya que el film presenta un granulado aún perceptible, pero sensiblemente inferior a anteriores ediciones blu-ray.Los contenidos extra son los mismos de otros blu-ray pero con la adición de 2 nuevos audiocomentarios y algunos otros pequeños documentales y entrevistas.Por último, y lo que hace fantástica esta edición es la inclusión de la figura de Leatherface de NECA (precio de mercado 30-40 euros), la camiseta talla XL, las postales, dos superposters de 83x59 cm y la impresionante ilustración de la caja (la misma que figura en la portada del blu-ray y en uno de los posters).

このレビューは、『悪魔のいけにえ [Blu-ray] 』販売元：ジェネオン　エンタテインメント盤のレビューです。この映画に関して、説明は不要ですね！蘊蓄を語るのは止め他のレビュアーさんに任せて、私は『悪魔のいけにえ　公開40周年記念版[Blu-ray]』との比較をレビューしたいと思います 。確かに『悪魔のいけにえ　公開40周年記念版』４Ｋスキャニング版の方は綺麗です。画質に関しては、こちらの旧ディスクよりさらにメリハリが良くなっています。流石４Ｋと言ったところでしょうか？ただし、古い作品と言うこととフィルムの劣化や色々な要因から、現代の高画質映画のブルーレイと比べると『なんだこの画質は？！』と思われる方々が多いかと思いますが、低予算で制作された当時の撮影環境から考えても、これが限界かなと思わせるほどキレイになっています。そのようなことからフィルム・グレイン（フィルムの粒子）が目立つシーンも多いのはやむを得ないところ。とにかく４Ｋレストア版はメリハリがクッキリしていて、オープニングに出て来る死体で作ったオブジェで言うと、腐った頭部に生えている頭髪の見え方に大きく差が出ています。４Ｋ版のディスクは頭髪がハッキリ見えますが、この旧ディスクは太陽光に負けてボヤケていてハッキリ見えません。とにかく映画全編にわたり細かな部分もハッキリしています。その代わりに細かい部分もハッキリしたぶん、フィルムグレイン（フィルムの粒子）もハッキリした感があります。こちらの旧ディスクの方が、フィルム・グレインが目立たなく、ザラザラ感が少なく滑らかな見易い画質になっています。また若干ピントが甘くボヤケタ感じもしますが、フィルム・グレインが気になるファンには、こちらの旧ディスクの方が良いかも知れません。このことについては十人十色で、画質に関しては好き嫌いのわかれるところだと思います。しかし、この映画のファンならばどちらもコレクションしたいところです。また４Ｋ版の方は色合いも発色が良くなっています。こちらの旧ディスクは、色が少しあせた感じになっていましたが、４Ｋ版の方は鮮やかです。今回両方を再度見比べてみましたが、フィルムグレインの目立ち方が大きく違っているところがポイントでしょう。またパソコンなどの小さなモニターやテレビで鑑賞する分には、大きな差はあまり感じられません。しかし大画面テレビで鑑賞すると、やはり４Ｋ版の方がかなり綺麗に見えます。自分はどちらも好きで両方ありと言ったところです。また、この旧ディスクと『悪魔のいけにえ　公開40周年記念版』のディスクとでは、多少画角が違っています。画角が違うとは、スタンダード撮影されたこの映画をビスタサイズに上下左右をカットしなければいけない訳で、そのトリミングの仕方が多少異なっていると言うことです。旧ディスクの画像の方が、全体的に情報量が少なく４０周年記念版の方が情報量が多いのが違いです。映画冒頭のアルマジロの死骸を見ると、この旧盤の方は尻尾が画面から切れていますが、新盤の４０周年記念版の方は、尻尾の先まで見えています。ファンであれば、『悪魔のいけにえ　公開40周年記念版[Blu-ray]』もこの旧ディスクも購入し、コレクションするのが賢明でしょう。ファンならば、どちらも購入することをお勧めします。

Oui c'est vrai pourquoi attendre une hypothétique sortie d'un bluray en langue française de ce film culte alors qu'il y a celui-ci qui vous tends les bras à un prix plus que raisonnable.Alors certes il n'y a pas de version française(ni sous-titres en français) mais ceux qui comme moi l'ont déjà vu des quinzaines de fois connaissent les dialogues par cœur,du reste je tiens à préciser qu'il y a des sous-titres en anglais de dispo qui ne nécessitent pas d'avoir un très haut niveau d'anglais,un niveau de base suffira.En outre la qualité sonore est très bonne avec du 5.1 et l'image est sans doute ce que j'ai vu de mieux pour ce film,c'est très correct.Un achat plus que conseillé pour les fans de ce film d'autant que j'ai regardé sur les autres sites marchands,il n'est pas si facile à trouver,il n'y a vraiment qu'AMAZON qui nous le propose surtout à ce prix.Bon film.