Extras:
The Shocking Truth documentary, Interview with Tobe Hooper,
Interview with Kim Henkel, Deleted Scenes and Alternate Footage,
Outtakes, Trailers, Original TV ads, Props and Sets, Film and Production
Stills, Posters and Lobby Cards, DVD-ROM weblink, Audio commentary
Director:
Tobe Hooper
(Body Bags, The Dark, Eaten Alive, Lifeforce, Poltergeist, Spontaneous Combustion, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 & 2, TV: Amazing Stories, Dark Skies, The Equalizer, Nowhere Man, Salem's Lot, Taken, Tales from the Crypt)
Producers:
Tobe Hooper and Lou Peraino
Screenplay:
Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper
Original Music :
Wayne Bell, Tobe Hooper and John Lennon
Cast :
Sally Hardesty: Marilyn Burns
Jerry: Allen Danziger
Franklin Hardesty: Paul A Partain
Kirk: William Vail
Pam: Teri McMinn
Old Man: Jim Siedow
Leatherface: Gunnar Hansen
Grandfather: John Dugan
Window Washer: Robert Courtin
Narrator: John Larroquette
It's August 18th, 1973
and a dead body's been perched on a monument after its owner was clearly
put through some pain prior to the life being taken. That's the opening to
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
People can do stupid things when they're young and a group of hippies travelling
about first pick up a hitchhiker who cuts himself and one of their group,
the wheelchair-bound Franklin (Paul A Partain) and then stumble upon a
house in which not all of them will get out alive, but who will stay and who
will escape?
And do you care? This is the first time I saw it and it's incredibly dated for
a film that's nearly thirty years old as there's no semblance of plot and
pacing is weak. One character is bashed unconscious by the one and only
Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), before being decapitated with a chainsaw,
another is lifted up and impaled on a butcher's hook before being left to
cool off in a freezer and another.. well, you get the idea. Oh, and the bad
guy's got equally-disturbed relatives too.
There's a lot less gore than I expected given the film's iconic status
that it achieved over the years, but then maybe I've become desensitised to
this sort of thing after seeing a number of slasher flicks - a genre that's
largely died a death (ahem!), due to it being a common staple for many young
actors nowadays.
If a cow ever got the chance,
he'd kill you and everyone you ever cared about.
The film is meant to be in 1.85:1 widescreen but looks a little less wide
than that because, courtesy of it not being anamorphic, you have to zoom the
picture in to fill a widescreen TV and this results in opening credits getting
cut off the bottom of the screen, as well as not being able to see much of
the van in a longshot when they pick up a hitchhiker.
The print used is thankfully free of blemishes, but it is rather on the soft
side. However, certainly no more so than you'd expect if you've been more used
to an old VHS recording.
The film has a stereo surround soundtrack, but not that you'd really notice,
save for Leatherface waving his favourite toy around at the end..
However, for a Special Edition, there are quite a number of extras listed:
The Shocking Truth (72 mins):
An extensive documentary, presented in 16:9 letterbox, with chat from all
the necessary cast and crew members. It runs nearly as long as the film
itself, so you'll need to be a fan to enjoy it.
Interview with Tobe Hooper (14 mins):
The director talks to the camera with further thoughts on the filming.
Presented in 4:3 fullscreen.
Interview with Kim Henkel (8½ mins):
And more from the co-writer. Presented in 4:3 fullscreen.
Deleted Scenes and Alternate Footage (17 mins):
Six of the former and four of the latter, all in rather ropey 4:3 fullscreen.
Outtakes (2 mins):
Does exactly what it says on the tin.
Trailers:
Two for the original film, one for the initial release and one for the
re-release, plus one each for the three sequels, the fourth film starring
Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey.
Original TV ads:
Two brief ones.
Props and Sets (6 mins):
A closer look at the set design. You can just imagine Loyd Grossman walking
round asking "Who lives in a house like this?"
Film and Production Stills:
56 of them to be precise.
Posters and Lobby Cards:
And there's plenty more.
DVD-ROM weblink:
A link to the official website if you haven't had enough yet, or "just go to
the website", as it says, at:
The Chainsaw.com
Audio commentary:
Hidden under the audio menu, the commentary comes courtesy of director
Tobe Hooper, director of photography Daniel Pearl and
Leatherface himself, Gunnar Hansen.
There are no subtitles for the film, a mere 16 chapters to break it up
and, yes I am going to enthuse about something here, fantastic blood-coloured
menus in 3D including motion between the menus and sounds from the film.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
