The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: (4K UHD and Blu-ray) Limited edition

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The reasons why that happens aren’t necessarily easy to quantify, because with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the whole is much greater than the sum of its individual parts. It was produced on a low budget under difficult circumstances, and what was going on behind the camera became intertwined with what was happening in front of it. The conditions were brutal, with everyone working long days for seven hours a week, and since there wasn’t enough money for multiple versions of each costume, the actors wore the same clothing every day in the sweltering Texas heat. The real suffering that the actors experienced is visible on camera, and the unrelenting nature of Hooper’s direction mean that tensions remained high regardless of whether or not the camera was rolling. It wasn’t quite method acting, but it was definitely method filmmaking, and it had a tangible effect on the finished product. If you really want to appreciate the quality of the 4K restoration and transfer, take a look at the 25 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes. They appear to be drawn from a VHS (they’re in 4:3 and pretty murky) most of these sequences are silent, none, I would argue, essential. Finally among the video extras are the standard collection of advertising spots and a gallery with a mix of stills and behind the scenes imagery, most of them familiar from the documentaries and interviews on the disc. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook A The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook B The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – a new feature-length documentary produced by Second Sight Films Tobe Hooper went on to make the well received TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1979) and had terrific success with the Spielberg-produced Poltergeist, however, much of his other outcome could be called interesting at best. His own sequel to Chainsaw released in 1986 was a badly executed mess and the likes of vampires from space movie Lifeforce was laughable at best. However of late Hooper has enjoyed a slight return to form with his 2003 take on the Toolbox Murders proving a guilty pleasure.

illustrator Adam Stothard featuring Sally, Leatherface, "Grandpa", the hitchhiker, the old man, and a close-up of Sally's eye. A movie that redefined horror, tells the story of a group of five friends who take a road trip and find themselves at the mercy of a depraved Texan clan, among them one of the all-time horror icons, the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface –played by the inimitableGunnar Hansen.It’s not long before their idyllic drive becomes a macabre nightmare…that feature writer-director-producer Tobe Hooper and co-writer Kim Henkel speaking candidly about the film. As far as I know, these haven't been thanks to Second Sight's reliably great disc encoding, which does an outstanding job of preserving its filmic texture where lesser studios

Cutting Chain Saw offers an interview with editor J. Larry Carroll about the circumstances involving how the film was put together. Granpaw’s Tales features an interview with actor John Dugan about his role in the film. Horror’s Hallowed Grounds is a 2008 episode of Sean Clark’s web series, taking us on a tour of the filming locations in Texas. Flesh Wounds was produced by Red Shirt Pictures in 2006 for Dark Sky Films and specifically speaks to members of the Chain Saw filmmaking family one by one. They include cinematographer Daniel Pearl, TCM fan club president Tim Harden, actor Edwin Neal, special makeup designer Dr. W.E. Barnes, and actor Gunnar Hansen. In addition, there’s an In Memoriam section devoted to actors Paul Partain and Jim Siedow, and art director Robert A. Burns, as well as footage from Cinema Wasteland and Texas Frightmare shows. Off the Hook features an interview with actress Teri McMinn from 2014, which was a big deal at the time as she had walked away from the spotlight and hadn’t spoken about the film since its release. The Business of Chain Saw features an interview with production manager Ron Bozman about his experiences making the film. House Tour with Gunnar Hansen was produced in 2006 and features the actor taking us on a tour of the filming location as it stands today. The Tobe Hooper Interview and Kim Henkel Interview were both originally recorded in 2002 for Blue Underground. Alongside these feature length pieces are several new video extras. Behind the Mask is a brief but interesting video essay on the role of masks in horror cinema in general, as well as with reference to Leatherface specifically. Cutting Chainsaw is an 11 minute interview with editor J. Larry Carroll. Grandpaw’s Tales talks to John Dugan, who was buried under all the prosthetics to play the grandfather, for 16 minutes. There are some particularly interesting things I hadn’t heard before in Dugan’s interview, including that he got the job largely because Kim Henkel was his brother in law and that, at least for him, Henkel was more hands on in directing performance, while Hooper handled camera and lighting. The real coup among the newer interviews is the fact that Teri McMinn, who for years didn’t talk about the film, sits down for 17 minutes on her role as Pam. She’s clearly come round to appreciating the film (after some initial reticence over the famous swing shot) and is one of the most engaging interviewees. Finally, production manager Ron Bozman sits down for 16 minutes on the business end of the film. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre not only changed the face of horror, it remains one of the most disturbing, powerful and terrifying films ever made. Now – almost half a century after its original release – you can witness the terror as never seen before, as Second Sight Films presents the definitive version of Tobe Hooper’s legendary horror classic.

Marilyn Burns who played Sally had a pretty rough time filming. When chased by Leatherface through the undergrowth she actually cut herself on the branches quite badly, so a lot of the blood on her body and clothes is real. Also during the dinner scene towards the end of the film, when Leatherface cuts Sally’s finger, he actually does cut Marilyn’s finger because he kept failing to get the fake blood to come out of the tube behind the blade. Audio commentary with Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger and Paul A. Partain, and Art Director Robert A. Burns James Ferman hit on something essential about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in observing that the ‘problem’ with it couldn’t be cut around: it’s a deceptive film. From the beginning, as camera flashbulbs illuminate rotting corpses and skeletal remains, the horror inherent in the images makes you believe that you’re seeing them for longer and more explicitly than you actually are. This carries over into the rest of the film, which spills only a few actual drops of blood on screen (real blood in one moment, because the prop knife that was going to be used for the effect of cutting Marilyn Burns’ finger wasn’t working, so they just cut her) but some viewers would swear to you that they had seen the most brutal and graphic violence. Audio Commentary #3 - The first of several larger group chats, this one with cinematographer Daniel Pearl, editor J. Long before “gritty” was an industry buzzword, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre epitomized the term. As such, one might be wary that a 4K restoration could hinder the viewing experience, but that is not at all the case. Utilizing the 4K scan from the aforementioned Blu-ray, which was approved by Hooper, and now with a wider color gamut courtesy of HDR, the picture is presented in staggering clarity while maintaining the 16mm film grain. The oppressive heat is virtually palpable.