I don't know about you folks, but I'm getting pretty tired of discussing the same old flicks here. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Halloween (along with a select few of its sequels), but I'd much rather sit back and just enjoy what should be the films definitive release on DVD, rather than dissect release after release trying to figure out which one's are worth buying and which one's are worth using as drink coasters. I guess it's something that shouldn't surprise us, Halloween was one of Anchor Bay's original titles to debut on the DVD format after all, and at the same time that original presentation was a huge blow to fans as it was riddled with artifacts and was generally speaking, not very nice to look at. Maybe Anchor Bay feels like they have something to prove, but I'd say that after their 2-Disc Limited Edition circa 1999 that they should have just left well enough alone. As we all know, when a limited pressing sells out and the distributor sees more $$ before their eyes, there will inevitably be a re release. That's exactly what happened; about a year later Anchor Bay released each of the two discs from the supposed "Limited Edition" as two separate stand alone releases; the theatrical version and the television version (the same film with the TV scenes spliced back in). I bet that was a blow to all of those Ebay whores who were trying to sell off their 2-Disc sets at the time.

Well, here we stand looking upon the films 25th Anniversary and Anchor Bay has yet again released a brand spankin' new version of Halloween on DVD. Once again, we're given a 2-Disc set, and once again we're given the farthest thing from a definitive edition, surprise, surprise. I'm not going to go into why Halloween is one of the true greats of the Horror genre or give you a step-by-step breakdown of the synopsis. We've all seen this film many times over, i'm sure. I'm not here to convince you of why you should buy Halloween or to step up on my soapbox and rave on and on about its wonders. I'm going to cut straight to the meat and potatoes and offer up my opinion of this set as a whole, versus previous editions. As I've said before, we're nowhere near the definitive release, so get those delusions of grandeur out of that lil' ol' head of yours right from the get go.

For the longest time the Criterion Laser Disc was the Holy Grail for Halloween fans. Presenting the film for the first time ever in its original scope ratio and also including the scenes that were shot for the TV version. We now interrupt this review for a quick bit of background. When ABC bought the TV rights to Halloween, they needed to pad it out a bit to squeeze it into a 2-hour time slot. During the shoot of Halloween 2, John Carpenter went back and shot a few extra scenes (against his better judgment) for the TV version. Before VHS, this was a lot more common than you'd think. The Criterion disc was the first to present these scenes (full frame mind you) and give us the ability to "reinsert" them back into the film.

The original 2-Disc limited edition DVD released by Anchor Bay gave us another first. While Disc-1 presented the original cut of the film in a new anamorphic widescreen transfer, Disc-2 featured the TV cut, also in a new anamorphic widescreen transfer. Yup, for the first time ever we were able to view the TV scenes in their original scope ratio and back where they belonged in the film as a whole, good times. This set also featured a few other extras as well, but more on that in a bit. Probably about a year after this 2-Disc set was long gone, Anchor bay reissued each of the discs from the set as individually (and budget priced) releases, I think they may even still be available.

Here we are in the glorious year of 2003 and Anchor Bay has yet again released Halloween in another 2-Disc set entitled The Halloween 25th Anniversary Edition. The packaging claims that this is a DIVIMAX release (expect to see this odd name on a lot of future Anchor Bay releases) but don't be fooled, it's just a fancy name for the same thing that everyone's been doing all along, transferring film to DVD. Like Columbia's SUPERBIT, it's meant to give their releases added value, but it really means nothing. First things first, Halloween has yet again, been given a new transfer. The image is sharper and colors are bolder and brighter then ever. For example, just take a look at those greens of the grass outdoors. The problem is that the film appears to have been put through some sort of a color correction process (DIVIMAX?) and in turn, some of the scenes we're used to seeing a certain way don't look all too familiar anymore. I'm sure you've seen the screenshot comparisons all over the net, which is why I decided to just skip them this go round. But suffice to say as evening approaches on Halloween night, a lot (not all of them, but some) of the cool blues and creepy lighting effects have been practically white washed. This is most notable as Laurie is in the kitchen struggling to open the back door of the house and Michael smashes a hole in the other kitchen door to turn the knob. In the previous transfer the entire scene had a "blue moon" kind of look to it, at one point the door looks bluer than anything else, in the new release the blue has been completely replaced with a stark white light. Don't get me wrong, colors look great, the question is; are these the colors that Carpenter wanted us to see, or have they had it right all these years prior? Until someone steps up and settles this debate, we may never know. Overall, the quality of this transfer is superb, though just be warned that the color scheme you may be used to in some scenes, is no longer.

That being said, let's just go ahead and mention the audio. As with the previous special edition audio options include the original mono track (thank god!) a souped up 2.0 surround track and an even more souped up Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The 5.1 track is actually quite nice with that Carpenter score really shining through. But then again, in an instance like this I'd prob be more inclined to hit with the mono (personal preference). Still, you have your choices and they're all quite decent as they were in the previous 2-Disc edition.

Before we discuss the extras from each set, let's get one more thing out of the way. Most notably absent from this release are the original TV scenes. The closest we get to these scenes are a few clips of them in the new documentary that's on the second disc. Why Anchor Bay didn't include these scenes as an extra or as a seamless branching option is beyond me. This is only the first reason, why you'll NOT want to get rid of the previous release. On the plus side, is the addition of the feature length commentary (John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Jamie Lee Curtis) that hasn't been heard since the Criterion laser disc. For those of you who have been keeping track the previous 2-Disc set had no commentary but does have a version of the film with the TV scenes. The new 2-Disc set doesn't have the TV scenes but DOES include the Criterion commentary (got that?). Moving along, the older 2-Disc set had a documentary that ran about 27-minutes entitled Halloween Unmasked 2000. The new 2-Disc set features an 87-minute documentary entitled Halloween A Cut Above The Rest (are ya still with me?). For the most part, the new documentary comes across as a longer version of the Unmasked documentary. Most notable though is the addition of some behind the scenes footage on the set of Halloween (originally aired as an AMC Back Story segment). Does this new 87-minute documentary give us anything new? Not really, a lot of information is carried over between the two documentaries and the audio commentary. You're going to be hearing the same stories over and over again from different people. Also included on this latest edition is a 10-minute featurette entitled On Location 25 Years Later in which we get to see some of the streets and houses used in the film as they stand today. It's worth mentioning that the Unmasked documentary on the previous 2-Disc set has a similar segment that's actually MORE entertaining and enlightening than the new one.

Let's break the extras down in a handy dandy easy to read format, shall we?

Halloween Limited Edition 2-Disc Set (2000)

Original Theatrical Version (anamorphic widescreen and full-frame versions)
TV Version (anamorphic widescreen version)
2 Trailers
3 TV Spots
3 Radio Spots
Talent Bios (Carpenter, Pleasence, Curtis, Hill, Yablans, Akkad, Soles)
2 Still Galleries (both larger than the still galleries on the new set)

Halloween Unmasked 2000 (27-minutes) - Appears to be a shorter version of the new documentary. Features a revisit to the streets of "Haddonfield" with selected cast members. Note: The anecdote with PJ Soles about the Halloween screening, she says, "You bet your Ass!"

Halloween 25th Anniversary Edition 2-Disc Set (2003)

Original Theatrical Version (anamorphic widescreen version only)
1 Red Banded Trailer
2 TV Spots
2 Radio Spots
Talent Bios (Carpenter, Pleasence, Curtis)
1 Still Gallery (much smaller than the previous 2-disc set)

Halloween A Cut Above The Rest (87 -minutes) - Really the only thing new this has to offer is the on set behind the scenes footage. Nearly everything else has been discussed in either the commentary or Unmasked. Note: The anecdote with PJ Soles about the Halloween screening, she says, "You bet your A!" Doesn't say "Ass" like she did in the Unmasked documentary.

On Location 25 Years Later (10 - minutes) - P J Soles revisits the streets of "Haddonfield" with her hot daughter. I preferred the segment from the Unmasked featurette.

DVD Rom Features the original screenplay and screensavers.

Well, there you have it. I've presented you with all of the evidence, now it's up to you to come up with a verdict. It's a real shame that we weren't given a truly definitive edition of Halloween this time. What should we have been given? The theatrical cut, the TV version (using seamless branching), the Unmasked documentary, A Cut Above The Rest documentary, the audio commentary, a compilation of every still gallery presented all together, full talent bios etc. etc. I think you get the picture. Unfortunately we still don't have it all in one place. Still, there is a bright side. If an unnamed company were to release the 87-minute documentary A Cut Above The Rest along with the other extras presented on this DVD (sans the film, just the extras) I'm sure that many of us would have no problem forking over 15-20 bucks for that alone. So I guess it all depends on how bad you want these extras, so pick yer poison. I guess Anchor Bay kinda missed the boat on this one. It's still got virtues mind you, it's just that not all of them are in one place quite yet. Maybe some day.