Collins’ Crypt: How Complete Is The Halloween Complete Collection? UPDATED
UPDATED! (original post below)
After some fans pestered them about "missing" bonus features, Scream Factory and Anchor Bay have announced some updates to the bonus features on the Halloween Complete Collection, now a mere 5 weeks from being in my hands (lap?). All previous specs remain the same.
Disc 5 (Halloween III)
- The Tom Atkins commentary from the 2012 release has been confirmed (again).
Disc 10 (H20)
- Select scenes from the film with John Ottman's original score will now be included as a supplement
Disc 11 (Halloween: Resurrection)
- Rick Rosenthal's commentary over the deleted scenes and alternate endings will be carried over. Also, the "Web Cam Special", which recuts the Myers house portion of the film to be shown entirely from the POV cams, is now included (along with Rosenthal's commentary). This was a bonus feature that was curiously dropped from the previous blu-ray release of the film, so it's nice to see it restored here for completionist's sake.
Disc 15 (Bonus disc)
- NEW episodes of HORROR'S HALLOWED GROUNDS - we go back to the filming locations of HALLOWEEN 4, HALLOWEEN 5 (with special guest Don Shanks) and HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS. Plus the original 2005 pilot for Horror's Hallowed Grounds featuring a look at the locations of the original HALLOWEEN.
- HORROR'S HALLOWED GROUNDS: Fan Edition a special episode shot with, and for, the fans as they board a bus tour, during the 35 YEARS OF TERROR convention, and visit the locations of HALLOWEEN (1978), HALLOWEEN II (1981) HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH and HALLOWEEN (2007). Hosted by HHG's Sean Clark with special guests Dick Warlock, Charles Cyphers, Brian Andrews, Tommy Lee Wallace and Erik Preston.
In addition, the mono track for Halloween III and 2.0 mixes for Halloween 6 (both versions) have been added, in addition to the 5.1 mixes listed before.
Also, this is pretty fun - here are side by side shots of the producer's cut of Halloween 6 - a shot from a typical bootleg of it, and the way it'll look on the Blu-ray. Not too shabby, eh?
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Bay's upcoming Halloween: The Complete Collection boxed set would excite me, just to finally have all of the films together as one unit, allowing me to ditch the OCD nightmare assortment on my shelf. As various re-releases would likely omit bonus features (or in H20's case, the proper aspect ratio), I currently have two copies of nearly every film on my shelf, all in different sizes to boot. It's ugly, dammit!
But will I TRULY be able to get rid of those original release DVDs and Blu-rays? While Scream Factory has been consistently great at making sure their releases have all existing bonus material along with their newly created content, we can't say the same for Anchor Bay. The distributor has routinely swapped out commentaries and other supplements with subsequent releases of the first, fourth and fifth films - I think I have four of their editions of the 1978 original as each one has a bonus feature that the others lack (they do the same thing with their endless re-releases of the Evil Dead films as well). Obviously any limited edition ones I've acquired (such as the Halloween 4 and 5 editions released in giant tins) will stay in my collection, but can I ditch that H20 Blu-ray from Echo Bridge? Or the original Scream Factory releases of Halloween II and III? Well let's see what the box will give us! Here is the list of specs from the press release, with my insight (for lack of a better word) in between.
Disc 1 John Carpenter's Halloween (1978)
Bonus Features:
HD transfer supervised and approved by cinematographer Dean Cundey
NEW Audio Commentary With Director Of Photography Dean Cundey, Editor Tommy Lee Wallace And The Shape, Nick Castle
Audio Commentary with Co-Writer/Director John Carpenter and Actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
The Night She Came Home Featurette
On Location: 25 Years Later Featurette
TV Version Footage
Television Spots
Theatrical Trailer
TV and Radio Spots
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1); Dolby TrueHD 7.1; Original 1978 Audio in Dolby TrueHD Mono
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
This is more or less the same as the 2013 Anchor Bay 35th anniversary release, but with the new commentary by Cundey, Wallace and Castle. Very excited to hear that one. The other update is the mono track - last year's Blu had a mono version of the revised audio (the one with the added lightning sounds), but from what I understand this is truly the original mono track.
Disc 2 John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) (Exclusive to Deluxe Edition)
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Director John Carpenter, Actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Co-Writer/Producer Debra Hill
Featurette: Halloween: A Cut Above The Rest
Theatrical Trailer
TV and Radio Spots
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1); Dolby Surround 5.1; PCM 5.1; Original 1978 Mono Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
This is one of the nicer surprises on the disc - this commentary was originally recorded for the Criterion laserdisc and has been MIA on DVD/Blu re-releases for quite some time. I figured it would be gone from here as well, but it looks like that isn't the case. However, the inclusion of the "Cut Above The Rest" featurette (actually a full length doc) leads me to believe that this disc is basically the 2007 Blu-ray AB put out (the one that has the wrong color transfer on the film), as the features are identical to that release. But some prefer that color timing, so now you can have both and compare them on a level playing field!
Disc 3 Halloween II (1981)
Theatrical Version
Bonus Features:
Audio commentary with director Rick Rosenthal and actor Leo Rossi (Theatrical version)
Audio commentary with stunt co-ordinator/actor Dick Warlock (Theatrical version)
The Nightmare Isn't Over: The Making Of Halloween II Featuring Rick Rosenthal, Lance Guest, Dick Warlock, Alan Howarth, Dean Cundey, Leo Rossi and Moore
Horror's Hallowed Grounds: The Locations of Halloween II - Host Sean Clark revisits the original shooting locations of the film
Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary from director Rick Rosenthal
Alternate Ending with Optional Audio Commentary from director Rick Rosenthal
Theatrical Trailer
TV and Radio Spots
Still Gallery
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1); DTS-HD MA 5.1
Disc 4 Halloween II TV Cut (1981) DVD (Exclusive to Deluxe Edition)
Television Cut With Added Footage Not Seen In The Theatrical Version
Tech Specs:
Standard Definition Full-frame 1.33:1; Dolby Digital Mono
Disc 5 Halloween III: Season of The Witch (1982)
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary with director Tommy Lee Wallace
Stand Alone: The Making Of Halloween III: Season Of The Witch featuring Tommy Lee Wallace, Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dick Warlock, Dean Cundey and more
Horror's Hallowed Grounds - Revisiting the original shooting locations
Still Gallery
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1); DTS-HD MA 5.1; Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
Nothing special to add here - these are the existing Scream Factory discs. And in case you were wondering, I have confirmed with the SF folks that the Tom Atkins commentary is still on H3 - it was a mere oversight on the features listing. Again, these are the identical discs to the ones Scream put out in 2012, which remain two of their best releases, so I can't see how anyone could complain that there's nothing new - they're definitive as is!
Disc 6 Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary with Actors Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris
Audio Commentary with Director Dwight H. Little and Author Justin Beahm
Theatrical Trailer
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1); Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc 7 -- Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary with Actor Don Shanks and Jeffrey Landman
Audio Commentary with Director Dominique Othenin-Girard and Actors Danielle Harris And Jeffrey Landman
Halloween 5: On The Set
Halloween 5: Original Promo
Theatrical Trailer
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1); Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
These are identical to the Blu-ray releases Anchor Bay put out in 2012. Nothing new and nothing changed from them, as far as I know.
Disc 8 -- Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) Theatrical Cut
Bonus Features:
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Still Gallery
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1); Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English
This is actually a bit more of a "special edition" than any release of the film I am aware of; I'm sure the trailer appeared on a previous release but the TV spots (hopefully this will include the one that features a shot from Hellraiser IV!) and the still gallery, as minor as they may be, aren't part of any existing R1 release I've ever seen.
Disc 9 Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) Producer's Cut (Exclusive to Deluxe Edition)
Bonus Features:
NEW High Definition Master from the original inter-negative
NEW Audio Commentary with Screenwriter Daniel Farrands and Composer Alan Howarth (Producer's Cut)
NEW Jamie's Story An Interview With The Original Jamie Actress Danielle Harris
NEW The Cursed Curse An Interview With Producers Malek Akkad And Paul Freeman
NEW Acting Scared A Look At The Film's Cast With Actresses Mariah O'Brien And J.C. Brandy
NEW The Shape Of Things A Look At Michael Myers' Murders And Mayhem With Special Make-Up Effects Artists John Carl Buechler And Brad Hardin And Actor George P. Wilbur (Michael Myers)
NEW Haddonfield's Horrors The Sights of Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers With Director of Photography Billy Dickson And Production Designer Brad Ryman And Director of Photography (Additional Scenes) Thomas Callaway
NEW Full Circle An Interview With Composer Alan Howarth
NEW Cast And Crew Tribute to Donald Pleasence
Archival Interviews And Behind-The-Scenes Footage
Behind-The-Scenes Footage (approx. 30 Minutes)
Alternate And Deleted Scenes (Not Present In Either Cut Of The Film)
Teaser Trailer: Halloween 666: The Origin Of Michael Myers
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (1:78:1); DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English
Holy crap! This is obviously the biggest draw for the set, as fans have asked for a true release of the Producer's Cut for the past 18 years now. Even a decent transfer of that version would be enough of a get, but with even more deleted scenes (!) and what looks like hours of newly created bonus content (including an interview with Danielle Harris about why she's not in the film) makes it a true must-have item. Even if you dislike the movie (I'm okay with it; I like the producer's cuts additions obviously, but I think the theatrical ending was superior to the anticlimactic "Let's put rocks on the floor and make Michael freeze" one), the wealth of material explaining how it all went wrong (it's been almost 20 years and this isn't a Dimension release - no one will have any reason to hold back) makes it the disc that will most likely be the first a fan puts in when his or her set arrives.
Disc 10 -- Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Bonus Features:
Presented in the correct 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
NEW Commentary With Director Steve Miner And Jamie Lee Curtis, Moderated By Sean Clark
NEW The Making of Halloween H20 Featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Nancy Stephens, Adam Hann-Byrd, Tom Kane, Editor Patrick Lussier, Producer Malek Akkad, Producer Paul Freeman, Composer John Ottman, Chris Durand (Michael Myers), Writer Robert Zappia, Stunt Co-Ordinator Donna Keegan, Make-Up Brad Hardin And Cinematographer Daryn Okada
Vintage Interviews And Behind-The-Scenes Footage
Theatrical Trailer
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1); DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Another nice surprise: the correct aspect ratio was a given, but that the disc will contain the commentary track promised on the film's original DVD release (it was never recorded or just omitted depending on who you ask, but either way - the track was listed on the back of the DVD despite not being there). I mean, Sean Clark is an asshole*, but otherwise this is great news for the fans. The other boon is the new retrospective doc with tons of cast and crew accounted for, in particular John Ottman - this was probably not a great experience for him as giant chunks of his score were thrown out (so much that he eventually released his intact score as Portrait of Terror), so it'll be interesting to hear his thoughts now that plenty of time has passed.
(Just in case you thought I was joking - the erroneous bonus features listing from the 1999 DVD release.)
Disc 11 -- Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary With Director Rick Rosenthal And Editor Robert A. Ferretti
Alternate Endings
Deleted Scenes
Featurette: Head Cam
Storyboard Analysis
Set Tour With Production Designer Troy Hansen
Set Interview With Jamie Lee Curtis
Vintage Interviews And Behind-The-Scenes Footage
Theatrical Trailer
Home Video TV Spots
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1); DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English
These are the existing bonus features that came with the film when it was released on DVD in 2002, plus the "Vintage Interviews And Behind-The-Scenes Footage" which I assume are the interviews available on the Region 2 DVD release that never appeared on any R1 release. Not that the lack of exclusive stuff matters; no one really likes this movie so they didn't waste resources creating anything new - simple as that. BUT, if there's time I will offer Scream and Anchor Bay my services to provide drunken commentary. I'll even bring my own alcohol.
Disc 12 Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007)
Bonus Features:
Unrated Director's Cut With Audio Commentary By Writer/Director Rob Zombie
Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary
Alternate Ending With Optional Commentary
Bloopers
Featurette: The Many Faces Of Michael Myers
Re-Imagining Halloween
Meet The Cast
Casting Sessions
Scout Taylor-Compton Screen Test
Theatrical Trailer
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1); DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Disc 13 Rob Zombie's Halloween (2007) Bonus Disc (Exclusive to Deluxe Edition)
Bonus Features:
Documentary: Michael Lives: The Making of Halloween (4 hours)
Tech Specs:
Dolby Stereo
Subtitles: English
Disc 14 Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 (2009)
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Rob Zombie
Deleted And Alternate Scenes
Audition Footage
Make-Up Test Footage
Blooper Reel
Captain Clegg And The Night Creatures Music Videos
Uncle Seymour Coffins Stand-Up Routines
Tech Specs:
1080p Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1); DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1;
Subtitles: English
Here's the one possible source of ire for (some) fans - only the unrated cuts of these films will be included (yes, RZ H2 is the unrated one as well; it's another oversight I've confirmed with Scream Factory), as these are identical to the existing Blu-ray releases that came out for the films' home video debuts. The theatrical cuts, if memory serves (and, as with ALL of the above, I am referring to Region 1 only), were only released on standard DVD, so I assume that upgrading them for high-def would be a lot of time/money spent on something only a minor portion of the set's buyers would ever want to watch (when the set was announced, many were upset that any version of these were on there at all). Personally I think the theatrical version of his first film is slightly better than his unrated cut, but they're both bad experiences I don't plan to have again, so I don't really care which one they put on there as the disc will likely never leave the package. Still, fans that prefer the theatrical versions are right to be bummed that they still won't get to own them on high def.
As for his sequel, the unrated cut is superior, so if I ever planned to watch it again (it's not exactly what I'd call a good movie, but it's an interesting, daring one that I've grown to at least respect) that'd be the one I'd want anyway. And as with Resurrection, the existing special features were plenty exhaustive enough, so the lack of any new material can't really be an issue to anyone but the whiniest babies that wouldn't have been satisfied anyway. There hasn't been enough time for a true retrospective, and everything else is there - what could you actually WANT?
Disc 15 Bonus Features (Exclusive to Deluxe Edition)
John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN The Extended Version (In HD - TV Inserts Are In Standard Definition)
Interview with Moustapha Akkad about origin of HALLOWEEN
Featurette: HALLOWEEN UNMASKED 2000
Featurette: The Making Of HALLOWEEN 4: FINAL CUT
NEW The Making Of HALLOWEEN 4 Featuring Actors Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Kathleen Kinmont, Beau Starr, Raymond O'Connor, Erik Preston and Sasha Jensen, Stuntmen Tom Morga (Michael Myers) And George P. Wilbur (Michael Myers), Composer Alan Howarth, Writer Alan B. McElroy, Producers Malek Akkad And Paul Freeman, Special Make-Up Effects Artists John Carl Buechler And Ken Horn
Featurette: Inside HALLOWEEN 5
NEW The Making Of HALLOWEEN 5 Featuring Interviews With Actors Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Wendy Kaplan, Jeffrey Landman, Jonathan Chapin, Frankie Como, Tamara Glynn, Matthew Walker, Don Shanks (Michael Myers), Producer Malek Akkad, Line Producer Rick Nathanson And Composer Alan Howarth
NEW Interview With Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Burman On HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH
HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH Radio Spots
TV Spots HALLOWEEN 4, HALLOWEEN 5, HALLOWEEN (2007) and HALLOWEEN II (2009)
Photo Galleries -- HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN 4 and HALLOWEEN 5
Tech Specs:
1080p, 520p Full Frame, Anamorphic Widescreen 1:85:1, 2.35:1;
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Stereo, Mono
This disc is basically "odd and ends" - "Unmasked 2000" and those other old featurettes are ported over from various Anchor Bay releases; they have been MIA from recent versions and so Scream is reviving them here to do us a solid. I assume that the new docs for 4 and 5 are on this disc so that they wouldn't have to remaster the 2012 discs to make room for them. The TV cut of the original keeps going in and out of print, so it's a welcome inclusion, as is the new interview with Tom Burman for Halloween III (as with 4 and 5's docs, I assume that feature is here to avoid having to redo the existing disc). I also like that they have a disc dedicated to general bonus material spanning all of the films, as they can continue to add things to it as we get closer to the release. This will allow them to process discs 1-14 as is while holding out for interviews with say, Paul Rudd or Michelle Williams - it's possible the specs on this disc will change by the time the set gets pressed.
So what's missing? Surely myself and other OCD fans will have to hold on to a couple of those older discs because they have something that got skipped over on this boxed set, right? Well, not much... apart from Zombie's theatrical cuts, the only other omission I can find after comparing to my older releases are a few minor supplements from Anchor Bay's "Divimax" releases of H4/5, such as the intro to 5 with Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell and a poorly recorded/edited clip of a convention panel focusing on both films. Alan McElroy's H4 commentary (also from the Divimax) is the only thing that might legitimately be missed, but it wasn't that great of a track and he is present on the new documentary to offer his thoughts, so I think we can live with that. One release of Halloween II (from Universal) included Terror in the Aisles, which isn't here, but that'd be a weird thing to include on a boxed set of a specific franchise (plus, due to rights issues with the clips used in the film, putting it on a multi-studio project like this would probably cause massive, unnecessary headaches. It's not a Halloween movie, period). The only other thing that seems to be missing - out of over a decade's worth of releases (over a dozen total releases for H1/4/5 alone), mind you - is the Creed music video from H20. If you complain about that or even wanted it in the first place, you don't deserve this set, far as I'm concerned. But if you absolutely must have everything, it looks like you'd need to hold on to your Divimax discs of 4 and 5, and the original H20 release (which might be cool to keep simply for the fun of seeing a listed bonus feature that didn't exist). Everything else you can junk - it's been fully ported over here and then some.
Needless to say, there is almost nothing to whine about here**. As they are in charge of the bonus material that's included, Scream Factory should be commended on how well they've managed to apply their usual MO for a special edition (all the content that previously existed and more) to such a massive set, even if you ignored the nutty legal history of this franchise that likely made that sort of thing harder than usual. It'd be easy to be reactionary and complain that they didn't create any major new content for 2, 3, 8 or Zombie's films, but again - the existing special editions for those films are plenty comprehensive as is, so there really wasn't any need for them to do any more. It's clear that their focus was to finally create true special editions for Curse and H20 (both essentially bare-bones releases until now) and assemble the various bonus material for the three Anchor Bay titles (1, 4 and 5) into one package for once, and it seems they have succeeded beautifully. Until the Weinsteins finally get Halloween 3D off the ground, this is and will remain the definitive, TRULY complete release for this series, and I cannot wait to toss those old discs into my recycling bin and put this godsend in their place.
*I kid. Clark voted against my team at Horror Trivia last week when there was a discrepancy over an answer, costing us a nice stack of prizes, so he had it coming! Truthfully, he's the best guy for the job and he's been instrumental in getting Jamie Lee on these things, so everyone else should give him some love. He could use the pick-me-up; it can't be fun for him to get beaten by my team every month : ).
**Beyond some language options, but that's a whole can of worms I'd rather not open. Yes it's a bummer for Spanish-speaking audiences that only some of the films have subtitles, and it seems that the original mixes for the pre-5.1 sequels are gone forever, but I'm not about to complain about the lack of something I wouldn't have bothered with anyway. My concern was actual content that was or wasn't missing, and on that front they have done a terrific job - people that bombard their Facebook and Twitter pages and insult them for not including this or that make me embarrassed to be among them as a fan. Obviously I'm one of the most nitpicky and obsessive fans there is for this series - if I can't find anything to really get my panties in a bunch about, you can be assured that it's a keeper.
