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DVD Shopping Bag: Halloween Box Set
What? No 2 and 3 but it has Blu-ray? By
Robert T. Trate
October 14, 2008
Scenes from Halloween the Extended Cut
© Mania.com/Robert Trate
Last October I headed over to mall to pick up Halloween on DVD. After sitting through Rob Zombie’s awful rendition of John Carpenter’s classic film I knew it was time to pick up the original. I still had my 1998 VHS Limited Edition 2 tape set but it was starting to look worn out. For those of you that never had the set it had all the deleted scenes, featurettes, trailers and interviews on two different tapes.
I journeyed into the canyons of the mall looking for a DVD edition of that 2 tape set. Finding a plethora of re-mastered and anniversary editions I was lost trying to figure out which one to pick up. All I did know was that I wanted the one with the network scenes reincorporated back into the film. Even though the prices were super low they couldn’t deter me from what I wanted: Halloween with those additional scenes. Apparently the version I wanted had been released in 1999 and again in 2001on DVD but had since gone out of circulation.
On October 14, Anchor Bay is finally re-releasing Halloween the Extended Cut on DVD. Unfortunately there is a catch; it only comes in the Halloween: 30th Anniversary Box Set. Packed with a great collection of Halloween anniversary, sequels and extended editions it lacks Halloween 2 and 3. Apparently both of those films are owned by Universal Studios (Check out Halloween 2/ Halloween 3 - Season of the Witch (Double Feature DVD)). Universal Studios is the key to why there is an extended cut of Halloween though.
Halloween was sold to NBC (owned by Universal Studios) for television broadcast rights for 4 million dollars. Considering it was made for 325,000 that is a nice profit. However, after a few cuts the film was not long enough to run on TV. John Carpenter was then hired to film twelve additional minutes for the television broadcast. This was incredibly convenient because at the time Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence were filming Halloween 2.
What’s in those twelve minutes? Plenty of back story that ties Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to Michael Myers. There are few other scenes but the one scene that really matters is Dr. Loomis examining Michael’s room at the institution. This scene not only places the entire Halloween mythology in order but it makes everything that deals with Laurie Strode, up to and including Halloween: H20, work.
The box set also lacks Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. It doesn’t need Halloween: Resurrection, which was just plain awful, but this odd 30th anniversary box isn’t Anchor Bay’s fault. Moustapha Akkad before he passed away was very open about milking poor Michael Myers to death. Apparently that meant selling the distribution rights to whoever wanted them. Now it seems that Moustapha’s son Malek is carrying on the tradition by producing Rob Zombie’s Halloween.
Outside of picking up Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Halloween 2 Anchor Bay’s box set does have that extended cut and a plethora of extras. If you can do without the extended cut then look for these films individually to be on sale this Halloween. If you need John Carpenter’s classic, fully restored or you want Halloween on Blu-ray then this box set is what you have been waiting for.
HORROR
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-4: 4 Film Favorites
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5-8: 4 Film Favorites
Brotherhood of Blood (Ghost House Underground Collection)
Camp Horror Double Feature: Vampires Embrace/Through Dead Eyes
Dance of the Dead (Ghost House Underground Collection)
Dark Floors (Ghost House Underground Collection)
Deadly Game
Drive-In Cult Classics 3
Exploitation Cinema: Mausoleum/Blood Song
-Trailers for each film
Last House in the Woods (Ghost House Underground Collection)
Room 205 (Ghost House Underground Collection)
Trackman (Ghost House Underground Collection)
ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS
After the Truth
American Gangster [Blu-ray]
Casino [Blu-ray]
Eastern Promises [Blu-ray]
Exspendable
Hard Bounty
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Single Disc)
There are multiple Exclusives for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
-Circuit City - 2 lithographs of concept art from the movie.
-Best Buy - Gift Set with replica crystal skull from Sideshow Collectibles and a $25 gift card to Sideshowcollectibles.com
-Target - Exclusive Packaging is a beautiful hard cover book from Palace Press with 80 pages of behind the scenes photos, including many never-before-published images.
-Kmart & Sears - Four Exclusive LEGO mini-posters. Each poster is a LEGO replica of the original theatrical poster from all four Indy films.
-Trans World (FYE, Sam Goody and Coconuts) - Exclusive Steel book Packaging.
-Commentary by Director Lewis Teague
-Deleted Scenes
-Multiple Featurettes
-Theatrical Trailer
Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]
Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (+ Digital Copy)
Mystery of the Nile [Blu-ray]
The New World - The Extended Cut (+ Digital Copy)
Notorious
Payback
Rebecca
-Deleted Scenes
-Cast Interviews
-Retrospective
Spellbound
War, Inc.
War, Inc. [Blu-ray]
Witness to the Mob
ANIME
Azumanga Daioh, Vol. 2: Complete Collection
Bleach Movie 1: Memories of Nobody
Claymore, Starter Set (includes Vol. 1)
Claymore, Vol. 1
Ghost in a Shell: Season 1
Kaleido Star: Season 1 and 2
Kanon, Vol. 6
Karin, Vol. 5 - Ascendance
Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl Collection
Kyo Kara Maoh: Season 2, Vol. 8
Naruto Uncut Complete Box Set (Vol 1-10 Box Sets) - AMAZON EXCLUSIVE
Naruto Uncut Box Set, Volume 10
Negima: Spring & Summer OVA
Otogi Zoshi:Tokyo Arc
School Rumble: Season 2, Pt. 1
Shonen Onmyouji: Starter Set (includes Vol. 1)
Shonen Onmyouji, Vol. 1
Shonen Onmyouji, Vol. 2
Shonen Onmyouji, Vol. 3
Vol. 1-Slayers Revolution
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Rise of the Sacred Beasts, Part 1
CARTOONS
Liberty's Kids: Complete Series
Lil' Bush: Resident of United States - Season Two
SpongeBob SquarePants - Who Bob What Pants
COMEDY AND LOVE Mania Style
Chaplin (15th Anniversary Edition)
- Mini Episodes of I Dream of Jeannie and Fantasy Island
Criterion Collection
Killing of a Chinese Bookie - Criterion Collection
Short Cuts - Criterion Collection
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
Capricorn One
The Matrix Collection: 4 Film Favorites
SALT: A Fatal Attraction
Superman: 4 Film Favorites
The Ultimate Matrix Collection [Blu-ray]
TV LAND
Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Second Season
Back to You - Season 1
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Eighth Season
Degrassi: The Next Generation Ultimate Fan Set
The Deputy (1959-1961) - Starring Henry Fonda
Nash Bridges - The First Season
The Partridge Family: The Complete Third Season
That 70's Show: Complete Giftset
The Unit - The Complete Third Season
UNDENIABLE CLASSICS
March of the Wooden Soldiers
BOX SETS
-Audio commentaries, featurettes, screen tests, still galleries, vintage radio interviews
-AFI Tribute to Hitchcock
-32-page notebook with trivia and production notes
Alien - Predator Total Destruction Collection
Giant 600 Cartoons: Special Collectors Edition
-Commentaries
-Trailers
-Behind the Scenes
-Halloween Restored original 1978 film
-Halloween Extended Edition (out of print for years)
-Halloween 4 The Return Of Michael Myers
-Halloween 5 The Revenge of Michael Myers
-Halloween 25 Years Of Terror SPECIAL BONUS DISC
-Halloween: Blu-ray
-ONLY 20,000 SET WILL BE MADE EACH SET IS INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED
Indiana Jones - The Complete Adventures Collection (Raiders of the Lost Ark/ Temple of Doom/ Last Crusade/ Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Shogun Assassin: 5 Film Collectors’s Set
Ultraman Box Set