The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [Ultimate Edition] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Tobe Hooper's influential cult classic continues the subgenre of horror films based on the life and "career" of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, which began with Alfred Hitchcock's own influential cult classic Psycho. When Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) hears that the Texas cemetery where her grandfather is buried has been vandalized, she gathers her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and several other friends together to see if grandpa's remains are still in one piece. While in the area, Sally and her friends decide to visit grandfather's old farmhouse. Unfortunately, a family of homicidal slaughterhouse workers who take their job home with them have taken over the house next door. Included amongst the brood is Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw-wielding human horror show who wears a face mask made out of human skin. Sally's friends are rapidly exterminated one-by-one by the next-door neighbors, leaving only Sally left to fight off Leatherface and his clan. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • New high definition transfer from the 16mm camera originals
  • New 5.1 English and 2.0 Stereo Surround soundtracks
  • Digitally remastered original mono soundtrack
  • Feature-length commentary with actors Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danziger, and art director Robert A. Burns
  • Feature-length commentary with director Tobe Hooper, cinematographer Daniel Pearl and actor Gunnar Hansen
  • Theatrical trailers
  • TV spots
  • Radio spots
  • "Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth" documentary
  • "Flesh Wounds" documentary
  • A Tour of the TCSM House With Gunnar Hansen
  • Deleted scenes and outtakes
  • Blooper reel
  • Outtakes from "The Shocking Truth"
  • Still gallery

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Marilyn Burns - Sally
       Allen Danziger - Jerry
       Paul A. Partain - Franklin
       William Vail - Kirk
       Teri McMinn - Pam
       Gunnar Hansen - Leatherface
       Edwin Neal - Hitchhiker
       William Creamer - Bearded Man
       Jim Siedow - Old Man
       John Henry Faulk - Storyteller
       Jerry Lorenz - Truck Dtiver
       John Dugan - Grandfather
       John Larroquette - Narrator

• Director:

  Tobe Hooper

• Producer:

  Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel

• Screen Story:

  Tobe Hooper

• Screenwriter:

  Tobe Hooper

• Screen Story:

  Kim Henkel

• Screenwriter:

  Kim Henkel

• Cinematographer:

  Daniel Pearl

• Composer (Music Score):

  Wayne Bell, Tobe Hooper

• Editor:

  Sallye Richardson, Larry Carroll

• Art Director:

  Robert A. Burns

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Buzz Knudson

• First Assistant Director:

  Sallye Richardson

• Camera Operator:

  Tobe Hooper

• Production Manager:

  Ronald M. Bozman

• Musical Performer:

  Arkey Blue, Cyclones

REVIEW:

• Fans of today's gore-and-guts shockers may be surprised to learn that this notorious shocker is among the least bloody of modern horror films. But looks can be deceiving. It still packs quite a punch, and may well be the scariest film ever made. Director Tobe Hooper adopts a documentary-like style using static set-pieces, grainy film and a no-nonsense technique. This method was necessitated by budget, of course -- the film was made for next-to-nothing, using drama students from the University of Texas -- but for some odd reason, it works. It's not really a movie. As it unfolds, it comes across as a filmed nightmare, and it gets under the viewer's skin like no horror movie before or since. The scene in which Marilyn Burns is held captive at the cannibal family's dinner-table is almost surrealistic in its relentless depiction of insanity and horror. By the time they wheel down Grandpa (John Dugan), it's nearly unbearable. Suffice it to say that fans of relentless horror should make this film their first priority. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi