Why So Blu?

Halloween: The Complete Collection, Deluxe Edition – Disc 15 (Blu-ray Review)

While Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers and Halloween: H20 have been given new “Collector’s Edition” style discs in this new Blu-ray set, the previously released Anchor Bay and Scream Factory titles remain relatively the same editions as you can buy standalone.  That didn’t stop them from putting additional features for those movies in Halloween: The Complete Collection (Deluxe Edition).  That’s what Disc 15 is for.  There’s some all new stuff, plus some ported over material.  All the more to make this the definitive Halloween set and leave you with really no desire to need anything further from this franchise in the future.  The box set really is the complete journey through this franchise for good or bad.

Halloween – The Extended Version In HD; TV Inserts Are In Standard Defintion (HD, 1:41:08) – Presented with a MPEG-4 AVC 1080p encoding (2.35:1) and a 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround.  The transfer used for this mash up is the Dean Cundey approved one from the 2013 release.  The TV scenes are in standard definition and there is a noticeable dip in quality in them.  The image is softer and less detailed.  The print quality sort of resembles that of Scream Factory’s release of Halloween II (1981).  The color timing also looks a little different than the theatrical parts.  Characters in the distance last distinct detail and look a tad blurry.  Its really not all that bad, and the standard definition version of the scenes really is the best they can do.  Casual people will probably not even notice the quality change.

Halloween Unmasked 2000 (HD, 27:16) – A ported over mini documentary about making the first film that came from an earlier DVD release.  Features interviews from John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nick Castle, Moustapha Akkad, Tommy Lee Wallace and many others.

The Making Of Halloween 4: Final Cut (HD, 16:47) – Another import from a previous Halloween 4 release.  This is a brief making of that features Danielle Harris, Alan McElroy, Dwight Little, George P Wilbur and Ellie Cornell discussing the production.

The Making Of Halloween 4 (HD, 47:47) – Oddly this is split into Part 1 and Part II.  They play back to back however.  This is another awesome Scream Factory making of doc that gets all the important points and pertinent people back to discuss.  We even FINALLY get the low down about that damn mask with the white hair that shows up in the school at the end.  There’s other goodies too.

Inside Halloween 5 (HD, 15:10) – This is from the same time the ‘Final Cut’ featurette came about, but this is the Halloween 5 equivalent.

The Making Of Halloween 5 (HD, 44:25) – Again split into two parts.  Halloween 5‘s making of feels like it brought back a lot more people (the director is not one of them) and seems as if it was a fun production to be a part of.  A very lighthearted look at a film that didn’t work and everyone’s confusion with its director.  It also features a lot of behind the scenes footage and personal footage from parties back at the hotel and such.  This one is also pretty funny.

Interview With Moustapha Akkad (HD, 1:17) – A brief answer to a question about Halloween by Akkad.  This looks to be early to mid 80s judging by his appearance.

Interview With Make-up Artist Tom Burman On Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (HD, 6:00) – Halloween III‘s make-up man gives a little bit about his involvement with the production and thoughts on the film.

Horror’s Hallowed Grounds

• Halloween 4 (HD, 25:50) – Sean Clark takes us through the locales of Halloween 4 in Salt Lake City Utah.
• Halloween 5 (HD, 24:03) – Still in Salt Lake City, Sean is joined by Michael Myers actor Don Shanks to revisit the locations of Halloween 5.
• Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers (HD, 23:09) – For his last Salt Lake City stop he revisits Halloween 6 with special effects make-up artist for the film, Brad Hardin.
• Halloween (HD, 20:39) – The pilot episode of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds where Sean Clark revisits all the locations used in the original Halloween.  PJ Soles joins up with him for part of the trek.
• Bus Tour (HD, 11:25) – From the most recent Halloween convention, Sean takes a bus full of fans back to locations used in Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween III and Rob Zombie’s Halloween.

TV Spots: Halloween 4, Halloween 5, Halloween 2007 and Halloween II 2009 (HD, 3:42)

Radio Spots: Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (HD, 1:43)

Halloween Still Gallery – 97 images of posters, lobby cards and promotional shots

Halloween 4 Still Gallery – 46 images of posters, lobby cards, promotional shots and behind the scenes.

Halloween 5 Still Gallery – 46 images of posters, lobby cards, promotional shots and behind the scenes.

Summary 

Woo!  Worn out yet from bonus material on your box set at all?  Yeah, they’ve done a crazy amount of work here.  Many people want Halloween to get the Never Sleep Again and Crystal Lake Memories documentary treatment, but with this box set, you’ll never need that.  Halloween II-H20 have been given that kind of treatment with their Making Of documentaries.  Couple that with the Halloween: 25 Years Of Terror DVD, the Inside Halloween special from a couple years ago and Rob Zombie’s remake having a 4 hour documentary…what more could you really want?  This bonus disc isn’t just icing on the cake, its a bucket of icing dumped on the cake.  The Halloween 4 & 5 docs and the extended cut of Halloween are the highlights of this final disc in Halloween: The Complete Collection (Deluxe Edition), but everything else here is still fun or a ported over extra to help you part with your old DVD/Blu-ray editions.  I must apologize though, Creed fans.  “What’s This Life For” music video does not appear on any disc in this set.  I’m sorry if that’s a deal breaker 🙂

Disc 15 is only available for purchase as a part of Halloween – The Complete Collection Deluxe Edition available September 23rd, 2014.  It is not available for individual purchase.  Pre-order using the link below.