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- Director : Tobe Hooper
- Actors : Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen
- Subtitles: : English
- Studio : Mpi Home Video
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 2
- Media Format : 4K, NTSC
- Run time : 83 minutes
- Release date : February 28, 2023
When forced to choose a favorite horror movie,
which is a near impossible task, I typically end up saying either The Night
of the Living Dead or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Both were
defining films ahead of their time, both enjoyable in a visceral and
entertaining way and equally fascinating to analyze. Although Psycho (1960)
and Peeping Tom (1960) are often referred to as the first slasher films,
the sub-genre didn’t really take off until The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
was released in 1974. It is a film that is so terrifying that audiences often
mistakenly remember it as more graphically violent than it actually is. Belonging
to a group of cynical and disturbing Vietnam-era horror, The Texas Chain Saw
Massacre has layers of depth and meaning, but none of this prevents it from
simply being a thrilling viewing experience.
Directed by Tobe
Hooper, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre follows a girl named Sally (Marilyn
Burns) and her friends, who travel to the location where her grandfather is buried
near an old closed slaughterhouse in rural Texas. When they make the mistake of
exploring a nearby house, they accidentally discover a cannibalistic family who
welcome the food supply. The iconic silent Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) is the
muscle of the family, gathering the young co-ed victims one-by-one with the
terrifying use of a chainsaw and other slaughterhouse materials.
The simplicity
of the storyline is what makes the film so spectacular, giving opportunity for allegorical
meaning and focus on the pure terrifying elements of horror. The first time I
saw this film was on a lower quality VHS tape, which actually made the
pseudo-documentary beginning of the film even more terrifying. All grown up and
familiar with the source of inspiration for the film’s imagery, I appreciate
the polished look of the director-approved 4K restoration and Ultra High
Defintion release from Dark Sky Films. This is the best I have seen this film
look and will be the go-to viewing choice for me watching this movie in the
future.
Along with the
pristine presentation of the film, the new UHD release also comes with a
Blu-ray copy and plenty of incredible special features. Most of the extras are
included on the Blu-ray disc, though the UHD disc does have four feature
commentary tracks. The first has Hooper, Hansen, and cinematographer Daniel
Pearl. Commentary number two includes Burns along with co-stars Allen Danziger
and Paul A. Partain, and production designer Robert Burns. The third is a
director’s commentary with Hooper alone, and the final commentary has Pearl
along with editor J. Larry Carroll and sound recordist Ted Niolaou.
The Blu-ray disc
includes plenty more extras, including the new feature-length documentary, The
Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. There is also a conversation
between Hooper and director William Friedkin (The Exorcist) presented by
The Cinefamily, multiple featurettes about various aspects of the production,
deleted scenes, outtakes, and bloopers, a still gallery and tons of promotional
features. This is the greatest collection of extras I have ever seen compiled for
the film, and it also comes in a fancy new metal container. There is also a
reversable mini-poster included with an eye-catching back cover image to go with
the original poster artwork on the front.
Entertainment Value:
10/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 10/10
Historical
Significance: 10/10
Special Features: 10/10
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