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| Halloween: The Ultimate Collection (Six Disc Box Set) | 
 enlarge | Director: John Carpenter
Actors: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes, P.j. Soles
Studio: Starz Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
Buy Used: £54.99
New (1) from £74.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 32781
Format: Box Set, Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Running Time: 540 minutes
Number Of Items: 6
Discs: 6
EAN: 5060020621086
ASIN: B00006JI26
Theatrical Release Date: October 25, 1978
Release Date: September 30, 2002
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Boxing is a bit worn but all discs are in brandnew condition with no scratches. Will despatch First Class to the UK only.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Halloween is as pure and undiluted as its title. In the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, a teenage baby sitter tries to survive a Halloween night of relentless terror, during which a knife-wielding maniac goes after the town's hormonally charged youths. Director John Carpenter takes this simple situation and orchestrates a superbly mounted symphony of horrors. It's a movie much scarier for its dark spaces and ominous camera movements than for its explicit bloodletting (which is actually minimal). Composed by Carpenter himself, the movie's freaky music sets the tone; and his script (cowritten with Debra Hill) is laced with references to other horror pictures, especially Psycho. The baby sitter is played by Jamie Lee Curtis, the real-life daughter of Psycho victim Janet Leigh; and the obsessed policeman played by Donald Pleasence is named Sam Loomis, after John Gavin's character in Psycho. In the end, though, Halloween stands on its own as an uncannily frightening experience--it's one of those movies that had audiences literally jumping out of their seats and shouting at the screen. ("No! Don't drop that knife!") Produced on a low budget, the picture turned a monster profit, and spawned many sequels, none of which approached the 1978 original. Curtis returned for two more instalments: 1981's dismal Halloween II, which picked up the story the day after the unfortunate events, and 1998's occasionally gripping Halloween H20, which proved the former baby sitter was still haunted after 20 years. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 set the standard for slashers. January 6, 2008
"halloween" directed by john carpenter is a classic,ive seen it countless times & it never fails to impress.but now anchor bay have remastered this
classic on r1 ntsc & its an impressive transfer with a great sound remix.
this film earned jamie lee curtis the "scream queen " title as laurie strode.donald pleasance plays the haunted dr sam loomis ,blaming himself for maniac michael myers escape from the local looney bin. its groundbreaking stuff ,its amazing that carpenter wrote,directed & composed
the music! & yes its THAT music which keeps you on edge throughout.halloween has deservedly gained cult status & spawned many sequels,now rob zombie has remade this but it aint a patch on this original. every horror fan should own this!
Quick Reviews! December 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Whether or not you feel that, excluding Psycho, this was the first of its genre- it is definitely the most influential (for better or worse) and easily the most famous. John Carpenter's Halloween, like Romero's NOTD before it came out of low-budget nowhere land, and paralysed audiences around the world upon it's release, turning it's cast into stars and ensuring that horror movies would never be the same again. Almost thirty years on, even though horror movies have become much darker and more grotesque, this still stands at the top of the pile as a timeless, chilling and effective film which will have you reaching for the light switch, or knife, when you hear a creaking at the top of the stairs.
A boy who killed his sister many years ago escapes from his asylum, and from the care of Dr. Loomis, the only person who remotely understands him, and decides to go on a kill crazy rampage in the town he was born, seeking and killing his relatives, and any other fool who gets in his way. So begins the legacy of Michael Myers. The film follows Laurie, the virgin teenager and mother of all modern scream queens, dateless and forced to babysit on Halloween night as she tries to escape Myers.
While the plot is hardly outstanding, it is Carpenter's direction which makes this a classic. He knows how to create and build tension, to get the most from his cast, and for any wannabe directors this is essential viewing, as it was all done on a low budget. Employing original camera angles, effective use of the hand-held, and a memorable score all help create an atmosphere that most modern horror movies cannot reach. Everything in this movie is designed around ensuring that the tension is unrelenting. This was also one of the first 'modern' movies that showed youth that the world was not as safe as they had been led to believe, that our parents are not as reliable or trustworthy as we thought. The scene where Laurie is turned away from a neighbors house by a simple flick of a light switch underlines this. Suburbia is not sanctuary, and sometimes we can only rely on ourselves. However, it is when Laurie is pushed, that her strong character and instinct to survive and protectc comes out.
Jamie Lee Curtis is of course outstanding in her role, but the supporting cast are all strong. Pleasance creates a legend opposite to Myers with only a few scenes and not much dialogue, and Loomis and Cyphers in smaller roles are effective as always. The film seems ageless even now, looking past the hair and fashion largely because the themes of being threatened and scared by an unseen force, and being held under seige by the same force when it presents itself are still relevant today. Something as simple as Myers peaking out from behind a bush can still send shivers, and yet there is a beauty in the cinematography- like Assault On Precinct 13, sunsets lend a reflective, emotive force, but it is after the sun has set that the fun really begins.
This 2 disc edition is a must for all horror fans, with lots of extra features which compliment the film.
Death has come to your little town August 11, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Once Halloween was Samhain, the one night of the year when the dead returned to cause trouble for the living.
Well, Michael Myers wasn't dead, but on "Halloween" he returned to cause trouble for the people of his hometown, with all its dark houses and teenage victims. And John Carpenter's masterpiece lives up to its reputation: creepy, eerie, harrowing, and full of solid acting from Donald Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis.
On Halloween, 1963, young Michael Myers lurked outside the house while his sister had sex with her boyfriend. After he left, Michael put on a mask, picked up a knife, and stabbed his sister to death.
Fifteen years later, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is about to take Myers to a legal hearing, when Myers (Nick Castle) breaks open the psych hospital and escapes in Loomis' car. On Halloween, teenage Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) notices a silent, masked figure popping up and disappearing near her school, house, and neighborhood.
Despite this, she goes about her babysitting duties, even taking care of another girl's charge overnight. The only problem is, the girl is dead, and so is another pal and her boyfriend. Dr. Loomis is staking out Myers' old home, unaware that Myers is now prowling the house where Laurie is staying -- and there seems to be no way to avoid the knife-wielding "evil."
It sounds like a thousand knockoff movies made since then, but "Halloween" formed the original mold. And like any other groundbreaker, it is the most stripped-down, intense example of the genre -- little gore, little graphic violence, but the way it's handled is enough to make your hair stand on end, and make you go to bed with a gun under your pillow.
And Carpenter handles the spookiness beautifully -- initially, the story is pleasantly average -- teen gossip, small-town atmosphere, and chatter about boyfriends, dances and babysitting. It has the occasional spooky moment -- such as Myers popping out of a hedge to stare at Laurie -- but isn't really scary just yet. But as Myers starts bumping off teenagers, the plot darkens and twists.
Carpenter spins up a claustrophobic, trapped feeling, partly due to a shadowy old house full of windows and doors, any of which could be Myers' way in. You can't help but jump with every shadow. And Carpenter sprinkles the plot with unspeakably creepy moments -- Myers quietly slithering in a window above Laurie, or dressing as a ghost with only his heavy breathing to identify him.
Curtis was the original scream queen thanks to this movie, and she does an amazing job -- even when she's racing around pounding on doors and shrieking, she seems realistic. Pleasance is just as good as Loomis, who is determined and full of dread at what his patient is, but also has his moments of humour (like when he frightens some pranksters at the Myers house). And though we only see Myers' face a few times, his masked face, silent movements and heavy breathing are the stuff of nightmare.
"Halloween" was a more psychological, atmospheric kind of horror, and it did its job almost too well. The original slasher movie -- harrowing, eerie, and petrifying.
Are you afraid of the bogeyman July 4, 2007
What can I say about this film that hasn't already been said before. I am going to say it anyway, this is as scary if not the scariest film I have ever seen and I don't think I will ever see a scarier one ever again. Having grown up with horror movies, I first saw this as a kid in the early 80's and it genuinely terrified me, and that was with the lights on. If I had watched this alone with the lights off then I really don't know how I would have got through it. I have seen it so many times since then that it will never be as scary as is was then although just as enjoyable, but on first viewing the music, that opening scene, the camera work that floats slowly around the empty neighborhood and especially that breathing from a Michael Myers point of view and yet like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (also one of my scariest) it barely has if any blood and guts.
I also love as with all John Carpenter's early horror films the timing of each murder, it is timed to perfection. It all starts off with Michael Myers just creeping around the ghost like town neighborhood deliberately unsettling Jamie Lee Curtis and making her completely paranoid, but when it really gets going its non stop until the end.
I was a little sad to hear of the death of Debra Hill who died of cancer (she played a big part in making this film alongside John Carpenter) in 2005, she was only 54. For those of you that don't already know, she also played a bit part in this film, the opening scene as young Michael Myers when he takes his mask off and takes the knife out of the kitchen was her hands, she also worked with John Carpenter on some of his other films for example another one of my favourites, The Fog, RIP Debra Hill.
There are just a few things that are ridiculous about this film for example, when Michael Myers is hanging around outside a school in a William Shatner mask, surely somebody would report it and also the fact that he is one of the smoothest drivers I have ever seen for somebody who hasn't even had any driving lessons and especially driving with that William Shatner mask on. But these are just silly criticisms, and anyway the fact that nobody seems to notice him just make it all the more creepy.
The most important thing is that as a horror film it is made to be scary and this most certainly is just that.
If anyone is the bogeyman, it is surely Michael Myers July 4, 2007
What can I say about this film that hasn't already been said before. I am going to say it anyway, this is as scary if not the scariest film I have ever seen and I don't think I will ever see a scarier one ever again. Having grown up with horror movies, I first saw this as a kid in the early 80's and it genuinely terrified me, and that was with the lights on. If I had watched this alone with the lights off then I really don't know how I would have got through it. I have seen it so many times since then that it will never be as scary as is was then although just as enjoyable, but on first viewing the music, that opening scene, the camera work that floats slowly around the empty neighborhood and especially that breathing from a Michael Myers point of view and yet like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (also one of my scariest) it barely has if any blood and guts.
I also love as with all John Carpenter's early horror films the timing of each murder, it is timed to perfection. It all starts off with Michael Myers just creeping around the ghost like town neighborhood deliberately unsettling Jamie Lee Curtis and making her completely paranoid, but when it really gets going its non stop until the end.
I was a little sad to hear of the death of Debra Hill who died of cancer (she played a big part in making this film alongside John Carpenter) in 2005, she was only 54. For those of you that don't already know, she also played a bit part in this film, the opening scene as young Michael Myers when he takes his mask off and takes the knife out of the kitchen was her hands, she also worked with John Carpenter on some of his other films for example another one of my favourites, The Fog, RIP Debra Hill.
There are just a few things that are ridiculous about this film for example, when Michael Myers is hanging around outside a school in a William Shatner mask, surely somebody would report it and also the fact that he is one of the smoothest drivers I have ever seen for somebody who hasn't even had any driving lessons and especially driving with that William Shatner mask on. But these are just silly criticisms, and anyway the fact that nobody seems to notice him just make it all the more creepy.
The most important thing is that as a horror film it is made to be scary and this most certainly is just that.
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