DVDfile has more info this morning....

Now, on August 5th comes a new 25th Anniversary Edition from the ever-dependable Anchor Bay Entertainment. So, what are you gonna get on this new version? Two full discs of fun, thanks to the miracle of seamless branching you can pick from both the theatrical cut and the extended version on the first platter (all spiffy in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1, and yes, the original mono track is on there, too) plus the long-out-of-print audio commentary with Carpenter, Debra Hill and Jamie Lee Curtis courtesy of the folks at Criterion. Disc two features a new 90-minute documentary that includes the famed making-of footage as seen in the recent AMC Backstory, a still gallery and plenty of trailers, TV and radio spots. Retail is $29.95.

Glad I held off on the old version. I am down for this one!

Me too. And me too!

Woo-hoo!

I'm not upgrading just for a commentary & "extended cut" (not a big fan of either). The documentary, sound and picture I have (Anchor Bay, '99) are excellent, and the other extras sound the same.

News like this makes Mondays a little more bearable - thanks for the info!

Just for the record, many of us are pretty accountable for accusing 'Army Of Darkness' for having hte most re-releases for DVD but, how many has Army had and how many has Halloween had?

Anchor Bay, "you're BASTARD people!"

I hate to say this but I will purchase this for the commentary as I never had a laserdisc. I have the 2 disc LE from 99 but I have always wanted to hear the commentary. There are very few movies I actually care about hearing a commentary for (how I wish Spielberg would at least do one for Jaws) and this is one of them.

I believe Anchor Bay has released Halloween in the following versions:
1) Non-anamorphic version with horrible picture quality.
2) 1999 2-disc set that includes TV cut on 2nd disc.
3) Single disc release with theatrical cut.
4) Single disc release of TV cut.
5) This new 25th anniversay edition.

Release 3 came in two "versions." One with a hologram cover and one without.

I also think that Best Buy offered some sort of extra with release 4.

Nice.

Just what I was thinking, Corky

I am keeping my extended cut with the film cell, might be worth some buckaroos .

I've heard the commentary once, so I don't think I'll shell out for another one. I'm very happy with the LE I've all ready got, and while it's one of my all-time favorite flicks, I don't see any real need to double dip on this. May rent it to see the doc.

Is the documentary included the same one from the single disk theatrical editon "Halloween Unmasked 2000??

What about the commentary??..How good is it??

thanks

I'm curious about this as well.

If, like it says in original post, it's a NEW documentary program, I'd be tempted to re-purchase.

Also ..... What about the DVD transfer? Is it the exact same transfer as the 2000 release? Or is it new?

The 2000 edition is THX Certified and the picture looks pretty good I doubt there's room for improvement..

I would only be upgrading for the commentary and NEW documentary you mentioned

Looks I'll probably have to pick this up. The commentary, new documentary, and extended version pretty much seal the deal for me. I already have the single-disc THX reissue (with the funky lenticular cover), but this will be worth double-dipping on.

For me too, Josh.

And DVD Empire has it in its system for what looks like a fairly attractive price-point ($19.49)!

Although I'd still like to confirm that this "New" documentary isn't simply the "Unmasked 2000" deal, with perhaps a minute or two of excised footage tossed in to make the "New" claim. .... Which is what occurred with the last 1999/2000 release. The 1998 "Limited Edition VHS -- Halloween 10-31-78" had the "Halloween Unmasked" feature, which, when I compared, appeared to me to be exactly the same documentary as the more-recent variation, "Halloween Unmasked 2000". Seems slightly misleading if you ask me. A bit of a different title, but the same content. (It's possible, however, that the "2000" variant does contain a few extra minutes' worth of material. Not really sure.)

Back in 1999 AB released Halloween w/the tv scenes added to the theatrical release.Will they but the tv version of the movie on the new release or will it be the same as before?

There were a few small differences. I think a few remarks that were on the LE VHS were left off of the DVD, but I recall maybe two or so minutes of new material on the DVD that had not been on the VHS. The differences in both cases were pretty minor (I no longer have my VHS set to compare).

That's what I thought as well. Thanks.

According to the top post here ........

"...thanks to the miracle of seamless branching you can pick from both the theatrical cut and the extended version on the first platter ..."

I assume that "Extended Version" indicates the version that has appeared on TV, with all the various deleted scenes. True? False? Maybe? Anybody?

Well, this will proudly be my 6th version of Halloween!

I currently own:
Halloween VHS (Media Home Video)
Halloween VHS (Anchor Bay Widescreen)
Halloween VHS (Anchor Bay 2-Tape Anniversary Edition)
Halloween DVD (Original Anchor Bay)
Halloween Limited Edition DVD (Anchor Bay)

And I will be first in line to buy this one!!! Thanks Anchor Bay and Criterion for FINALLY enabling me to hear the legendary commentary track

The only thing that I own more copies of is the Star Wars Trilogy...

FAMED?
It was about 30 seconds of people standing around and shown 5-6 times. That plus the glaring and inexcusable errors made the "AMC Backstory" average at best.

The "unmasked" documentary on the LE included interviews with Carpenter who if i remember correctly was missing from the LE VHS i used to own. Thats really the only 'new' thing added to the documentary.


As for the AMC documentary which i have not seen. Am not really sure about it. Since it will cover information i already know.



I'm still up in the air whether to sell my LE now or just skip the new release altogether?


I rarely bother upgrading,unless it is truely worth it.


I've only upgraded two times before in terms of dvd(VHS ect does not count). Only one title was worth it..while the other was bleh.

True Romance SE..excellent

Evil Dead:LE..bleh..sold it off.