Dark Sky's getting into the Blu-ray game, too:

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news...ws.php?id=6289

Already got the Pioneer and Dark Sky versions on DVD, but I'm sure I'll pick this up too

I have to admit that I let out a little bit of a gasp when I saw this announcement. I would LOVE to have this movie on Blu-ray.

Definitely one to watch... will wait for reviews of the transfer, and it's a must-buy if the transfer is good.

I'm signed on for this one

Damn you Dark Sky

Already own two versions of the film (Pioneer "Meat Packaging" + 2-Disc Steelbook).

wow, own about 12 versions of the film on dvd, and i'm sure the blu-ray will be #13, and look the worst.

give me the original Pioneer non-anamorphic with all the lines and grain any day.

the last steelbook release was a joke, made the film look way to clean, and loses lots of effect.

seen the film 6 times in the theatre-all were crappy looking prints, but that what made the movie great.

got an 8mm print of the film that rocks as well.


blah on Blu-ray for this.

Can't wait to hear the anti-grain squad on this one, LOL!!

Dammit...was hoping for the remake.

Depending on the transfer and extras, I'll pick it up.

Wow.

For the record, the 2006 Dark Sky transfer has *a lot* more grain than the 1998/2003 Pioneer transfer. In fact, the Pioneer transfer doesn't really have much grain at all due to the DVNR applied. It does have a lot of lines, scratches, blemishes, and is consistently overly dark. The last 30 minutes or so are so dark it's hard to see much of anything.

And why anyone would want a non-anamorphic transfer is beyond me. I guess if you have a 4x3 TV and never plan on getting a 16x9??? Can't figure that one out.

What does DNR stand for? I know what it means, but what does it stand for?

Dynamic Noise Reduction

there's some grain in dark sky, but i dunno, not nearly as evident in the pioneer release, which i watched just last week.

have 2 HDTV's and still think if you blow up the non anamorphic disc to fit the screen, looks lot better than the Dark Sky release.- which changes color, makes lots of scenes way too colorful and whites too white.

thought the remake was horrible, but would prefer a blu-ray of that over the original.

Great film, for sure. But how on earth could this possibly look good on BD? The film quality is so poor to begin with?

No tech specs yet, but HD Digest says that Dark Sky promises "newly remastered" HD picture and sound.

Franklin screaming in lossless audio? Bring it on!

I don't get complaints about certain films not "deserving" treatment on Blu. TCM is an ugly grainy film. I saw a theatrical print in NYC several years ago and it was reflected in that.

Point is, increased resolution isn't going to ruin any grain that's already on the print. I also owned the pioneer release and the steelbook release blows it out of the water. It's still as ugly, dark and creepy as ever... it's just looks a lot closer to the way it was shown theatrically.

Bring it on. IMHO.

My biggest concern is that they'll drop the original mono soundtrack... but if they fix some of the sound effect cues that were absent on the last release they'll win me over.

Saying "it's supposed to look ugly, that's the charm" is like me complaining that Anchor Bay didn't release Halloween pan n' scan and with all the blemishes and commercial breaks the USA network had when I used to watch it because that's "part of the charm" I've grown to love about it.

In other words... TCM's past horrible video releases don't necessarily reflect the way it was intended to look.

Right. It was originally a low-budget production. I think there is something to be said about releasing a Blu-ray that maintains all the original "flaws" of the original film while cleaning up defects that have be incurred with the age to the original print. If the HDM version IMPROVES on the original (a la the re-releases of the original Star Wars trilogy), that would be blasphemous. That would include releasing only a surround sound soundtrack and no original mono. These "low-budget" aspects of the original print make it part of the genre it is... AND MORE SCARY!!!!

Still say dark sky version looks like crap, and they deifnitly enhanced colors, scenes, that were unique to that release.

Since they're releasing the Blu-ray, i can only expect them to make the film look even worse.

INTENDED TO LOOK, or "director's intention" are too loose of terms- i'm sure the director of most films intends for his films to look a certain way, or at least be "good", but that's not always the case.

the film was overexposed " accidentally" in numerous scenes, according to commentary, this wasn't the director's or DP intention, but the way it's been released for years. guess they should go back and change the look everyone knows.

To anyone who has this version, is it worth a triple-dip?

I have the Pioneer re-release and the Dark Sky steel book. Could I live without this version?

It depends on what you are looking for and what it's worth to you, just like every DVD/Blu-ray that comes out.

My base: I like the movie and don't care much for extras for this. My initial reason for buying the BD was because it was cheap and selling off my DVD almost covered the cost, so no brainer there. The movie itself looks and sounds better, but nobody knows what's important to you.

Check the reviews to see what's good and bad and what's important in your world.

It looks better than any other version I have seen so far. I have no complaints.

And I like extras and this version gave me more than enough. It was well worth a pickup for me.

Agreed! I thought the Blu-ray added a lot more detail but didn't polish up the movie TOO much.

A Little Chain Saw DVD History...

It was ten years ago (October 6, 1998) today that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) first made its way to DVD courtesy of Pioneer. Pioneer rereleased that same disc, with different cover art, five years later on October 14, 2003. It took a total of eight years (1998-2006), but finally the film was done justice when Dark Sky released their 2-Disc Ultimate Edition DVD on September 26, 2006. And now, two years later, we get a glorious Blu-ray Disc edition of Chain Saw on September 30, 2008. The film certainly has come a long way in the digital age. Thank goodness we don't have to contend with that crap non-anamorphic Pioneer release anymore.