‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition’ Review | Screen-Connections

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) (50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition) [4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + VHS]

Director: Tobe Hooper

Cast: Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain

Release Date: October 15, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Release Rating: 9.5/10

Synopsis: Dark Sky Selects proudly presents The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition. This multi-disc set will include the new 4K UHD edition of the film, a Blu-ray bonus disc containing new extra features, and an exclusive VHS release of the movie. The special edition collector’s set will be housed in a custom created box, which is a replica of the iconic chain saw from the film. Opening the chainsaw triggers the sound of Leatherface wielding the chainsaw in the film. Each box set will be numbered and only 5000 have been created.

Please note that this review contains excerpts/re-used segments from my 4K Ultra HD review of Dark Sky’s 2023 release of ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’; you can also read that review in its entirety HERE!

The beloved horror cult-classic ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ tells the terrifying tale of a group of young friends traveling in a van through Texas who are unfortunate enough to happen upon a family of deranged cannibals including a masked madman called Leatherface with his trusty gas-powered chain saw always at the ready and prepared to track down and attack anyone unwise enough to try and run. As the group of young adults are hunted down by this deranged family and their large enforcer, it quickly becomes a fight for survival that not all of them will succeed in.

‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ was first unleashed upon unsuspecting audiences in 1974 and suffered a somewhat troubled release due to its violent content; soon becoming banned in multiple countries as well as pulled from various theaters in the states after complaints of its content ran rampant. Fortunately, none of that would do anything to taint the legacy and legendary status that it would develop, perhaps even helping it in the long run to cement its classic and almost taboo status.

The film is beautifully guided along with a fittingly grimy and documentary-like style by director Tobe Hooper and stars Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail, Teri McMinn, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Gunnar Hansen and John Dugan.

This unforgettable gem of horror cinema still serves up a wickedly fun and effective good time a whopping fifty years after its debut, not to mention spawning a franchise that includes numerous sequels, prequels, a remake and more. There’s no question that ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ changed the horror genre forever and the fact that it still remains a masterpiece and an icon of horror to this day should come as no surprise whatsoever.

In celebration of the film’s 50th anniversary, Dark Sky Selects brings the iconic horror classic from Tobe Hooper home in a massive and undeniably eye catching collector’s set which serves as the third title in the new Dark Sky Selects line. This noteworthy new set features the film itself on three formats including a 4K amaray case (with slipcover) featuring the feature film on 4K and Blu-ray disc in addition to another Blu-ray disc dedicated solely to supplements which features the majority of extras included on the previous Dark Sky 4K release along with a couple brand new Featurettes on top of it all, although it removes the 73 minute Documentary ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth’ as well the Outtakes from The Shocking Truth. Also included is a VHS copy of the movie itself for the diehard collectors. As far as the 4K UHD presentation of the film is concerned, it appears to be the same version used in the previous 2023 release (even the disc menu and other factors align) therefore for anyone interested in more information on the technical merits, please read my review of their 4K UHD Steelbook release HERE!

The real star of the set is of course the replica chainsaw included which features an audio effect that sounds like Leatherface wielding the saw in the film when opened. The discs and VHS are securely snapped into the interior of the chainsaw which itself is securely held inside the box with Styrofoam holders. You can also view the various images throughout this review that offer a better look at the box and its inclusions. It’s a pretty impressive set that will make a great standout in any collection, although the high price tag may have some understandably hesitant. If you can afford dropping the funds on the set you should be quite pleased with what it has to offer and how it will look in your home, but it will be up to each fan to decide whether it’s worth picking up a copy.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition set of ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ includes many of the same extras included on last year’s 4K UHD release while also offering a couple brand new bonus features on top of it and removing a couple others, plus of course the collectible packaging and the real star of the set; the replica chainsaw itself. The extras have been broken down by disc below re-using that segment from my previous 4K review while also listing the new extras and removing the ones not included here.

The 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray Feature Film disc each include the option of viewing the film with 4 different Audio Commentary tracks. The first is an ‘Audio Commentary with actors Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danziger and Art Director Robert A. Burns’, while the second is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Tobe Hooper, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl and Actor Gunnar Hansen’; the third is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Tobe Hooper’ and the fourth is an ‘Audio Commentary with Editor J. Larry Carroll, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl and Sound Recordist Ted Nicolaou’.

The Blu-ray bonus disc dedicated to extras is where the majority of the bonus material can be located and that disc includes multiple documentaries, retrospectives, Featurettes, additional footage and other fun videos, as well as the two brand new extras exclusive to this new set, while curiously removing two others (‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth’ and ‘Outtakes from The Shocking Truth’).

The brand new inclusions to this new 50th Anniversary set are ‘The Film Which You Are About to See’ which explores the process of restoring the film (running approximately 10 minutes in length) and ‘Hunters of Another Kind’ which looks at the film’s collectibles and the collectors determined to track them down (approximately 14 minutes).

Also included is the Feature-Length Documentary ‘The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ (running approximately 83 minutes in length), along with ‘The Cinefamily Presents Friedkin/Hooper: A Conversation About The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Between William Friedkin and Tobe Hooper’ (running approximately 54 minutes), ‘Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw’ (72 minutes), ‘A Tour of the TCSM House with Gunnar Hansen’ (8 minutes), ‘Off the Hook with Teri McMinn’ (17 minutes), ‘The Business of Chain Saw: An Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman’ (16 minutes), ‘Granpaw’s Tales: An Interview with John Dugan’ (16 minutes), ‘Cutting Chain Saw: An Interview with Editor J. Larry Carroll’ (11 minutes) and ‘Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: TCSM’ (20 minutes). Also included are some ‘Deleted Scenes and Outtakes’ from the film (approximately 25 minutes), a ‘Blooper Reel’ (2 minutes), plus a ‘Dr. W.E. Barnes Presents “Making Grandpa” Still Gallery’, and another general ‘Still Gallery’. ‘3 Trailers’ (approximately 1-2 minutes each) for the movie in addition to ‘3 Television Spots’ and ‘2 Radio Spots’ (approximately 30 seconds apiece) are also included.

You can purchase the 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition of ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ directly from Dark Sky HERE!

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