Audio commentary with Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Actor Gunnar Hansen Second Sight has done the impossible and made this low-budget classic horror film look almost like a reference quality release. Their 4K restoration of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre immediately moves to the top of the heap. Recommended. A few vintage odds and ends are curiously absent, including "Friedkin/Hooper: A Conversation about The Texas Chain Saw In Second Sight Film’s release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Leatherface is ready to be witnessed in 4K UHD 48 years after its original release. Commentary with Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Editor J. Larry Carroll, and Sound Recordist Ted Nicolaou

In Roger Ebert’s largely dismissive two-star review of Tobe Hooper’s iconic horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, he opened with the following paragraph:Second Sight has remained elusive about the "additional restoration work" done for this new 2160p, HDR-enhanced transfer, other than the fact that Fresh out of theaters, currently available on VOD and now streaming exclusively on SCREAMBOX, Bloody Disgusting’s Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls is coming home for the holidays, arriving as a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray on December 19, loaded with bonus features, extended/deleted scenes, commentaries and an exclusive slipcover. that feature writer-director-producer Tobe Hooper and co-writer Kim Henkel speaking candidly about the film. As far as I know, these haven't been Still front-heavy and faithful to the source, random noises are heard echoing throughout the Sawyer house, adding to the creepiness and making for a satisfying hemispheric soundfield. The real highlight is hearing footsteps on the second floor of the abandoned Hardesty homestead while Franklin whines, and later, when Sally runs frantically around the Sawyer house, we hear the brothers yelling in hysterics and chasing after her in the distance. Granted, a few Foley effects still feel a bit fake, most notably at the beginning with vehicles speeding down the highway, but thankfully, these moments are far and few in between without distracting too much from the film's overall enjoyment. We were only sent the 4K UHD disc from this set by Second Sight but it appears that all the extras are on this disc AND repeated across the accompanying two 1080p discs:

and others. It's an entertaining piece, though given the wealth of extras already on this release and earlier discs, some of the stories won't exactly The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – a new feature-length documentary produced by Second Sight Films Commentary with actors Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danzinger, and art director Robert A. Burns As for the Blu-ray presentation, these disc-captured screenshots -- the first ten of which approximately match those from its MPI counterpart -- Audio Commentary #4 - This enjoyable roundtable chat features Tobe Hooper, this time flanked by actor

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 4K Audio

I reviewed the recent 4K Ultra HD SteelBook release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from Dark Sky Films and this release from Second Sight, which is also presented in 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision is the superior release. Second Sight cites this as a “new presentation featuring additional restoration work.” Well, that “additional restoration work” is what I assume gives this presentation a cleaner appearance. The source damage like scratches and tramlines, specs of dirt and other noise and anomalies that can still be seen in the Dark Sky release. Even with the cleaner appearance, the grain is still left intact, but looks a little finer, yet still natural. Another highlight is a 45-min conversation between Hooper and fellow master of horror William Friedkin that preceded a 40th anniversary screening presented by Cinefamily in Los Angeles. Hooper is reserved compared to the gregarious Exorcist director, but it’s a treat to hear the two old friends candidly chat about the movie that, as Friedkin puts it, “transcends the genre.” The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - a new feature length documentary produced by Second Sight Films The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - a new feature length documentary produced by Second SightFilms

One of the most charming facets of Onyx the Fortuitous is its commitment to practical effects, specifically its use of puppets to bring demons, ghouls, and creatures to life. written/directed by Phillip Escott, this full-length documentary -- which yes, is just about as long as the film itself -- offers a broad retrospective of The reasons why that happens aren’t necessarily easy to quantify, because with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the whole is much greater than the sum of its individual parts. It was produced on a low budget under difficult circumstances, and what was going on behind the camera became intertwined with what was happening in front of it. The conditions were brutal, with everyone working long days for seven hours a week, and since there wasn’t enough money for multiple versions of each costume, the actors wore the same clothing every day in the sweltering Texas heat. The real suffering that the actors experienced is visible on camera, and the unrelenting nature of Hooper’s direction mean that tensions remained high regardless of whether or not the camera was rolling. It wasn’t quite method acting, but it was definitely method filmmaking, and it had a tangible effect on the finished product. For a synopsis of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, please read Martin Liebman's review of MPI's 2008 Ultimate Edition Blu-ray. This is a clear genre Fine detail often belies its 16mm origins with some truly outstanding texturing on show – from close ups, such as when Jerry is peering through the wonderfully delineated gauze of the screen door of the Sawyer house, to even in medium to long shots, such as when Kirk and Pam are approaching the Sawyer house and the sunflowers that ring their property are beautifully clean, the levels of detail and absolute clarity on show in this image are simply fantastic.Commentary with Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and Actor Gunnar Hansen The on-disc extras are identical on both formats; they're squeezed onto the 4K disc along with the movie, and spread out on both Blu-rays -- Disc 1 Audio commentary with Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger and Paul A. Partain, and Art Director Robert A. Burns

It may be apocryphal, but apparently when he attended a cinema club screening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, then director of the BBFC James Ferman said something along the lines of “It’s all right for you middle-class cineastes to see this film, but what would happen if a factory worker in Manchester happened to see it?” This snobbery, and Ferman’s insistence that it wasn’t any one image that kept him from granting the film an X (later 18) certificate but ‘an atmosphere of madness, threat and impeding violence’ kept The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from the eyes of the great unwashed until Ferman’s retirement in 1999. Tobe Hooper went on to make the well received TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1979) and had terrific success with the Spielberg-produced Poltergeist, however, much of his other outcome could be called interesting at best. His own sequel to Chainsaw released in 1986 was a badly executed mess and the likes of vampires from space movie Lifeforce was laughable at best. However of late Hooper has enjoyed a slight return to form with his 2003 take on the Toolbox Murders proving a guilty pleasure. If you really want to appreciate the quality of the 4K restoration and transfer, take a look at the 25 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes. They appear to be drawn from a VHS (they’re in 4:3 and pretty murky) most of these sequences are silent, none, I would argue, essential. Finally among the video extras are the standard collection of advertising spots and a gallery with a mix of stills and behind the scenes imagery, most of them familiar from the documentaries and interviews on the disc.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 4K Extras

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from Second Sight's included remastered Blu-ray edition. In some respects, that paragraph perfectly encapsulates Ebert’s criticism as a whole: it’s equal parts keenly perceptive, utterly clueless, and wildly inconsistent. Like many mainstream critics, Ebert had a blind spot when it came to the horror genre, one that resulted in him dismissing or even condemning things in horror movies that he praised in other genres. Yet in some ways, he still inadvertently captured the essence of why The Texas Chain Saw Massacre became an instant horror classic. Yes, Hooper’s primary purpose in making the film was to produce fright, but that’s a feature, not a bug. It’s worth pointing out that when Ebert gave John Carpenter’s Halloween a glowing four-star review five years later, he noted that “You don’t want to be scared? Don’t see it. Credit must be paid to filmmakers who make the effort to really frighten us.” If Carpenter deserved that kind of credit, then so did Hooper. Hooper and cinematographer Daniel Pearl (who also shot the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) balance the deluge of raw, grisly imagery — including people hanging from meat hooks and furniture fashioned from body parts — with nimble craftsmanship. Iconic shots — such as Leatherface’s stark reveal, the low angle dolly following Pam to the house, extreme close ups on Sally’s eye, and Leatherface’s deranged chainsaw dance bathed in orange sunlight — are breathtaking in 4K. few dead spots or moments where the on-screen action is described. You'll have to really sit up for this one -- it's candid for sure, but not one you Audio commentary with Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger and Paul A. Partain, and Art Director Robert A.Burns