Categories
Our Newsletter
To subscribe to our newsletter enter your email address below.
- Home
- Horror DVDs
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Gift Wrapping:
Options available
Product Description
Coming Soon. Order now and be the 1st to own.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 DVD sees the horrifying return of Leatherface after nearly five decades of hiding.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre DVD. After nearly 50 years of hiding, Leatherface returns to terrorize a group of idealistic young friends who accidentally disrupt his carefully shielded world in a remote Texas town.
Note: All our DVDs are new Australian region 4 DVDs made for Australian DVD players.
Product Reviews
This product hasn't received any reviews yet. Be the first to review this product!
Add to Wish List
Recently Viewed...
$29.95
It was popular enough that Netflix released an infographic calling it the No. #1 release for that week, with a THR article that same day where the director expresses interest in a sequel.
Seems like open negotiations.
Netflix: "This film is popular [and we may make more if it's financially viable]."
Director: "I could do sequels [if Netflix wants to hire me again]."
Worth noting Richard Newby was the author of this article, and he was supportive of the film long before the film opened. I'm not saying he was paid to be supportive before, during, and after, but it's food for thought.
tl;dr: Sequel likely
1.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't come with apron or mini poster
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2022
Doesn't come with apron or mini poster so you're paying $71 for a empty box and a cheap blu ray. Ordered for a replacement and replacement came the same way, empty.
Reviews with images
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2015
Since the dawn of time, man has entertained one
another by telling chilling tales of the mad and macabre. In the beginning merely illuminated by the flickering lights of a campfire, later the stories of horror was put on to paper and the theater stage as the institution of man grew more sophisticated, through the annals of time.
When the magic of motion pictures first dawned upon us in the early 20th century, that grand tradition naturally continued in this new medium and now, almost a hundred years later, an extensive catalogue of titles
have been responsible for generations upon generations of nightmares, chronicled and passed down through the ages to invoke joy and wonderment in the hungry masses of scare crazed fans.
In the 21st century however, one of the ultimate truths in the way of fright flicks is that something changed back in the smoldering summer heat of 1974 (just as it did when George A. Romero created the modernized version of the zombie in 1968). The change? From them on out, all roads traveled in the ways of
horror would inevitably lead to Texas.
After hearing rumors about grave robbing and ritualistic desecration of the corpses at various rural graveyards in and around Texas, five youths, consisting of Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her invalided brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) accompanied by three of their friends are subsequently en route to examine the condition of their grandfather's resting place and afterwards spend a few days crashing at an old family heirloom - an abandoned
farmhouse, that's as desolated as it is sheltered - for a bit of relaxation under the blistering hot summer sun. As the group ventures though the bucolic landscape, they pass a depleted and crumbling old slaughterhouse, where they decide pick up a dense looking hitch-hiker (Edwin Neal) standing at the side of the road, but this benevolent act backfires horribly as the mood turns increasingly sinister, culminating in the ominous stranger attacking the wheelchair bound Franklin and cutting his arm
with a filthy straight razor before the group can managed to push him out of the van.
As the party reaches the confides of the old family home, the mood is understandably a bit tense, with Franklin in particular, distressed by the preceding events, getting on everyone's nerves with his excessive whining about the matter.
As the mood starts to settle and the group begins to unwind, the faction soon separate and while some stay at the house to get settled, others turns to exploring the area
- an initiative that will prove highly ill-advised as a certain part of the region's residents doesn't take too kindly to strangers. Soon the kids plunge into a seemingly never-ending nightmare as they are attacked by the monstrous Leatherface (Gunner Hansen) and his nefarious family of cannibals who proves that you don't need much in the way of etiquettes or social skills, when equipped with a bloody big chainsaw and a full-size supply of meat hooks.
You might wonder why I chose to
incorporate the little intro on the history of horror, preceding the synopsis. Well, you see, I was going for that epic feel - a touch of grandeur, if you will, as I not only regard The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the greatest horror film of all time but quite possibly the greatest motion picture ever produced, period!
Just like it pertains to most examples of great filmmaking, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is utterly unique - a movie that completely obliterates genre conventions and transcends
the boundaries of its form. I cited Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968) earlier, which is the film that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre undoubtedly shears most of its attributes.
Both were conjured up during times of great turmoil, globally as well as within the United States. Both movies also reflects an alarming distrust in authorities and societies' appointed leaders and their escalating lies and deception, while simultaneously operating as a stake through the heart of the
American myth concerning the altruistic good guys sporting white hats while forever prevailing against the deficient elements. In these films man as a whole, was the deficient element. Another funny coincidence is that both films have also been added to the permanent collection of New York City's Museum of Modern Art, thus validating their claim as legitimate, unconventional art. Not bad for a film originally entitled Headcheese.
Co-written by Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, just
as Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) and Deranged (Alan Ormsby, Jeff Gillen, 1974), inspired by the heinous crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, and introduces gritty Texas-atmosphere in a sizzling heat with discomfort, disgust and death along with the now almost mythical chainsaw and one of the most iconic masks in horror cinema history. But the film is not just cruel and horrifying. It's also a kind of social satire (without being funny), which turns and twists 'the American dream' and the
gloss image of the perfect American family.
Daniel Pearl's secure sense of eerie cinematography is one of this film's many strengths. Shot on 16mm using a Bolex and Eclair NPR camera, the visuals and the compositions are a work of pure incontrovertible art (you could hang any frame on the wall) and Pearl's handheld, free-wheeling, pseudo-documentary cinema-vérité style with almost panic-like zooms on skulls, bones, rusty birdcages and dilated eyes, is an ideal fit for the frantic and
unsettling narrative, palpable throughout the piece. But that doesn't mean that there isn't room for some sly and rather sophisticated set-ups along the way. Check out the scene where Teri McInnis' Pam walks from her previous position by a swing set, towards the ominous looking farmhouse, for further proof of this.
A grainy and nicotine yellow color pattern seems to be all pervading in the scenes depicting daytime activities, capturing the desolated landscape of the lone star state
flawlessly, with its desiccated dirt roads and untamed vegetation, whereas nighttime as a fusion of shadowy black and steely blues invokes similar awe and astonishment at the capacity of the film and the people behind it.
The score by Wayne Bell and Hooper himself is another triumph. This experimental soundtrack is reminiscent of twisted uncontrolled metal sounds and squeals, and is highly unorthodox in its chaotic sound design, tailor-made for evoking anguish and discomfort.
Last I want
to mention the film's brilliant set-design courtesy of art director Robert A. Burns, which truly act as a benchmark for the genre and has acted as inspiration for every "Hillbilly Horror" following.
The acting performances are also incredibly effective. Especially Marilyn Burns and Paul A. Partain are extremely valuable in bestowing the film with an almost impenetrable sense of tension and despair, throughout its 90 minute of run time. The rest of the fresh faced cast seems to act primarily
as fodder, but personally I enjoyed the fact that they are portrayed with an air of naive innocence about them.
But let's face it, you came here for the family and boy do they deliver, as this is quite possible the baddest bunch of hombres ever depicted on film. Edwin Neal is absolutely radiant as the psychotic Hitch-Hiker, attacking each scene with a manic energy befitting a true berserker; he doesn't so much draw you in as pull you violently face to face with his epic
performance.
Equally impressive is the character of the cook, the irascibly family patriarch, who is brilliantly brought to life by veteran character actor Jim Siedow. Sadly he passed away in 2003 but left us this immaculate part to enjoy. Leatherface meanwhile is a full-fletched horror-icon, celebrated by all as the true face of the franchise and it's not difficult to see why. Gunner Hansen embodies this monstrosity with all his might and he truly is Leatherface, reducing all others who have
subsequently donned the human skin mask to a mere afterthought.
Tobe Hooper's almost apocalyptic landscape is a deserted wasteland of dissolution where vibrant colors and hope for a future is all but desiccated. The lone star state has metamorphosized into a hellish bone yard of dying cattle, rusted gas stations and desecrated cadavers, and now functions as home base for a pack of psychotic killers whose hunt for rations is the standard when it comes to challenging the established American
experience in movie terminology.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is without a doubt Tobe Hooper's masterpiece and an utterly flawless motion picture experience and its impact on the unsuspecting viewer, neither can nor will be replicated, ever again. Hooper has never since managed, or even gotten close, to reaching the majestic heights of his debut feature. Much like a young Orson Wells, Hooper hit the ground running, only to gradually run out of steam throughout his subsequent career. Never the
less, I have lived this film like few others, through the times of VHS and Laserdiscs up until DVDs and Blu-ray and a viewing of this magnum opus have come to constitute a homecoming. To me, the saw is family!
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has more releases then there exists jokes about pedophilia in the Catholic Church, but for true TCM aficionados there is only one real choice, that being the pricey yet absolutely beautiful Japanese 5-disc box set from DEX Entertainment.
Not only do you
get the discs housed in a fantastic digi-pack confined in a sturdy hard cover box but the film's iconographic artwork is gorgeously recreated on the package for maximum effect.
Furthermore you get the film's Japanese lobby cards, two booklets (one of which has a hardback spine) with lots of great pictures, the Japanese movie poster and some sort of certificate.
Disc one is home to the main feature presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 and the picture quality is absolutely flawless, the
same goes for the audio track available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0, and mono for purists.
Extras on this disc consist of various trailers, TV and radio spots for the film. There are also two audio commentaries available. One features director Tobe Hooper, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and star Gunnar Hansen and it's an essential listen filled with tons of making-of info about the development of the script, shooting in crazy, harsh conditions and the success of the film.
The second track
features art director Robert A. Burns intercut with cast members Marilyn Burns, Paul Partain and Allen Danziger and it's a fun albeit fluffy listen.
Disc two presents a wide variety of extras, starting off with the hour long documentary `Flesh Wounds' and two featurettes entitled `Chainsaw House Tour' lasting 20 minutes where Gunnar Hansen gives us a walking tour of the infamous halls of horrors and `Off the Hook' which lasts 10 minutes. Last you get deleted scenes and outtakes, blooper reel,
still gallery and various promotional materials to round off the disc.
Disc three is somewhat exclusive as it presents the Japanese TV version with a plethora of Japanese promo material like trailers and poster art.
Disc four and five houses the two excellent feature length documenters entitled `A Family Portrait' and `The Shocking Truth', and there's a wide selection of extras, but these consist of Japanese filmmakers in interviews talking about the impact the film has had on their lives
and doesn't have any subtitles so unless you speak the language it's filler, I'm afraid. Most of this material is already available on other releases but there is absolutely no way you'd be able to refute the awesome presence that this stunning release will instill on your DVD/Blu-ray collection. Enjoy!
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2017
As a lifelong fan of horror films, I am ashamed to say that it took the death of director Tobe Hooper to finally prompt me to order a DVD copy of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Though this movie has been a horror staple ever since it opened amid enormous controversy in 1974, I’d somehow avoided viewing the film despite it being easily available for decades via videotape, and then DVD. And I must admit, I stayed away because most low budget gore movies from back in the day are just about unwatchable…think Herschell Gordon Lewis. But with the passing of Hooper, and the tremendous praise poured upon CHAINSAW, I decided to finally check out what I had been missing out on all these years, all the while wondering if the movie would still hold up.
I can definitely say that TCM more than holds its own and lives up to the hype; in fact it towers over all the remakes, reboots, and the hundreds of rip-offs that have come down the road in the years since. TCM is arguably the most perfect representation of pure terror ever put on a movie screen, and, like Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, one of filmdom’s great visual recreations of a nightmare. One of the many genius moves Hooper made was to go heavy on the sensory overload – the jarring metallic clanging noise, the ominous breeze blowing over the hot Texas landscape, insects skittering about, a dead Armadillo in the road, a blazing red sun in a black sky, a full moon revealing itself behind wispy clouds in the night, a quick shot of listless cattle awaiting slaughter, a room filled with furniture made of human bones, the clucking chicken in a birdcage – to create a false face rural America behind which lies dread and horror unimaginable. The plot, what there is of it, concerns a van full of college students traveling through the boondocks of Texas to visit and old family homestead; of course they run out of gas and walk right into the clutches of the cannibalistic Sawyer clan, where one by one, they are butchered like the cattle in the pens they passed earlier. Only Sally manages to escape, but not before enduring one of the most horrific nights of terror any character has ever been through in any movie ever. That was Hooper’s other genius move, that there be no buildup of tension before the villains revealed themselves to their victims, they just walk straight into the frame without fear or hesitation and kill their defenseless prey. There had never before been a character quite like Leatherface before TCM, with his hulking frame, mask of human skin, butcher’s apron, and a roaring chainsaw that never freezes up. From the moment he steps out of the dark and guts Sally’s annoying crippled brother, Franklyn, through the relentless chase in the woods, to the ghastly family “dinner” scene with Grandpa, to the final escape on the highway, we are treated to a sequence of pure terror like no other. Yes, it is repetitive, and even today, almost unwatchable in parts, yet the very fact that it plays out like a scratched record is what makes it feel like a nightmare without end. No wonder movie goers at a sneak preview back in 1974 walked out and threatened to beat up the theater manager.
Hooper’s other genius moves were to make us believe we have seen far more gore than is really on the screen, like when Pam is hung up on the meat hook before Leatherface begins carving up Kirk; his use of dark humor, as when Leatherface looks furtively looks out the window and then sits down an beats his head in frustration, as if these kids who keep wondering into the house were interrupting him from baking a pie in the kitchen. I love the camera work by cinematographer Daniel Pearl, especially the low angle tracking shot of Pam getting up from the swing and walking toward the Sawyer house until it fills the frame, along with Leatherface’s pursuit of Sally through the country side, whining chainsaw in hand. And who can forget Leatherface’s defiant final dance in the middle of the highway? The film was shot in 16MM and then blown up to 35MM, which helped give it that classic grainy look, which is one of its most memorable aspects. So too is John Larroquette’s opening narration, where he does his best Orson Welles.
Hooper got great performances out of his cast of unknowns, most of whom were ready to kill him after the grueling shoot on location in triple digit heat during the summer of 1973, where some of the working days stretched to over twenty hours in a race to get the movie done before equipment rentals expired. One stand out is Paul Partain as Franklyn, a truly irksome character with a Texas twang. We never see Gunner Hansen’s face, but he creates the iconic Leatherface through squeals, grunts and body language alone. That he wears a tie is even more unnerving. It is a horror performance that rivals Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein Monster. That is John Henry Faulk, whose lawsuit famously ended the Hollywood blacklist, as the man at the cemetery in the opening scene. Like Tobe Hooper, most of the cast has passed on now, and it is sad to know that most of them were done out of residuals and payments over the years by unscrupulous distributors.
One of the joys of watching TCM now is the snapshot it gives us of the Nixon era 70’s, with its shaggy hair and bad fashions, it was also a time when the Vietnam War, the Manson family, the Texas Tower killer (one the first mass spree killings), and the Weather Underground bombings were in the very recent past; a dark time in an America filled with dread and random violence (sound familiar?). All of this darkness and tension is palpable in the film. As it stands, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, is a classic in the fear-the-rural-South genre, where outsiders become stranded in Dixie and at the mercy of malevolent locals; a fear that was compounded in the wake of the murder of three Northern civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi, in the summer of 1964. In that, TCM belongs in the same company as DELIVERANCE, MACON COUNTY LINE, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, and SOUTHERN COMFORT.
One of the best things about the excellent DVD copy I received is the audio commentary by Hooper himself, along with Gunner Hansen and Daniel Pearl, in they are quite honest about the troubles on the set while making the film.
There are many influences for TCM, including the crimes of Ed Gein, along with the first movie take on that character, Hitchcock’s PSYCHO. But the one influence no one seems to mention, but to me is obvious, is Scooby Doo, the cartoon where a bunch of kids travel across the country in a van encountering various monsters, who usually turn out to be some villain wearing a costume. In this way, TCM is like the Scooby Doo episode from Hell, where the mask wearing Big Bad slices and dices up the kids.
Tobe Hooper never quite got the respect of that some of his contemporaries (John Carpenter, George Romero, William Friedkin) who made great horror films back in the 70’s, but his legacy is a solid one. He would go on make a great TV adaptation of Stephen King’s SALEM’S LOT, the classic POLTERGEIST, and the unique scifi horror film, LIFEFORCE among others. But it will be THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE that he will most be remembered for, a fierce, uncompromising gift to all of us who love to be scared in the best possible way.
And bonus points to anyone who remembers the Mark Harmon 80’s comedy, SUMMER SCHOOL and that great joke whose punch line is, “New film from district, Safe Use of Power Tools.” That’s Hooper’s legacy too.
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars Tobe Hooper's original is still the best. There is a reason why this film is ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2018
Forget about all these 'paranormal/insidious/sinister/conjuring' efforts. You want to watch a REAL horror film? One that absolutely set the standard for scary movies, that has been copied, homaged and ripped-off hundreds, possibly thousands of times? THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is a film that will stay with you for life. Forget about the sequels and remakes etc.; Tobe Hooper's original is still the best. There is a reason why this film is so respected among horror fans. The cinematography is raw, and the violence is unflinching. And even though it is notorious for being a blood-soaked 'nastie', you will be surprised as to how little blood is actually seen on screen. It is the build up of tension and suspense and the eerie atmosphere created that makes this such a masterpiece(*see also John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN). Great film on a great blu-ray presentation. 5/5
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2020
An exhilarating thrilling and heartbreaking film - wonderfully directed in what was Tobe Hooper's standout film and great acting by Marilyn Burns has the final girl who has witnessed the traumatic death of her disabled brother. Very different from the rest of the unpleasant horror genre rooted in misogyny. The film plays out its initial beginning in the daylight and the violence only hinted at and swift and brutal but never over-gory or gratuitous instead relying on atmosphere dread and fear especially at the hands of Sally Hardesty with its wonderfully filmed close-ups of her face and eyes whilst being essentially tortured by Leatherface and the depraved family. The escape at the end is brilliant and for me a cinematic highlight of my life. One of the top ten films of my life - has rooted in our everyday life hopes and dreams and eventual trauma and hell and resilience and escape and very real in its depiction of an actual horrific scene which makes it standout from the rest of the genre.
4.0 out of 5 stars The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 40th Anniversary Blu Ray review (spoilers)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2016
A very memorable horror film done on a tight budget which delivers a great result.
The Blu Ray features some nice enhanced colours and very well captures the sound mix of the film. I bought the 40th anniversary version which has been remastered in 4k. The picture aspect ratio is full screen and the audio is 7.1.
The film's direction feels gritty and uncompromising. Killing a disabled person is not usually done in cinema, this film breaks that taboo with no apologies. Though made on a small budget the film feels very inventive, using subtle ways to build the tension and not giving away too much too early. The film has a strong element of realism to it, helped by the realistic sets and locations, the 16mm film it was filmed on giving it a slightly unpolished look and also by the lack of any strong hero type who steps up at the end to fight the monster. In fact there is no monster or supernatural elements at all, just a mad family out to kill.
I liked some of the cinematography, the low shots of the girl in the red shorts in the strong sunlight. The landscape is empty and barren and nicely captures the sense of isolation our characters find themselves in.
Another element I liked was that the film avoided gratuitous nudity which is often a sleazy element found in horror/slasher films like the Halloween and Friday the 13th franchises.
The Blu Ray picture quality is a nice improvement to the DVD while still remaining faithful to the original look of the film, it's not too shinny or digital and keeps that gritty grainy texture the picture always had. The Blu Ray It is also packed full of extras including new audio commentaries, documentaries and interviews.
4.0 out of 5 stars The
Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 40th Anniversary Blu Ray review (spoilers)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2016
A very memorable horror film done on a tight budget which delivers a great result.
The Blu Ray features some nice enhanced colours and very well captures the sound mix of the film. I bought the 40th anniversary version which has been remastered in 4k. The picture aspect ratio is full screen and the audio is 7.1.
The film's direction feels gritty and uncompromising. Killing a disabled person is not usually done in cinema, this film breaks that taboo with no apologies. Though made on a small budget the film feels very inventive, using subtle ways to build the tension and not giving away too much too early. The film has a strong element of realism to it, helped by the realistic sets and locations, the 16mm film it was filmed on giving it a slightly unpolished look and also by the lack of any strong hero type who steps up at the end to fight the monster. In fact there is no monster or supernatural elements at all, just a mad family out to kill.
I liked some of the cinematography, the low shots of the girl in the red shorts in the strong sunlight. The landscape is empty and barren and nicely captures the sense of isolation our characters find themselves in.
Another element I liked was that the film avoided gratuitous nudity which is often a sleazy element found in horror/slasher films like the Halloween and Friday the 13th franchises.
The Blu Ray picture quality is a nice improvement to the DVD while still remaining faithful to the original look of the film, it's not too shinny or digital and keeps that gritty grainy texture the picture always had. The Blu Ray It is also packed full of extras including new audio commentaries, documentaries and interviews.
Images in this review
5.0 out of 5 stars The Original Masterpiece
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2014
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974 is a true classic in horror. I was amazed when I first watched this film back in 1997 on Laserdisc. I now own the new 4K remaster on Blu Ray. I must say the picture quality is more grainy then the previous Blu Ray version I owned, but the colours are more vibrant and detailed that pop on screen. The film comes on two discs and is packed with extra's. I decided to skip the steelbook version in favour of the normal amaray blue case version. The amaray consists of two cover arts, the newly commissioned art and the original art, the latter being the reason I wanted this version. I love the original theatrical poster art on my Blu Ray covers, which gives it that authenticity and nostalgic feel.
( TRIVIA )
• The chainsaw that ( Leatherface ) uses is real. It was no movie prop.
• The titles original name for the film was ( Headcheese ) it later changed to ( Leatherface ) before the eventual title name arrived that we all know today as ( The Texas Chainsaw Massacre )
• Gunnar Hansen who played the role as ( Leatherface ) stood at six-foot-four inches tall and weighed 300 pounds.
• Tobe Hooper the director wanted a PG rating release. So that the film would reach a wider audience. However there was no PG rating system at the time and was told by the Motion Picture Association of America that he could help his cause if he limited the amount of onscreen blood.
'' As you watch the film, notice there's probably about two ounces, '' Hooper later joked.
Alas, the film's intensity ultimately meant it earned a R rating. Still, it's probably not as gory as you remember.
• The Shoot was Harrowing. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was produced on a budget of $60,000, which meant little pay and long hours for the cast and crew. To make matters worse, the production endured a Texas summer with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees ( including 115-degree heat for the un-air conditioned interior shots) , a single bathroom shared by more then three dozen people, costumes that could not be changed because the actors only had one set of clothes, and the constant presence of the bones and rotting meat used as props. Virtually no member of the cast went uninjured, and the heat and stench got so punishing at one point that the actors would run to the windows of the house where the dinner scene was shot to throw up and breath a little fresh air between takes.
Years later, Hooper sarcastically referred to the experience as an '' interesting summer.''
• The legendary dinner scene was shot in a single marathon day. In addition to the excessive heat and odour in the dining room during filming, the sequence was given another challenge: It had to be completed in a single day because John Dugan, the actor who played Grandpa, refused to endure the 10-hour process of getting his makeup applied a second time. '' He announced that he was not sitting through it again, '' Hooper said.
As a result, the cast and crew worked for 27 straight hours to finish a scene that takes up only a few minutes of the film's runtime.
• Leatherface actually wears three different masks in the film. There's The Killing Mask he wears for most of the film, the ''Grandma '' Mask he wears while preparing dinner to show his '' domestic side, '' and the Lady Makeup- covered Mask he wears to sit down to dinner, complete with suit in the southern tradition of dressing up for the evening meal.
This is only seven Trivia facts on what happened during the filming of this iconic film, there are many more facts that happened on set.
Overall
Rating
10/10
Horror Masterpiece
5.0 out of 5 stars The Original Masterpiece
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2014
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974 is a true classic in horror. I was amazed when I first watched this film back in 1997 on Laserdisc. I now own the new 4K remaster on Blu Ray. I must say the picture quality is more grainy then the previous Blu Ray version I owned, but the colours are more vibrant and detailed that pop on screen. The film comes on two discs and is packed with extra's. I decided to skip the steelbook version in favour of the normal amaray blue case version. The amaray consists of two cover arts, the newly commissioned art and the original art, the latter being the reason I wanted this version. I love the original theatrical poster art on my Blu Ray covers, which gives it that authenticity and nostalgic feel.
( TRIVIA )
• The chainsaw that ( Leatherface ) uses is real. It was no movie prop.
• The titles original name for the film was ( Headcheese ) it later changed to ( Leatherface ) before the eventual title name arrived that we all know today as ( The Texas Chainsaw Massacre )
• Gunnar Hansen who played the role as ( Leatherface ) stood at six-foot-four inches tall and weighed 300 pounds.
• Tobe Hooper the director wanted a PG rating release. So that the film would reach a wider audience. However there was no PG rating system at the time and was told by the Motion Picture Association of America that he could help his cause if he limited the amount of onscreen blood.
'' As you watch the film, notice there's probably about two ounces, '' Hooper later joked.
Alas, the film's intensity ultimately meant it earned a R rating. Still, it's probably not as gory as you remember.
• The Shoot was Harrowing. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was produced on a budget of $60,000, which meant little pay and long hours for the cast and crew. To make matters worse, the production endured a Texas summer with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees ( including 115-degree heat for the un-air conditioned interior shots) , a single bathroom shared by more then three dozen people, costumes that could not be changed because the actors only had one set of clothes, and the constant presence of the bones and rotting meat used as props. Virtually no member of the cast went uninjured, and the heat and stench got so punishing at one point that the actors would run to the windows of the house where the dinner scene was shot to throw up and breath a little fresh air between takes.
Years later, Hooper sarcastically referred to the experience as an '' interesting summer.''
• The legendary dinner scene was shot in a single marathon day. In addition to the excessive heat and odour in the dining room during filming, the sequence was given another challenge: It had to be completed in a single day because John Dugan, the actor who played Grandpa, refused to endure the 10-hour process of getting his makeup applied a second time. '' He announced that he was not sitting through it again, '' Hooper said.
As a result, the cast and crew worked for 27 straight hours to finish a scene that takes up only a few minutes of the film's runtime.
• Leatherface actually wears three different masks in the film. There's The Killing Mask he wears for most of the film, the ''Grandma '' Mask he wears while preparing dinner to show his '' domestic side, '' and the Lady Makeup- covered Mask he wears to sit down to dinner, complete with suit in the southern tradition of dressing up for the evening meal.
This is only seven Trivia facts on what happened during the filming of this iconic film, there are many more facts that happened on set.
Overall Rating
10/10
Horror Masterpiece
5.0 out of 5 stars One of best slasher of all the time.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2015
its still good , only made on budget of less than 300k dollars. It went on to become one of best horror in film history. Less than one n half hour full of ups n downs , I honestly don't think u can get many better slashers than this film. 60s 70s 80s those days were the best days to make these kind of films
I'm glad I bought Blu ray cos the picture look better and it's got good fews of extras. Deleted scenes and stills gallery made me think alot about the film etc it help me fall in love with the film , classic 70s slasher.
It also spurred me onto reading a bit more about the film on wiki , the fact that it's been banned worldwide for so long time and other so much stuff is what made this horror film awesome. It's got special history and u can then connect it to real life murderer Ed Gein .
The steelbook looks nice graphically too, and colour ! The cover pic inside is classic that sum it up the whole case
Part of rules on halloween day u must have this film ready on ur shelf it's not Halloween if u don't have it.
I feel price is justified and speedy delivery. 5 stars from me