The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Released in 1974 to a completely unprepared ratings board, Hooper asked for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to be classified as 'PG' given that there was little on-screen violence, no sex/nudity or obscene language but the MPAA was having none of it and gave the film an 'R' certificate. Other ratings boards weren't so lenient - the BBFC banned the film outright as there was nothing that could be cut which would reduce the overwhelming sense of menace and intensity.

In 1973, Tobe Hooper, straight out of film school and with only Eggshells, a relatively unheard of film in his resume, headed deep into Texas with a group of inexperienced actors and filmmakers to shoot a film that Hooper had penned with his friend Kim Henkel. Hooper had grown up in Texas and had been terrified by older relatives from Wisconsin, who regaled him with stories about the notorious serial killer Ed Gein who had committed his crimes in that state. Gein has had a remarkable impact on horror films, arguably the inspiration for Norman Bates in Psycho, Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs and the family of cannibals in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns), her brother Franklin (Paul Partain) and their friends Pam, Jerry and Kirk travel to Texas where there are reports of grave-robbing, to check on their grandfather's grave. On the way they meet a hitchhiker (Edwin Neal), who disturbs and unsettles them, before the real nightmare begins. Inverting the American ideal of the perfect nuclear family to something much more sinister, putting a whole new spin on 'family values', Hooper created something horrific and, at the time, relevant. With the generation gap making parents afraid of their kids, Hooper and Henkel tapped into the zeitgeist to create a family of monsters that are not only alien to the older generation but their own. In doing so they unleashed a true cinematic icon, Leatherface, on the public who were terrified and he continues to scare and fascinate to this day.
 
The family of cannibals are so strange, weird and alien that when Sally is begging for her life, she offers to 'do anything' but they're not interested - the thought of sex never crossed their minds - they are from a long line of slaughtermen and intend to carry on in that vein.
 
Brutal, intense, shocking and downright scary, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a rare example of a film that has barely aged in over thirty years and has maintained its power like few other films. This is a movie that lives with you long after the credits have rolled and is probably the finest example of a pure horror film - it sets out to scare and does exactly that. There have been many imitators, sequels and remakes but none come close to the visceral experience of the original and best.
 
Something that gets neglected because of the controversy and concentration on the horror element is the quality of the writing, directing and acting.  Combating an extraordinarily hot Texan summer and with little money for additional wardrobe, the cast put up with incredible hardships and give superb performances with Paul Partain's decision to stay in character and incur the wrath of his colleagues paying dividends with a truly memorable character.  Though you never see his face, Gunnar Hansen has a terrific screen presence and his Leatherface is wonderful screen monster.  I could go on, naming them all and expounding the virtues of each but all that needs saying is that the whole ensemble are terrific and helped make the film what it is.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of my favourite films, one I never tire of watching and I thought the R1 Ultimate Edition was just that but this is even better with a couple more extra features. I consider this to be the finest version of the film available, with the definitive transfer, fantastic audio tracks and a wealth of extras, making it an essential DVD for any horror fan who doesn't yet own a copy and worth serious consideration for any DVD collector.

The Disc

 
Extra Features
A year ago I reviewed the Seriously Ultimate Edition on DVD which had the film and extra features spread across three discs.  Now the exact same features are on this Blu-ray but, taking advantage of the extra storage capacity, are fitted on a single disc.  As they are virtually the same features and my opinions haven't changed, it's a case of 'waste not, want not' so I've ported over the extras review almost unchanged.
 
There are two audio commentaries, the first featuring actors Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danziger and art director Robert A. Burns, and the second with Tobe Hooper, DoP Daniel Pearl and Gunnar ('Leatherface') Hansen. The latter of these was available on the other two releases but complements the interesting and revealing 'actors' commentary' very well.

The feature-length documentary: 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth' by David Gregory is 73 minutes of interviews with cast and crew, including Allen Danziger, Paul Partain, Marylin Burns, Tobe Hooper and Robert Burns. The interviews form a 'making of', covering the inspirations for the film, the state of the horror genre at the time, the unexpected commercial success, the response of censors and the sequels.


There are interviews with Teri McMinn and Ron Bozman, outtakes from 'The Shocking Truth' and 'A Tour of the TCSM House with Gunnar Hansen'. The tour is preceded by footage from 1993 and then Hansen, who visits it for the first time since filming, takes you round the building, which is now a restaurant, and points out where certain scenes were filmed. Much of this has already been seen in 'The Shocking Truth' and the 'This Old House' section of the 'Flesh Wounds' documentary.
 
The 74 minute 'Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw' is a seven-part documentary with sections on cinematographer Daniel Pearl (Chainsaw Cameraman), the TCSM house (This Old House), the 'hitchhiker', Ed O'Neil (The Famous Mr. Ed), those who have recently passed away (In Memoriam), the man responsible for creating 'Grandpa', Dr. W.E. Barnes (The Good Doctor), fan conventions (Frightmares & Wastelands) and Gunnar Hansen (Life After Leatherface). This 2006 documentary is bang up to date and sets out to, and succeeds in, telling the stories that have been omitted from previous supplementary material.

There are also deleted scenes, outtakes, alternative footage and interviews with Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel. The disc is rounded off with three TV Spots, two Radio Spots and two trailers.  Oddly, the stills gallery from the DVD set has not been carried across though, to be honest, that's not a huge loss.


The Picture
One of the strengths of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the vérité look of the film - an inspired aesthetic choice that adds so much to the atmosphere and terror. Although this version has been remastered from the original film stock and presented in high-definition, there has been no attempt to 'polish' the film and it maintains the documentary appearance from the theatrical release and all previous DVD releases.
 
For the budget, the costumes, set design and mise-en-scène are fantastic and Daniel Pearl's cinematography is brilliant, starting with the sunspots during the opening credits and going all the way through to the unforgettable ending during the sunrise as Leatherface maniacally swings his chain saw around. 
 
I was pleased when the film started and the titles, that previously had a little 'wobble' to them, were very still and even happier when I noticed a little surface grain so there had obviously been no significant digital noise reduction (DNR).  As such, the picture maintains the clarity of previous DVDs but is slightly sharper with excellent colours - there is only so much you can do with something shot on 16mm!
 
The Sound
You have a choice of the original mono soundtrack, an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo and a DTS 5.1 mix.  I've always alternated between the mono, stereo and surround tracks on previous releases, eventually settling with the Dolby Digital 5.1 on the last release but, for this one, found the LPCM to be the pick as the sound is so clear that you don't need the surrounds to convey the terror.  The DTS encoded soundtrack is very good but is perhaps a little artificial as it doesn't match the visuals.
 
Helping with the visual terror is the wonderfully dissonant score by Tobe Hooper and Wayne Bell which screeches and clangs around, adding to the unnerving and unsettling nature of the film.
 
Final Thoughts
This may sound odd but I like to sit down in a dark room with the volume up and watch something truly scary - it's part of the masochistic streak that runs in every horror fan. There are few films that can rival the sheer intensity and terror of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and it is as fresh and brutal now as it was when I first saw it ten or so years ago and, I imagine, when it was first released in 1974.
 
This is basically the same set as the previous Seriously Ultimate Edition on DVD with only a slightly improved AV package.  As such, if you own that (or the R1 Ultimate Edition) then there is really no need to go for the HD release otherwise, this is contains the best extras package and AV quality of the bunch.