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MOVIE INFO

Director:
Stuart Rosenberg
Cast:
James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud, Murray Hamilton, John Larch, Natasha Ryan, K.C. Martel
Writing Credits:
Jay Anson (book), Sandor Stern

Tagline:
For God's sake - Get Out!

Synopsis:
If these walls could talk ... the screams would wake the dead. Based on the chilling best-seller, this "spooky study in psychological terror" (Los Angeles Times) throws open the doors to your deepest, darkest fears! The Long Island colonial house on the river's edge seemed perfect. Quaint, spacious and affordable, it was just what George and Kathy Lutz had been looking for. But looks can be deceiving ... and their new dream home soon becomes a hellish nightmare as the walls begin to drip blood and satanic forces haunt them with sheer, unbridled evil. Now, with their lives - and their souls - in danger, the Lutzes must run as fast as they can from the home they once loved ... or fall prey to its terrifying power! Starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Oscar-winner Rod Steiger, this bone-chlling, special effects-laden thriller will hit you where you live!

Box Office:
Opening Weekend
$7.843 million on 748 screens.
Domestic Gross
$86.432 million.

MPAA:
Rated R

DVD DETAILS
Presentation:
Widescreen 1.85:1/16x9
Audio:
English Dolby Digital 5.1
English Monaural
Spanish Monaural
French Monaural
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Closed-captioned

Runtime: 119 min.
Price: $39.95 (Single Disc Edition: $14.95)
Release Date: 4/5/2005

Available as Part of “The Amityville Horror Collection” Boxed Set.

Bonus:
• Audio Commentary with Professor of Parapsychology Dr. Hans Holter
• “For God’s Sake, Get Out!” Documentary
• Radio Spots
• Trailers


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
Sony 36" WEGA KV-36FS12 Monitor; Sony DA333ES Processor/Receiver; Panasonic CV-50 DVD Player using component outputs; Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five); Sony SA-WM40 Subwoofer.

RELATED REVIEWS

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The Amityville Horror: Special Edition (The Amityville Horror Collection) (1979)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 28, 2005)

When I was 12 years old, The Amityville Horror was one of the very first "R"-rated movies I ever saw. It opened in the summer of 1979 and proceeded to scare the wits out of me - not that such action required much at that age. I couldn't bear to stare out of our house's windows for weeks afterward due to my fear I'd see those creepy red eyes gazing back at me!

Much of the terror the film inspired in me came from the allegedly true nature of the events upon which the movie was based. Although I was fascinated by the story at the time, I admit I've given little thought to the whole Amityville issue since then, so I have no idea what the "facts" of the matter were and how believable they may be. However, I do know it all seemed awfully plausible to myself and my other pubescent peers, and all of that made the movie even more chilling.

Whatever really happened in Long Island during the mid-Seventies, there's one thing I know for sure: I'm not 12-years-old anymore, and The Amityville Horror is a pretty crummy movie. What seemed so scary then just looks dopey now, and the film had absolutely no effect on me as an adult.

The story is well-known: the Lutzes, a young couple and their three kids - hers, actually, from a prior relationship - move into a lovely house with a bad history. A teenager went bonkers and slaughtered his family there a year prior to the arrival of the newlyweds. Once they enter, strange events start to occur, and much funky weirdness results.

I can't fault Horror for the fact so many other stories have taken from it in the years since. Hey, any tale was original once, and this one was clearly fresher 25 years ago. I was actually surprised to see how much was lifted and inserted into other films. It seems likely Kubrick took significant aspects of Horror for his 1980 version of The Shining; some of the similarities are a little too close for coincidence. (That Kubrick was quite a thief: he also stole bits from The Omen as well!)

Whether or not Horror was ever original, it still doesn't make it a good film. The plot moves along at a slow and obvious pace, as all the events are telegraphed from a mile away. The cast seems flat at best - James Brolin's shaggy haircut scared me more than his menacing acting - and histrionic at worst. Rod Steiger chews so much scenery he much have gotten indigestion.

Even those red eyes aren't spooky anymore. In fact, they just looked silly. Since I only saw Horror once as a kid, I'd built up an internal myth about those eyes. I'd convinced myself the scene showed something even more horrific. Nope - it's just a pair of fake-looking red eyes. Thomas Wolfe was right - you can't go home again.

Probably the scariest aspect of Horror comes from the real-life happenings of its stars. Margot Kidder got seriously injured in a 1990 car crash, and she also went nuts a few years later. Brolin married Barbra Streisand. Who suffered the worse fate? Boy, that's a tough call.

I enjoyed seeing The Amityville Horror from a semi-nostalgic point of view. I'd liked it a lot as a kid and was curious to see if it still possessed any terror. Unfortunately, it doesn't. It's just another cheesy film from the Seventies that lost its luster years ago.


The DVD Grades: Picture B/ Audio B+/ Bonus B-

The Amityville Horror appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the widescreen image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Despite some niggling concerns, most of Amityville looked pretty solid.

One of the more consistent distractions came from the consistent presence of edge enhancement. The haloes stayed generally mild, but they appeared during much of the film, and they rendered the picture less detailed than I’d like. I thought matters usually seemed acceptably concise and distinctive, but wider shots took on a moderately soft tone. No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, though, and source flaws stayed reasonably minor. The occasional speck or piece of grit cropped up, and some light grain also was visible. The defects were less prevalent than I expected for an older flick, though.

The film's palette seemed fairly subdued but was generally nicely-saturated and realistic. Within the visual design, the colors appeared realistic and solid at all times. Black levels were a little soft and mushy, and contrast appeared a little overly dark much of the time. This affected shadow detail, which came across as acceptably visible but not as clear as I'd like. Still, despite these criticisms, I found The Amityville Horror to provide a pretty positive viewing experience that almost made it up to “B+” territory.

I felt no qualms when I decided to give a “B+” to the surprisingly effective Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of The Amityville Horror. Remixed from the original monaural audio - which also appears on the DVD - the 5.1 edition gave us a broad and natural soundscape. The track used the sides to present a lot of good atmospheric information, and the surrounds kicked in with a fair amount of material as well. These added a lot to the movie’s attempted chills. From a thunderstorm at the beginning of the flick to gunfire and other aggressive sequences, the track put elements in their proper places and blended them well.

Music showed nice stereo delineation as well, and the entire package was involving. Matters occasionally tended toward the “speaker-specific” side of the street, but not as prominently as I’d expect. We even got some good stereo surround usage, with a few elements that popped up in particular rear speakers.

When I accounted for its age, the quality of the audio was also pleasing. Speech lacked much edginess and consistently sounded natural and distinctive. A few louder lines became a bit rough, but they were well within the realm of acceptability, and intelligibility remained good. Music needed a little more range but was still quite satisfying for something from 1979, as the score usually sounded smooth and full. Effects failed to present much distortion. Those elements were usually nicely concise and accurate, and they packed a good punch in the louder sequences. All in all, the new 5.1 mix of Amityville was a real winner.

How did the picture and audio of this new Amityville Horror special edition compare with those of the original 2000 DVD? One major change relates to the soundtrack. While the prior disc offered only the movie’s original monaural audio, this one adds the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. Not only does the track open up matters to all five speakers, but also it improves the quality of the old mix. That one tended to be somewhat harsh and edgy, but those concerns failed to materialize here. The new soundtrack is a marked improvement over the old one in many ways.

In addition, the new transfer definitely betters the prior version. The main difference here comes from its cleanliness. The original DVD suffered from many more instances of source defects that this one lacks. Definition also seems slightly improved, though both present some softness. The old version wasn’t 16X9, so this one’s anamorphic enhancement definitely makes it the tighter of the two. Colors and blacks remain about the same. The various improvements make this clearly the superior transfer.

Although the original Amityville DVD included only the flick’s trailer, this new special edition expands matters somewhat. We open with an audio commentary from parapsychology professor Dr. Hans Holzer. He offers a running, occasionally screen-specific chat that looks at the “truth” behind the story. Holzer gets into the specifics of the house’s history, the DeFeo slayings in 1974, and what the Lutz family claims happened to them. He also chats about concepts related to the supernatural as well as the liberties taken by the movie and some production information.

One must take Holzer’s remarks with a grain of salt, as his notions require one to buy into his ideas about the supernatural. These are quite specific; he rejects common religious beliefs and openly mocks concepts with which he doesn’t agree. Actually, it would’ve been cool to get a second commentary with someone who would try to debunk the ideas.

Nonetheless, Holzer gives us a generally interesting chat that covers a lot of intriguing topics. He repeats himself at times, and quite a few gaps mar the proceedings, especially after the first third of the flick. Despite those problems, I found much of the track to be quite interesting.

Note that if you watch the movie with Holzer’s commentary, it’ll launch with an 82-second introduction. In that clip, Holzer tells us about himself, his work and his qualifications.

A new documentary called For God’s Sake, Get Out! appears next. This 21-minute and 33-second program mixes movie clips, archival materials, and interviews. We find notes from actors James Brolin and Margot Kidder. They discuss their early careers, how they came onto Horror, production notes and impressions of the real house, their research and impressions of the real Lutz family, the studio’s concocted spookiness on the set, conflicts between the two lead actors and their approaches to their characters, the film’s impact on their careers, and various production details.

While the lack of additional participants somewhat hamstrings “Sake”, it still provides some nice details. Both Brolin and Kidder prove nicely frank and open about their memories, and that leads to some fun details. The show doesn’t present a detailed history of the project, but it acts as a good glimpse at things.

In addition to the trailer for Amityville, a few clips appear in “Other MGM Release”. This area includes promos for Species 3 and Jeepers Creepers 2 as well as a pair of generic clips. We also find seven radio spots.

The DVD opens with some ads. As one might expect, we find the trailer for the Amityville remake, and we also get a promo for The Woods.

The Amityville Horror is nothing more than a silly trifle. It may have spooked me 25 years ago, but it couldn't muster even a minor rise now, and most of the film just seemed goofy and overwrought. The DVD provides pretty solid picture and audio along with a small but generally interesting set of extras.

Obviously I won’t recommend this terrible movie to those who don’t already know they like it, but existing fans should snag this new release. The special edition improves upon the picture and sound of the prior disc, and it also adds some decent supplements. The new release merits an upgrade for folks who own the old one, and it’s definitely the disc of choice for those who never bought the original version.

Note that you can find this DVD of The Amityville Horror on its own or as part of a boxed set called "The Amityville Horror Collection". This package also includes Amityville II: The Possession, Amityville 3-D, and a bonus disc titled Amityville Confidential. The three films can be purchased individually, but Amityville Confidential is exclusive to that release.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3.0869 Stars Number of Votes: 23
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21:
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