The Thing (Collector’s Edition): Blu-Ray Review
Arriving on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray this week is John Carpenter’s 1982 classic, “The Thing”. Considered by many (including myself) to be one of the best remakes to date, it also is one of the best examples of why practical effects are superior to digital effects, especially in horror. “The Thing” freaked me out as a kid and it still holds up today.
Thanks to Scream Factory, we have a beautiful new 2K HD transfer that looks stunning and an audio mix created from the original 70mm soundtrack. If that wasn’t enough, this two-disk set is loaded with bonus features that will impress any fan. Scream Factory clearly knows how important “The Thing” is to genre fans and to cinema in general so they really went all-out on this release.
Even if you already own “The Thing” (and you probably do!), this release is worth the upgrade. Although I haven’t had the chance to get through all of the interviews as of yet, I am definitely looking forward to it.
Bonus Features
DISC ONE:
- NEW 2K Scan Of The Interpositive Supervised And Approved By Director Of Photography Dean Cundey
- NEW 4.1 Audio Mix Created From The Original 70MM Six Track Dolby Stereo Soundtrack (5.1 Audio Mix Also Included)
- NEW Audio Commentary With Director Of Photography Dean Cundey
- NEW Audio Commentary With Co-producer Stuart Cohen
- Audio Commentary By Director John Carpenter And Actor Kurt Russell
- Teaser Trailer (1 minute)
- Theatrical Trailers (U.S. And German) (5 minutes)
- TV Spots (1 minute)
- Radio Spots (2 minutes)
- Still Gallery (Behind-The-Scenes Photos, Posters And Lobby Cards) (15 minutes)
DISC TWO:
- NEW Requiem For A Shape Shifter – An Interview With Director John Carpenter In Conversation With Filmmaker Mick Garris (28 minutes)
- NEW The Men Of Outpost 31 – Interviews With Keith David, Wilford Brimley, David Clennon, Thomas Waites, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur And Joel Polis (51 minutes)
- NEW Assembling And Assimilation – An Interview With Editor Todd Ramsay (11 minutes)
- NEW Behind The Chameleon: The Sights Of THE THING – Interviews With Visual Effects Artists Peter Kuran And Susan Turner, Special Make-up Effects Artist Rob Burman, Brian Wade And Stop Motion Animators Randall William Cook And Jim Aupperle (25 minutes)
- NEW Sounds From The Cold – Interviews With Supervising Sound Editor David Lewis Yewdall And Special Sound Effects Designer Alan Howarth (15 minutes)
- NEW Between The Lines – An Interview With Novelization Author Alan Dean Foster (16 minutes)
- NEW Back Into The Cold: A Return To The Shooting Locations Of THE THING – An Animated Photo Gallery Narrated By Todd Cameron Of Outpost31.com
- NEW The Art Of Mike Ploog Gallery (12 minutes)
- John Carpenter’s The Thing: Terror Takes Shape – A Documentary On The Making Of THE THING Featuring Interviews With John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Special Effects Make-up Designer Rob Bottin, Legendary Matte Artist Albert Whitlock Plus Members Of The Cast And Crew (80 minutes – SD)
- Network TV Broadcast Version Of THE THING (92 minutes – SD)
- Outtakes (5 minutes – SD)
- Vintage Featurettes From The Electronic Press Kit Featuring Interviews With John Carpenter, Kurt Russell And Rob Bottin (13 minutes – SD)
- Vintage Featurettes – The Making Of A Chilling Tale And The Making Of THE THING (14 minutes – SD)
- Vintage Product Reel – Contains A Condensed Version Of The Film With Additional Footage Not In The Film (19 minutes – SD)
- Vintage Behind-The-Scenes Footage (2 minutes – SD)
- Annotated Production Archive – Production Art And Storyboards, Location Scouting, Special Make-up Effects, Post Production (54 minutes – SD)
By: Marc Ferman
