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Released by: Scream Factory
Release Date: Nov. 16th, 1976 (Theatrical)
Oct. 11th, 2016 (Blu-ray)
Region Code: A (locked)
Run Time: 1h 38m
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Video:1080p (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio)
Disc One: The Film
Theatrical Trailer
(2m 6s, HD)
Trailer gives away just about everything the film has to
offer. If you have not seen the film DO NOT
WATCH THE TRAILER!
Carrie Franchise
Trailer Gallery
-Carrie (2002) (2m 6s, HD)
This is the trailer for the tv
movie remake of the original. This version does keep some of the aspects of the
novel that were left out of the 1976 version. It is made-for-tv and was shot on
mini DV cameras, which means that the movie looks really bad. It is also a
pretty bad film as well.
-The Rage: Carrie 2 (2m 6s, HD)
Here we are given the trailer for
the sequel to the original film. I have not seen this film since it was
released by in the late 90s, but watching this trailer brought back memories of
seeing it played in front of every film I went to leading up to the film’s
release.
-Carrie (2013) (1m 56s, HD)
This is the remake that starred
Chole Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore.
This was an unnecessary remake that brought nothing new to the table. There was
a petition a year or so ago that called for MGM and Fox to release an extended
cut of the film that is supposed to be more in line with the book rather than
being a straight retelling of the 1976 film. I didn’t like this film, but would
be willing to give it a chance if an extended cut was released.
Disc Two: The Features
Interviews:
-Writing Carrie
(29m 7s, HD)
This is a new interview with the screenwriter, Lawrence Cohen. He gives us a very detailed telling of the history of the film. He fell in love with the book when he read it in galley form. He had a hard time convincing a studio to make it and once Brian De Palma was on board he knew the film was finally getting made. He also talks about the musical, which I had no idea existed.
Cohen tells the story of getting
Carrie made with ease. His is one of the only new interviews included on this
disc that didn’t grow stale as it was being told. Cohen knows how to weave a
story and does so very well. This interview is really good.
-Shooting Carrie (15m 22s, HD)
This is a new interview with
Director of Photography Mario Tosi. He talks about working with De Palma and
adapting to his style of shooting. Tosi also talks about the more complicated
shots and how they were done.
I like hearing from DPs, but Tosi
is not a very good storyteller. I found him bland and uninteresting. He knows
how to make a scene look good, but can’t keep my attention for fifteen minutes.
-Cutting Carrie (25m 9s, HD)
This is a new interview with editor
Paul Hirsch. Hirsch admits that he didn’t see the potential
of the film until
he was cutting it. He also talks about the split screen that De Palma employed
during the prom scene. He talks about what he thinks makes for good suspense.
He also doesn’t watch any of the films that he has edited after they are
finished.
Wow. Hirsch is a bore to watch. He
rambles on and on before getting to the point of whatever story he is trying to
tell. He also has a bipolar point of view on some things. He will talk about
how he thinks that the split screen shots are pointless and hurt the film, but
then he will talk about how he loves the way the scene turned out. Which is it
buddy because you can’t have both.
Casting Carrie (16m 3s, HD)
This is a new interview with
casting director Harriet B. Helberg. She gives us a rundown on how she cast the
film and tells stories about how they finalized the cast. She also dispels the
rumor that Amy Irving was originally cast as Carrie.
We don’t normally get interviews
with casting directors on these blu-rays, so it was nice to see one. I can now
say that I don’t need to see one ever again. I am not trying to say that her
profession is bad. I think that she did a great job casting this film, but her
job is boring. She
sees hundreds on actors for various roles. That’s it.
Acting Carrie (42m 42s, Upconverted SD,
1.33:1 Aspect Ratio)
This is a one of a few featurettes
ported over from the Special Edition dvd that was released a long time ago.
Here we get stories from most of the main actors, except for John Travolta, and
others including Brian De Palma and art director Jack Fisk.
Even though this featurette is
older, it is a lot better than the new interviews found on this disc. The
stories are interesting and it nice to hear from Sissy Spacek and Brian De
Palma. I would watch this featurette (and the Visualizing Carrie featurette
over any of the new interviews.) over any of the new interviews.
More Acting Carrie (20m 19s, HD)
This is a new set of interviews
with Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, William Katt, Piper Laurie, Edie McClurg, and
P.J. Soles. Outside of seeing what these actors look like now and hearing from
Edie McClurg, who I didn’t know was in the film, this featurette is repetitive.
All of the same stories told from “Acting Carrie” are told here, sometimes
verbatim.
When the back of the box said that
there “NEW” interviews with the actors here I was excited, but after watching
this I became sad. Nothing new is brought to the table and I found myself
bored. Watch “Acting Carrie” and slip this one.
Visualizing Carrie (41m 33s, Upconverted
SD, 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio)
This is another featurette ported
over from the Special Edition dvd. Here De Palma and company talk about the
technical aspects of making Carrie. They talk about how they found the
different locations and how they used them to their advantage.
Again, like “Acting Carrie”, this
is another well thought out and edited featurette. Doing some research, I found
out that Laurent Bouzereau produced the special features for the Special
Edition. That explains why these older featurettes are so good. He has produced
some of the best special editions for dvds and blu-rays of the last fifteen
years. I wish that he could have done the special features for this release as
well. Watch this and skip the new featurettes.
Bucket of Blood (23m 53s, HD)
This is a new interview with
Composer Pino Donaggio. Donaggio has done some really fantastic scores, so I
was looking forward to this interview. I was really letdown. Donaggio goes over
each of the pieces that he wrote for the film and explains the whys and the
hows, but never really drew me in to what he was talking about. It had nothing
to do with him not speaking English (subtitles are provided) and had more to do
with the fact that what he is talking about is very well known. Again, sounding
like a broken record, he brings nothing new to the table.
Horror’s Hallowed
Grounds (11m 25s, HD)
Sean Clark takes us on another tour of locations from horror
films. This time he takes us to the locations used in Carrie. The most
interesting thing in this featurette is the house used in the film is gone.
There is a chain link fence surrounding the property.
I don’t normally like these segments, but I found myself
enjoying this one.
Carrie, The Musical
(6m 23s, Upconverted SD, 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio)
Another port from the Special Edition dvd. Here screenwriter
Lawrence Cohen talks about bring Carrie to the stage in the form of a musical.
Again, this info is talked about in Cohen’s more recent interview found on this
disc, so this interview is really repetitive.
More Carrie
-TV Spots (3m
11s, HD)
These
are really rough, but a fun look at how the film was advertised.
-Radio Spots
(1m 29s, HD Audio)
The audio is played over a static
image and is nice to hear. Some people will be surprised that they use to advertise films on the radio, in
between songs.
-Still Gallery- Rare Behind-the-Scenes (59
Images)
-Still Gallery- Posters and Lobby Cards (47
Images)
-Stephen King and the Evolution of Carrie
Text Gallery
This is a text based telling of
King writing the novel and the film being made. This looks like it might have
come from the insert that came with the Special Edition dvd, but I could be
wrong.
THE PACKAGING: ⭐⭐⭐1/2
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Carrie arrives on blu-ray from Scream Factory in a nice looking package. The slipcover is nice with newly commissioned artwork featuring Carrie walking down the street, covered in blood, with a car approaching her from the rear. |
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THE FILM: ⭐⭐⭐1/2
I have always liked Carrie. From the moment my mother
showed the film to me when I was a kid, I was able to sympathize with Carrie’s
troubles. That is where the power of this film lies. It isn’t the prom scene
nor is it with the build up to the prom. It is the characters that give the
film its strength.
Director Brian De Palma knows that his characters are incredible
important to this film and gives them all their own spotlight. We know that
Carrie is the shy, awkward girl who is consistently made fun of by her peers.
Once we know that Carrie can move things with her mind, we want her to get her
revenge, not because we want to see how creative the filmmakers are (which they
are), but we want to see her happy. We know it won’t happen, but we can hope.
We know that her mother is a religious zealot who is constantly
praying and trying to get others to pray. She is not a good mother and believes
that everything that happens needs to be prayed on. She is just one of many who
find themselves on the wrong side of Carrie and could have prevented most of
the things that happen in the film.
The “heroes” of the film are not so black and white and
neither are the “villains”. Chris (played by Nancy Allen) is pretty evil
throughout the film, but when she sees what is happening to her peers as a
result of her idea of the pig’s blood, we sees hear reaction and she looks
scared. De Palma doesn’t show us anything of Chris after that (except when the
car she is in is rolling over and blowing up), but it would have been nice to
see her confront Carrie. The explosion that Chris dies in is a nice sendoff
though and she deserves it.
The acting in the film is better than you might think (or
remember). Sissy Spacek creates a very sympathetic character that we get to
know and love. She is quiet and shy, but you can tell that something is going
on with her. Spacek plays Carrie as turtle who is constantly in her shell. She
is given one time to shine, when she is taken to the prom, and you can see when
her date gets her to come out of her shell, that she is having a great time.
Sure, she doesn’t want to dance, but when she does she is thankful for the
opportunity.
When the pig’s blood is dropped on her, she goes into a
calculating mode. She believes that everyone is laughing at her (even though
not everyone is) and she targets those who have made fun of her in the past. She
gets the principal constantly forgets her name, but she also kills the one of
the only persons who was nice to her, the gym teacher. Once Carrie goes home,
she becomes the nice, shy girl again.
Piper Laurie plays Carrie’s mother and what a performance it
is. The way she says “They’re all going to laugh at you” is haunting, but the
rest of her performance is weird (but still amazing). Laurie at times seems to
be playing the character straight, but there are other times when it seems like
she is trying to ham it up. This is the case, but a character like that (I have
known a few people who were like this) had to be operatic and over the top.
These would be the only ways to get her point across.
To see this in the film
can be funny. To see it in real life is scary. Laurie knows this and plays into
the scariness.
Both Spacek and
Laurie were nominated for Academy Awards and they should have won. Any other
year (1976 was the same year that Network was released and gobbled up
all the awards.) they would have had a chance. It is a shame though, because
these are amazing performances that are often overlooked when talking about the
film.
The direction is spot on as well. De Palma and DP Mario Tosi
create a film that is very dreamlike. There are scenes where the brightness
blows out into areas of the frame, but then there are other scenes where it is
supposed to be real. I like this dichotomy because it showed that there is some
good in Carrie’s world.
The highlight of the film is obviously the prom and it is a
bit disappointing. The build up to this scene is beautifully handled, but once
the pig’s blood is dropped, the film becomes standard fare. De Palma is usually
able to match his insanely detailed build up with an equally awesome scene, but
here he seems to have spent it all on the build up. There is nothing wrong with
that, it is just that everyone talks about the carnage when they should be
talking about how De Palma got us there.
Carrie is a classic, but a flawed one. The performances are
amazing, the filmmaking is strong, and the overall feeling is good. I think
that the film is talked about in too high of a regard. Had this film come out
five or ten years later, the film would have been a lot different. The prom
scene would have been longer and more graphic, but the characters would have
been lost. We wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near the performances we got. I
wish that the prom scene would have been better, but what we have is still very
strong and very memorable.
OVERALL: ⭐⭐⭐
Carrie is a really good film, but the blu-ray from Scream Factory leaves much to be
desired. The brand new 4k transfer is amazing. The film has never looked
better. The special features are another story. The features ported from the
Special Edition dvd have aged well and give us a nice look at the making of the
film. The new features, however, are not very good. Scream invested a lot of money
into stories that are constantly rehashed and frankly boring interviews. It
doesn’t seem like the ones conducting the interviews are asking any questions.
It seems like they are just telling the interviewees to tell us the story from
the beginning. Doing this allows the interviewees to ramble on. It should be
quality over quantity, not the other way around. I would wait for a sale on this one.
 (Scream Factory)- Blu-ray Review + Screenshots){kind=link}
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