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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "High Rise" )

 

directed by John Carpenter
USA 1978

 

This early John Carpenter effort, made before Halloween but telecast afterwards, is a modest but solid example of his developing skills as a filmmaker. Carpenter's script isn't terribly original (the premise and several scenes borrow heavily from Rear Window) but he makes the story his own with his own quirky brand of characterizations: Leigh escapes the usual 'pretty heroine' stereotype thanks to her independent mindset and quirky sense of humor and Paul makes a thoughtful, refreshingly non-macho romantic foil for her character. These intriguing characterizations further benefit from skillful performances by a well-chosen cast: Lauren Hutton brings the right combination of charm and skill to make her characterization believable, David Birney turns in a nicely understated performance as and Adrienne Barbeau brings a likeably feisty cynicism to the role of Leigh's wise-cracking coworker. Behind the camera, John Carpenter shows off his already solid grasp of thriller film mechanics with a combination of slick, gliding camerawork and sharply-timed editing. The limitations of the made-for-t.v. format hold back the film from delivering the full-throttle delights of his later work but he manages to pack a high level of jittery suspense into Someone's Watching Me and keeps things moving at a fast clip. As a result, it isn't top-flight Carpenter but is smart and skillful enough to make a viewing worthwhile for his fans.

***

Fleeing a bad relationship in New York, Leigh Michaels (Lauren Hutton) takes a job as a live TV director in Los Angeles and moves into a high-tech apartment in a mammoth high-rise. Soon she begins receive strange phone calls at home and at work and a non-existent travel company starts sending her strange gifts ostensibly as part of a contest (starting with a telescope). Her stalker seems to always know where she is and seems to be in control of the computer systems controlling the lights of her apartment as well as the elevators. Her new boyfriend Paul (David Birney) gets the police involved but nothing the caller has done so far qualifies as a threat and Lt. Hunt (Charles Cyphers of Carpenter's HALLOWEEN and his other first five films) thinks Leigh is paranoid. When her co-worker Sophie (Adrienne Barbeau, THE FOG) spots someone with a telescope in the apartment across the way, the police arrest the man but seasoned viewers know that things will get deadly once everyone lets their guard down... James Murtaugh (THE HOWLING) and Len Lesser (SEINFELD's Uncle Leo) also appear. Produced by Richard Kobritz (who also produced Carpenter's TV movie ELVIS and would go on to produced his adaptation of CHRISTINE), John Carpenter's SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME is one of those classics of seventies genre TV that has remained largely unavailable. Hutton is fine in the lead, making her character's tendency to think aloud (and converse with herself) and other quirks believable. There are some references to Hitchcock but they are comfortably couched in Carpenter's assured scripting and direction (although you can see the reverse REAR WINDOW set-piece coming here just as easily as in Ken Weiderhorn's EYES OF A STRANGER [also out from Warner as part of the TWISTED TERROR COLLECTION]). Harry Sukman's orchestral score is a fine accompaniment (Sukman also scored another memorable Kobritz TV production around this time: Tobe Hooper's SALEM'S LOT adaptation) but one wonders how it would have played with one of Carpenter's own synthesizer scores (one also wonders what elements from this film's script were also present in his script for EYES which later became Irvin Kershner's EYES OF LAURA MARS). Fans of seventies horror TV will want to track this one down (and thankfully it is more accessible now that it's on DVD).

Eric Cotenas

 

VHS / Promotional

 

Theatrical Release: 29 November 1978 (USA)

Reviews                                                             More Reviews                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Warner Home Video (Canada) (Twisted Terror Collection - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the DVD Review!

1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC LEFT

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

 

Box Cover

 

   

   

The DVD is also available in the Twisted Terror Collection (Deadly Friend / Dr. Giggles / Eyes of a Stranger / From Beyond the Grave / The Hand / Someone's Watching Me - see REVIEWS and individual purchase links directly below.)

        

Distribution

Warner Home Video

Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Shout! Factory
Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:37:00 1:37:09.990
Video

1.77:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.91 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,620,677,824 bytes

Feature: 220,741,584,896 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 24.99 Mbps

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Bitrate Blu-ray

Audio English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono; Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1675 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1675 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles English, French, Spanish, none English (SDH), none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.77:1

Edition Details:
• JOHN CARPENTER RISING featurette (6:13)

DVD Release Date: September 25th, 2007
Amaray

Chapters 27

Release Information:
Studio:
Shout! Factory

 

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,620,677,824 bytes

Feature: 220,741,584,896 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 24.99 Mbps

 

Edition Details:

• NEW audio commentary with author Amanda Reyes (Are You in the House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999)
• NEW Adrienne Barbeau: Looking Back at Someone’s Watching Me (10:32)
• NEW Carpenter’s Enforcer – an interview with Charles Cyphers on his career in John Carpenter’s films (9:43)
• NEW Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – a look at the film’s locations today (7:12)
• John Carpenter: Director Rising (6:15)
• TV Promos (1:01)
• Photo Gallery (1:19)

 

Blu-ray Release Date: August 7th, 2018
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters: 8

 

 

 

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - January 19': Firstly, this Shout! Factory Blu-ray offers both the 1.33:1 (it was a Made-For-TV movie) and 1.85:1 aspect ratios. The transfers are obviously separate but almost exactly the same in terms of disc space and bitrate. To me, the widescreen, which loses mostly superfluous top and bottom information, tends to look a bit sharper but the variance to the, much duller, 2007 DVD is more obvious. The 1080P is brighter, richer colors, more natural skin tones and superior contrast. It is better in all the anticipated areas but is not perfect in terms of image.

Shout! Factory use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel (24-bit) that does its job with limited effects but an impacting score by Harry Sukman (A Bullet For Joey, Forty Guns, Verboten!, The Crimson Kimono, Underworld U.S.A., Someone's Watching Me!) that accentuates the tension with depth not present on the DVD. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles for both AR version and the Blu-ray is Region 'A'-locked.

Shout! add a new audio commentary with author Amanda Reyes  (author of Are You in the House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999) who does plenty of TV references and talks about the performers, Carpenter and gives some impressive insight into the female character - as the director subtext. There is a new 10-minute interview with Adrienne Barbeau entitled 'Looking Back' who recalls her husband of the early 80's and the production of Someone's Watching Me! Included is a new 10-minute interview with Charles Cyphers on his career in John Carpenter’s films entitled Carpenter’s Enforcer. There is a new, 7-minute, Horror’s Hallowed Grounds piece with a look at the film’s locations today and the same John Carpenter: Director Rising found on the DVD. Lastly, are TV Promos and a short Photo Gallery.

This was extremely enjoyable - from many standpoints - Carpenter, the Vertigo-Rear Window reminders and other scenes (like the opening credits - North By Northwest) evocative of Hitchcock. This 'psychological stalking' is very effectively realized by an eventual master-craftsman of the thriller genre. The Blu-ray is a giant leap ahead of the SD in every area. It is certainly recommended to the director's fans and beyond that. Don't miss this if you love Carpenter.  

Gary Tooze

***

DVD: Although shot for and shown on American television, SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME had theatrical play abroad and is presented here in an anamorphic widescreen version. The progressive image seems faithful to the ones perception of seventies TV (the film is flatly lit but cinema standards but quite well photographed even though it lacks the Panavision scope of Carpenter's theatrical pictures).

The mono audio is clean and strong (although the sudden telephone rings won't make you jump the way they are meant to in stereo and surround films). English, French, and Spanish mono audio and subtitles are available. John Carpenter provides a six minute interview on the film which is the sole extra. The film is also available from Warner in a set with THE HAND, DEADLY FRIEND, DR. GIGGLES, SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME, and EYES OF A STRANGER.

 - Eric Cotenas

 


DVD Menus
 

 

Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Subtitle Sample

1) Shout! Factory (1.85:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Shout! Factory (1.33:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 

Screen Captures

1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC TOP

2) Shout! Factory (1.85:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Shout! Factory (1.33:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 


1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC TOP

2) Shout! Factory (1.85:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Shout! Factory (1.33:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC TOP

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC TOP

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC TOP

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC TOP

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


 

1) Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC TOP

2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray Capturers


Box Cover

 

   

   

The DVD is also available in the Twisted Terror Collection (Deadly Friend / Dr. Giggles / Eyes of a Stranger / From Beyond the Grave / The Hand / Someone's Watching Me - see REVIEWS and individual purchase links directly below.)

        

Distribution

Warner Home Video

Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Shout! Factory
Region 'A' - Blu-ray



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