The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray

(aka 'The Texas chain saw massacre" or "Headcheese" or "Leatherface" or "Stalking Leatherface" or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"')

Directed by Tobe Hooper
USA 1974

It has been called “grisly,” “sick,” and “perverse,” as well as “raw,” “unshakeable,” and “the movie that redefined horror.” It was attacked by churches, banned by governments, and acclaimed by only the bravest of critics. It stunned audiences worldwide and set a new standard in movie terror forever. In 1974, writer-producer-director Tobe Hooper unleashed this dark, visionary tale about a group of five young friends who face a nightmare of torment at the hands of a depraved Texas clan. Today it remains unequaled as a landmark of outlaw filmmaking and unparalleled in its impact as perhaps the most frightening motion picture ever made...

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Introduction: "The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother Franklin... For them, an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

The original “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” is a film of awful beauty and terrible power. It is made of screams, bones, spraying blood, chicken feathers, tall grass, two hot days, and threatening old houses. Its sound design is an ingenuous, repetitive cacophony of roaring power tools, terrified screeching, crunching flesh, and endlessly humming engines. The score replaces melody with ominous rumbles and percussive noises. I covered my ears—I couldn’t hear myself think—the chainsaw just keeps going and going, recreating in the minds of the audience precisely the thought-drowning and confused torment of the characters. “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” is the direct descendent of that other low-budget horror classic, “Night of the Living Dead.” Similarly, we can’t imagine it maintaining its nightmarish intensity with a large budget, classy effects, or any kind of polish. Both films have big budget remakes which opened to critical rejection. No, “Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s” all-out attack on the senses feels just like a nightmare: grainy, blurry, washed out, raw, with voices that die in the air while the rumble of the chain saw goes on and on.

Excerpt from Friday and Saturday Review located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 1st, 1974

There have been numerous Blu-ray (1080) Editions of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre available:

40th Anniversary from Umbrella Entertainment (Australia)

The Seriously Ultimate Edition from Second Sight (UK)

40th Anniversary Collector's Edition from Dar Sky Films (US)

Another 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition from Dar Sky Films (US)

Geneon as "Satan Sorrowful" (Japan)

Second Sight's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 40th Anniversary Restoration (UK)

40th Anniversary Black Maria
Limited Edition by MPI Home Video (US)

Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray + 3 DVDs (Germany)

Limited Mediabook

(Germany)

40th Anniversary Steelbook (Germany)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Dark Sky Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Turbine Media Group - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD

Box Cover		Coming to the US on 4K UHD in February 2023: Also coming to the UK from Second Sight in April 2023 in a standard 4K UHD editions: and a Limited Edition 4K UHD:
Distribution	Dark Sky Films - Region FREE- Blu-ray	Turbine Media Group - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:23:24	1:23:22
Video	1.78:1 Disc Size: 21,481,342,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.46 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray VC-1 Video	1.85:1 Disc Size: 66,734,981,120 bytes Feature: 48,027,966,101 bytes Bitrate: shows as high as 59.91 Mbps, average seems to be around 49.0 Mbps 4K Ultra HD 1.78:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,435,594,385 bytes Feature: 29,004,134,400 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.95 Mbps
Audio	English DTS Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0 LPCM (16-bit), original mono commentary	For both German DUBs and English Auro-3D 13.1 audio Dolby Atmos (defaulting to Dolby TrueHD 7.1) - and other 2 German DUB options There are 9 English Tracks in total (including commentaries) Two DTS-HD mono tracks in original mono Music and Effects: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and Four Lossy Dolby commentary tracks
Subtitles	English, Spanish, None	German (SDH), German, English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Dark Sky Films 1.78:1 Disc Size: 21,481,342,208 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.46 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray VC-1 Video Edition Details: • Commentary with actors Marilyn Burns, Pail A. Partain, Allen Danziger, and art director Robert A. Burns • Commentary with director Tobe Hooper and art director Robert A. Burns • Featurette: "'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth" (1:12:53) • Featurette: "Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw" (1:11:41) • A Tour of TCMs house with Gunnar Hansen (8:03) • Theatrical trailers, TV Spots, Radio Spots and Stills Gallery • Deleted Scenes + Outtakes (25:23) • Blooper Reel (2:22) • 'Making Grandpa' Makeup slideshow • "The Shocking Truth" Outtakes (7:33) Blu-ray exclusive "Off the Hook" with Teri McMinn (17:01) Blu-ray Release Date: September 30th, 2008 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 13	Release Information: Studio: Turbine Media Group Disc Size: 66,734,981,120 bytes Feature: 48,027,966,101 bytes Bitrate: shows as high as 59.91 Mbps, average seems to be around 49.0 Mbps 4K Ultra HD Edition Details: • Audio commentaries; Robert A. Burns and cast members Marilyn Burns, Paul Partain and Allen Danziger + Tobe Hooper and cinematographer Daniel Pearl with Gunner Hansen + Tobe Hooper + Daniel Pearl, editor J. Larry Carroll and sound recordist Ted Nicolaou • TCM: The Shocking Truth (1:12:49) • Outtakes (7:41) • Flesh Wounds (1:11:42) • On the House (7:03) • TCM Family Portrait (1:00:30 - in German or English) • TCM House Tour (20:10) • The 5-Minute Massacre (5:31) • Off the Hook interview with Teri McMinn (17:02) • The Business of Chain Saw interview with Ron Bozman (16:23) • Granpaw's Tales - interview with John Dugan (15:45) • Cutting Chain Saw - Interview with Larry Carrol (10:47) • Deleted Scenes (25:23) • Long Lost Scenes (15:07) • Promotional Material (HD, SD) Outtakes (2:21) Marketing: • 40th Anniversary Trailer (1:43) plus other trailers and TV + Radio Spots Leaflet for a Digital Copy Blu-ray Release Date: June 17th, 2016 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 14

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD captures were taken directly from the discs.

ADDITION: Turbine Media Group - 3-disc - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD (May 2018): The captures we have taken are native resolution: 3,840 by 2,160 pixels which you can see when you click on them.

NOTE: The resolution in 4K movie theaters is marginally higher at 4,096 by 2,160 pixels. To appreciate the advancement mathematically it is 4X the number of pixels on a 1080p Blu-ray display, and almost 24X times the resolution of your old SD Sony Trinitron tube television (standard definition). The resolution translated here to a larger image.

We are using an LG B6 65" 4K UHD HDR OLED TV display supporting both HDR & Dolby Vision:

and an Oppo UDP-203 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player with HDR & Dolby Vision (UHD, Blu-ray, 3D, DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD and CD).

This Turbine Media Group 4K Ultra HD out of Germany is 3 discs - an 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray of the feature (3,840 by 2,160) with 14 audio track options including four commentaries, another dual-layered Blu-ray of the film in 1080P and a third Blu-ray with extras (SD + HD).

The Turbine Media Group 4K Ultra HD The Texas Chainsaw Massacre does NOT have HDR (High Dynamic Range).

The cameras used for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were the Bolex HR 16 and Eclair ACL16, the negative format was 16 mm (Eastman Ektachrome 25T 7252) and the cinematographic process utilized Super 16 with the printed film format being a 35 mm (blow-up), sooo... in HD, and especially Ultra HD, it should be very grainy.

What we notice is the colors are richer and deeper (see the blue sky and green trees in the first matched capture), that it is in the correct 1.85:1 aspect ratio (not 1.78:1 - slightly opened-up - like most other digital releases), contrast is superior and, of course, the abundant grain is more consistent and film-like. The Dark Sky Blu-ray compared here has some digitization issues and can look glossy - which can looks like sharp-video but it is not accurate - grain sufffered. There are 4K restorations of the film on Blu-ray.

The colors are cooler (accurate) and have an edge and have an edge in depth with the black levels appearing more dense. Those who appreciate film texture will find it very pleasing. It is a notable notch above the 2008 Blu-ray in terms of video. The Ultra HD resolution increase has greatly benefitted the presentation in terms of making it more a true representation of 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Audio has many options; For both German DUB and original English language, there is a n Auro-3D 13.1 transfer - that will remain untested (we haven't indulged in the upgrade), a Dolby Atmos track (defaulting to Dolby TrueHD 7.1) sounding sweet with few effects to exercise it. There are essentially 9 English Tracks with 2 DTS-HD mono tracks in original mono, a music and effects option and four Lossy Dolby commentary tracks. Whew. There are optional English and German subtitles options and like all 4K Ultra HD discs it is Region FREE - playable worldwide (with a 4K TV and 4K player.)

NOTE: The included Blu-ray of the feature is Region FREE (despite the Region 'B' logo on the back of the box) and has a max'ed out bitrate. The included Blu-ray is dual-layered, but appears to be from a different source as the 4K Ultra HD - it has a slightly different running time and starts with German text rather than the original English (see sample below).

There are no 'new' extras (all listed above) but the this supplement disc is a dual-layered Blu-ray has over 4 hours of extras. The four commentaries (on both 4K Ultra HD and feature Blu-ray) have Robert A. Burns and cast members Marilyn Burns, Paul Partain and Allen Danziger + Tobe Hooper and cinematographer Daniel Pearl with Gunner Hansen + Tobe Hooper and Daniel Pearl, editor J. Larry Carroll and sound recordist Ted Nicolaou. The extras are overwhelming - even for fans of the film, plus there is a Leaflet with a code for a Digital Copy.

So, the 4K Ultra HD, despite lack of HDR (High Dynamic Range), is easily the definitive release of this iconic film, in terms of presentation - and it seems to have all the previous extras or more than any fan could hope for. If you want the best - this is it!

Gary Tooze

Turbine Media Group - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD

Turbine Media Group - Region FREE - Blu-ray

NOTE: The Turbine Media Group, included, Blu-ray (left) shows German text in the opening where the 4K Ultra HD (right) shows English

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY and Ultra HD CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL NATIVE RESOLUTION

Slightly Zoomed-in Split-screen sample - Dark Sky Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - LEFT vs. Turbine Media Group - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD RIGHT

Subtitle Sample - Turbine Media Group - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD

1) Dark Sky Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP