In the late 1970’s John Carpenter had a hard job, he had to follow up one of the greatest horror films of all time, Halloween. Some say he succeeded and others say he was no where near the quality of Halloween. The Film in question is:
The Fog
It has been re-mastered and released on a 2-Disc special edition.
Film Premise:
A mysterious fog passes through a small town and people begin to die in strange ways.
Film Review:
Antonio Bay is celebrating the100th anniversary of its founding. That night a mysterious fog passes through the town and people begin to die in strange ways. We soon realise that the town has a secret that is also 100 years old. That same secret has come back to kill them.
John Carpenter creates a spine-chilling tension from the start with John Houseman telling ghost stories around a campfire. The musical score also helps to create the tension and fear of what is to come. If you are a horror fan and you like great ghost stories then this is one of the best around. It has been beautifully shot and the cinematography is excellent, the wide frame is always used to its full extent.
All of the actors deliver solid performance but Adrienne Barbeau stands out from the rest, it’s easily her best performance to date and the best in the film.
This film sits on the top shelf along with Halloween, The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China. It’s Carpenter at his best and it should not be missed.
Video Quality:
The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The colours are replicated extremely well and black levels are great. Film grain is minimal but occasionally it can become overpowering most of the time its darkly lit scenes that suffer the most but bright scenes have trouble too.
I detected nominal edge enhancement but it only affected a small number of scenes during the film, it was no cause for concern.
During the middle part of the film you will notice a large hair or rather mark on the right hand side of the film, it lasts for approximately 30 seconds and is extremely distracting. They should have removed this problem, the only reason that I think they didn’t is because it probably would of cost too much money as it spans multiple scenes. On the whole the transfer is very good but occasionally you will notice irritating flaws (as mentioned) that detract from the overall quality of the transfer.
Verdict: 7/10
Sound Quality:
5.1 Dolby Digital accompanies this disc; there are also other soundtracks, mainly Mono in other languages, French, Italian, etc…
The sound track is very good all of the dialogue is crystal clear even the ambient sounds are presented beautifully. The 5.1 surround sound does a fantastic job at creating an intense atmosphere and the musical score has never sounded better, all of the channels are made good use of throughout the duration of the film.
Verdict: 8.5/10
Commentary – I was extremely impressed with this commentary, it features John Carpenter and Debra Hill. They both go into great detail about how they created the special effects for the film. They walk us through the film telling us about how they shot certain scenes and what’s happening and why to the characters and story.
Carpenter and Hill are old friends and their friendship shines through the audio track.
It is a must for any Carpenter fan and certainly a must for any fan of the film or genre.
Verdict 9.5/10
Disc 2:
Documentary: “Tales from the Mist” – If you are a fan of this film then this is a must see documentary. It runs for approximately 29 minutes and within those 29 minutes you will learn a vast amount about the making of The Fog. You will find out why John Carpenter prefers to film in 2:35.1 panavision, the trouble with the original version of the film and what he did to rectify it and various other aspects of the film making process in relation to the film.
It builds on the commentary that is on disc one which is great. It covers most of the same topics discussed on the commentary but in more detail. It is extremely interesting and informative even though it has a short running time; it is a great addition to this DVD.
Original 1980 Documentary – This documentary features most of the cast and crew members who were involved with the film. It is not very informative and everyone mainly talks about what they think makes a good horror film. Compared to “Tales from the Mist” this documentary is not worth viewing more than once.
Storyboard to Film Comparison – This feature compares the opening boat scene with the original storyboards. Although it is good to see how the film developed from early concept art it should have more comparisons. I was very disappointed with the lack of effort that momentum has put into this feature.
Outtakes – This is a series of outtakes from the film that has been edited together.
Trailer and Teaser – This is a series of trailers, teasers and TV spots. There isn’t much that I can say about these except that they get you in the mood for the film.
Photo Gallery – This is a collection of behind the scenes photographs.
Verdict 5/10
Packaging – It comes in an amaray case, as I am reviewing a review sample I cannot tell you if you will get a booklet with this DVD, but from the information I have its highly unlikely.
Final Verdict:
The film itself is great; the transfer has a few problems but on the whole is very good. The sound is brilliant and the audio commentary is great and is certainly one of the most informative commentaries around. The second disc on the other hand is a huge disappointment the only thing that really is worth spending time watching is the first documentary.
I don’t really see any need for two discs, the second disc seems empty, it’s crying out for more features.
This is a great film but the DVD is lacking, I cannot say that this is a must buy with a clear Conscience. I can only say that if you like the film or John Carpenter’s earlier films (pre 90’s) then you will enjoy the DVD for the audio commentary. If you are expecting a feature packed 2-disc DVD set then you have sadly come to the wrong place.
Final Verdict: 6.5/10