October 11, 2016
John Carpenter's The Thing - Collector's Edition
Ken Tasho READ TIME: 2 MIN.
How ironic that many of horror director John Carpenter's films have been remade over the years, but in 1982 he did a fantastic re-imagining/remake of a 1950s sci-fi classic. "The Thing" has been released over the years in numerous formats and had a Blu-ray edition come out too. Scream Factory's Collector's Edition, a two-disc bonanza, comes out at the right time of year and can be seen as the definitive release.
What makes this "The Thing" Blu-ray the best? On disc one, the classic film has been restored by the new popular 2K scan process, giving the 1982 film the sheen and shine it so properly deserves. The stunning Antarctica cinematography looks even more phenomenal than ever before. The Blu-ray film restoration gives this horror tale of a research team that becomes terrorized by a form-changing alien the added kick and punches it so deserves.
Added onto disc one are brand new audio commentaries with director of photography Dean Cundey and co-producer Stuart Cohen. All of the trailers are radio spots can be found on this disc too.
If that wasn't enough, eight brand new featurettes appears on the second disc of Scream Factory's Blu-ray. The main star of "The Thing," the John Carpenter staple known as Kurt Russell, doesn't show up in any of the brand new special features. He does, however get carried over from the vintage DVD extras.
Most notable of the new supplements is a new 28-minute interview with director John Carpenter. He's so humble when asked various questions of the filming process and reiterates that "The Thing" was a giant collaborative process.
Also on the collaborative side is the featurette "The Men of Outpost 31," a talk with the various ensemble cast and how they all got along on set. Carpenter made sure there was a sense of camaraderie and fun during filming. It shows in the final product, and can be seen in the must-have Collector's Edition.
"The Thing"
Blu-ray
$34.93
www.shoutfactory.com