John Carpenter’s cult classic gets an upgrade for today’s media devices
I’ve never been a huge fan horror films, but there was always something about John Carpenter’s films that let me still enjoy them. The Thing has been one of these films I’ve seen over and over. And still enjoy it with each viewing. But now Shout! Factor took this film and just totally enhanced the experience.
In today’s era of HD flat-screen TVs and digital sound, Shout! Factory has done an amazing job cleaning up the print and enhanced audio. It just looks beautiful on the screen. Just amazing. The entire restoration was overseen by director of photography, Dean Cundey, so you know you had the right pair of eyes watching over this process. There’s even commentary with Cundey himself.
This is a 2 disc set. One disc is the film. The second disc is bonus features: Theatrical trailers, TV trailers, and radio spots. Pretty cool in a retro sense.
One of my favorite bonus features was an interview with John Carpenter by filmmaker and screenwriter Mick Garris entitled Requiem For A Shape Shifter. It was really interesting to get inside of Carpenter’s head.
Other bonus features include:
- The Men Of Outpost 31 – Interviews With Keith David, Wilford Brimley, David Clennon, Thomas Waites, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur And Joel Polis
- Assembling And Assimilation – An Interview With Editor Todd Ramsay
- Behind The Chameleon: The Sights Of THE THING – Interviews With Visual Effects Artists Peter Kuran And Susan Turner, Special Make-up Effects Artist Rob Burman, Brian Wade And Stop Motion Animators Randall William Cook And Jim Aupperle
- Sounds From The Cold – Interviews With Supervising Sound Editor David Lewis Yewdall And Special Sound Effects Designer Alan Howarth
- Between The Lines – An Interview With Novelization Author Alan Dean Foster
- Back Into The Cold: A Return To The Shooting Locations Of THE THING – An Animated Photo Gallery Narrated By Todd Cameron Of Outpost31.com
- The Art Of Mike Ploog Gallery
I can not recommend this very of The Thing enough. It’s a classic science fiction/horror film that had a wonderful facelift done to it.
Newsdesk