Halloween II Brand new Collectors Edtion (2 Disc)

[MIB41]

Tripped across these at Target last night. And I have to tell you. Being a HUGE fan of Halloween 2 (1981), this has been what I have waited to see since I was a teenager. Here's a shot of the cover. Cool artwork.



But this edition FINALLY has an indepth documentary on the making of the film (roughly 45 minutes long); Another special showing those locations where it was shot and what they look like today; Original TV spots; Radio spots; Trailers; Rick Rosenthal commentary; Dick Warlock (Michael Myers) commentary; Publicity stills; and finally the second disc is the original television version which has dozens of alternate takes shot of the film. I mean, this is the epitome of Halloween gold if your a fan of this installment. I loved every minute of it. Now I picked up the DVD version for $14.99 because that was all they had available. But there is a blu ray version for about $10.00 more that I found on Amazon. But I have to tell you, I compared the resolution with my blu ray edition from this Spring and it looks like the same restored version. So I really didn't see the point in going back out to get the Blu ray version for improved viewability. Plus the blu ray set does not convert the TV version. That is on regular DVD on both sets. The picture clarity on this edition had no noticeable difference from the blu ray. Also the inner sleeve of the DVD is reverseable if you want the DVD to have the original poster artwork.

There is also a collector's edition for Halloween III, which I also got. That also has a documentary and a bunch of the extra's like the set above (including the alternate inner sleeve artwork). But there are no outtakes or alternate version. The documentary is also only about 30 minutes long. And it's a one disc set. Here's the shot of that.

[megoapesnut]

I too an a huge HII fan. As Halloween is one of my top two favorite movies, I consider that and HII one complete movie. Can't watch one without the other. I had already splurged for HII on Blu-ray, but I will probably get this as well. Can't sit through HIII, though. Stacey Nelkin is nice to look at, but the movie is pretty bad.

[MIB41]

I too an a huge HII fan. As Halloween is one of my top two favorite movies, I consider that and HII one complete movie. Can't watch one without the other. I had already splurged for HII on Blu-ray, but I will probably get this as well. Can't sit through HIII, though. Stacey Nelkin is nice to look at, but the movie is pretty bad.

Yep! I agree. I see both movies as one whole saga. And actually when you ask the average "Joe" on the street what they know about the Halloween story, they often refer to the brother/sister bond which started in Halloween 2. That alone validates it for all time. And I agree with your assessment of Halloween III. But I'm cursed with the "completist disease" when it comes to the Halloween series. So I'm forced to allow in the dark and twisted red-headed stepchild of the series. Now for me the real series ended with Resurrection. I don't acknowledge that Rob Zombie crap.

[megoapesnut]

I don't acknowledge that Rob Zombie crap.

Don't even mention that in my presence! After the Friday the 13th reboot (which I really liked) I was soooo looking forward to the Halloween reboot. I was devastated. They took my favorite movie and gave it to Zombie who made a dirty, scraggly, greasy haired biker casted remake of it. Total garbage.

[RickD]

H20 and Halloween Resurrection were by far the worse out of all of them. I would rather watch Rob Zombies version before that crap

I bought the Special Edition Halloween 2 today. The bonus footage was interesting to me. It seems there was a lot of Bitter feelings toward the first film compared to the second. Seems they were trying to convice everyone that Halloween 2 was better than the first one. Nothing will compare to the original in my opinion!

[megoapesnut]

H20 and Halloween Resurrection were by far the worse out of all of them. I would rather watch Rob Zombies version before that crap

I bought the Special Edition Halloween 2 today. The bonus footage was interesting to me. It seems there was a lot of Bitter feelings toward the first film compared to the second. Seems they were trying to convice everyone that Halloween 2 was better than the first one. Nothing will compare to the original in my opinion!

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with you on one point and agree with you on another. I would rather watch H20 over and over again for 24 hours straight with no food, sleep or bathroom breaks than watch 30 minutes of either of the Rob Z pieces of utter trash. However, your statement of "nothing will compare to the original" is pure poetry.

[MIB41]

The bonus footage was interesting to me. Seems they were trying to convince everyone that Halloween 2 was better than the first one.

The only person that said H-II was better was Leo Rossi who played "Bud". Everyone else seem to be of the opinion it was essentially a "B" film at the time of it's creation. So there was no consensus to suggest it was "better". I think it would be accurate to say the actors and director took pride in the film they made (and I would agree with that assessment). The original will always be the classic, as it should be. There's nothing to even debate there. But in my eyes, a sequel could only expand on that original idea, not compete with it. And I think Halloween II did exactly what it was suppose to do. It's not like they could reinvent the concept with a sequel. After the first Halloween, I wanted to see more of that same night, and that's exactly what I got. Same key actors, and the same mask (The only time that would ever happen again). And what most people fail to remember is the brother and sister storyline came from Halloween II. Ask anyone on the street what the original Halloween narrative is and they will quote you the story from Halloween II. And the Zombie remake incorporated that into his retelling as well. And all films thereafter have expanded on THAT idea only. So in my mind, Halloween II goes hand in hand with Halloween, just like Superman II goes with Superman. It's by no means a better film. But it does an effective job as a companion story to that original idea. And the fact people remember THAT story over the original, speaks to that success.