THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE - 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Remarkably, Tobe Hooper's breakthrough 1974 film is four decades old.

You know the story already...

Five young adults travel to Texas to check out the graves of siblings Franklin (Paul A Partain) and Sally's (Marilyn Burns) grandparents. Sally in particular is worried after hearing reports of grave robbery having taken place there. While there, the group pick up the hitchhiker from Hell (Edwin Neal) then - having booted him out of their van - decide to stick around and visit the grandparents' old house … and fall foul of the infamous Sawyer family, who live next door. Cue the mountainous Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his trusty petrol-powered saw blade … No more synopsis is required. There's no need to expand on why this film is so seminal in the annals of contemporary horror cinema. I don't have to remind readers of its simplistic beauty and raw nervous energy, its iconic text introduction or the scream-laden final twenty minutes.

Suffice it to say, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE has stood the test of time perfectly as one of the great American horror films. Not only because of its brilliant low-budget creativity (Robert A Burns' production and art design are revelatory) and genuine power to scare, but also due to its savage timeless inversion of American family values. It's a subversive classic, and deservedly so.

It hardly feels as though it was as far back as November 2009 when Second Sight released their "Seriously Ultimate Edition" of this landmark horror flick onto UK blu-ray, having already given it the 3-disc DVD Steelbook treatment mere months earlier. Both of these releases contained sterling restorations of the uncut film along with a plethora of extra features.

So it's only fair to ask, as Second Sight re-release the film almost 5 years to-the-day after the "Seriously Ultimate" blu-ray came out, could a new blu-ray edition add anything for fans?

Well, this 2-disc affair does a grand job of answering that question in the affirmative.

For a start, disc 1's new 4K restoration of the film definitely improves on the previous, already impressive HD transfer. Presented as a healthily sized MPEG-AVC file and boasting full 1080p resolution, this release frames the film correctly in 16x9 1.78:1 and proffers a welcome boost in clarity and colours throughout. Okay, we're still talking about a 4-year-old film that was shot on 16mm: MASSACRE is always going to retain a raw, gritty feel to it - and quite rightly so. So, yes, grain and some natural image softness are unavoidable. But the heightened colours (especially reds) and incredible depth and texture of exterior day scenes are joyously filmic and clear. It's hardly a case of "night and day" between this restoration and the previous effort, truth be told, but a back-to-back comparison does show clear benefits of opting for this new variant.

English audio comes in choices of mono, stereo, 5.1 DTS-HD and even 7.1 DTS-HD. The latter is a new Master Audio mix which has been apparently overseen by Hooper himself. Although the separation is limited as per the source material, the playback offered is still highly impressive in terms of cleanliness and general all-round clarity. Likewise, optional English subtitles are free from problems.

The disc opens to a blaring animated main menu page which really sets the tone well. From there, a pop-up scene selection menu allows access to the film via 16 chapters.

Extras on disc one are limited to four audio commentary tracks.

The first is all-new and comes from Hooper, with moderation from Severin head honcho David Gregory. Hooper’s Southern drawl is as monotonous as ever, but Gregory does a fair job of keeping the director prompted and dragging out details about the inspiration behind minor points, the armadillo’s backstory and so forth.

Another newly recorded commentary sees cinematographer Daniel Pearl, sound recordist Ted Nicolaou and editor J Larry Carroll. For the sake of completion, it’s great to see more participants having their say – but this is for fanatics and those with a particularly technical bent only.

The remaining two chat tracks have been available in various formats before (including Second Sight’s previous DVD and blu-ray releases). The first is from Hooper, Pearl and co-star Hansen. The second is provided by Marilyn Burns, Partain, Allen Danziger (Jerry in the film) and Robert A Burns. Gregory once again moderates.

Disc 2 proffers a whole host of bonus content, much of which fans will already own.

First, the old:

The 10-minute featurette "Off The Hook" interviews willing actress Teri McMinn (she plays the minor character Pam). She's cheery but there's not much on offer here if we're honest.

"The Business of Chain Saw" takes in a 16-minute natter with production manager Ron Bozman. It starts with him sitting in his garden on a sunny afternoon, and then moves indoors after five minutes as the clouds close in. It's a well-produced affair, interspersed with on-set stills and clips from the film.

"The Shocking Truth" follows, which no doubt any self-respecting fan of the film has already seen. It's Blue Underground's authorative look at the making and enduring influence of the film which manages to interview almost everyone involved in the production (Neal's conspicuous by his absence though) and, despite it being several years old, remains hugely relevant. At 75 minutes long, it almost equals the film in length: now, that's substantial.

We also get a succession of outtakes from the "Shocking Truth" files

Next up is an 8-minute tour of the CHAIN SAW house with that nice chap Mr Hansen. It's nothing jaw-dropping, but is interesting in its own right and Hansen has an undeniable screen presence that's easy to warm to: he's an attractive personality.

Then we have Michael Felsher's excellent "Flesh Wounds". It's a seven-segment documentary that's just as meaty as "The Shocking Truth" - its 72 minutes long - but slightly more polished. It focuses on why the film has such an enduring appeal. A segment revealing more on Leatherface himself - Hansen - is particularly illuminating, while elsewhere the likes of Tom Savini turn up to offer their thoughts on the importance of the film. And, Neal turns up this time too.

The interviews with Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel that were featured on the previous Second Sight releases are also correct and present here. These are extended interviews culled from unseen "Shocking Truth" footage. By this point it's impossible to say what these two interviews can possibly add in terms of information, but they remain welcome inclusions anyway.

Then we have 25 minutes of deleted scenes, along with alternate footage, outtakes, trailers, TV spots, radio spots and - finally - a generous gallery of stills, posters and lobby cards from around the world.

In terms of fresh stuff, Second Sight give us four new featurettes …

First off, are 15 minutes of additional outtakes and deleted footage. Previously unseen, these offer a fascinating further glimpse into the film’s making but probably don’t stand up to repeated viewing. Audio was never recorded for some of this footage so expect passages of silence.

"Cutting Chain Saw" is an onscreen interview with Carroll, who retreads over his commentary track thoughts but still proves to be an engaging host over the course of 10 minutes.

Actor John Dugan makes for an interesting interviewee while speaking of the hardships of filming under make-up during long shoots in hot conditions, in the 16-minute "Grandpa’s Tales".

Finally we get the 25-minute episode of 2008 US TV show "Horror’s Hallowed Grounds" which was devoted to looking back at MASSACRE. In it, former featurette producer Sean Clark acts as our host as he revisits the locations used for the film’s shoot.

The four new featurettes are presented in HD, along with the film’s trailer and the "Off the Hook" featurette. All other content on disc 2 is presented in standard definition.

As if a reminder were needed, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is a monumental achievement: truly one of the greatest horror films of all time. If you DO need reminding, look no further than this stunning 2-disc set from Second Sight.

I hesitate to call it a "definitive" release, because we all thought about their previous release … but I for one will be extremely surprised if this one gets superseded any time soon.

Available as a limited Steelbook release, or in regular keepcase packaging with a double-sided reversible cover.

Review by Stuart Willis