Halloween Commentary

[Raechull]

I watched Halloween 1 today with the commentary and was kind of suprized at some of the things Carpenter had to say about the film.

Basically they only did the sequel to make some money they felt they had been cheated out of and that they felt there was no story line to continue. (WHAT!?) Okay you end the movie with a pshyco on the loose....where CANT you go with an ending like that??? c'mon.

And he didnt keep track of the Halloween series. Even if he wasnt producing or writing the films I would at least keep up to date on where others were taking my work. Wouldn't you? He said "they keep making them...I think 4 or 5 and theres gonnna be a 6th one and thats kinda sad really."

Okay probably most of you have seen/heard that but I was suprized at all of that so I wanted to post it.

[H-field Hero]

We as fans sort of assume that all of those involved with the original, or in some cases the first three films, subsequently follow and watch the rest of the series, but it's really not like that (as we have all come to find out at different times). Carpenter is not a proponent of the sequels... not even the ones he took part in.
When you read interviews with cast/crew from the original most of them say they've only seen 1 or 2 of the sequels and I don't believe Joe Wolf has seen any since part 3 haha. I guess what we have to remember is that these people aren't exactly "fans" of Michael Myers; Their the creators of Michael Myers and therefore dont' care all that much where the creation is taken once there done with it. I'll admit, even I have a hard time believing that some of these guys like Carpenter don't, for the sheer hell of it, sit down and watch some of the other films, but eh, they simply don't have an interest in something they had no direct role in.

I do think he's a little hard on H2 though. To here him talk about it, you'd think it was some piece of shit sequel that went into the movie graveyard upon release, when in actuality it's a fan favorite (for the most part).

[freethy]

H1-4-LIFE

[jmb_052]

He didnt want a sequel to the first. That simple. He probably didnt like it because it imposed on what he did and created and the "higher powers" fucked up his piece of art.

[6Michael6Myers6]

I can understand what Carpenter is talking about...i mean if i was in his shoes i would probably feel the same way

[MyersFan927]

Originally posted by Raechull
Basically they only did the sequel to make some money they felt they had been cheated out of and that they felt there was no story line to continue. (WHAT!?) Okay you end the movie with a pshyco on the loose....where CANT you go with an ending like that??? c'mon.

The first part is true. John Carpenter and company did not see most of the money Halloween made because they didn't have a solid deal with royalties and rights. But what he meant when he said there's no storyline to continue is that there would no longer be a reason for Michael to continue pursuing Laurie. He had to come up with a connection between them - brother and sister.

Carpenter isn't a big believer in sequels either. In fact, it's pretty much a surprise that he made Escape From L.A. a while back. Even if he hadn't been practically forced into a sequel, he would have had no ambition for one on his own. It was the birth of the slasher age in horror that demanded a sequel.

Originally posted by Raechull
And he didnt keep track of the Halloween series. Even if he wasnt producing or writing the films I would at least keep up to date on where others were taking my work. Wouldn't you? He said "they keep making them...I think 4 or 5 and theres gonnna be a 6th one and thats kinda sad really."

Actually he does keep track of the series. The commentary track was recorded in 1994 for the Criteron 2-Disc laserdisc set. At the time, Halloween 6 was on its way.

[JWILL2]

i have to watch it with the commentary tonight...

[H-field Hero]

Originally posted by jmb_052
He didnt want a sequel to the first. That simple. He probably didnt like it because it imposed on what he did and created and the "higher powers" fucked up his piece of art. Thats the thing that gets me though. You could make a 100 sequels and the original would still the same film. The film doesn't change because of sequels being made. Some people claim that they cheapen the original, but eh, to me any informed viewer should beable to distinguish the original as both a stand alone film and the introduction to an on-going saga.

[TheShape2005]

Originally posted by H-field Hero
Thats the thing that gets me though. You could make a 100 sequels and the original would still the same film. The film doesn't change because of sequels being made. Some people claim that they cheapen the original, but eh, to me any informed viewer should beable to distinguish the original as both a stand alone film and the introduction to an on-going saga.

I agree 100% Sheriff, it don't change the original at all. the first will always be a stand-alone film and the others will just be the saga raging on. it still never really changes the first film one little bit!

[theoutfieldguy]

Commentary you call it?A collection of interviews compiled into falsely advertise a commentary track is more like it.Its so bad,I could only watch it with commentary once.Nothing new,just a rehash of Backstory;the AMC Halloween special.

[NeewollaH]

What you got to think about here is that Carpenter was simply looking at HalloweeN to be a solo film. Michael wasn't supposed to be The Shape, stalking and killing for no reason. He was supposed to be supernatural, smart, evil, everything that would scare a '70s audience. I've always kind of looked at HalloweeN as a Sci-Fi films, in some ways. When you take that plot and put it into another movie, it doesn't work as well. You can't create the same greatness twice, and that's why I think Carpenter hasn't really paid attention to other HalloweeN films.

[Raechull]

Originally posted by NeewollaH
What you got to think about here is that Carpenter was simply looking at HalloweeN to be a solo film. Michael wasn't supposed to be The Shape, stalking and killing for no reason. He was supposed to be supernatural, smart, evil, everything that would scare a '70s audience. I've always kind of looked at HalloweeN as a Sci-Fi films, in some ways. When you take that plot and put it into another movie, it doesn't work as well. You can't create the same greatness twice, and that's why I think Carpenter hasn't really paid attention to other HalloweeN films.

Right but like sherriff said that you should be able to look at it in two ways...as a stand alone film and an introduction the a series....which I think most can. I can understand Carpenters reasons....I was just kind of suprized to hear it is all. If he feels like his work was turned into trash or he doesnt agree with where they took the film I dont think I would pay much attention to the sequels eaither.

[H-field Hero]

Originally posted by theoutfieldguy
Commentary you call it?A collection of interviews compiled into falsely advertise a commentary track is more like it.Its so bad,I could only watch it with commentary once.Nothing new,just a rehash of Backstory;the AMC Halloween special. You should then blame the amc backstory for being a rehash of the commentary since the latter came first.

To me the commentary is a decent listen. Carpenter provides plenty of little tid bits that aren't in the docu's.

The problem with it is that most people didn't get to hear it until 10 years after it was out. So when they listen to it they're like "This sucks, I already know all this stuff". It has to be acknowledged that this came before all of the documentaries.

[gerry d]

Originally posted by H-field Hero

I do think he's a little hard on H2 though. To here him talk about it, you'd think it was some piece of shit sequel that went into the movie graveyard upon release, when in actuality it's a fan favorite (for the most part).

I do remember reading part of a Jamie Lee Curtis interview regarding "Halloween 2".She didn't really have anything positive to say about the movie.She did say that she only did "Halloween 2" out of gratitude to John Carpenter.

cheers