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Although no one expected much upon it's release back in 1976,
Carrie has become a true modern classic of the horror genre, and
was largely responsible for establishing both Stephen King and
Brian De Palma as fiction and filmmaking powerhouses to be reckoned
with. The film would go on to introduce many future stars including
John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley and PJ Soles, and earn
Oscar nominations for both Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. Oh,
and it also garnered critical raves, big box office and
a spot on the cover of Time Magazine. Not bad for a low-budget
film based on a barely-read novel by an author few had ever heard
of...
Seeing it again, Carrie remains an impressive exercise in visceral
thrills (although admittedly it hasn't aged all that well in certain
respects...just check out those knee socks!) While many of the
stylistic flourishes employed by De Palma - fast motion, split
screen and long, continuous takes - are sometimes distracting,
this is definitely still bravura filmmaking at its finest and
certainly one of the best horror films of the past few decades.
But I've also always felt that a large part of what gives Carrie
its power is its poignancy. Sissy Spacek delivers an amazing performance
in the title role, and more than just being a one-dimensional
telekinetic monster in a bloodied prom dress, she brings a real
believability, a sense of sadness and despair to what could have
been a thankless role.
For those unfamiliar with the story, it stars what is likely
the least-popular protagonist ever in a major motion picture (has
a lead character ever been as tortured than Carrie?) Awkward,
shy, and under the thumb of her fanatical mother, Carrie is relentlessly
harangued by her classmates and the ultimate high-school outcast.
("First comes the blood, then comes the boys," her devoutly
religious mother tells her!) But Carrie is about to discover that
she has the budding power of telekinesis, which reaches full bloom
after her first menstrual cycle. So, payback time! If you were
harassed and hated by your high school peers, abused by your nutcase
mother and had the power of telekinesis, what would you
do?
Alright, you know it is coming, and the box art already ruins
it, so let it be said that any "revenge" horror movie lives
or dies by its easily-anticipated payback scene. I won't spoil
all the fun for you, but it is not a disappointment. Although
I sometimes thought De Palma's showy camera techniques diluted
rather than heightened the tension (even he admits in the included
documentary that the split screens might have been a mistake)
the climax still packs a wallop. And watch out for that final
scare....it's a classic for good reason! So,
need a date for the prom? Carrie's your girl.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
MGM has finally released Carrie on DVD, and unfortunately, the
results are very disappointing. I was quite looking forward to
this, as the previous Criterion laserdiscs were surprising terrible.
But, it looks like MGM used pretty much the same film element,
and it is very poor. First, the print simply has a noticeably
aged appearance, and is badly scratched and damaged in spots.
Black level is wanting, and many scenes have bad contrast problems.
What's more, this looks like ti was taken from a D2 master (though
I'm not sure), as the contrast seems artificially boosted and
as a result edges are a bit too shimmery and edgy. Even worse,
the film has many compression problems, especially the early scene
of Carrie in the shower. The MPEG-2 compression scheme has problem
enough with fog and mist, let alone fog and mist in slow motion.
There were obviously noticeable artifacts in the shower scene,
to the point were even my friend, who doesn't know MPEG-2 from
S&M, was like "what the hell is that?." In all, a pretty
poor visual presentation. Very disappointing.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The audio, thankfully, is much better. Recently remastered in
Dolby Digital 5.1, it is very good, especially considering the
age of the elements. Although the surrounds are not always that
active, the big Prom scene is great, and the key horror sequences
are well rendered. Dialogue and sound effects are a bit dated
and thin, and bass response is not the greatest. But, kudos to
MGM for supply a 5.1 remaster. A nice surprise.
There is also a French 2.0 mono mix, which can't hold a candle
to the full-blown 5.1 mix, along with English and French subtitles
and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? The extras are pretty slim. There was a special edition laserdisc
scheduled by MGM a few years ago, but it was ultimately canceled.
I"m not sure why a special edition and restoration has not been
produced for this legitimate cult classic, as it is a title every
bit as desired as recent MGM special editions such as Lord Of
Illusions or Logan's Run. Whatever the case, only a fun trailer
and a nice 8-page booklet with production notes are provided (I
wish all studios would put the text in a booklet...reading tiny
letters off the screen gives me a headache). There are also English
and French subtitles and English Closed Captioning, and the typical
nice MGM animated menus. But, no great shakes in the extra department.
I should also take a moment to mention the casing. This is the
first MGM title I've bought in their new keepcases, and they are
actually using a keepcase-like variant called the Hardshell case,
I believe. It is slightly more square and sturdy than the existing
keepcase, but I almost find it too bulky. And the holder inside
for the booklet clamps down a bit too tight and causes creases
to form on the paper. But, it is still better than the snapper
case, I think.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop
the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
In the end, an overall disappointing release due to simply inadequate
film print, although the excellent 5.1 remaster prevents it from
being a total washout. What this film really needs a restoration
done on the negative, but sadly, this probably will not happen
anytime soon. Because of that, it is hard to recommend this at
its $24.95 list price. Give it a rent, or try and pick it up cheap.
A disappointing release overall.
(Note: Since posting this review, MGM has released a new speical
edition of Carrie which is far superior. Please read our review
for more.)
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