Wednesday, September 16, 2009
When I was 12 I met Kane Hodder at Spookyworld (Halloween-time theme park in Berlin, MA) and thought it was the greatest thing ever. So it was a bit thrilling, 17 years later, to be invited to the Paramount lot to eat lunch with him, John Carl Buechler (writer/director of The New Blood), and VC Dupree (Julius from Jason Takes Manhattan) to celebrate the new special edition releases of their entries in the long-running, historic, and, quite frankly, f-ing awesome Friday the 13th series. Keep reading for their thoughts on the films and the new DVDs!!
While the previous boxed set in 2004 left many (OK, all) fans disappointed due to their shoddy representation (two movies on the same side of the disc?) and lack of extras, these new DVDS, particularly for parts IV-VIII, are 99% perfect (uncut versions of the films remain elusive), thanks to the tireless work of Dan Farrands (editor of the amazing “Crystal Lake Memories” book, and director of this year’s His Name Was Jason documentary) and his crew. Countless hours spent digging through vaults, sorting boxes of film, and even holding negatives up to a light have resulted in new editions that are truly special. Lost endings, alternate kill scenes, and yes, even some MPAA-enforced cuts are present, and while they are not cut back into the film, just having them is enough proof you need to know that Paramount knows that they screwed up in the past and want to do right by the fans. In addition, the films have been re-mastered (see our reviews for comparison shots) and given 5.1 soundtracks; they haven’t looked this good since they first hit theaters.
So a few days before they hit stores, Bloody-Disgusting, along with a few select other outlets, joined the aforementioned Friday crew (plus Farrands and his editor Andrew Kasch) for lunch and well over an hour of the trio swapping war stories about the productions, and how these new editions were put together.
The big question is, of course, why the films (particularly New Blood) are still sans the bloody kills? Buechler says that the negatives for that footage are probably forever lost. “Ours was one of the single fastest movies ever made. I had my signed deal to make the movie in January, and it was in the theaters on May 13th.” Because of the rush to get the film in theaters, the usual careful cataloging and storing was presumably rushed as well, and thus the footage may no longer exist as studios occasionally destroy unclaimed footage rather than sort it out. The DVD (read our review HERE) does have some of the footage courtesy of a low-quality VHS cut of Buechler’s workprint, but even that is incomplete. “It was actually an assembly that I made prior to doing additional photography, so even if it were restored and you found that negative, it still wouldn’t be the whole movie.”
Various other “wish-list” items, such as Manhattan’s hilarious teaser, are also absent, but that is mainly due to a lack of space on the disc (hardly anything to complain about - a full disc is a GOOD thing). Blu-rays for 4-8 have been brought up, but Farrands tells us that nothing is set in stone yet. On the plus side, that means that they weren’t holding back for an eventual double (triple?) dip. Says Farrands: “There would be more room on the Blu-ray discs, so maybe there’s an opportunity to find more material. A lot of this depends on how the DVDs sell, and what the fan reaction is, but there’s always interest in doing more. If there’s more to be found, they will give it to us; I know for a fact they weren’t holding back on, like, let’s reserve this for Blu-ray. They never took that attitude, and if it was there, we put it in.”
Speaking of that teaser (featuring Jason standing on New York harbor, looking at the water while a Sinatra tune plays over shots of screaming yuppies and commuters), Kane drops an interesting tidbit - that’s not even him! “We were shooting in Vancouver when they shot it... I don’t know who it is... he looks kind of small. I don’t know why they didn’t just wait until we got to New York. My Jason wouldn’t turn like that!”
Replacements and stand-ins seemed to be the order of the day for the 8th film. Not only was Vancouver used instead of New York (except for the Times Square scenes, which Kane claims was “the single most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced in film – being in Times Square in the full costume”), but the script sent out to actors was disguised as a generic slasher film to keep fans from raiding the set. VC Dupree tells us that his script was titled “Ashes To Ashes”. Laughing, he tells us about the script’s rather goofy attempts at tricking people. “I guess they had the name changed from Jason Voorhees to Ethan Dearborn; Crystal Lake was changed to something else, just so you could plug the letters in there.” It was co-star Kelly Hu that tipped him off, a tale he recounts on the DVD’s retrospective piece (which features several co-stars, as well as writer/director Rob Hedden, editor Steve Mirkovich, and composer Fred Mollin - read our review HERE).
Dupree and Hodder also waxed nostalgic about their boxing match, easily Manhattan’s highlight and according to Kane, “one of the kills I get asked about the most.” According to Hodder, Dupree was really hitting him through most of the punches (“66 punches”, Hodder claims, using the number provided by a fan), and despite wearing a catcher’s pad, he was pretty bruised up. The scene took a toll on Dupree as well; he tells us his knuckles really were all cut up from punching the hockey mask.
These two films didn’t perform up to par at the box office, resulting in Paramount essentially ending the series and selling the rights to New Line (who gave us Jason Goes To Hell, Jason X, and Freddy Vs. Jason), but it’s clear that they are held in high regard by both fans and their creators. Buechler recalls his film with a big smile on his face: “I’m pretty proud of the film; I think the fact that we had a full-blown subplot of a telekinetic girl kicking Jason’s butt was lots of fun. I got to do a lot of cool stuff with the makeup effects – we designed and engineered something that I thought was unique at the time – that was all just fun stuff that we got to do, and the fact that we got a great guy inside of it to play the role, we both were of a single mind. We wanted this to be a more energetic, more dynamic version of the character than we had seen before, and I think we accomplished that.”
With the new discs giving the films their best representation ever, there has never been a better time to see if you agree. The new discs are in stores; complete your collection and get rid of that old boxed set once and for all!
(Special thanks to Todd Gilchrist for his assistance in transcribing the chat)
Read 21 User Comments
I am trying to decide if I want to go and buy some of these new re-releases of Friday the 13th. I have the 2004 releases… Any thoughts? My wife will probably think I am nuts for rebuying the series, but then again, I think she already believes that. lol
Maybe my favorite ones... |
So when is this supposed to actually be released...or have they been released allready as a box. |
I picked them up yesterday at best buy. The commentary for viii is extremely boring but the extras are great. The footage from vii is awesome too and commentary is actually pretty insightful and interesting. I recommend both discs. |
I'm Holding out for a box set with these new editions. Mybe by the middle of next year we will see a box set. It would be stupid of them not to. |
That cut footage from Part 7 is in the box set from a few years back...or is this NEW cut footage? |
Why would I replace my box set? There's extras, such as commentary tracks, not on the new DVD's.
I'll keep both. |
Saturday - some of it is copied, but there is a lot more. Runs about 15-18 minutes if memory serves. |
As for the other extras (commentaries, etc) the idea was to start fresh, thats why nothing is copied from the last set. |
I'm gonna have to wait for the Blu-Ray set on this since I already own the first box set on DVD. Or else I wouldl have purchased four versions (including the VHS) of the same movies. |
Part 7 is one of my favorite sequels! The telekinesis angle definitely added more substance to the film along with the great acting by the leads. Plus Kane's make-up and look were great and the way he did his own stunts. You can tell a lot of love went into Part 7. I would like to get the deluxe edition of that one! :-) It's sad that extra footage was treated so shabby back then. Today they keep everything and usually put it on the DVDs as a bonus. |
Ok...i'll wait for blu-ray as well. |
Part VII was a really fun film, and it's a shame the negatives are seemingly lost. I had the pleasure of working for John Beuchler back in '79 on "Mausoleum." He's a great guy, and the thought he put into Jason's design for The New Blood really paid off! He really went for continuity, with every gash Jason had ever taken accounted for. The tattered clothes and exposed bones established THE perfect Jason. (I remember being so hugely disappointed with the lack of any continuity for the character in PART VIII...the makeup sorta looked like silly putty.) THE NEW BLOOD also has the really cool sleeping bag against the tree kill, so it's definitely worth grabbing the new Special Edition! |
i met Kane @ spookyworld as well,cool guy who treated his fans very well. |
I love the new dvds so much i just sold my old f13th boxset that came out a while back. To me it was crap compared to the new ones. |
Jason Lives, Part 6 in the series, is the best entry in the series. It is violent, hilarious and completely over the top. Tom McLoughlin has directed some cracking little horror gems. The disturbing and compelling THE UNSAID, and SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK among others. Cult directors are the coolest. On the subject of horror gems if you haven't seen DEAD AND BURIED then you should get off your arse and do so. It is brilliant. |
I met Kane, for the first time a month ago at The Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, he was there signing autographs. What a cool guy, easy and fun to talk to. |
I met Kane, for the first time a month ago at The Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, he was there signing autographs. What a cool guy, easy and fun to talk to. |
Buying these AND keeping the boxed set. |
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