Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10614 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-29
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre adheres to the pure-and-simple slasher-movie formula: introduce a gaggle of sexy young people, make vague gestures to distinguish them--Jessica Biel wants to get married and doesn't like pot, so she's our moral compass--then start hacking them to pieces one by one. The visual palette includes grimy crucified dolls, fly-specked pig carcasses, body parts floating in murky jars, a tobacco-chewing redneck sheriff and many slender beams of sunlight cutting through dank, dusty interiors. The camera lovingly photographs Biel's tank-topped bosom and sculpted abs as she's running in terror from a bloated, chainsaw-wielding, human-skin-wearing maniac. This remake lacks the macabre comedy of the original; it's all about the nauseating sensation of waiting for something to jump out of the dark. --Bret Fetzer

Special Features

• Deleted scenes
  
• Alternate opening and closing
  
• Chainsaw Redux documentary
  
• Gein: The Ghoul of Planifield documentary
  
• Commentaries with producer Michael Bay, director Marcus Nispel and others
  
• Cast screen tests
  
• Art gallery
  
• TV spots and trailers
  
• Music video

DVD Technical Information:

• Running Time: 98 mins
  
• Region Code: 2

Synopsis
Directed by well-known commercial and video director Marcus Nispel, and produced by Michael Bay (ARMAGEDDON, PEARL HARBOR), this remake begins in the same place as the original. Five friends are driving through Texas on their way to a concert in Dallas. But when they stop to pick up a hitchhiker, their trip takes a turn for the worse. The friends--Erin (Jessica Biel), Kemper (Eric Balfour), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), Pepper (Erica Leerhsen), and Andy (Mike Vogel)--have no idea what they're in for when they ask the local sheriff (R. Lee Ermey) for help. It isn't long before the blood begins to pour and the notorious chainsaw of the maniacal, murderous Leatherface starts to roar.
Although considered relatively low budget (9.5 million) by 2003 moviemaking standards, Nispel's remake is worlds away from the no-budget feel of Hooper's original. Where that film left much of the actual gore off camera, Nispel and Bay up the ante by showing every death in all its gruesome detail building to a final act that is relentless and terrifying. Tobe Hooper's enduring original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE appeared like a nightmare in 1974, establishing a whole new genre of horror film and thirty years later it's back.

Customer Reviews

Still the greatest
Tobe Hoopers 1974 classic 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' remains to this day, the most harrowing and grusomely shocking horror movie of all time. The idea is the now familiar 'teenagers in peril formula' about a group of friends who stumble across a farmhouse that, unbeknown to them houses a family of cannibals including a chainsaw weilding madman. the house is equally eerie with furniture and decorations made from human and animal bones. The cast, consisting mainly of local untrained actors (Gunner Hansen, who played Leatherface was a college student who says he only auditioned 'for something to do in the summer')give memorable performances, with special mention going to Marilyn Burns who plays Sally. Chainsaw Massacre is a ruthlessly efficiant shocker, building up tension for the first 45 minuites before exploding into an orgy of violence and horror, although it is possibly the most blood and gore free horror movie of all time, opting instead to make the audience believe they have just seen a bloodbath. Unforgetable scenes such as the 'meathook' scene and the now infamous 'dinner table' scene with it's eerie close up camera (I wont spoil the film by going into detail) have put 'massacre' into horror folklore. These days the chainsaw weilding 'Leatherface' may seem somewhat comical although he deserves his place alongside 'Halloween's' michael Myers at the top of horrors most evil list. A wealth of extras including commentary from Hooper, co-writer Kim Henkel and Hansen (Leatherface) plus an insight into psychopath Ed Gein, the man in which Leatherface and his twisted family are based. The inspiration of classics such as Ridley Scott's 'Alien' and a whole generation of horror wannabes, 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' is a timeless milestone of horror that is still as powerful and as shocking as it was on it's release back in 1974. Magical.

HORRIFIC AND TERRIFIC...
I first saw this this low budget horror film on the silver screen when it was first released in the nineteen seventies. I went to see it with my then husband and spent most of the film cowering under my jacket. I remembered it as one of the most frightening films that I had ever seen.

Time has jaded me somewhat, as I was able to watch it the film the second time around without resorting to cowering under my jacket. Of course, the second time I saw it was on my television screen and not a giant theatre screen, which probably helped. It is still, however, one of the most frightening films ever made.

Based upon a true story of a nineteen fifties psycho named Ed Gein, the film has a quasi-documentary feel to it with its grainy footage and cast of virtual unknowns. The film is a visual cornucopia of terror and horror, though there is actually very little gore shown on screen. The unusually macabre sets and the relentless sound of the chainsaw bandied by Leatherface are enough to make the viewer tremble.

The storyline is simple. A group of five teens set off in their van and end up in a rural area, where two of the teens, Sally and Franklin, a brother and sister, are checking out some of their family history. Unfortunately, they come across a house inhabited by one heck of a family of crazies. From the moment they do so, the viewer is taken on a heart-pounding, one-of-a-kind film experience. Deftly directed by Tobe Hooper, this low budget film is a masterpiece for its genre. It is simply one of the scariest and best horror films ever made. Bravo!

"I just can't take no pleasure in killing..."
Terror and carnage is the outcome for a group of unsuspecting teens in the classic horror movie that shocked audiences all over the country, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." A film that still has the raw power to shock and terrify viewers even today. While it may not be overly gory, the end results leads to a horrifying and disturbing motion picture that is unforgettable. It all starts out as a simple country road trip that sounds like the perfect way to spend some time for a group of five friends. It seems to be a regular afternoon until they drive into a deserted part of Texas. A strange hitchhiker unleashes an unimaginable chain-of-events that lead to murder, cannibalism and psychotic killers.

I don't care how old this movie is, I still always find myself numb with shock and disbelief every time I watch this brutal classic. It shows you that you don't need a lot of blood and gore to be disturbing or uneasy. The way the film is shot leads you to believe that this stuff actually happened. It's as if you're actually watching real killings caught on camera. That's how powerful this movie is. There are definitely more than a few uneasy moments that make me squirm and cringe, and that is becoming quite the challenge these days, I must be honest.

Sure, it might be a tad dated. However, this does not take away any of the film's power. Inspired by a true story (loosely based on the infamous killer, Ed Gein), this movie has a great script and a nice cast behind it. It never feels overly goofy, nor does it ever feel that it is dragging on too long. Tobe Hooper did an excellent job with such a low budget. To be honest, I think the low budget helped. This would not be the same movie had there been a bigger budget to jazz it all up. The low budget forced Hooper to find a successful way to shoot the movie, and he did. The balance of everything is just right.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" will always be remembered as an ultimate classic that redefined the horror genera as we know it. It is not for people with weak hearts or people who get easily sickened by senseless acts of brutal violence. Even after all of these years, this film has the undeniable power to shock and terrify audiences all around. If you have not seen it yet, go check it out as soon as you can. A landmark horror movie that always delivers, time and time again. -Michael Crane