The Thing – Blu-ray Disc Review

September 19, 2008 – 1:42 PM - Posted by: Justin Sluss

Tags: John Carpenter, Keith David, Kurt Russell, Richard Masur, Rob Bottin, U-Control, Universal, Wilford Brimley

has an average rating of 8.1 on IMDb
1080p in VC-1 on a 25gb discs
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
only include Commentary & “U-Control” PIP
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– 1982
– 109 minutes
– Universal
Street Date : September 30th 2008
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Overall Verdict – Worth A Look

Buy it for $19.95 @ Amazon.com

— Review written by: Justin Sluss & James Segars —

The Movie Itself is directed by John Carpenter (“Halloween”, and “The Prince of Darkness”).

John Carpenter, the legendary independent filmmaker who single-handedly gave birth to the classic horror/slasher film “Halloween” — and arguably the genre itself — went on to helm yet another horror masterpiece — “The Thing”.

Unfortunately for John, “The Thing”, has never quite received the attention it deserves. Many perceive John’s career as being a muddled one at best, comprised of a singular hit (Halloween), a handful of cult classics, and a multitude of flops (“Ghosts of Mars”, “Vampires”, “Memoirs of an Invisible Man”). It’s hard to fault everyone for being quick to judge Carpenter, given his misfire-ridden track record, because in many ways they’re right. Carpenter has contributed to, and directed his fair share of duds in his time, but to his credit, he’s also managed to create some underrated gems as well, and for whatever reason people continue to overlook them. “The Thing” is one such film, and it is no stranger to being ignored.

The film’s release was set two weeks after the opening of Spielberg’s “E.T.”, on June 25th, 1982 — the same day “Blade Runner” debuted. Given the unfortunate release date, and their sci-fi roots, audiences were divided, and ultimately favored the heart-warming Spielberg picture instead of the “darker sci-fi art pieces.” Merely attempting to turn a profit in the wake of “E.T.”‘s record-breaking blockbuster success, neither “Blade Runner”, or “The Thing” ultimately stood a chance. It wouldn’t be until the advent of home video that the two sci-fi masterpieces would ever begin to amass the praise they deserved.

Befitting the classic horror remake, Universal has seen fit to release the Blu-ray edition of the ill-fated Carpenter film in time for the Halloween season. I myself have owned the film a number of times now — on VHS, DVD (twice), HD DVD, and now Blu-ray — and I can safely say that I’ve enjoyed every individual reissue, including this one. Universal continues to improve upon the feature set, or the video/audio presentations, and this Blu-ray is no exception. Sweetening the pot through the inclusion of a brand new lossless audio track — something “The Thing” has never received until now — Universal aims to please Carpenter fans everywhere. In truth, were it not for the all-new DTS HD: MA track on this Blu-ray, I might have been content to stick with my HD DVD (DD+) copy, but since I consider myself a die-hard fan of the film, the thought of passing up this Blu-ray, and its lossless soundtrack, was fleeting.

— The Bottom Line —

It’s sad that so few people have heard of “The Thing” that it’s almost criminal to think that such a masterwork has gone largely unnoticed for this long. Perhaps even fewer are aware that “The Thing” is actually a remake of “The Thing from another World” (1951), or that Carpenter himself is a huge fan of the original — look to “Halloween” for evidence of this, as kids watch the opening of the original on TV.

When John Carpenter set out to remake the original film, he brought an entirely new vision to the project, with the intention of re-invigorating his childhood favorite. In order to do so, he remained true to the original source material — a short story entitled Who Goes There?, from which both films have been adapted. Additionally, he brought more suspense, and more terror in order to create the paranoid, sci-fi thriller, we know and love. This isn’t just a decent Carpenter film, it’s one of his best.

— Synopsis written by: James Segars —

Video Quality on this release is in 1080p using the VC-1 codec on a BD-25 (25 gigabyte Blu-ray Disc). This Hi-Def transfer from the original Panavision 35mm film negative has been used prior to this release on the HD-DVD release but still stands up as quite impressive over a year later. Only a slight hint of film grain is present here which is in no way bothersome, as it in fact adds to the cinematic experience. The black level here is extremely solid, the color palette is pretty vibrant (for the subject matter and 1982 time period) and fleshtones are definitely accurate. Special effects (creatures) and make-up done by Ron Bottin come across downright impressive in the amount of detail but is sure to leave some viewers a bit grossed out. Overall “The Thing” looks really nice for a 1982 film — just as it did previously on HD-DVD but is definitely a pleasant addition to the Blu-ray Disc format’s library of titles and earns itself a solid “4 Star Rating” for video quality.

Audio Quality on this release is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. This stands as an improvement over the original Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 found on the previous HD-DVD release and even over the DTS found on the original DVD release. From the start of the film (when credits come up) you’ll notice how well the “eery” music done by Ennio Morricone is represented in this 5.1 surround mix. The score (music) comes across very well with even nice rear channel and bass presence. Dialogue is mixed perfectly and offers no reasons for volume adjustment. Sound effects (and recordings) throughout sound very realistic now in DTS-HD MA. Sounds I’m referring to that stand out are those of the helicopter blades spinning, the dogs barking in the “infamous” kennel scene and eventually the sound of weapons being used such as the flame thrower. The mix found here is surely enough to leave you “on the edge of your seat” throughout the film, especially for first time viewers. This earns a pretty darn impressive “4 Star Rating” and is as I started by saying, definitely superior to the original 5.1 mix found on the HD-DVD and on other past DVD releases. One last thing I’ll note is that this DTS-HD 5.1 MA track is much louder than the original DD+ 5.1 found on the HD-DVD — requiring less amplification to achieve a good sound presentation (without distortion or hiss).

Bonus Materials only include an audio Commentary and “U-Control” Picture-In-Picture (via Bonus View).

• Feature Commentary with Star Kurt Russell and Director John Carpenter is definitely worth giving a listen to for fans who never got the hear this track on the original DVD release. Aside from that though, it’s pretty much “recycled” bonus material.
• “U-Control” is included with Picture-In-Picture video commentary (via Bonus View) which requires the user to be on a “Profile 1.1” capable Blu-ray Disc Player. This feature includes some really great interviews from Director John Carpenter, Actors Kurt Russell , Richard Masur, Screenwriter Bill Lancaster and Make-Up / Special Effects Artist Rob Bottin. This was was taken from the original HD-DVD (as well as DVD) release bonus featurette called “Terror Takes Shape: The Making of The Thing” that had a runtime of 85 minutes. Universal on this release has opted to make it a PIP featurette that plays alongside the movie. This is a cool addition but the fact they’ve taken out the original 85 minute documentary so that you can watch it standalone in fullscreen (Standard Definition) is a major bummer.

Overall the bonus materials here will leave fans with some content to keep them occupied but are honestly a disappointment and scream out “DOUBLE DIP” on something that technically already is (if you owned the original HD-DVD release). Shame on Universal for this method of only halfway doing bonus materials by putting the Standard Definition bonus materials into a “U-Control” track and using a BD-25 disc.

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

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