Friday the 13th - From Crystal Lake to Manhattan (8 Movies)

Admittedly, you have to be a fan to fully appreciate this box set. Not only does it contain the first 8 films, and after viewing the next three, you can appreciate the work that went into the first 8. But it also contains an extras disc that was worth the purchase itself. Here in good old Aussieland, we were never given the option to view the infamous death of Jason uncut from The Final Chapter. Our censors in their impotent wisdom chose to cut out some of Tom Savini's best work and leave us with a truncated version of the film that was as scary as old Ralph (you're all doooooomed!!) Thankfully, I have now seen the full original version in all its g(l)ory (heh heh, pun intended) and I found it to be the film I always hoped it could be.
The extras disc, as I mentioned above, went one further by supplying scenes that were left on the cutting room floor, most notably, the ones that the American censors didn't want left in the film. A treasure trove indeed. Plus interviews with cast and crew and behind the scenes footage, this is a must for Friday and slasher fans alike.
Enjoy.

These movies sucked not intertaing not nothing. These jason movies were corney how can you like them its the same stupid thing, a killer wearing a hockey mask killing teenagers cause he dos'nt want them around crystal lake cause thats were he died at, always standing behinde waiting for you to run and then he walks slow, these movies sucked they were repitive and corney the nightmare on elm street movies were better then these whack jason movies, so these movies sucked.

What do you expect from a franchise that wasn't liked by its distributor? What Paramount did to Friday is pathetic. But considering how much they "love" Jason, what we have here isn't bad at all.

I would have loved to see all of these movies completely uncut, unedited, but that would be wishing for the impossible. I would have LOVED (more than anything else) to see Part 3 in 3-D (as cheesy as it might be), but that version of the film seems to be extinct as it's never been released (actually, it's only available in Japan on Video High Density disc, if you're lucky to find it). I'm a little upset about the cover art, as the original posters were great and would have given the set a more nostalgic appeal.

But with what they added, the extras, you really can't complain at all. Glad they didn't add Jason Goes to Hell to the series as it probably would have ruined it. Bad enough `Manhattan' is in there; the only good part about that was the hot chick with the reddish hair.

Overall, the things I complained about are really nit-picking stuff. And this really isn't a bad set because you get the bulk of the series. This is a MUST for any Friday fan, and for those who want a taste of what horror had to offer in the 80's.

This was an awesome box set of the first 8 Friday The 13th's.

It includes movie trailer previews of each Friday The 13th, plus each Friday The 13th saga had a review and look back on how the special effects were made and showed co-stars from the first 8 Friday The 13th installments, inluding Corey Feldman and a few of the actors who played Jason Voorhees like Kane Hodder(Parts 7,8, 9) and C.J. Graham(Part 6), plus each Friday The 13th installment had Closed Captioning too.

So if you ever enjoyed watching any of the Friday The 13th movies in the theatre or on HBO or on video, I recommend this box set and you'll more than likely find it satisfactory.

I've noticed that practically every review on this product (justifiably) focuses on what is not here. While I agree with my fellow reviewers, I didn't previously own these films so picking them up in one package was handy for me. Though I hardly expected the redheaded stepchild of Paramount to get the Alien Quadrilogy treatment for its boxed set, I still would have thought a little more work would have been put into it. On to my review proper:

The Flicks: Though the F13 series is not cinema at its finest, that is not to say that it doesn't have its moments, or that it isn't thoroughly enjoyable, especially to those of us who grew up in its heyday. The original is interesting to watch now because of how the story came to be in the sequels. Jason only makes a cameo. But I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. It is of note(to me anyway) that the first is actually the most graphic, as the MPAA swooped in like the dreaded film-ruining vulture that it is starting with the second. Sure its a (intentional) ripoff of Halloween, but I actually don't mean that as a detriment. Part 2 sets in motion the series as we know it. The killer from The Town That Dreaded Sundown...I mean Jason shows up and begins his bloody reign. I actually feel that Part 2 is the best of the series, with the kids being a bit more believable and the "Final Girl" being somewhat more intelligent and resourceful. Part 3, which introduces the hockey mask, is actually my personal favorite for some reason. Could be because it has the most attractive Final Girl, in my humble opinion. Part 4 "The Final Chapter Before the Next One" ends the ongoing narrative(2,3, and 4 take place within days of each other) and feels like a bigger movie than the previous ones had, and it works out quite nice. Part 5 "A New Beginning" is atrocious. I wouldn't mind that (Spoiler Alert!!!!) Jason wasn't the killer if the movie had actually been remotely watchable, which it isn't.
Part 6 "Jason Lives" gives us Jason as we know him today: the unstoppable zombie-like monster. This one gives us some humor that works at times and falls flat at others. Probably the most well made of the series. Also giving us quite possibly the greatest song ever written with He's Back(The Man Behind the Mask) by Mr. Alice Cooper(picking up my sarcasm?)
Part 7..or VII "the New Blood" is the darkest of the series and has the best looking Jason, but it still sucks and I've always found it rather boring. The opening narraration by Walt "Crazy Ralph" Gorney is the only worthwhile segment. Part VIII "Jason Takes Manhattan" is disliked by many for obvious reasons, mostly involving the lack of time actually spent in Manhattan and even less time of Jason actually taking it. I actually like part 8 and, like most of the series' problems, its all Paramount's fault.

The DVDs: Standard transfer. Nothing too special. The films look and sound pretty good, but nothing to write home about.

The Extras: Ah the great bone of contention. After watching the bonus disc I arrived at this conclusion, as I'm sure many of you have: Parts 1,4,6, and 7 are the only ones they could, or bothered to get more than one(or in some cases less) cast and crew members to interview. Therefore these are the only installments to really receive any attention.

Part 1: Sean Cunningham, Adrienne King, Betsy Palmer, and the great Tom Savini are all featured. What Kevin Bacon was too busy milking the last second of his 15 minutes?
Part 2: Sean Cunningham(briefly) Amy Steel, and Warrington Gillete interviews.
Part 3. Only Larry Zerner is interviewed. Though strangely there is a commentary track featuring 3 other cast members. I wish they had been interviewed for the documentary.
Part 4: Joseph Zito, Tom Savini, and Corey Feldman(!).
Part 5. Same as part 4 which feels like an attempt to cover up that no one involved with this movie wanted to talk about it.
Part 6. Tom McLoughlin and CJ Graham.
Part 7: John Carl Buechler(prounonced "Beak-ler") Lar Park Lincoln, and of course Kane Hodder.
Part 8: Rob Heddon(just to note that I really feel for him and how he wanted to make the film we wanted to see but the studio would not let him) and of course Kane Hodder.

Deleted/Alternate scenes are a waste of time. The special effects featurette is fairly interesting, if only for its information on Tom Savini and John Carl Buechler. Collectibles featurette is a yawn. All of this would have been better served if added to the main documentary. The 8 parts all feel rushed and abbreviated. One could say this wasn't the studio's fault as they used what was available to them, but I find it hard to believe that so many cast and crew members couldn't be featured. only 16 people out of the 8 movies. This bonus disc was the main selling point of the set but falls way short.

Also, the dvd packaging looks at though someone spent about ten minutes with photoshop putting it together.

In closing, did Paramount "screw the fans" with this set? If their intention was to produce a simple boxed set so that you could purchase all the films together, then the answer is no. But if they were thinking they were giving us the be all, end all F13 set, then the answer is definitely YES.

Worth it if you don't already have the movies, but if you do, just wait it out another few years until they think they can cash in on something else and give us something better.