The Texas Chain Saw Massacrenot only changed the face of horror, it remains one of the most disturbing, powerful and terrifying films ever made. Now – almost half a century after its original release – you can witness the terror as never seen before, as Second Sight Films presents the definitive version of Tobe Hooper’s legendary horror classic. The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - a new feature length documentary produced by Second Sight Films

A few vintage odds and ends are curiously absent, including "Friedkin/Hooper: A Conversation about The Texas Chain Saw gets the commentaries and a few odds and ends, and everything else is on Disc 2. These extras largely mirror those found on MPI's recent 4K and earlier Blu-ray editions, with a few The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (new) – feature length appreciation of by film makers and writers/academics (82 mins) Now here’s a grisly little item. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is as violent and gruesome and blood-soaked as the title promises—a real Grand Guignol of a movie. It’s also without any apparent purpose, unless the creation of disgust and fright is a purpose. And yet in its own way, the movie is some kind of weird, off-the-wall achievement. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to make a movie like this, and yet it’s well-made, well-acted, and all too effective.” better mid-range values, the same additional cleanup and color corrections done for the 4K transfer described above, and of course

accuracy achieved here makes Second Sight's exclusive 4K presentation the de facto definitive presentation of The Texas Chain Saw Loosely inspired by serial killer Ed Gein, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most effective horror films of all time. More than merely scary or macabre, it’s truly unnerving. Deceptively short at only 83 minutes, it’s something of an endurance test. The performances are manic across the board, likely exacerbated by the arduous shooting conditions, and Robert A. Burns‘ ( Re-Animator, The Hills Have Eyes) art direction is equally unhinged. Tobe Hooper went on to make the well received TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1979) and had terrific success with the Spielberg-produced Poltergeist, however, much of his other outcome could be called interesting at best. His own sequel to Chainsaw released in 1986 was a badly executed mess and the likes of vampires from space movie Lifeforce was laughable at best. However of late Hooper has enjoyed a slight return to form with his 2003 take on the Toolbox Murders proving a guilty pleasure. Commentary with actors Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danzinger, and art director Robert A. Burns It’s fair to say that much of her screaming wasn’t just down to acting. Take the scene where she collapses on the garage floor after fleeing Leatherface. Marilyn had to do the same thing for seventeen takes. The blood that you see on her knees is real. To make matters worse for Marilyn she wasn’t exactly the fastest runner in the world, even when chased by twenty two stone Gunnar Hansen, so the actor had to pretend to chainsaw through twigs and other flimsy foliage to buy Burns some time to get away.

written/directed by Phillip Escott, this full-length documentary -- which yes, is just about as long as the film itself -- offers a broad retrospective of Audio Commentary #4 - This enjoyable roundtable chat features Tobe Hooper, this time flanked by actor Hooper and cinematographer Daniel Pearl (who also shot the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) balance the deluge of raw, grisly imagery — including people hanging from meat hooks and furniture fashioned from body parts — with nimble craftsmanship. Iconic shots — such as Leatherface’s stark reveal, the low angle dolly following Pam to the house, extreme close ups on Sally’s eye, and Leatherface’s deranged chainsaw dance bathed in orange sunlight — are breathtaking in 4K.Fine detail often belies its 16mm origins with some truly outstanding texturing on show – from close ups, such as when Jerry is peering through the wonderfully delineated gauze of the screen door of the Sawyer house, to even in medium to long shots, such as when Kirk and Pam are approaching the Sawyer house and the sunflowers that ring their property are beautifully clean, the levels of detail and absolute clarity on show in this image are simply fantastic. Even though we’ve had some decent 16mm 4K images produced before – notably Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer – this image looks stunning from Second Sight and the odd smattering of slight print damage aside, its nigh on perfect for its source and its origins.

Much of the screen time, in fact, is spent with Sally, Franklin and their friends, as they travel and encounter mounting craziness. The characters are, to be honest, mostly lightly sketched. Franklin might be the most developed, and Paul Partain’s performance is definitely divisive. The wheelchair bound Franklin whines his way through much of the film, and he can get grating, but having him there does create an undertone to the whole film, because we can see the rough ground beneath the character’s feet, and know that it’s not going to be particularly easy for him to navigate. As soon as we know the kids are in danger, we’re primed to be terrified for Franklin.

Still front-heavy and faithful to the source, random noises are heard echoing throughout the Sawyer house, adding to the creepiness and making for a satisfying hemispheric soundfield. The real highlight is hearing footsteps on the second floor of the abandoned Hardesty homestead while Franklin whines, and later, when Sally runs frantically around the Sawyer house, we hear the brothers yelling in hysterics and chasing after her in the distance. Granted, a few Foley effects still feel a bit fake, most notably at the beginning with vehicles speeding down the highway, but thankfully, these moments are far and few in between without distracting too much from the film's overall enjoyment. TCSM from several different vantage points including a few international contributors. Featured participants include film critic Heather

Since its Sundance premiere, the energy surrounding the film has steadily grown with RogerEbert.com calling Onyx the Fortuitous “a handmade horror gem.” Grandpa" (likewise on the earlier MPI releases), as well as a second set of silent deleted scenes which still remains exclusive to MPI's The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – a new feature-length documentary produced by Second Sight Films

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course -- it's still a fairly solid runner-up for those who haven't moved on to 4K yet. If you've no plans to do so in the near future and don't care never before seen on home video. Colors are likewise more faithfully rendered, and a few subtle tone shifts have also been carefully corrected; one As for the Blu-ray presentation, these disc-captured screenshots -- the first ten of which approximately match those from its MPI counterpart --