The Thing

The movie itself is five stars, one of the best sci-fi horror films ever made. The 4K transfer on this UHD DISC is excellent on every level. There were previous 4K releases by other studios, but this Paramount release, in my opinion, is by far the best. So many 4K movies can be way too bright, or lack a classic film texture. This 4K of THE THING by Universal is the best this movie has ever looked! Amazing amounts of detail, and color. I remember this movie as a dark,, murky looking film. It is not. This is movie is beautifully shot and now, thanks to this disc, full of color! The black levels are dark, but full of detail and the whites are never bleached out. The sound is nicely mixed with big explosions that never over-power dialogue. I never once had to adjust the volume while watching this film (the way I do for so many overly-loud mixed films.) Wish it had more extras, but i found the making-of documentary to be really good, as well as the commentary track by John Carpenter and Kurt Russel. Buy this 4K over the Blu-ray or the DVD. You'll be glad you did! And if you don;t have a 4K player, what are you waiting for?

BOTTOM LINE: It's an easy 5 STAR rating for the intense motion picture horror experience that is John Carpenter's THE THING. The abysmally disappointing Universal barebones Blu-ray is a 2 STAR turd. Don't bother. Pick up the Shout!Factory Blu instead. Their release is what fans deserve and have been wanting. 5 STARS for Shout!'s Blu-ray! Terrific thrills, chills and flat out shocks fill this frosty fright flick to the icy rafters. John Carpenter gives us what many consider to be his very best film. (I'd modify that statement and say it's his best science fiction film. His best horror work is still the original HALLOWEEN, while his best action film is ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. As always, IMHO/YMMV.) I am among those that love THE THING. I've been an enthusiastic fan of this film and John Carpenter since I first caught it during its debut on cable way back in the day. The barren, brutal and bloody frights of THE THING were unleashed into theaters a mere two weeks after the snuggly hug-fest of Steven Spielberg's E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, and I think a lot of film goers back then were simply not prepared for the senses-shocking visceral horrors that Carpenter and his crew were set to spring on them. In fact, even without ET's cuddly competition, I'm not sure THE THING would have been a box office hit. THE THING was just too far ahead of its time. 25+ years later and it has lost none of its power to shock, make you jump and squirm in your seat. SPFX artist extraordinaire Rob Bottin's incredibly twisted creature designs and disgustingly awesome motion-controlled props & make-ups still physically and psychologically repulse and fascinate the viewer all these decades later. This film is stuffed to the gills with some of THE best examples of beautifully grotesque movie effects ever seen. Give me wonderfully-realized practical effects like the ones on display here ANY day over the ocean of computer-generated stuff. Every cast member gives us a top flight performance; no half-hearted acting to be found here. Kurt Russell makes you instantly forget there ever was a Dexter Riley, with his subtle yet most definitely in-charge role as laconic chopper pilot R.J. MacCready. Charles Hallahan, Keith David, Richard Dysart and especially Wilford Brimley all turn in A-list work in their various supporting roles. Establishing himself as an acting force to be reckoned with, Brimley gives us an unforgettable, multi-layered performance as the slowly disintegrating Blair. And a special call-out to long-time character actor Donald Moffat as the bewildered, beleaguered and undoubtedly in over his head Antarctic outpost commander, Garry. Moffat gives us what is arguably the greatest line reading in the history of talking motion pictures with his "couch" speech. His vocal firepower is the equivalent of a howitzer in this scene and once you've heard it you'll never forget it. LOL. This 1982 remake, based on John Campbell's fantastic 1938 short story "Who Goes There?" hews much closer to the source material than the previous movie incarnation, the classic Howard Hawks 1951 version of THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD). Carpenter's film is every bit as impressive and iconic as Hawks' version is, though for drastically different reasons. Hawks' THING combines a fantastic cast of characters who, despite initially being at-odds with one another on how best to deal with their alien visitor, eventually band together to battle the terrifying extraterrestrial, (a super-intelligent plant-based lifeform that could conceivably pollinate the entire planet with its deadly spores, instantly knocking mankind to the bottom of the food chain). Hawk's THING = US against THEM. The fear in Carpenter's version, (much like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS), comes from being unable to know for certain just exactly WHO or WHAT the enemy is; no person, (in fact no living thing), can be trusted. Carpenter's THING = ME against EVERYTHING. Carpenter's remake remains one of THE best on-screen examples of paranoia-fueled terror ever lensed, pure & simple. The 1982 version of THE THING is one of those rare occurrences when the remake of a classic movie is every bit as good as the original. Both versions are absolute "must-owns," fully deserving a spot on every movie (and especially sci-fi/horror) fan's video library shelf. BLU-RAYS... The Universal Blu-ray of THE THING is a major let-down. None of the excellent bonus features from the previous Collector's Edition DVD have been ported over to this Blu-ray version, save the audio commentary by John Carpenter & Kurt Russell. Nothing new was produced for this Blu-ray either. That's a damn shame no matter how you look at it. Instead of an ultimate, reference-quality release, you just get a new format version that in all honesty isn't any better than the previous format. Neither the picture nor the sound are much improved from DVD. Universal really dropped the ball with this release. A travesty for Carpenter fans and basically the home video equivalent of a kick in the nuts to those, like myself, who were hoping for at least a worthwhile picture & sound upgrade even if no goodies were included. As I say, the audio & video are somewhat better but not THAT much. If you already own Universal's "Collector's Edition" DVD then I cannot recommend double-dipping for this Blu-ray. UPDATE>>> Forget the craptastic Universal Blu-ray. Pick up a copy of Shout!Factory's new Blu-ray and see how this SHOULD have been handled by those knuckleheads at Universal. The Shout! Blu is a terrific 2-disc offering that is worlds better than Universal's. The transfer, first & foremost, is amazing. Super sharp focus, bringing out a ton of details not seen in any previous format release. The picture looks clear, clean and is free of artifacting, pixelation, edge enhancement, and only the slightest amount of crush (video noise). The crew at Shout! affected a 2k scan of the film's interpositive, overseen by the Director of Photography, Dean Cundey. It looks amazing. The blacks are solid & inky and the mid-tones are firm and strong. Audio is clear, clean and the soundmix is level. There is a wealth of superb bonus content for fans of this great film. Shout! knows how to please. In addition to the best original stuff ported over from previous versions, there are lots of new goodies; some on Disc #1 (Feature Film) and the rest spread out over Disc #2 (Special Features). Bravo! This is the release THING fans have been clamoring for. Wait no longer. Order yours today!

Does anyone besides myself remember when Kurt Russell was the Disney poster boy, appearing in films like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), The Barefoot Executive (1971), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975)? What the heck happened since? Well, perhaps in an effort to distance himself from his carefully cultivated, squeaky clean cut, all-American kid Disney image (and avoid the dreaded curse of the former child star/now out of work actor), he teamed up with writer/director/producer John Carpenter first in the made for TV movie Elvis (1979), then as the quintessential anti-hero Snake Plissken in the film Escape from New York (1981), and then again, a few years later, to do The Thing (1982), which is actually a remake of the Universal/Howard Hawks classic science fiction film The Thing from Another World (1951), which are both based on John W. Campbell's story "Who Goes There?". Also appearing in this film is Quaker Oat man Wilford Brimley, who would have a much more amicable alien encounter in Cocoon (1985), T.K. Carter (Doctor Detroit), David Clennon (The Couch Trip), Keith David (They Live), Richard A. Dysart (Pale Rider)...whew, let me catch my breath...Charles Hallahan (Vision Quest), Richard Masur (Heaven's Gate), Donald Moffat (The Right Stuff), Joel Polis (True Believer), Thomas G. Waites (The Clan of the Cave Bear), and Peter Maloney (Desperately Seeking Susan)...also worth mentioning is one time Carpenter favorite and ex-wife Adrienne Barbeau, who doesn't actually appear in the film, but can be heard as the voice of the computer chess game Russell's character is playing in the beginning...a little bit of useless trivia for you...hey, at least I didn't mention the craft services person...who, by the way was Yervant Babasin... The film begins with a shot of outer space, and soon into view comes a whirling saucer, flying somewhat erratically, headed for Earth...apparently some time passes, as the year now is 1982, and we're in Antarctica. We see a helicopter flying across the icy landscape, chasing a dog. One of the occupants is firing a rifle at the dog, but is missing miserably...poor shot? Perhaps not, as I figure it's hard as hell to hit a moving target from a helicopter...anyway, the chase ends at the United States National Science Institute Station 4, as the two men in the helicopter suffer a fatal mishap, but, you'll be happy to know the dog was all right...for now. Questions arise, as the now deceased men were part of a Norwegian expedition not far from the Americans. This prompts helicopter R.J. MacReady (played by a really hairy Russell) and another to fly over and investigate. Seems the Norwegians found something in the ice, something better left alone, as now they're all....dead. After returning to the camp, all soon learn perhaps sometimes a dog is not just a dog, especially when it's an alien posing as a dog...what follows next should really be seen, rather than explained here... This is one of those films I can watch a few times a year simply because its so well put together and entertaining, especially on a visceral level, thanks, in part, to the special effects artistry of Rob Bottin (The Fog), among others, who worked on this feature. One thing that separated this film from the one from 1951 is the crazy-go-nuts amount of gory madness. There's popping eyes, spurting veins, mutating and burning flesh, dripping mucus, guts a bustin', blood squirting, face eating, spider heads, tentacles slapping, bones and cartilage cracking, body mangling, and so on...if'n you're a gore hound, and you can't satisfy your monkey here, then perhaps you need some serious, professional help. By the way, I have seen movies with much more gore, but not so much in mainstream films like this...if you've got small children, and you're looking to give them nightmarish, bedwetting nocturnal visions for at least a month, then I'd recommend this film along with Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Don't get me wrong, this film isn't all about the nasty bits, as it's also an extremely tense thriller...if you've seen the film, you know what I'm talking about, especially the scene when the men are testing their own blood in hopes of determining who still human. You see, the alien has the ability to absorb other life forms, and then create an exact duplicate. This aspect ends up driving the paranoia within the characters as they're unsure whom they can trust, and who will eat their face while they sleep. Also, the alien is intelligent, and uses this distrust against the men, in order to further its own cause, all taking place in an enclosed, isolated environment, inducing a definite sense of claustrophobia, which only adds to further the tension and suspense. There are plenty of shocks, also...one scene in particular was the defibulator sequence. If you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about...and we shouldn't forget legendary composer Ennio Morricone's distinct, unsettling, and highly appropriate musical scoring. As far as the characters go, there isn't a whole lot of time spent focused on the individuals, even though we do spend a good deal of time with Russell's character, as the story is more geared towards the group, and their efforts to recognize, contain, and destroy the imminent threat to all. That's not to say there's no individualism among the characters, as there is, but Carpenter and the actors manage to express a lot without actually having to relate it to the audience, by actions, mannerisms, and so on...little time is wasted in this feature as things move along very quickly. Another aspect I really liked was the attention to detail with regards to the sets and locations. One could almost feel the pervasive cold emanating from the film, the wind cutting to the bone. Everything worked here for me, the acting, the script, the directing, the music, the settings, the liberal carnage, and so on...again, this is a violent, graphic movie, but well worth it, if you can take it...overall, this film may be vastly different that the 1951 version, along with the original story, but I think Carpenter did carry a few, important elements in the sense of paranoia inherent within the material. This special edition DVD release contains a beautiful, re-mastered, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) print, along with a clear Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. As far as special features, there are gobs, including an audio commentary track with the director John Carpenter and star Kurt Russell, along with a featurette titled John Carpenter's The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (84 minutes), a production background archive, cast production photographs, production artwork and storyboards, location design, full motion and frame by frame breakdowns of the saucer and the `Blairmonster', outtakes, post production materials, and an original theatrical trailer. All in all a superior release of an excellent film. Cookieman108

O melhor filme do John Carpenter e um dos melhores filmes de terror na minha opinião. Essa edição 4K está impecável, para quem não tem a TV certa, ou aparelho para rodar em 4K, também vem com o Bluray normal.

Llegó sin ningún detalle y rápido al otro día, es una excelente versión , se ve espectacular en pantalla 4k , trae un documental donde el director y todos los involucrados en la película cuentan el proceso de creación, todo subtitulado en español

Oubliez le prequel/reboot et jetez vous sur ce monstre du film fantastique/horreur qu'est The thing, paranoïa et effets gores mais surtout et toujours John Carpenter épaulé par kurt russell

One of my all time favorite movies added to my collection. Can't imagine what the audience in 1982 felt like, definitely were not ready for it. Didn't succeed at the time but became a cult classic and continues to live on. Great cast with a great storyline filled suspence and gore. Featuring awesome makeup and special effects for it's time plus a killer soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. Highly enjoyable in hi-def picture and sound.

Item delivered in mint condition! Thank you