Halloween (1978)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

John Carpenter (screenplay) and
Debra Hill (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 October 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The trick was to stay alive.

Plot:

A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood escapes on a mindless rampage while his doctor chases him through the streets.

Plot Keywords:

Halloween | Night | Michael Myers | Six Year Old | Death

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Donald Pleasence	...	Dr. Sam Loomis
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Laurie Strode
Nancy Kyes	...	Annie Brackett (as Nancy Loomis)
P.J. Soles	...	Lynda van der Klok
Charles Cyphers	...	Sheriff Leigh Brackett
Kyle Richards	...	Lindsey Wallace
Brian Andrews	...	Tommy Doyle
John Michael Graham	...	Bob Simms
Nancy Stephens	...	Marion Chambers
Arthur Malet	...	Graveyard Keeper
Mickey Yablans	...	Richie
Brent Le Page	...	Lonnie Elamb
Adam Hollander	...	Keith
Robert Phalen	...	Dr. Terence Wynn
Tony Moran	...	Michael Myers (age 23)
Will Sandin	...	Michael Myers (age 6)
Sandy Johnson	...	Judith Margaret Myers
David Kyle	...	Judith's Boyfriend
Peter Griffith	...	Morgan Strode
Nick Castle	...	The Shape
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barry Bernardi	...	Dead Mechanic (uncredited)
John Carpenter	...	Paul, Annie's Boyfriend (voice) (uncredited)
George O'Hanlon Jr.	...	Mr. Peter Myers (uncredited)
Darla Rae	...	Student (uncredited)
Gwen Van Dam	...	Sanitarium Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
John Carpenter

Writing credits
John Carpenter		(screenplay) and
Debra Hill		(screenplay)

Produced by
Moustapha Akkad	....	executive producer
Debra Hill	....	producer
Kool Lusby	....	associate producer
Irwin Yablans	....	executive producer
John Carpenter	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
John Carpenter

Cinematography by
Dean Cundey		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Charles Bornstein
Tommy Lee Wallace		(as Tommy Wallace)

Production Design by
Tommy Lee Wallace		(as Tommy Wallace)

Set Decoration by
Craig Stearns

Makeup Department
Erica Ulland	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Don Behrns	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack De Wolf	....	second assistant director
Rick Wallace	....	assistant director

Art Department
Dick Girod	....	set painter (as Richard Girod)
Randy Moore	....	assistant art director
Craig Stearns	....	property master

Sound Department
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator (as Joe Brennan)
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer (as Tommy Causey)
William L. Stevenson	....	supervising sound editor (as William Stevenson)
Tex Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Lee Strosnider	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Conrad Rothmann	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
James Winburn	....	stunts (as Jim Windburn)

Camera and Electrical Department
Reed Freeman	....	electrician
Kim Gottlieb	....	still photographer
Walt Hill	....	grip
Steve Mathis	....	best boy
Josh Miller	....	best boy
Krishna Rao	....	second assistant camera
Dylan Shephard	....	key grip (as Dylan Shepard)
Raymond Stella	....	camera operator (as Ray Stella)
Raymond Stella	....	panaglide (as Ray Stella)
Fred Victar	....	assistant camera
Mark Walthour	....	gaffer
Douglas Olivares	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Beth Rodgers	....	wardrober

Music Department
Peter Bergren	....	music mixer
Peter Bergren	....	music recordist
Bob Walters	....	music coordinator
Dan Wyman	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Barry Bernardi	....	production assistant
Paul Fox	....	production assistant
Louise Jaffe	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Compass International Pictures
• Falcon International Productions

Distributors

• Compass International Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Mid-America Releasing (1979) (USA: Midwest) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1979) (France) (theatrical)
• Joy Pack Film (1979) (Japan) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1981) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Astral Films (1978) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1979) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Arte (2005) (Germany) (TV)
• Astral Video (1984) (Canada) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Blockbuster Entertainment Group (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Future Film (1998) (Finland) (VHS)
• Future Film (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Kabel 1 (199?-200?) (Germany) (TV)
• Kabel 1 (????) (France) (TV)
• Media Home Entertainment (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Pro 7 (????) (Germany) (TV)
• Reserva Especial (1983) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Vídeo Ban (1985) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  titles and opticals
• Samuel Goldwyn Studios  re-recording
• Sound Arts  music recording
• The Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra  orchestra

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Halloween (USA) (complete title)
The Babysitter Murders (USA) (working title)
La nuit des masques (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Alla helgons blodiga natt (Sweden) [sv]
As Noites de Halloween (Portugal) [pt]
De nacht van de griezels (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Halloween (Argentina) [es]
Halloween - A Noite do Terror (Brazil) [pt]
Halloween - Die Nacht des Grauens (West Germany) [de]
Halloween - naamioiden yö (Finland) [fi]
Halloween, la nuit des masques (France) (video title) [fr]
Halloween: la notte delle streghe (Italy) [it]
I nyhta me tis maskes (Greece) [el]
La noche de Halloween (Spain) [es]
Maskernes nat (Denmark) (video title) [da]
Noc vestica (Serbia) [sr]
O Regresso do Mal (Portugal) [pt]
Yabanci (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

91 min | USA:101 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (original release)

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (video rating) (1982) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Germany:16 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Canada:R | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) (2001) | South Korea:18 | Chile:14 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 (re-release: 1999) | France:-16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (re-release: 1999) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Portugal:M/16 (re-rating) | Portugal:M/18 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

1000 Mission Street, South Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Compass International Pictures

Trivia:

According to screenwriter/producer Debra Hill, the character of Laurie Strode was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Although the story takes place in Illinois, all the cars have California license plates.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Laurie: It *was* the boogeyman.
Dr. Sam Loomis: As a matter of fact, it was.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Scary Movie (2000)

Soundtrack:

Don't Fear The Reaper

Scary as hell.

My personal favorite horror film. From the lengthy first tracking shot to the final story twist, this is Carpenter's masterpiece.

Halloween night 1963, little Michael Meyers murders his older sister. All-hallows-eve 1978, Michael escapes from Smith's Grove sanitarium. Halloween night, Michael has come home to murder again.

The story is perfectly simple, Michael stalks and kills babysitters. No bells or whistles, just the basics. It's Carpenter's almost over-powering atmosphere of dread that generates the tension. Like any great horror film, events are telegraphed long in advance, yet they still seem to occur at random, never allowing the audience to the chance to second guess the film.

The dark lighting, the long steady-cam shots, and (most importantly) that damn eerie music create the most claustrophobic and uncomfortable scenes I have yet to see in film. There is a body count, but compared to the slew of slashers after this it's fairly small. That and most of the murders are nearly bloodless. The fear is not in death, but in not knowing.

The acting is roundelay good. PJ Soles provides much of the films limited humor (and one of the best deaths), Nancy Loomis turns in a decent performance and then there is the young (at the time) Jamie Leigh-Curtis. Her performance at first seems shy and un-assured, yet you quickly realize that it is perfect for the character, who is herself shy and un-assured and not at all prepared for what she is to face. And of course there is the perfectly cast Donald Pleasence as the determined (perhaps a little unstable) Dr. Sam Loomis. Rest in peace Mr. Pleasence.

If the film has a detrimental flaw, it would be the passage of time. Since the release of this film so many years ago nearly countless clones, copies, rip-offs, and imitators have come along and stolen (usually badly) the films best bits until nearly everything about it has become familiar. Combined with the changes for audience expectations and appetites, one finds much of the films raw power diluted. To truly appreciate it in this day and age, it must be viewed as it once was, as something unique.

Never the less, I have no reservation with highly recommending this film to anyone looking for a good, scary time. Highest Reguards.

10/10