Back in December I spoke of my quest to obtain the Friday the 13th sequel Deluxe Editions. Because you surely couldn’t sleep at night without a follow-up on that, I’m pleased to report I indeed purchased all of them – some of them being the French Canadian versions, but same content. Against habit, I didn’t whip through them, opting instead to spread them out over the past few months so I could appreciate each over-watched film again, and more importantly savor those exquisite special features put together by His Name Is Jason director Daniel Farrands. Now that my sojourn is over, I’ve taken away one major thing:

My opinion on Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood has completely changed.

I’ve probably watched The New Blood more than any Friday… yet found it the most plodding and derivative of them all. Oxy moronic? I’m a multitasker and like to do fifty things at once, so sometimes it really helps to have a movie in the background that is – how shall I say – reliably bland. As a result, movies of dubious merit get a special concession. For a specific period in my life, TNB fit the bill: Nothing really happens in it. The finale has some fun stunts and pyrotechnics. It’s a dollar store version of The Final Chapter. And all of John Carl Buechler’s talk in Fangoria back in the roaring 80′s of this entry’s deep metaphysics was prime horseshit. But dangit, I loved having that video on repeat, providing a easy visual and aural backdrop to my daily work while not demanding dedicated attention. I loved it, just not in the way most others did.

Now that I have the DVD? Woowee, you’ve watched the deleted scenes, right? If not, check ‘em out below. I actually bypassed the ‘slashed scenes’ section of the disc because I assumed I’d already seen them in the From Crystal Lake To Manhattan boxset and knew no better source had been found in the intervening years – it was just JCB’s old workprint tape being put through the ringer again. Psh. It wasn’t until later on when I decided to give it a play so I could technically say I watched every part of the Deluxe DVDs I paid handsomely for. What I watched was a revelation, plain and simple.

Compare the meager clips of MPAA-censored gore shots off the FCLTM set against the 16 minutes (!) of scenes of the recent DVD! Seeing them in full, and in some case alternate form, really hammered home that the cuts didn’t just remove the ‘money shots’ of the movie, but really depowered Jason as the furious – yes, metaphysical – force of nature both JCB and Kane Hodder intended him to be. Those censored kills turned out to be only part of the losses TNB suffered, with some character development moments and a fun stalker POV scene between Kevin Spirtas and Lar Park-Lincoln that provided a little thematic continuity with Jason Lives and lightened up the drab story. The sloppy way the gore was edited out and the extraction of these interesting ‘people’ moments leads me to believe MPAA weren’t the real villains in this chapter of the saga but once again Paramount. TNB was neutered from the get go – way back in the development stages, but it turns out both screenwriter Daryl Haney and director Buechler really did try to elevate the material during the darkest period of Paramount Picture’s embarrassment over the series’ success.

As much as Paramount have sucked, they also rule for allowing these deluxe editions to happen and making the right choice to get the right people to make them happen. I know many fans won’t be happy with anything less than a restored uncut version – but complaining and petitioning for that is an exercise in futility. The original elements being lost by now and the reality that this is not a cash cow that has can be bled dry like say, Army of Darkness and Halloween (both of which received extended cuts as just one variation between several reissues). The ship has sailed. But here’s the cool thing – the power is now in fans’ hands to do the dirty work themselves. We have all the censored elements now. The New Blood is the most wanted uncut version, for the reason that the cuts so drastically altered the impact of the movie. So it’s astounding that no one has yet taken the footage from the recent DVD and done the movie justice. Well, there has been talk in fan circles and I do already own a fanmade Unrated Edition (cover sleeve pictured up top), but it was constructed pre-Deluxe Edtion so is only half a victory when viewing, you know?

I have some advice to anyone seriously intending on putting it together: first off, it isn’t as simple as treating the project as a puzzle and dropping the slashed scenes into their rightful places – finesse is needed to properly integrate them and editorial sacrifices need to be made: Deletion of some material in the existing film and proper transitioning of scenes. Minor digital cleanup work on the slashed scenes will be vital to correct the contrast so it matches your source copy of the movie. Which brings me to the most important move a fan-ed can make: using a DVD print of the movie will tank the edit completely. The difference in quality is going to be jarring and that is going to mean immersion will be impossible and the cut only enjoyed on a novelty level. The vital key to restoring The New Blood is to use an old, beat up VHS  copy of the movie as that would most match the crappy quality of the slashed scenes. By that, the viewer than has the best chance of being able to appreciate the restored cut as a whole and watch the story the way it was meant to unfold.

Anyway, when the Deluxe Editions started trickling out last year (I’m not talking parts 1-3, I’m talking the real Deluxe Editions – 4-8 produced by Dan Farrands of His Name Is Jason) I noticed the early films getting re-releases on my end of the globe. Different cover art, but also different extras – Friday The 13th part 3 lacked 3D, however did have the missing chapter of Lost Tales From Camp Blood so I made the decision to follow the train of local releases. I waited and waited. Eventually we got shitty bare-bones editions of part 4 onward instead. Mind-boggling. So I slapped the USA Super Deluxo’s in my digital cart and… timejump to today.

Friday The 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter – $11.99 – bingo! Not so fast, bucko. A New Beginning, Jason Lives, The New Blood and Jason Takes Manhattan all ranging from – $24.50 to $26.99 or completely unavailable at all. Sure, Amazon Marketplace can help, but individual postage from each buyer is going to make a buy there a no-go. Alright, back-up plan: screw the certificate and take my moolah to DVD Empire – but the truth doesn’t get much better over there when they confirm those four sequels are Out Of Print.

Ouch, man. That hit me right here in my hellbaby heart.

I figure it’s an elaborate conspiracy to teach me a very large lesson to strike while the iron’s hot, haste wakes waste, he who hesitates is lost, etc. etc. etc. But listen, I’m seeking a solution. I’ve relied on Amazon for a decade (and Ebay for single purchases) so haven’t stepped foot outside their perimeter into the online DVD retailer market much. Perhaps someone out there can recommend a reputable place I can get all four for decent prices?

Twitter user inneedforlove10 has been great about updating us when the films have been on Epix and this past weekend I was alerted by another Twitter user about some Friday the 13th films being available to watch by streaming on Netflix! Now, the computer that is normally used for updates has been acting weird, so I didn’t get to this news until today, but just recently announced, Netflix has entered into a deal with Epix to stream many of their movies through their website or game console devices.

This of course opens up Epix’s run of the Friday the 13th films to Netflix subscribers. As of 9/1/2010, Friday the 13th Part 2, Friday the 13th Part 3, and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter will be available for streaming through Netflix. Noted at Netflix, Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, and Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part 6 are streaming coming soon. So, look for those titles to be available for streaming at a later date!

Also, keep a lookout in the next couple of days for something very special relating to ‘The Man In The Lake’!

Daniel
Axeman82
JAS0N VOORHEE5 (360 Gamertag)
Mike New
evilekim
Steve G
killer-c
Exile
Ron Oliver
TurboMan
Joe goodrum
Dogmatic
WitheredCarnation
Johnny
Croc Master
Scott
the2ndsuitor
CoyT

The hero whose cyber-punches have the power of kicks is about to save the world from boring DVD sets.

EW.com has your first look at the 12-page collectible, which will accompany copies of Community: The Complete First Season, on sale Sept. 21. And before the gang from Greendale hits Comic-Con this weekend (details on their panel below), executive producer Dan Harmon gave us the scoop on the comic. Prepare to drown in a sea of awesome.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Over at Amazon.fr, there is a listing for the doco complete with Blu-Ray cover art. The listing does not imply anything will be different from the DVD release. The disc is not for sale yet as you can pre-order the item only. Does this imply that fans in the United States can plan on seeing the series retrospective on Blu-Ray disc in the near future? Time will only tell. The questions is, would it really matter to purchase ‘His Name Was Jason’ in high definition?

Subtitles: Dutch – Italian – German – Romanian – Icelandic – English – Arabic – French – Bulgarian – Spanish – English for the Hearing Impaired

These and other sketches were showcased during the Freddy vs Jason portion of the documentary. If you have other questions about these drawings or the possibility of getting these prints, contact Crash at www.crasharmy.com.

There are many different home media to look at including, VHS, Beta, CED, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-Ray. Although, I don’t show the Blu-Ray for the movie, but it’s the same as the DVD anyways. Enjoy the video!

Just a heads up for the people who have not seen His Name Was Jason, on Friday May 21st at 5:35 AM,  Encore will be broadcasting the series documentary. Yes, this is very early, but if you have not seen the documentary and have Encore, perhaps you could set your DVR. There are a few other times listed at their website in May.

Other times for viewing as of now are Saturday May 22nd at 4 AM and  Thursday May 27th at 2:40 AM. Iknow these times are not the most desirable, but hey at least the documentary is being aired!