Thing, The (UK)

The greatest john carpenter movie ever!

What i think about the thing
The thing was released on the great year of 1982 and almost at the same time as spielberg`s e.t.the friendly movie called e.t was a good success, but carpenter`s new release from the old movie thing was a big failure.i could say that fate wasn`t on carpenter`s side, but even it was a failure, the thing was able to become a legend.the thing is absolutelly one of my favourite movies and the best movie of it`s director john carpenter, who is known from good movies like halloween, christine, the fog, starman, in the mouth of madness and escape from l.a.john carpenter used very good actors in the thing and he had to have kurt russell to play the part of macready and once again they made a great job together.kurt russell`s part as macready made the most biggest effect in me and after this movie he instantly became one of my favourite actors.some might say that russell isn`t a good actor after seeing the soldier, but after seeing russell in the thing i`m sure that many would change their thoughts.so, now to the movie.the thing is a scifi horror movie from the early 80`s and it`s got a very good plot which is interesting from the beginning to the end.the thing was filmed in alaska and i really enjoyed those beautiful winter scenes.this movie includes great special effects, lots of "jelly" blood and disgusting slimy aliens which makes you feel sick.the thing is not a nice movie, so i only recommend it to the fans of john carpenter or to some guys who loves movies like alien and bad taste (just like me).there must be many who doesn`t like this movie, because it`s so bloody and violence movie.i would say that when you`ll learn to watch it with right way, you`ll just love it.the music of the thing is composed by ennio morricone and he does a great job.his music is very unusual and beautiful.the main theme of the thing is wonderful and it really makes a horror kind of feeling.i don`t know how morricone managed to make this kind of music, but it really works in the movie.the thing is the greatest scifi horror movie, after the alien movies and you should check this out if you have the guts.

The transfer

The thing is almost a perfect on dvd and this is what every fan has always dreamed.universal pictures has really doned a great job with the dvd and there`s much to explore.it`s presented in 2.35:1 widescreen and the picture is very good, even it`s almost 20 years old movie.sometimes i just wonder how are they able to get so sharp and good quality to the video.the thing is really cool with widescreen as it should be and i didn`t miss any fullscreen options.the sound is the usual dolby digital 5.1, but in this dvd they use dd 5.1 also with french, italian, spanish and polish language tracks which is good thing.the audio and video are good trought the dvd, but why didn`t they got full points.the reason is the audio commentary which is a really good extra, but it doesn`t work with the right way.the picture makes a little stops and the commentary doesn`t go on at the same time as the video.first i thought that it was supposed to be that way, but after the commentary moved on i understanded that it was a error in the dvd.even the video makes stops, the commentary is still very enjoyable and you`ll get lots of information how the things were doned in the thing.i really like the commentary of carpenter and russell and they were really funny.the dvd includes also some ennio morricones great music on the menus, some deleted scenes, original theatrical trailer, many many photographs, storyboards, information about the cast and filmmakers and so much cool stuff that you`ll have to spent 24 hours to explore them all.there`s also a 80 minutes long documentary, where carpenter and some other guys are giving you the secrets of the thing.i enjoyed the documentary very very much and i was so excited that i couldn`t sit still.the thing dvd is the best dvd with ghostbusters and this is a good example how the dvd should be doned.

Nah, not the greatest sci-fi ever. But okay, I suppose. It leaves me a bit cold on repeated viewing. Extras are excellent though - finally, we get decent extras !

Great print, classic.

This has to be the ultimate classic Horror movie!!!

Aye! Yeah I just got this for christmas and I could not wait to fire it up. I was super impressed with the quantity and quality of extras for a region 2 release. The huge mecha-documentary is really good, but best watched one chapter at a time due to its size. As for the film:

Content: Aye! This is the best or at least one of the best horror/scary films ever. It was one of the few films to ever give me a chill down my spine and still continues to impress with its nice level of suspense. The whole theme of mistrust rocks and it really gets you thinking.

Video: A decent transfer does the film justice. It is a fairly old film so there is the odd bit of grain but it is mostly crisp and clear. It looks espcially nice in the various kitchen (or whatever) scenes where there is shiny cabinets and such. Nice and shiny. Oohhhh.

Audio: As far as I could tell it was all fairly rockin and gave some nice effects through my chunky stereo outfit. I am just guessing that it sounds even better with the full DD5.1 kit. I hope.

Another Sub-heading: Aye, this film rocks and should make you s*** yourself if you havent seen it before. Yup.

The Thing is a great film, which really manages to create a feeling of claustrophobia and paranoia. With excellent, and disconcerting special effects, The Thing stands up very favourably to today’s films in the looks department, while being streets ahead of most of them in terms of suspense and terror.

The video is excellent, even without anamorphic enhancement. While a lot of the film takes place inside, the scenes filmed in against the frozen white backdrop of the Antarctic look especially good. Probably the best non-anamorphic transfer I`ve seen, although it should have been anamorphic!

Sound is good, there`s a nice 5.1 mix on offer, which does its job admirably. The explosions and effects all have a suitable kick to them, and dialogue is always clear.

The extras are also comprehensive, with a commentary track featuring Carpenter and Russell. The commentary is full of banter and is enjoyable to listen to. Also on offer are a featurette, production background archive, cast production photos, production art & storyboards, location design, production archives, outtakes, production & post-production Notes and a theatrical trailer.

Overall this is a great disc and a thoroughly enjoyable, not to mention scary, nights viewing.

FILM: The Thing is a great movie from 1982, the year I was born. Based on the short story "Who goes there?" and Christian Nyby`s `The Thing From Another World`, the Thing is another one of John Carpenter`s all time classic horror movies. The movie focuses around `cabin fever` and the things grown men are capable of when enclosed together for so long. Oh, and theres the small matter of an alien creature on the loose that can imitate any life form it comes into contact with... big trouble for the 12 guys at US Outpost 31, then. The Thing stars Kurt Russell as the edgy, yet authoritarian lead character R J McReady. Russell does a fabulous job of increasing the tension and excitement in this film, with the help of veteran actors A. Wilford Brimley and Richard Dysart. The Thing combines great acting and direction to create the desired atmosphere- definately the work of a director at the height of his talent.
PICTURE- Non-anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1.
Marvellous, but drops a point due to lack of anamorphic enhancement. It`s a shame really, as the Thing is probably the cleanest and sharpest letterboxed movie I`ve seen on DVD. No point moaning, though... The visual highlights include the perfectly rendered opening sequence in the snow, the dog kennel attack and the ending explosions. That said, all scenes display a picture of marvellous condition for their age. No scratches, dirt or grain can be seen, which is surprising but neverless appreciated for a movie of this age.
SOUND- Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Stereo 2.0 (French and Italian), Dolby 1.0 Mono (Spanish and Polish).
A very good soundtrack. Really brings the film to life. The remastered audio is almost as good as the pristine picture quality; surrounds are used effectively, there is a lot of bass and the dialogue is very clean and audible. The opening sequence in particular shows off the capabilities of the soundtrack- loud chopper constantly ambient, Ennio Morricone`s powerful soundtrack and sharp sounding rifle shots. No element of the soundtrack should be of disappointment. Once again, a highly active soundtrack for a movie of this age.
EXTRAS- Wow! A lot of new films lack the amount of extras presented here. Check out the very informative 80-min doc, and commentary by Russell and Carpenter for further insight into the movie. Being a Collector`s Edition, we also have a trailer, promotional stills and most interestingly rarely seen deleted scenes.
OVERALL- Buy the Thing! It beats the VHS version by miles... all the work put into this Collector`s Edition shows!

This is a fantastic DVD from universal pictures. This is quite an early DVD (1999) and they have really included some great special features. There is a making of featurette which lasts 1h30m, it`s very interesting and features the stars as they are now including John Carpenter, Kurt Russell and Rob Bottin(Special effects guru) and many of the others. There are also deleted scenes and lots of stills and articles. The commentry with JC and Kurt Russell is the most entertaining one i`ve watched so far with plenty of good stories about the production. Overall this is the best DVD I currently own. I`ve always loved the film and to learn more about it was a pleasure.

the begining copys predater and this film is so boaring 10 men are stuck in the snow with a monster but theres no action

John Carpenter`s The Thing was released in 1982 at the same time as E.T. It was not very successful at the box office and found its audience on video. It has now become a cult classic ( much like Carpenter`s other films ).

The picture quality is fairly good although it suffers from not being anamorphic. There are also white specks throughout much of this film but they`re not distracting. The sound quality is very good and helps the enhance the film.

There are plenty of extras on this disc. First of all is an audio commentary from John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russel. This a very good commentary and contains plenty of information about this film. It sounds like these two had a great time making this film. Next, is a 80 minute documentary which features interviews from cast and crew. This is a excellent documentary which cover many aspects of the production. Other extras include outtakes, extensive photo galleries focusing on various aspects of the film, cast and crew info, production notes and a trailer.

Overall, an excellent film which is one of Carpenter`s best is presented on a superb disc. An essential purchase.

A classic Sci-Fi Horror movie from John Carpenter. A masterful movie that is full of edge of your seat chills and suspense. Kurt Rusell stars in his first of many John Carpenter movies and does a very good job. An alien is loose on an antarctic research station and takes over peoples bodies.
The picture quality is great for its age. We also have to consider the fact that this was one of the first dvds to come out. It would have benefited from being anamorphic but is still a great widescreen presentation with minor artefacts. The sound is a fantastic DD 5.1 that sets the mood well.
The extras are just the icing on the cake. The commentary is fantastic and there is a great making of and deleted scenes/outtakes. Its a wonder that this is all on one disc. Many dvds claim to be special editions just because they have 2 discs and have cr*p on the second disc. However in this case a second disc would have been totally justifyable.

A must own dvd really. You can pick it up for less than a tenner in most places so there is no excuse. Fantastic movie, fantastic disc.

Before i start my review, i have something to say 1)Black_Chuck you are an idiot! The Thing was made in 1982 five years before Predator (This is the correct spelling) have you even seen it? How old are you?
The Thing is a brilliant piece of paranoia horror from Horror Director John Carpenter. Kurt Russel leads the bad of men stuck in the Antartic with a shape shifting creature after them, the direction is brilliant alog with the acting, script by Bill Lancaster and the twisted and weird special effects.
The print is good, the picture looks brilliant on DVD, and the film remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
For a early DVD, it has a wealth of Extras, the best being the 80 minute documentary, which covers everything and the Carpenter-Russel Commentary which is very informative and funny to listen to.

Feature:

Throughout the 70`s and early 80`s John Carpenter was on fire.
The Thing is just one of his films that he made when he was on fire. The Thing is brilliant, an excellent paranoia Horror film.
Kurt Russell and his crew are excellent and though the film recieved a panning from the critics when it was released due to the special effects, the effects are not that bad. Some films today have crapper effects than this. The effects add to the film as The Thing gets rid of the crew one by one and the lack of trust lowers and the ending well that`s one that we would love to see the outcome!

Sound:

The sound is good, especially for a film originally in Mono. The Dolby Digital is used in good ways, and is not neglected like most films.

Picture:

The picture is good it`s sharp and very clear, again top marks to Universal.

Extras:

This what makes it the DVD it is. Universal has supplied The Thing with a range of brilliant special features. The best being The Thing: Terror Takes Shape, an 80 minute documentary which covers every thing. The commentary by Carpenter and Russell is brilliant and again is very informative and is at times a right laugh!

MOVIE
I didn`t know what to expect of this movie. I have very rarely seen a horror movie that is actually scary and suspensful enough for me, but this one manages it! In bucket loads. The effects are incredible for a movie from 1985, and they still stand up today. It has the usual Carpenter low key ending, like most of his films that I have seen do, but the set pieces in the film are glorious, with a wonderfully haunting soundtrack and visuals. The acting takes this to another level, with wonderful performances from the whole cast.

PICTURE
Non anamorphic, and a little dirty, but that can be accounted for by some of the filming locations. It is pretty good overall

AUDIO
For a movie originally in mono/stereo? the update to 5.1 is pretty good, with the soundtrack being put to very good effect. A nice job has been done

EXTRAS
One of the Universal/CTHE releases with the static colour coded menus that were always used at the time. But there are some very good bonuses here, with a great commentary and a wonderful documentary, as well as some text extras and trailers etc. Very good

OVERALL
A very scary movie and one that is worthy to grace any collection at it`s current low price, get it! Not for the faint of heart though mind!

This is a great film which really hits home as a horror in that it actually makes you scared. This is helped by special effects which still stand up to todays standards without the cartoon-ness of CGI. But it is the paranoic premise which is protrayed very well by the actors which build the tension.

Kurt Russell makes a good reluctant leader and hero, without being squeeky clean or self sacraficing. You can tell he is more worried about saving himself than anyone else. Far more realistic.

The ending could be better but nicely tied up happy endings get very sickly after a while so it`s refreshing in a way and not predictable.

Picture:
The thing I have to strongly disagree with former reviewers though, is the quality of the transfer. Non-anamorphic 2.35:1 just does not have enough scan lines to do the picture justice when viewed on a large screen, as it gives a low effective resolution.

Then there is the really bad telecine wobble which can clearly be seen in the opening credits and the stars.

This also seems to kill the 2:2 pulldown cadence detection meaning any deinterlacer will be operating in video mode. If like me your deinterlacer is not the best you will see a barage of jaggies which are very noticable on the helicopters and overhead cables.

The third serious complaint I have is the overuse of edge enhancement which makes the actors look like they are in a Ready Brek advert, with a ghosted outline around them.

Still it`ll be my reference disc for when I buy a new progressive scan player.

Audio:
Not bad, but doesn`t have a very well defined sound stage and is therefore relatively directionless with most of the sound coming from the front. But it probably makes the most of the original recording which is reputed to be in mono. Pig`s ear and all that.

Features:
The disc seems to be feature laden although the documentary is mostly talking heads of people who worked on it and is a little bit dry and uninspiring.

Overall: the film itself is definitely worth seeing and it shows modern directors how to do a horror movie without overdoing it. It`s worth the £6 I paid for it but due to the video I would have been disappointed had I paid more.