Product Description

Horror-meister John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape from New York) teams Kurt Russell's outstanding performance with incredible visuals to build this chilling version of the classic The Thing. In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing alien wreaks havoc, creates terror and becomes one of them.

• John Carpenter's The Thing: Terror Takes Shape
• Feature Commentary with Director John Carpenter and Kurt Russell
• Production Background Archives
• Cast Production Photographs
• Production Art and Storyboards
• Location Design
• Production Archives
• The Saucer
• The Blairmonster
• Outtakes
• Post Production
• Production Notes
• Cast and Filmmakers
• Theatrical Trailer

Amazon.com

Director John Carpenter and special makeup effects master Rob Bottin teamed up for this 1982 remake of the 1951 science fiction classic The Thing from Another World, and the result is a mixed blessing. It's got moments of highly effective terror and spine-tingling suspense, but it's mostly a showcase for some of the goriest and most horrifically grotesque makeup effects ever created for a movie. With such highlights as a dog that splits open and blossoms into something indescribably gruesome, this is the kind of movie for die-hard horror fans and anyone who slows down to stare at fatal traffic accidents. On those terms, however, it's hard not to be impressed by the movie's wild and wacky freak show. It all begins when scientists at an arctic research station discover an alien spacecraft under the thick ice, and thaw out the alien body found aboard. What they don't know is that the alien can assume any human form, and before long the scientists can't tell who's real and who's a deadly alien threat. Kurt Russell leads the battle against the terrifying intruder, and the supporting cast includes Richard Masur, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, and Wilford Brimley. They're all playing standard characters who are neglected by the mechanistic screenplay (based on the classic sci-fi story "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell), but Carpenter's emphasis is clearly on the gross-out effects and escalating tension. If you've got the stomach for it (and let's face it, there's a big audience for eerie gore), this is a thrill ride you won't want to miss. --Jeff Shannon

Set Contains:

The bonus features are exemplary, notably the excellent 80-minute documentary, "Terror Takes Shape," which covers all aspects of the production, and the relaxed, friendly, informative commentary by director John Carpenter and star Kurt Russell--a model for how all commentaries should be. There's also an outtakes reel with some tantalizing stills of unused footage. Text and stills-based montages illustrate the location design, conceptual artwork, and various other aspects of the production. The sound mix is Dolby 5.1, although the non-anamorphic widescreen picture is not all it could be. --Mark Walker

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.35:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.38 x 0.6 inches; 4 ounces
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Dolby, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Letterboxed, NTSC, DVD, Widescreen, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 49 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ March 4, 2003
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard A. Dysart
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
• Language ‏ : ‎ French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1