Talk:Halloween (1978 film)

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WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia There is a request, submitted by Zzzzz 13:00, 21 March 2007 (UTC), for an audio version of this article to be created.

See WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia for further information.

The rationale behind the request is: "featured article, v. influential film".

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Featured article star Halloween (1978 film) is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do.
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Halloween (1978 film) was selected as the Portal of Horror Horror-related article of the month for May 2006.

Contents

[edit] Update

I updated this article to better organize the production, reception, criticism, and influence of this movie. What do you think? Dmoon1 05:16, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

wow, excellent! just one comment for now: the inline external links should be changed into normal inline references. Zzzzz 09:54, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

This looks really good. A peer review should be requested. --Myles Long 15:43, 19 April 2006 (UTC)


Same type of real life situation was un-earthed in NOIDA, which is a small Industrial Suburb near to Delhi. From 1st Jan 2007 to 15 Jan 2007, nearly 40 bodies of the teenages, young boys and girls were found in and around Pandher's (Main accused person's name) house near Nithari village of NOIDA.

[edit] Atari Game

I recently found this website about Halloween the Atari game. Should this be incorporated somewhere in the article, maybe a brief paragraph, and if so where? Dmoon1 01:02, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Novelization

There's a novelization that's supposed to be pretty good, but I haven't read it; it's OOP and relatively expensive despite multiple printings: Curtis Richards (1979). Halloween: A Novel ISBN 0553132261

I created a new section that incorporates the novelization and Atari game info plus home video information. Dmoon1 05:54, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

rearranged it a bit to avoid level-3 headings, one section pgraphs, and keep toc down to reasonable size. Zzzzz 09:37, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. That works better. Dmoon1 17:12, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
Looks good. There are a couple images of the game cover here http://www.atarihq.com/museum/2678/games/index.html but they're mainly just the movie poster with different text. There are some screencaps here http://www.mobygames.com/game/halloween_ Шизомби 17:26, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
I had considered making a separate article for the Atari game, since there is a dead link to it on an Atari list (List of Atari 2600 games). I thought those images (of the cover and screenshots), might be better off there. Dmoon1 21:08, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sequels

Myers does show up on a TV in Halloween III, a clip from this movie I think. Also, regarding the halloweenfilms template, should the "first sequel continuity" and "second sequel continuity" be addressed more somewhere, perhaps in Halloween (film series)? The wording is a bit awkward, since it could be interpreted as a continuity extending out of the first sequel (HII), and another out of the second sequel (HIII). The wording "first sequel continuity" seems to be WP's; is there another phrase more widely used to address these different continuities? Шизомби 17:44, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

current wording is "he's not even featured", featured implying important in some way, so i think its correct as it stands. all that continuity stuff *is* addressed in Halloween (film series). Zzzzz 19:58, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

I guess featured is OK then. H(fs) addresses how HIII is out of continuity with the rest of the series, but not really the two different continuities and the phrases "first sequel continuity" and "second sequel continuity" don't appear in the article. Шизомби 23:21, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
i removed the word "sequel" from the template. also there is some discussion that halloween H20 starts a different cotninuity in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. Zzzzz 12:34, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
That's the point of the two "sequel continuities" in the Halloween (film series) article. H20 is a sequel to Halloween II (film), not to Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. --Myles Long 13:23, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Missing information

In this article (the 4th inline reference) it is stated: "There, Yablans met a an englishman named Michael Myers, who liked ASSAULT and entered it into film festivals in Europe." I didn't find any reference in the article that the name of Michael Myers' character was taken from this gentleman, which is the clear implication of the quote. If this is already included in the article, good and I'm blind, if not, I think it's information of great interest and should be added in in an appropriate location. --Fuhghettaboutit 03:55, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

It's in the Production section under the sub-section Writing. Dmoon1 04:22, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
Putting in for a new prescription today!--Fuhghettaboutit 15:12, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] references improvement

Could somebody ahve a look at properly expanding the URL refs with {{Cite web}}? Circeus 02:34, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

  • Cleaned up reference section Dmoon1 14:53, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Original Unused Camera Negatives Found

I just added some information regarding the discovery of every unused negative that was shot for Halloween, including one that was dated "1981." It has some very good information in it, in my opinion. Is it notable enough for this article?68.97.47.88 01:52, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I guess it's gone now. Nevermind. Ichupat was great information, too. 68.97.47.88 21:17, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

It's not gone, just integrated into the appropriate section. Dmoon1 22:29, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Two Unmasked Scenes

The ending is not the only one where you see Michael Myers' face. You also see his face in a shot where he gets on top of the Nurse and Loomis' car but you can't see it clearly. You can see it if you pause it. Also, another shot where you see Michael Myers' face is if you look closely when he gets down to get to the inside of the car, you see his face.

By the way, was it Tony Moran in the Smith Grove's shots as Michael Myers unmasked? I know he's in the last time you see Michael's face in the film. If it's not Tony Moran in the Smith Grove scene, maybe it's someone else. Apparently, I think it is Tony Moran. Hmmm.......yep, it is Tony Moran.

The man who played Michael Myers when he was unmasked in this film is Tony Moran.



°this is incorrect. It is Nick Castle jumps on the hood of the car in the Smiths Grove sanitarium scene. The only time Tony Moran is seen in the film is in the unmasking by Laurie strode near the endTlatseg (talk) 20:36, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nightmare on Elm Street

Under the "influence" section, it says: "The Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street films, and countless other slasher films, owe much of their success (if not inspiration) to Halloween." This is a very biased statement. Halloween WAS seminal, but while I would certainly agree that the F13 films were inspired by it, I don't believe that NOES could be considered to have been derived from it. Perhaps too much credit is being given to Halloween? Wes Craven had been making horror films long before Carpenter's Halloween, such as The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. NOES has a much greater resemblance to these films than to Halloween, and who is to say why NOES was so popular? If anything, Nightmare probably rejuvinated a wilting genre!

But I hesitate to edit the statement on here, because Halloween was still a very important film in the horror genre. Any thoughts?

Maxdave2010 03:02, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

It certainly has merit to the article, because Halloween, like stated in the lead paragraph, had a major affect on countless horror films of the 1980s and 90s. Friday the 13th director Sean S Cunningham even stated he owes most of Friday’s success to Halloween. I could find a relevant source if need be. Angel2001 12:24, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dead link

The article at TrashFiction seems to be no more.

Peter Isotalo 15:52, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

  • Thanks, I've replaced the dead link with the link from web archive. Dmoon1 16:00, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Not the first slasher film

This is more of a horror movie than a slasher film. The first teen slasher film was probably "Don't Answer the Phone" (1980), which has all the common elements. That film may not be counted counted as the poineer because its director, Robert Hammer, was actually a modest bookkeeper who didn't like making movies and never made another. After the film was released, Hammer returned to college and became an accountant. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.5.64.178 (talk) 00:28, 16 January 2007 (UTC).

A Slasher Film is a type of horror film that generally involves a creepy guy wielding a knife, axe, machete, clawed glove, etc. You used to the two terms as if they were not related. 75.132.198.130 01:24, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
No ealier ones are 'Black Christmas' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Jamesbuc

[edit] Vandalism

Someone has placed about 5 links to the article on anus for the characters in the first paragraph.

It's been fixed. Dmoon1 04:21, 16 January 2007 (UTC)


Someone wrote in the plot that M.M. is gay and went on a killing spree because "he couldn't find black dick".This should be fixed. Tash, 12:29, 16 January 2007


Someone has changed the entire page to a link to a racist website. This needs to be fixed. 21:41, 16 January 2007

[edit] Most Successful Independent Film

I really like Halloween, but I don't think that $325,000 to $47 million can compare to the $35,000 to $150,000,000 of the Blair Witch Project while also independent is also in the same genre. It beats Halloween on gross and overall return.Autkm 04:47, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, there are too many films on wiki stating that they are the "most succesful indepentent film".

When this article first passed FA, the original text read: "making it one of the most successful independent films in history". A later editor changed it to say "the most successful independent film ever", which of course is erroneous. Dmoon1 05:36, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
    • I believe what I saw somewhere, it was the most successful indie film until Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released (the original one, not the new one) Ejfetters 06:12, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Halloween & Mormons

I can't find any sources supporting the Mormon reference. Anyone else able to evidence this? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.172.139.39 (talk) 10:10, 16 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Kansas City

Which theater did it premier in? --Gbleem 16:21, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Notes Feature

Anyone notice the new feature so that when you click a <ref> it not only scrolls down but highlights your target blue? Nifty. Thomasmallen 16:33, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Valid edit?

[edit] Fan-base

Image:Michael&fan.jpg
One example of the film's effect on fans.

Halloween is also known for the many enthusiasts the film generates. The devoted fan-base will make pilgrimages, from all parts of the world, to visit the many shooting locations used in the film. It should also be noted that the film's movie conventions encourage these types of expeditions by often distributing maps of locations used in the film and giving the occasional bus tour (when conventions are held in Southern California).


User:October weather has added the above text and picture to the article again. I reverted as it is unsourced but I really don't know enough about the topic to judge whether it belongs in this article. Could involved in editing this page take a look? WJBscribe (WJB talk) 18:24, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't belong: it's unsourced OR and trivial information, in my opinion. Dmoon1 18:31, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Four more producers

IMDB lists a total of five producers for this film. [1]. Moustapha Akkad and Irwin Yablans were Executive Producers, Debra Hill was Producer, Kool Lusby was associate producer, and John Carpenter was an uncredited producer. TheQuandry 18:59, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Musical Score

John Carpenter wrote the Halloween score in only 3 days... should this be noted somewhere in the page?, Maybe in a trivia section?Kiske 23:02, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

  • Trivia section would hurt the article's featured article standard. It should be integrated in the appropriate place and cited. Ejfetters 06:14, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Adding a portion on lighting, camera angles, etc.

Kiske 23:04, 10 February 2007 (UTC)There are a ton of factors regarding the ascetics of the film, lighting, camera angles, etc, which need to be noted and are not mentioned in the article. I am willing to do this I just need confirmation and the go-ahead and I will start, but I don't want to do it without consent from the Halloween article communit because I run the risk that it might be deleted. Thanks

Just follow the prose and citation styles already used and you should be fine. Dmoon1 00:14, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Thanks, I will begin working on that very soon. Kiske 07:33, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Definatly should be apart of this article; as it was a very important aspect in Halloween. I will assist if need be! Angel2001 09:06, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] article doesnt need to be moved

all you have to do is add "This article is about the 1978 John Carpenter film. For the 2007 remake, see Halloween (2007 film)" at the top of this article. Nothing more.

Halloween (film) is the correct name for the article. Halloween (2007 film) is the correct title for the remake. Anybody looking for the remake will find it at Halloween disambig page. There are hundreds of incoming links to Halloween (film) that are for the 1978 film, and none that i could count that are for the remake. Such page moves are only necessary where genuine confusion could arise. I suggest moving the article back. Cheers. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.2.59.101 (talk) 17:27, 16 May 2007 (UTC).

This move was done in accordance with the policy Wikipedia:Naming conventions#Film titles and Wikipedia:Naming conventions (films)#Between films of the same name. Dmoon1 18:08, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
i am aware of the guideline (note: not a policy, can be ignored where appropriate), and am also aware of the wikipedia precedent: that the more famous/iconic/seminal film which is far more likely to be linked to and have many more incoming links should take the simplest name possible, with a disambiguation sentence in italics at the top. See, for example, Night of the Living Dead and Night of the Living Dead (1990 film). Or The Blob and The Blob (1988 film). Besides, will anybody be willing to fix the hundreds of incoming links? A pragmatic approach would be to check "what links here", where you will see several hundred links referring to the 1978 film, which indicates it should take precedence. Changing hundreds and hundreds of links instead of adding ONE italic sentence at the top of the article for the sake of a not-currently-followed guideline seems bullheaded. The original Halloween (film) title has served perfecly well till now - I havent noticed a flood of confused individuals changing the director credits to "Rob Zombie" by mistake, have you? 82.2.59.101 18:41, 16 May 2007 (UTC)
Wikipedia:Naming conventions is a policy, not a guideline. Also, with Night of the Living Dead or The Blob there is no need to disambiguate to begin with since there is not a famous holiday that shares the film's name. There is now more than one Halloween film, so the old article name will not suffice. I've already fixed the redirects in all of the article namespaces that linked to Halloween (film); I don't plan on touching talk pages, archives, or user pages. Dmoon1 04:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Wikipedia:Naming conventions (films)#Between films of the same name is a guideline, not a policy. In any case, there is now a dab header at the top of the article, and a redirect to the new name, so anybody looking for the remake or the film series will still find it with one-click, and all the hundreds of links incoming to "Halloween (film)" will still work as before.

Hell, move this article. I had the exact same problem with a bunch of articles - for instance, Space Invaders once redirected to Space Invaders (arcade game), because there was a highly popular Atari 2600 version. There's no reason to keep Halloween (film) a redirect, no reason at all. - A Link to the Past (talk) 04:51, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unrelated Halloween novel?

Around the time the Halloween film was released, or shortly thereafter, there was a horror novel titled Halloween that was not a novelization of the film. But it too was about an escaped lunatic. I also seem to remember it involved him killing or trying to kill his sister. At the time I thought the film was probably inspired by the novel. It is common for films to deviate sharply from a novel.

Apparently, though, they are wholly unrelated. Does anyone remember this book?


[edit] Four man Clash?

Rumors have been going around that there is going to be a movie of which Freddie,Leatherface,Jason and Michael would clash in an epic battle. Do you think it's true? If it is do you think it should be made? tell me. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.218.9.53 (talk) 21:23, August 20, 2007 (UTC)

I'm not being rude, but this page is for discussing issues and content pertaining to this article, not a general message board. Try posting at IMDb for answers to your query. Dmoon1 03:09, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unnecessary Sequel Information

Information about Laurie being Michael's younger sister should not appear in the plot description of the film, because there is nothing whatsoever indicating she is his sister in this movie. This was something created for the sequels, and should appear in a different section of the article. Otherwise, it would be the equivalent of describing the original Star Wars by saying something like "Luke and Obi Wan attempt to rescue the Princess from Darth Vader (who is actually Luke's father, which we find out in The Empire Strikes Back)." The movie description/review should pertain to only the movie being reviewed. However, if a movie sequel is being reviewed, references to past films upon which the sequel is based would be fine because the storyline of a sequel is dependent upon the material that preceeded it. ChargersFan 16:07, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Comparison to Styx song

Deleted from the "Music" section:

Also of note, the film's theme sounds remarkably like the interlude to the Styx song, "Castle Walls", from the band's classic work, The Grand Illusion. (The interlude occurs approximately 2:40 into the song.) Halloween was released after Illusion, leading some to suspect that the movie's theme may have been inspired by the Styx song.

This bit did not have a citation, and is possibly original research and/or trivia. If a noted music critic points this out, then this can be included with a citation of the review included. Editors should not expand the article unnecessarily because they think that the theme for Halloween "sounds a little like this other song". (Ibaranoff24 (talk) 19:23, 10 March 2008 (UTC))