The Nightmare On Elm Street Collection (New Line Platinum Series)

 

 

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In this review, I DO NOT AIM TO DISCUSS THE QUALITY OF THE FILMS/MATERIAL. I just want to clarify details about the set's packaging that have been debated in past reviews.

First of all, there are no 3D glasses to be found here (whether the 3D ending of film #6 is still included is still unknown to me, but, like I said, this review isn't to review content).

Second of all, the case is plastic like any DVD case (with a thick slipcover), and not made of paper sleeves as someone else previously reported. The individual discs are housed in plastic "pages" with one disc clipped into each side (not unlike most DVD box sets).

Lastly, the only other thing included in the box besides the 8 discs is a theater admission coupon for the new remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street starring Jackie Earle Haley (NOTE: my review of the remake can be found at [...] if this is an enticing feature of the box set for you). There is no booklet or anything like that.

Also, it may be worth clarifying the fact that the 8th disc contains the film "Freddy vs. Jason", and not simply a documentary/bonus feature set as others have previously mentioned (I imagine people who said otherwise bought the set before 2003).

Overall, I'm very pleased with the packaging of this set, having been prepared for the worst by reading reviews here that were obviously written about past versions of this box set. Since Amazon doesn't provide this information, I figured I'd put it in a review for you guys. Hopefully it was useful in helping to remove any doubts similar to the ones I had when purchasing.

The Nightmare on Elm Street DVD Collection is pretty much a must-have for all Freddy fans, especially those like me who basically came of age watching Freddy do his thing. No movie releases apart from the original Star Wars trilogy invoked more excitement and conjecture in me than did the Elm Street sequels, and all of the films are really just as good now as they were when they were released - better, in fact, thanks to DVD technology and the abundance of special features it makes possible. Of course, the technological explosion in terms of cinematic possibilities we have witnessed in the years since Freddy's birth comes with a price - it is now almost impossible for horror fans such as myself to actually be scared by a movie. Even today's youngest generation will never feel the true magic that Freddy cascaded onto his original audience - they have simply become inured to such primal feelings via the saturation of pop culture itself. Still, though, we who have just turned the door on youth can rediscover the feelings the Elm Street movies first wrought inside our souls, and several of these films do possess the creepy potential to insinuate their horrors into the hearts and minds of the younger generations. The original will never be as shocking as it was in 1984, but it is still a powerful film built on grand archetypes of good and evil that will never fade away. The third film, in contrast to the second one, shows just how effective a true sequel can be at not only recapturing what has come before but expounding upon its very essence in a way sure to delight the audience. Films four and five highlight the innately human propensity to take a good idea and milk it for all it's worth, transforming the core idea that gave birth to something innovative into purely entertaining, meaningless echoes of its original dark self. Freddy's Dead shows just how difficult it can be to recapture the magic that even studio executives know has been lost, and then Wes Craven's New Nightmare makes up for all the bad things, as Freddy's creator returns to the series and recreates and redefines his now-stagnant creation into something just as different and unsettling as the original.

The seven movies basically need no exposition on my part, so I will turn my attention to the extras included on this definitive Freddy collection. For one thing, you get the option of watching the original 3-D ending to Freddy's Dead (along with two sets of 3-D glasses) as well as the 2-D ending that the video release included. The 3-D ending does not make up for the general problems with Freddy's final "death" but its availability to the home viewer counts for a lot in my book. Each DVD allows you to jump to any death sequence you choose, which some fans may like (even though Nightmare's essence was not really about the increasingly outlandish kills). The set comes with a bonus DVD that purports to feature The Nightmare Series Encyclopedia. I found this DVD somewhat tedious after a while, but it does feature a brand new documentary on the series. You also get a number of interviews with the men and women who helped bring Freddy to life as well as interested bystanders such as Clive Barker comparing his Hellraiser films to Craven's Nightmare series. There is a Freddy trivia game included for those who like that sort of thing, a very impressive booklet featuring the original press kit information on each film, two film commentaries, a screensaver, trailers, and cast and crew information. A lot of this bonus material is made available in the form of a labyrinth in which you must travel from place to place picking items at random - fortunately, much of the material is much more handily available through an index of features on the disk.

Two things disappoint me about this collection. For one, the Labyrinth is aggravating and really not enjoyable to explore; I really don't know why industry people think fans enjoy having to work our way to the special bonus features we paid for in the first place. My other disappointment is the lack of commentaries. The original film features a marvelous commentary by Wes Craven, actors Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon, and director of photography Jacques Haitkin, while Wes Craven's New Nightmare contains a fascinating commentary by Wes Craven alone, but these are the only commentaries available over the entire series of movies (the third movie definitely deserves a commentary of its own). Deleted scenes would also have been a welcome addition, especially given Craven's abundant comments concerning scenes he had to remove from his Nightmare films for various reasons. Still, this collection delivers the goods that all Freddy fans care the most about, as the widescreen, digitally remastered versions of the seven films are stunningly impressive.

just purchased this collection been a fan of all the night mare on elm street movies seen them all and for any horror fan a must buy for shure

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4.0 out of 5 stars Freddy
1,2,3,4 he will be coming for more! Good collection , twisted horror for those how can laugh at horror! Read more

Published 2 months ago by Yukonshawn

1.0 out of 5 stars Incorrect dvd
I've received two copies of this DVD and both were wrong. It does not contain the first nightmare on elm street, instead it's a double feature of freddy vs Jason and Wes cravens a... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Mike

5.0 out of 5 stars great purchase
This was an amazing purchase. Nice packaging for a 8 dvd .
Looked brand new. Will definitly purchase from amazon again.

Published 6 months ago by marilyne

4.0 out of 5 stars Box Set
A great collectors edition. The only complaint is that the individual dvd cases are paper and not hard plastic.

Published on Sep 19 2009 by movie maniac

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Nightmare!
This box set containing all of the films(as of this writing) of the Nightmare on Elm Street series is a pure bundle of horrific fun. Read more

Published on May 8 2007 by Robert Badgley

5.0 out of 5 stars The Nightmare On Elm Street Collection
I arrived in good condition and in a fair amount of time considering how far it had to travel and i am extremely please overall

Published on Nov 3 2006 by William Cushing

2.0 out of 5 stars The Nightmare on Elm Street Collection
I am cool!

And you are not!

That is all I have to say.

Published on April 14 2003 by Erik Morton

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF, IF NOT THE GREATEST HORROR SERIES EVER!
Words can't begin to describe how awsome this set is! But I'll try by saying all seven NIGHTMARE movies in one set is amazing, and then you also get The NIGHTMARE series... Read more

Published on April 10 2003 by J. Cool

4.0 out of 5 stars 1, 2 Freddy's Coming For You....
Here is the greatest thing for Freddy Krueger fans. This is a box with the 7 movies of the series plus a bonus DVD with a bunch of special bonus. Read more

Published on Mar 29 2003 by Yuri Cunha

5.0 out of 5 stars Anybody Wishing For A Stroll Down Elm Street Must Have This!
I'm going to forget about revieweing the flicks and just say I love and respect them all (even Freddy's Dead) for different reasons, so I recommend them all. Read more

Published on Mar 18 2003

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