Editor’s Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on February 28, 2003, and we’re proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
This is the third time I’ve reviewed Bob Clark’s Black Christmas on various disc formats, and I’m assuming it’ll be the last. Critical Mass, upgrading its previous DVD, has assembled just about every conceivable extra for this edition—to ultimately diminishing returns, though there’s enough here to satisfy fans, and makes the new disc worth picking up even if you already have the previous one.
The transfer appears about the same as that on the original DVD, only here it has been matted from fullscreen to about 1.66:1, retaining the strong colors and moderate sharpness and losing a bit of the grain. The decent audio (presented in Dolby Digital 2.0) is pretty much identical as well; the strongest presentation upgrade can be found in the creepy animated menus and a more generous serving of chapter stops.
Among the extras, by far the best is “Black Christmas Revisited,” a 36-minute documentary in which just about everybody who worked on the movie is interviewed—save the actresses, with the exception of Lynne Griffin, who joins co-star Art Hindle in fun framing segments shot at the house where the movie was filmed. Everyone involved has an interesting story to share, from Clark and star John Saxon relating why the latter had to be called in at the last minute to replace originally cast Edmond O’Brien, to composer Carl Zittrer explaining the creation of the movie’s unusual sound design in the days before digital audio technology. The passage of time leads to at least one small contradiction—camera operator Bert Dunk recalls Keir Dullea playing the evil staring eye, while Dullea says it wasn’t him.
Additional interviews with Clark and Saxon (expanding on the snippets seen on the first disc) help flesh things out. Saxon discusses the importance of story, rather than FX, in horror (using the Nightmare on Elm Street series as a case in point), while Clark addresses the Halloween situation (he planned a Christmas sequel with that title shortly before John Carpenter—an acquaintance at the time—made his classic) and drops the only reference anywhere in the interviews or commentary to scriptwriter Roy Moore. (Moore’s screenplay, originally titled Stop Me!, is included here, but you’ve gotta hunt for it—like a couple of posters and the pressbook, it’s hidden as an Easter egg.) An additional unaired Canadian TV interview with Saxon is here as well, adding a bit more info about Christmas and quite a bit about his career in general.
The pair of commentaries would seem to be the centerpieces of this package, but both fall short, particularly Clark’s. While the director does reveal a few more Fun Facts (Gilda Radner was originally cast as the housemother before Andrea Martin took over the role), most of his talk is fairly dry, describing various shots and his intentions for them. There are so many gaps that portions of the onscreen interview are included to fill the space, and since Clark’s work speaks for itself, this track is easily skippable. Saxon and Dullea share the second commentary, though they were recorded separately, and it’s not promising when Dullea begins at the 23-minute mark by admitting, “I don’t know much about the making of this film, because I was only on it for three days.” There are a few good nuggets here (Saxon on the pronunciation of “fellatio”—yes, there’s a context—and Dullea recounting how the Ted Bundy case cancelled a Christmas TV showing), but they don’t justify sitting through the long gaps of silence—and this track too is augmented with excerpts from the interviews.
Filling out the package are trailers, TV and radio spots and the opening credits sequences for the movie’s two retitlings, Silent Night, Evil Night and Stranger in the House (the latter of which also lists the two alternate monikers!). While the supplements are a mixed bag, the very breadth of them is commendable, and this disc delivers all a Christmas fan could hope for—except the chance to live in that house, as the doc does inform us that “It’s for sale…for real!”
