Halloween (film series)

Versions

There are several existing versions of Halloween. The version running at 91 minutes is the most widely known and seen. A modified television version released in 1980 that aired on NBC ran for 101 minutes and featured re-shoot scenes not included in the initial 1978 cut. This edition was released in 2001 on DVD as Halloween: The Extended Version. In 1998, for the 20th anniversary, new sound effects were added to the film's audio track with John Carpenter’s approval. Both versions where released on VHS and DVD.

Television rights to Halloween were sold to NBC in 1980 for $4 million. After a debate among John Carpenter, Debra Hill and NBC's Standards & Practices over censoring of certain scenes, Halloween appeared on television for the first time.[9] To fill the two-hour time slot, Carpenter filmed twelve minutes of additional material that include Dr. Loomis at a hospital board review of Myers and Dr. Loomis talking to six-year-old Michael at Smith's Grove, telling him, "You've fooled them, haven't you Michael? But not me." Another extra scene features Dr. Loomis at Smith's Grove examining Michael's abandoned cell and seeing the word "Sister" scratched into the door. Finally, a scene was added in which Lynda comes over to Laurie's house to borrow a silk blouse before Laurie leaves to babysit, just as Annie telephones asking to borrow the same blouse.

The new scene had Laurie's hair hidden by a towel, since Jamie Lee Curtis was now wearing a much shorter hairstyle than she had worn in 1978. The new scenes were shot during production of Halloween II. An extended cut of the television version was released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2001 as Halloween: Extended Version, which was actually the same as the second disc from the 1999 limited edition DVD.[45]