Fog, The [Special Edition]

"The Fog" compares easily to Carpenter's "Halloween" in its initial tone, thanks in part to the very similar music Carpenter composed for both films. It also compares to both "The Birds" and "Jaws" in design as it slowly builds toward a horrific outcome. Finally, I don't think the late Gene Siskel would have approved of the film's child-in-danger angle, but how could Carpenter resist?

Video:
MGM continue their practice of providing both a standard and widescreen presentation of the film on reverse sides of the disc. The standard screen is actually a pan-and-scan modification of the theatrical exhibition's widescreen, and by my count it sacrifices about forty percent of the screen image to the left and right. The widescreen format measures an approximate 2.13:1 ratio across a normal television and is enhanced for 16 x 9 playback. Needless to say, I watched in widescreen but was still disappointed. The image is somewhat blurred and grainy. Since the story is set mostly at night, it's very dark most of the time, which would be fine if you could see much detail in the darkness, which you cannot. Add to the print's overall soft, blurry, grainy qualities a number of fuzzy edges and moiré effects, and you don't get a pretty picture. Colors in bright daylight improve dramatically, but it doesn't clean up the roughness. Oddly, some of the film footage within the newly made documentary that accompanies the film is much clearer, sharper, and brighter than the film itself, so I suspect the issue here is an indifferent DVD transfer.

Audio:
The choices in sound are a remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 or a straight monaural track. The DD 5.1 has a fairly narrow stereo spread, some strong, deep bass, and wide dynamics, but it directs only a tiny amount of information to the surround speakers, just enough to achieve a minimal degree of musical and environmental ambiance. When you switches to mono, however, you notice an improved clarity and focus. I would have preferred the greater openness of the stereo combined with the crispness of the monaural, but I'm afraid it's one or the other.

Extras:
I found the disc's special features at least as interesting as the film. The first important item is an audio commentary with director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill, whose words are both entertaining and enlightening. Then, of equal significance, there's a newly made, twenty-seven minute documentary, "Tales From the Mist: Inside The Fog," including interviews with the cast and crew today. It's filled with fascinating insights and bits of trivia; for instance, Carpenter tells us he thought his initial filming of the movie "sucked," touching off all his last-minute revision, which he calls a "great learning experience." He also tells us his inspirations have been Edgar Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, E.C. Comics' "Tales from the Crypt," and fellow directors like Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock. In addition, the disc includes a brief, seven-minute featurette made at the time of the film's production, "Fear on Film: Inside The Fog." Finally, there are a pair of photo galleries; a four-minute series of outtakes; a quick storyboard-to-film comparison; thirty-two scene selections; three well-worn, pan-and-scan theatrical trailers; and three TV spots. English and French are provided for spoken languages, with English, French, and Spanish for subtitles.

Parting Shots:
Frankly, I was more attracted by Dean Cundey's splendid photography of the Northern California coastline than I was by the movie. It was filmed in a few of my wife's and my favorite spots: Pt. Reyes, the Pt. Reyes lighthouse, and Inverness, CA, on Tomales Bay in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. This is a short drive from Bodega Bay, where Hitchcock filmed "The Birds," and wouldn't you know it, Carpenter includes at least one shot of the Tides Wharf on Bodega Bay. A trip up California's Highway 1 makes for some rewarding film history. Besides "The Fog" and "The Birds," there have been many other films made along the coast, including "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming," in Fort Bragg; "Same Time, Next Year," in Mendocino; "Foul Play," in Stinson Beach; and the more-recent Bruce Willis-Billy Bob Thornton comedy, "Bandits," filmed in part at Nick's Cove.

But I digress. As I was saying, "The Fog" is a mildly entertaining ghost story with only a few moderately gruesome scenes. It relies mainly on atmosphere for its chills, which is a good thing, but it doesn't deliver many genuine moments of fright. Let me conclude with two tips for the day: (1) Never, ever, leave a beautiful young woman alone in a room with her back turned on a dead body; and (2) when somebody tells you to stay away from the door on a foggy night, for heaven's sake, stay away from the door! "The Fog" may not be the greatest horror movie of all time, but it is definitely instructive.

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