Search - Salem's Lot on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1979 DVD Release: 10/26/1999 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 3 hrs 3 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 18 Genres: Horror, Supernatural Horror

Novelist David Soul returns to his hometown of Salem, finding that things have changed a bit. More than a bit, in fact: the previously warm and friendly community is downright sinister. Soul suspects that the bizarre behavior of his onetime friends and neighbors is the handiwork of oddball antique dealer James Mason. We won't reveal here the secret of Salem; suffice to say that the action goes directly to the jugular, and that makeup artists Jack Young and Ben Lane won an Emmy nomination. Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, Salem's Lot was originally telecast in two parts on November 17 and 24, 1979; it was subsequently pared down to a single three-hour installment, which in turn was whittled down to about two hours for cable-TV play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

David Soul - Ben Mears
James Mason - Richard Straker
Lance Kerwin - Mark Petrie
Reggie Nalder - Kurt Barlow

It's a measure of how powerful Stephen King's name was even in 1979 that Salem's Lot, adapted from one of his books, was one of the earliest (if not the very first) original horror movie production to make it to prime-time, network television (today such programming is routine, but it wasn't in the 1970s). Tobe Hooper's presence gave the miniseries (originally 200 minutes, cut to 183 here) credibility within the film genre, even though he had to restrain himself to meet the requirements of CBS's standards-and-practices department. The DVD release is a straight transfer of the movie, but what a transfer! The outdoor day scenes are rather flat, but the night shots and the interior shots are stunning. In the opening section, on a close-up of the ornate rug decorating the floor of Barlow & Straker's antique shop, the detailing of the carpet just leaps out at the viewer, and the contrasts are rich even in the scenes showing dark clothing against dark backgrounds. The miniseries on the dual-layered disc has been broken down into 48 chapters that aren't really all that helpful, mostly because they're not very well named for purposes of identifying the scenes they designate. The plot -- something of a cross between Curt Siodmak's script for Son of Frankenstein and Grace Metalious' -Peyton Place -- concerns an author who discovers a plague of vampirism descending on his hometown. The performances range from the adequate (David Soul) to the superb (James Mason). The story initially unfolds a little too briskly, perhaps reflecting some of the cuts made from the 200-minute original, but this 183-minute version is as much of Salem's Lot as has been seen on video in any form. This same cut of the movie was issued on a laserdisc circa 1990, but that release was marred by a high percentage of defective copies, owing to its having been manufactured by Warner rather than Pioneer. So this is the best way to see the film, short of a reissue of the original cut, since the original airing. The bonuses are a bit paltry beyond the extensive chaptering -- English and French subtitles and the international theatrical trailer, which seems to contain fragments of at least a third of the horror scenes. One kind of wishes that more could have been done -- getting Tobe Hooper to discuss the picture shot-by-shot would have been a major selling point -- but the price is right, and it is a good clean disc, with a passably loud audio track. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide