I finally got around to converting my Halloween II TV Edit DVD to black and white. This is something that is only possible in the digital age. So we can finally see H2 in B&W. The reason it’s the TV Edit is the other version (along with my H1) is blu-ray. Even so, I suspect some people on here haven’t seen the TV version which is a very different viewing experience. Unfortunately some of the cooler scenes are deleted, but we get extra footage too. And of course the wide frame is gone, so there is a fractured vibe to the movie. The B&W version is being uploaded to YouTube as we speak, all one file. I’m pretty excited I was able to do this. Should be ready tonight, for the first day of Fall! I’ll post it on this thread once it’s online. Because it turned out so well, I plan to do the same with H1 and the theatrical H2 once I can get them on DVD from Netflix.
Sounds awesome. I really wish someone would mesh both H1 & H2 together. At the end of H1 when Loomis looks down and see’s that the Shape is gone, cut to the next scene from H2 of him running out of the front door of the house and taking to the neighbour. From there, cut straight to the back alleyway. All without the credits, just make it one big long movie.
Yeah I think you guys will like it. Some scenes are just scarier in B&W. Because you mentioned the conjoining of H1 and H2, I might as well do that (in color) when I convert those to B&W. The one time I watched them back to back, I was in heaven. Just wish I could show these movies to my friends irl but they all have better things to do. Whatever.
It has been done, fanedit names “Hell and Horror in Haddonfield”. It’s an awesome fanedit with the Tv cut scenes included. Must have hit online 10 years ago, and it was a full dvd-r. It’s the only version I watch to be honest. definitely hunt it down, but don’t pay.
I don’t know about H2, but I tried watching the first in black & white not long ago and because it’s a film that relies, a lot, on it’s atmosphere and colors, it just didn’t seem right to me. Plus, the way they cut the TV version of H2, it barely makes any sense, if you ask me.
Yeah, the TV Edit isn’t the best. I would’ve done the theatrical version if I had the DVD, but I at least wanted to test out the process on something, so I worked with what I have available. You lose the wide frame in the TV Edit (major sux0r), and they cut out lots of good stuff. I agree…it wasn’t made to be seen in Black and White but in some ways that makes it interesting, at least in my opinion…sort of an experimental thing. What program did you use to see H1 in B&W?
This black and white thing makes me sentimental. First time I saw the earlier Halloweens, was in black and white, on a small portable black and white TV in my childhood bedroom :/. Don’t know whether to feel old or blessed. I used to be able to tune in the English channels, but not too well, so a lot of the time these movies were not just in black and white, but also lots of static. The classics were great though, The old RKO horrors etc. Sometimes… It was almost impossible to make out what was on screen due to bad weather, rain, high winds etc, but that never deterred me
If watching a movie in B&W is as simple as turning down the color on your TV, then doing this stuff digitally is kind of pointless. I’m wondering if it looks even better doing it on your TV, I wouldn’t be surprised. Looking over this version I just uploaded, the brightness is a real issue. Basically, the blacks are too dark, and the whites are too bright. I turned the brightness all the way up because having it lower resulted in some scenes being impossible to see. Even as I go over it now, some scenes are nearly unwatchable as it is. Anyway, it was a learning experience. I suspect that it’ll be worth a cursory look but maybe not a full watch, given the brightness issues and the fact that it’s the TV Edit. In any case, here’s the uploaded video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCieH2FP_ZA
Hmm…guess it wouldn’t make any difference if I made it private?
Oh well. Maybe it’s easier this way if I explain the simple process by which I was able to convert it to B&W.
Download a free program that allows DVD to MP4 conversion (there are a bunch out there, the one I used is called WinX free DVD to MP4 Ripper…beware of spyware with these free programs, there’s almost always a catch). Use that to do the conversion from your DVD.
Download Windows Movie Maker (this one has no spyware, it’s free from Microsoft). Open the MP4 file and select the B&W option from the toolbar. Click on “Effects” to adjust brightness.
