Friday the 13th appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. With its low-budget origins, I expected little from the picture, but it turned out to offer an appealing transfer.
Sharpness was usually good. Some shots seemed a little softer than I’d like, but those were fairly infrequent, so the majority of the movie offered positive delineation.
Jagged edges and moiré effects created no concerns, and I saw no edge haloes. With a natural layer of grain, noise reduction didn’t seem to become an issue, and I witnessed no print flaws.
Colors presented a moderate strength. I figured they’d look drab and dated, but instead the hues came across as pretty positive most of the time.
Blacks felt fairly deep and dense, while shadows offered reasonably good clarity. Some night shots could feel a little dim, but these instances didn’t turn into a concern. Overall, the movie showed its age and origins but looked about as solid as I could hope.
This Blu-ray includes a remixed DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. I also didn’t expect much from it so it turned into a real pleasant surprise.
The soundfield boasted good stereo music much of the time as well as some positive use of ambient effects. The thunderstorm provided the most active material, but other elements like vehicles opened up matters.
Those aspects of the track even showed the occasional example of split-surround information, such as when a car zipped to the back right speaker. Otherwise, the surrounds mostly reinforced the forward channels and the environmental bits. That was fine with me, as the scope of the soundscape suited the movie.
Though the quality of the audio showed its age at times, it still fared well for the most part. Speech probably sounded the most dated, as the lines tended to be a bit thin. Nonetheless, they lacked edginess and remained intelligible.
Effects were pretty clean and clear, and the music usually sounded very good. The banjo-based tune heard early in the movie suffered from dull qualities, but the Bernard Herrmann-influenced stuff demonstrated very nice vivacity. The score elevated the rest of the track and made this a strong “B” mix.
How does this 2020 Shout Blu-ray compare to the Paramount Blu-ray from 2021? Both seemed identical, and I believe the 2021 Paramount release simply duplicated the 2020 Shout version.
Note that although all Paramount BDs except the 2021 release included the movie’s original mono mix, this Shout issue became its first appearance in a lossless format. The prior discs offered Dolby Digital mono but the Shout version reproduced the material via DTS-HD MA.
The two differ in terms of extras to a mild degree. On two separate discs, we get the theatrical version of the film (1:35:09) and an unrated edition (1:35:26).
Prior Blu-rays brought only the slightly longer Friday. The two differ solely due to the presence of extra gore across that added 17 seconds.
The violence in “unrated” doesn’t do anything to change or improve the story, but it doesn’t damage the film either. I feel glad to get the theatrical version as well but we don’t find a lot of difference between the pair.
On the theatrical disc, we find two trailers, a TV spot, six radio spots and two still galleries.
These cover “Movie Stills” (79 images) and “Posters and Lobby Cards” (104). Both offer good shots, especially since “Movie Stills” comes with ample behind the scenes photos and not just bland elements from the film itself.
On the unrated disc, we start with an audio commentary from director Sean S. Cunningham, Crystal Lake Memories author Peter Bracke, editor Bill Freda, screenwriter Victor Miller, assistant editor Jay Keuper, composer Harry Manfredini and actors Adrienne King, and Betsy Palmer. All the participants sit separately for this edited piece.
The track looks at Cunningham’s early career and the development of Friday, the script and influences, score and editing, cinematography, cast, characters and performances, ratings concerns, gore and makeup effects, themes and the film’s tone, its success and sequels, and some stories from the shoot.
I know many dislike the “audio anthology” format featured here, especially when it’s as non-screen-specific as this one. Heck, the commentary discusses the film’s ending well before we reach the halfway point!
Nonetheless, I think this is a very good piece, as it covers quite a lot of appropriate topics and does so in a concise, compelling way. Some apparent faulty memories appear, such as when Palmer says she was told not to act like Jack Nicholson from The Shining.
Since the Kubrick film came out three weeks after Friday hit the screens, I’m not sure how she could impersonate Nicholson. Nonetheless, the commentary works well and deserves a listen.
Fresh Cuts: New Tales from Friday the 13th goes for 14 minutes, eight seconds and provides notes from screenwriter Victor Miller, composer Harry Manfredini, makeup effects artist Tom Savini, and actors Ari Lehman and Robbi Morgan.
“Cuts” covers the movie’s origins, cast and performances, stunts and music, the flick’s ending and its success. Essentially “Cuts” acts as a repository for little nuggets of information that didn’t make the commentary. It’s not the most cohesive collection, but it’s interesting.
We learn more about the director via The Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham. It lasts eight minutes, 59 seconds, and features director Sean S. Cunningham and his son Noel.
We hear about the elder Cunningham’s career and the impact Friday had on his life. The piece throws out a few decent notes.
We catch up with movie alumni in A Friday the 13th Reunion. During this 16-minute, 46-second piece, we see a September 2008 panel gathering that collected Savini, Miller, Lehman, Manfredini, and actors Betsy Palmer and Adrienne King.
They talk a little about how the various participants came onto the project, characters, the ending, and the impact the flick had on their lives. This becomes a mostly enjoyable program.
Next the set offers Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part 1. The short runs seven minutes, 32 seconds and provides some new Jason mayhem. It’s pretty pointless, as we see a couple of quick killings and little else.
Horror fans owe the original Friday the 13th a debt since it heavily influenced their favorite genre. As a movie, however, it doesn’t work particularly well. It lacks creativity and comes across as slow-paced and cheesy. The Blu-ray presents very good visuals along with surprisingly positive audio and a mostly appealing compilation of supplements. This becomes a fine representation of the movie.
Note that as of January 2025, this Shout Blu-ray of the film appears solely as part of a 12-film “Friday the 13th Collection” set. It also includes the movie’s nine sequels, 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason, the 2009 reboot and two discs of bonus materials.
Note that this Blu-ray loses some extras found on the 2021 Paramount release. However, these appear on the aforementioned bonus discs, so the Shout set doesn’t drop existing materials.
To rate this film visit original review of FRIDAY THE 13TH
