Crystal Lake Memories: Complete History of Friday the 13th

This 2-disc Collector's Edition DVD purchase is now one of my most-prized possessions. In-depth interviews with a host of cast and crew from all 12 Friday the 13th films, and even the short-lived television series, all engagingly narrated by Corey Feldman (who played a younger "Tommy Jarvis" in films 4 and 5 (flashback scene as the fifth film starts). It's an EXCELLENT retrospective!

Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th was originally released in 2013 as a companion piece of the book of the same name written in 2012 by Peter Bracke. Originally released as a 4-disc set by 1428 films (2 Blu-Ray discs and 2 DVD discs), it went out of print pretty quickly. Lucky for us, Image Entertainment acquired the rights to release it again this year in a very slightly different package.First of all, the cover art is pretty much the same (although there is now a red "2-disc Collector's Edition" banner at the top), and second, this package contains the Blu-Ray discs only and does not included the DVDs. HOWEVER, this version's 2 Blu-Rays have disc art on them in the form of the cover art, whereas the original release, the Blu-Ray discs had a plain red art with the title on them. Nice touch.Now, why 2 Blu-Ray Discs you ask? Because this thing is nearly SEVEN HOURS LONG. You read that right, SEVEN HOURS. Because of the monstrous length of the documentary, the only special feature you get is a commentary. In all reality though, the ENTIRE PRESENTATION is a special feature (and I do mean special)The feature is broken down into 14 Chapters, Disc one contains Chapters 1-7 which covers Films 1-6, and one on the Friday the 13th TV series. Disc Two picks right up with Chapters 8-14 covers films 7-8, Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, Freddy Vs. Jason, the 2009 reboot, and a final chapter titled "Reflections in the Water," where participants give their final thoughts on the series and the ways it has impacted their lives and the fans.Speaking of participants, the list here is INSANE. Narrated by Corey Feldman, we cover each and every film in the franchise including interviews from Sean S. Cunningham, Frank Mancuso Jr., every single director of the films (excluding Steve Miner) and major cast and crew from every film, literally over 100 interviews. Included is also hundreds of behind-the-scenes photographs, test footage from makeup and sight gags, scenes that were cut from the MPAA, and of course the stories that cast and crew share while making the films, including behind the scenes stories, experiences, accidents on set, reasons why some things turned out they way they did, orignal ideas and concepts, concept art, and some incredible facts that even I didn't know.Watching the documentary over the course of two evenings, it was informative, incredible, fantastic, and exhausting. It's a trip going from humble low budget beginnings in 1980 all the way to big budget Hollywood, trudging through Crystal Lake to Manhattan, to Hell and back again. Was it worth it? Yes.As a Friday fan? YES, YES, and YES.Let's just say I'm strapping on my boots, lighting a fire and listen to them give it to me straight about Jason once again.

This was excellent. So much information, interviews and behind the scenes. If you enjoy the movies, you must have this.

This was a great documentry

When I purchased this item, I knew it was the companion DVD for the very well received retrospective book by the same name. However, I was not prepared for a full six-and-a-half hours of in-depth coverage of each Friday the 13th movie, plus the short-lived TV series, the recent "reimagining", plus a clever prologue and epilogue thrown in for good measure. Luckily each segment is self-contained, so you can watch one segment at a time, or try to go straight thru on one sitting across two packed discs (plus a full-length commentary track). If you're even a modest fan of the Friday the 13th movies, you'll have a wonderful time going through the making of the movies one by one, featuring just about every surviving member of the cast and crew offering their insights on their part of the franchise. Even if you don't enjoy day-to-day details of the movie making process, this documentary will take you on a wild ride to a simpler time when horror films were just a little bit more fun and a lot more carefree. I recommend it very highly...

My son had this on his wish list. So I bought it for a gift. He enjoys behind the movies scenes and narrative.

If you love the Friday the 13th franchise, then this documentary is a MUST OWN item for your collection!If you've seen the "His Name Was Jason" documentary, "Crystal Lake Memories" absolutely obliterates that one. Clocking in at seven hours worth of behind the scenes stories & information & tons of interviews with a ton of the cast & crew, this documentary is jam packed with everything you could possibly want to know about the franchise in it's entirety.As somebody that deals with ADHD, I find it hard to sit & watch or focus on things for a long period of time. But with this documentary, not once did I find myself straying away from it or losing focus on it what-so-ever. I was enjoying it so much, I watched the whole thing in one night (on Friday the 13th actually too). It keeps you interested, which sometimes is hard for documentaries to do (heck even 90 minute movies have a hard time keeping viewers attentions these days!). But they nailed it & got it right with this one, just like "Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy".If you're a major horror fan or just love the franchise in general & love learning about the films, you must see this or pick this up. It's a must have for sure!

If you're a Friday the 13th movies fan, this is a good documentary that is essential to your viewing. The flashback scenes, plus the interviews with the actors and producers, including info on deleted footage from Part 7, are great to watch. I liked how the narrator, Corey Feldman made mention of some cast members's deaths, as well as how he began the documentary, reiterating Paul's speech of Part 2 with listeners present, and how he ended the documentary in the same setting but showing the listeners killed as Jason would have killed them.

I have the companion book and was very happy to add this Blu-ray to my collection of Jasonbilia.With the two discs crammed full at almost seven hours and with more on the special features to look forward too, the main feature has interviews and anecdotes from over 150 of the actors/directors/stuntmen and stuntwomen who made the films so entertainingly horrific.Jason remains one of my absolute favourite horror icons due to the fact that he never spoke, he never needed too when his intentions have always been Camp Crystal Lake clear, this hugely entertaining undertaking delves into every film in the franchise including the Nightmare crossover Freddy Vs Jason and surprisingly the TV series which had absolutely nothing really to do with Jason himself.I found this to be immensely entertaining and informative and even if some of the material is repeated from His Name Was Jason not everybody will have both documentaries so I do not have a huge problem with that, it remains a great franchise and a nice touch to get Corey Feldman to be our campside counsellor at the beginning and end too, a neat nod to one of the more memorable adversaries Jason would have.The price is currently £26 for the American version and £15 for the UK edition and there is no differences I could note on content although I do not have the UK release.This really is the perfect gift for horror fans in general and Jason fans in particular.

Brilliant extremely well presented 2 bluray set on the full Friday.13th franchise. Well researched, compiled and highly entertaining.

If you're a fan of the splatter/slash horror genre or specifically a Jason fan and wanted to know just a little more about our hockey masked psycho but can't be bothered checking out the number of books then this could be for you.

An essentials for fans

Very happy with the purchase