The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Kim Henkel (story)
Tobe Hooper (story)

Release Date:

1 October 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The idyllic summer's day that became a nightmare of fear and blood... [UK Video]

Plot:

Five friends visiting their grandpa's old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.

Plot Keywords:

Car Trouble | Midnight Movie | Urban Legend | No Ending | Hammer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Marilyn Burns	...	Sally Hardesty
Allen Danziger	...	Jerry
Paul A. Partain	...	Franklin Hardesty
William Vail	...	Kirk
Teri McMinn	...	Pam
Edwin Neal	...	The Hitchhiker
Jim Siedow	...	Old Man
Gunnar Hansen	...	Leatherface
John Dugan	...	Grandpa
Robert Courtin	...	Window Washer
William Creamer	...	Bearded Man
John Henry Faulk	...	Storyteller
Jerry Green	...	Cowboy
Ed Guinn	...	Cattle Truck Driver
Joe Bill Hogan	...	Drunk

Also Known As:

Headcheese (USA) (working title)
Leatherface (USA) (working title)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

83 min | Germany:75 min (new longer Version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 (cut) | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:(Banned) (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (re-rating: 2004) | Brazil:(Banned) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (2001) (uncut) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating: 1974) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | UK:(Banned) (original rating) | UK:R (original rating: 1975) | Sweden:15 (re-rating: 1994) (cut) (re-rating: 2001) (uncut) | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) (2003) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | West Germany:(Banned) | Finland:(Banned) (1984) | UK:18 (re-rating: 1999) | New Zealand:R16 (re-rating) (2007) (uncut) | Brazil:18 (1998) | Finland:K-18 (1996) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Chile:(Banned) (re-rating) (1978) | Chile:18 (original rating) | Denmark:15 (video rating) | France:-16 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:(Banned) (original rating) | Iceland:16 (re-rating) | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:(Banned) (video rating) | Norway:18 (re-rating) (1997) (uncut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:(Banned) (1984) | USA:R | Singapore:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Vortex

Trivia:

The financing for this film came from the profits of a previous film the production company had made--Deep Throat (1972).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sally escapes from the Leatherface family in the dining room, she runs and jumps through a window, and as she lands shards of glass land all about her. In the next shot as she gets up they're gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Looking Back at 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2003) (V)

Scariest movie I've seen in a long time.

I decided to get this movie for my annual Hallowe'en scarefest, a week early...as the new one was out in theatres, I felt a need to see the original first, and bow am I glad I did...

The whole movie just blew me away, I turned off all the phones, chat programs and so on, and just let the story hit me. I think what is still with me after this is the sense of fear and utter WEIRDNESS that emanates from the movie...

And it all seemed so realistic...no hokey fountains of blood, no running into the shower, or overused cliches, just a bunch of kids that need to get some gas, meet some very odd characters (The Hitchhiker is superb) and then fall into the wrong place at the wrong time...

I think Hooper must have had some divine inspiration, because each of Leatherface's scenes is exquisitely planned and executed, from the first guy who gets dragged down, to Pam, to the encounter with Franklin and Sally in the woods (how chilling and scary was that, and yet how clever, to chase someone in the woods equipped with...a chainsaw) to the end.

Very, very unsettling as well, from the beginning to the final dinner scene, to the unforgettable whirling dance by Leatherface at the end.

Simply put, the best horror movie ever...if this doesn't scare you, then nothing will, sadly.