The Nightmare Before Christmas

Cast View all

	Danny Elfman	Jack Skellington - Singing Voice
	Chris Sarandon	Jack Skellington
	Catherine O'Hara	Sally
	William Hickey	Dr. Finkelstein
	Glenn Shadix	Mayor
	Paul Reubens	Lock
	Ken Page	Oogie Boogie
	Ed Ivory	Santa
	Susan McBride	Big Witch
	Debi Durst	Corpse Kid
	Greg Proops	Harlequin Demon
	Kerry Katz	Man Under Stairs
	Randy Crenshaw	Mr. Hyde
	Sherwood Ball	Mummy
	Carmen Twillie	Undersea Gal
	Glenn Walters	Wolfman

Crew View all

Director	Henry Selick
Writer	Tim Burton, Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson
Producer	Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi, Danny Elfman, Kathleen Gavin, Don Hahn, Jill Jacobs, Diane Minter Lewis, Philip Lofaro
Musician	Danny Elfman
Photography	Pete Kozachik

Personal

Notes

Story Synopsis:
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stop-motion animation classic which spent years germinating in the creative mind of Tim Burton. Jack Skellington (Elfman & Sarandon), the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, is bored with the same old tricks and treats and yearns for something more than things that go bump in the night. After another stale Halloween celebration, while on a walk with his ghostly canine Zero, Jack stumbles upon the glorious magic of Christmas Town-and decides to bring this joyful holiday back to Halloween Town. Danny Elfman’s music is wonderful, as usual.

DVD Picture:
I was very disappointed when I found out that this title was not going to be anamorphically enhanced. However, there are few differences between the LaserDiscs reviewed in Issues 12 and 26 and the non-anamorphic and windowboxed 1.66:1 DVD. Viewed alone, the picture is nicely presented, with images that are sharp and detailed, exhibiting good depth. Colors are rich with full saturation, and viewed in a completely blackened room to enjoy the darkness of Halloween Town, as well as the vibrancy of Christmas Town, the picture is as delightful as a bag full of candy, though it is not reference quality. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital and DTS® Digital Surround™ 5.1-channel soundtracks deliver an engrossing, entertaining listening experience. The Dolby Digital DVD and LaserDiscs subtly differ in that the former is slightly more revealing in the higher frequencies, but the latter delivers a just bit more in the low-end. The DTS DVD and LaserDisc versions sound virtually identical. Between DTS and Dolby Digital on the DVD, the former delivers slightly more resolutely, both spatially and in the higher frequencies. Danny Elfman’s music has a wonderfully involving presence that is also energetic, and sports a full, rich low-end foundation. Dialogue is reasonably natural-sounding and spatial integration is quite good. There is an ample amount of split surround activity to impress and enliven the soundfield. Low frequencies are presented with clarity and remarkable depth, along with gentle .1 LFE engagement. This is a very nicely-produced soundtrack that is highly effective in providing the essential entertainment and storytelling aspects of this film.
(Perry Sun)

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Collector Edition
Superb Color Fidelity
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality
Superb Music Score Recording Quality

Tags

Links