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| This text refers to the British Replay Video version, released in the early 80's. It has sometimes been found on auction site Ebay. Rated: Unrated (Pre-BBFC Video Classification) Released by: Replay Video Approximate Run Time: 81 mins Format: PAL (Britain and Europe) Sound: Mono A lot of people are actually unaware that Britain was the first country to be given a copy of 'Last House on the Left' on home video. This was just before the legendary 'Video Nasties' era of the early 80's - previous to when videos were rated before release by the BBFC. Sold in less-mainstream establishments, the video was pretty much a hit, until many complaints were made, and police stormed stores. A list of offensive material was made ('Last House' among titles featured), and the subsequent films were banned outright. Therefore, this is an invaluable item for collector's who wish to purchase memorabilia from the movie. It has been banned in Britain all this time, and until 2002, the BBFC were never going to release it. This release has historical siginificance. It includes the brief disembowlment shot, as well as the alternative take, when Mari tells her parents who her killer's are. However, the chicken truck scene and end credits are missing from this version. |
| Picture Quite surprisingly, this first-ever release of 'Last House on the Left' featured a fairly-decent transfer. The chances of you finding this version in mint condition isn't very likely, since many copies were destroyed, so any existing copies might be spoilt by the ravages of age. However, the image did suffer from a few artefacts, such as scratching on the film and blurriness in places. This was probably down to the original production though, and perhaps nothing to do with Replay. It wasn't incredible in quality, though for a first release, it was generally pleasing. Sound Distinctly poor compared to the picture transfer, this was presented in mono (which has unfortunately occupied the MGM DVD). Nothing spectacular, it is quite mufffled in places with dialogue, but the age of this release has probably added to this. It is flat and dull, with little dynamic range. Overall Like the film itself, this release is best viewed as a 'historical document' - an echo to the time before BBFC censorship reigned supreme. It is probably discomforting to know, that this release is in fact longer than the edition being released by the BBFC at the end of the year. This is a very sought-after item, and is extremely valuable |