9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Saw I to IV - To Buy The Set, Or Not To Buy The Set?, October 21, 2008
This review is from: Saw I-IV (Amazon.com Exclusive) (DVD)
The Saw horror franchise is bound to have a "love it or hate it" effect on horror fans. On the one hand, those who don't like gore will not appreciate the gruesome kill scenes and twisted subtext to this type of horror franchise. Yet long-starved horror fans had little to enjoy in new releases till the original
Saw came around. At once gritty, creative and repulsive, this movie highlights some of the worst consequences of human ingenuity when put to the wrong use. Now with Saw V [Theatrical Release] being released for Halloween, many who don't own all the movies will be tempted to get this set,
Saw I-IV (Amazon.com Exclusive).
Yet this is also a franchise that can be seen as a victim of its own success. Because of the incredible box office success of the first film, sequels were inevitable. There's nothing wrong with that, and
Saw II - Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) was still a good movie. The problem is that with each sequel, the film makers felt the need to add more and more personality and motive to the killer, thereby detracting from the horror element. So while Saw II and
Saw III were still very good,
Saw IV was such a let down it was almost comical. They had to go further and further to try to become more inventive, and what they ended up doing was producing a movie that was less than believable and not nearly as effective as the first three.
So here's the real dilemma you have to confront about this set. Do you already own the first Saw movie? Most people do. In that case, it's much more economical to get the second and third movie individually, because Saw IV is hardly a must own. Similarly, if you don't want the special extended editions, buying the first three (or even all four) movies individually makes much more sense. Alternatively, you could get only the best of the franchise so far by purchasing the
The Saw Trilogy (Saw/ Saw II/ Saw III).
So that leaves the one category that should still consider this set. If you don't own any of the Saw movies and you want to watch them all in preparation for Saw V [Theatrical Release], which is being released for Halloween 2008, then this is a viable set for you.
There is only one more consideration. The list price of this set is so high as to make buying the individual movies attractive even if you want all four. So if it's not on sale, you have to watch the price and wait. Or you may end up buying them all individually.
I personally am one of those people who watches all the special features on every disk I purchase. For me a little extra money is worth it. There are some nice features on how the killing devices are made and set up by the effects team. And I also make use of the widescreen format.
So consider all your options. Unless you want all four to prepare for this year's installment, it's probably best for you to buy the first three individually and rent the fourth.
Enjoy.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
OVER PRICED, January 16, 2009
This review is from: Saw I-IV (Amazon.com Exclusive) (DVD)
DO NOT BUY AS A SET. You can save money by buying as open stock. Open Stock pricing for ALL FOUR is $28. By buying open stock you save $19, plenty to buy Saw V.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Gotta love the SAW series, July 18, 2010
This review is from: Saw I-IV (Amazon.com Exclusive) (DVD)
Not for everyone but I love the series anyway. I bought this series for a family member because I have been collecting the series since day one. I love the gritty feel of the films and what can I say. Tobie Bell is classic as our man Jigsaw. I love everything about this series: the story, music and especially the atmosphere.
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