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| An American Werewolf in London : Two Disc 21st Anniversary Special Edition [1981] |
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Great DVD release of a great film
This film is one of those that everybody likes. Its funny, its scary, its got special effects that were way ahead of its time, and its British. The two stars may be American, but everybody else in the film is English, it is all filmed in England, and it feels English. John Landis included some very un-American ploys in the making of this movie - for instance, the music includes three different versions of Blue Moon, plus Bad Moon Rising and Moondance. Its all set in current time (well, 1980), unlike the Hammer Horror and Lon Chaney werewolf films that people were used to. The hero ends up running around London zoo, naked, after waking up in the wolfs cage the morning after a night of rampage and violence. And thats another point - the hero is the bad guy. Hes the werewolf in the story, but youre on his side. Nobody is on Freddy Kruegers side, or Michael Myers side, in the American horror films that have been released over the last 20 years.
This is one of those films where you notice something different each time you watch. Be it Rik Mayall playing chess with Brian Glover in "The Slaughtered Lamb", the further decomposition of Jack each time he comes back to visit David, the inclusion of the Muppet Show in one of Davids most horrendous dreams (plus Frank Oz, the voice of Miss Piggy and Fozzy Bear, as the man from the American Embassy), the really bad acting on the porno movie thats playing in Piccadily circus, the fact that Landis plays one of the London crowd who gets run over when the werewolf escapes from the cinema at the end, the offer of congratulations to Charles and Diana on the announcement of their engagement that rolls past as the end credits roll.
This 21st anniversary release contains a second disc showing how the movie was made, how the special effects were created, trailers, and loads more besides. And the commentary by the two lead actors as the movie is playing reveals just how much in awe of Jenny Agutter they were.
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the best werewolf film of all time, buy it!
Wow, if you love horror movies with a hint of comedy to break the edge then this film is for you, it has great realistic special effects which even now are better then computer generated ones ie (american werewolf in paris; the werewolfs look bad, real bad)this film only isnt just great visualy but has good acting from its manly british cast, although the lead, an american ties it all up nicly. This film isnt just scary, but at times can be brutal, a great film for every horror buff, go on buy it, its just ready to tear you apart.
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The beast is unleashed.
The opening scene in the Moors where you see the two protagonists coming out from the back of a lorry full of sheep – you begin to sense that the film will be a comical Great British romp. Indeed this is exactly what it is, Landis wastes no time in introducing the theme of the film. Furthermore when the protagonists visit the local pub a distinct sense of oddness is portrayed. The inhospitality of the villagers immediately brings suspense into the film in a very similar way to the wicker man, also a British horror film. The story itself is about two traveling Americans who encounter an episode with a werewolf. One of them dies and the other one is injured. He is constantly visited by his dead friend who advises him to kill himself before he turns into one himself.The CGI is astonishing, and considering the date of the films release, its way ahead of its time. Always gruesome, it works best when we see David Naughton changing into the legendary beast for the first time. Definitely an upgrade from all them early hammer horror films, as here the effects look real. Another thing that enhances the film is the retro / vintage feel to it which works well with the suspense and humor. Look out for the attack on a bystander in a London Underground station where clever use of camera follows the victim up the elevators until he meets his doom. Also look out for a young Rick Mayall who has a less than 2 minutes part as a socially redundant villager with one line to his name. The film is definitely better than An American Werewolf in Paris in all ways; the acting is stronger, better narrative, better script and most of all better CGI. In one of the documentaries Landis mentions that the film was meant to be more of a horror film as opposed to a comedy, but it’s difficult to agree with him. Humor is an inseparable part of his work and shows best in the mismatched police officers and in the porn theater where Naughton is calmly advised by a bunch of corpses to kill himself. On the surface being visited by corpses would be horrifying but not if they are as amusing as this. This reminds me of a film called Brain-dead made by a certain peter Jackson, which was far more gruesome but managed to beat the censors as it was also very funny. I can’t help but think that the film will not appeal to everyone. Nowadays the majority of horror fans are looking for something fast paced, plenty of blood and guts and over the top special effects. The film is a well constructed horror / thriller but it is also a slow burner, which is surprising considering the running time of only 90 minutes. There’s more suspense than actual thrills and when the werewolf is in its full glory, Landis chooses to take the camera away from him in scenes of torture and rampant barbarianism. Since the release and success of films like The Texas chainsaw Massacre (the original version) and The Exorcist it is safe to say that viewers are prepared and now accustomed to more extreme viewing. The film itself is gloriously re-mastered and has interesting extras, not surprising since Universal studios are experts in the field bringing us re-mastered versions of Vertigo, Back To The Future etc. Considering the running time on the extras they could easily be fitted on one disc, but fans of the film will prefer the two disc package.
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