The bad blu moon is rising with the John Landis classic ‘An American Werewolf in London’ making it’s Blu-ray debut with a ‘Full Moon’ edition which offers up a new feature-length doc and a nice high-def transfer.
1981 was a busy year for werewolf flicks with fellow genre staple ‘The Howling’ and the not-so-much staple ‘Wolfen’ (I suppose it could be argued that ‘Wolfen’ isn’t even a werewolf pic but I’ve always viewed it as such) being added to the subgenre. And despite Rob Bottin’s great work in ‘The Howling’, only one pic stands out and that’s Rick Baker’s amazing Oscar-winning work in ‘An American Werewolf in London’.
In fact, the category for Best Makeup was created in 1981 - which deservedly made Rick Baker the first makeup/visual effects artist to ever take home an Oscar. 28 years later, Baker now gets to come full circle as he’s working on the yet to be released ‘The Wolf Man’ remake with Benecio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins – I’m curious to see how much CGI will be used.
Of course, if the pic only had great effects but nothing else going for it, the film wouldn’t be regarded as the classic it has become. Luckily, despite some character issues, the film is also a fairly flawless amalgam of horror and comedy, the first of its kind when considering films that are both equally scary and funny. Hot off of hits ‘Animal House’ and ‘The Blues Brothers’, Landis went back to an old script he wrote while working as a gofer on ‘Kelly’s Heroes’.
It’s odd that Landis didn’t return to horror more often as he obviously has a gift for staging great scare set-pieces. With the exception of ‘Thriller’, Landis went back to making broad comedies like ‘Spies Like Us’ and ‘Three Amigos’ and has only since returned to horror with 1992’s ‘Innocent Blood’ (worth checking out) and his recent ‘Masters of Horror’ episodes.
For the three of you out there unfamiliar with the story, it goes a little something like this: College goofs David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are backpacking across rural England when a storm breaks out and they take shelter in an isolated pub ominously named ‘The Slaughtered Lamb’.
Met with suspicious looks from the pub locals, their quickly shown the door despite the weather when Jack asks one too many questions concerning the occult symbol on the wall of the pub.
Exiting the pub with nothing but the advice to stay to the road, it doesn’t take long for David and Jack to obliviously stray off the road. With howls heard in the distance, they begin to take a guesses at what could be making such sounds (Heathcliff was offered at one point) but the laughs soon cease when the howls become increasingly closer.
Now on the run, Jack gets viciously attacked by a large beast and when David is about to meet his maker, the pub locals show up just in time.
Waking up in a London hospital feeling like he just got attacked by a werewolf (he did!), he immediately starts having crazy dreams and seeing dead pal Jack who is fairly good-natured about his whole mauling/dying thing. He just has one request of David: he needs to kill himself before he turns into a werewolf and starts murdering innocent people.
David is understandably disbelieving at first and temporarily moves in with his hot nurse (Jenny Agutter) who he starts a steamy love affair with. After black outs start occurring on full moon nights, however, with word of nasty deaths the morning after, David realizes what he must do but is it too late?
Fans of Landis’s comedies from ‘Animal House’ to ‘Three Amigos’ will automatically recognize his distinct brand of outlandish humor in ‘An American Werewolf in London,’ but what is so surprising is how well it gels with the horror.
Despite the craziness of the situations, and usually following a big laugh, a horror sequence will pounce that will make the laugh catch in your throat. The first attack in the moors is an excellent example of Landis milking terror from an almost comedic lead up of events.
My one problem with the pic is the hurried, peculiar relationship between David and the nurse. It would seem odd that a nurse would invite a complete stranger to her house (an American no less!) to stay and even less likely considering his lunatic ravings. I mean, some guy shows up with signs of a mauling, raves about dead friends and werewolves, and this gal starts a love affair with him?! She’s clearly got her own issues to work out- she doesn’t need a lycanthrope to deal with also.
Regardless, the film’s many virtues far outweigh this goofy implausibility with the Oscar-winning effects, well-cast and amiable leads and a unique spin on an oft-told tale all adding up to arguably the best werewolf movie to date (sorry ‘Wolf’ fans).
Already released on HD-DVD a few years back, it looks like Universal used the same master but provided a new VC-1 encode. Honestly, doing a side by side with the HD-DVD, I couldn’t tell much of a difference if any – detail and grain seem exactly the same. So for the few out there with the HD-DVD, from a vid standpoint, this Blu offers up no discernible improvements.
That being said, I was pleased with the old transfer so for those of you new to ‘American Werewolf’ in high-def, you won’t find much to complain about. Some slight grain and print issues and the film is inherently a bit murky so standout color and detail will be hard to find but it’s high def presentation is still head and shoulders above the old 2001 DVD release. A DTS-HD Master Aud track is provided and does a decent job presenting audio elements almost thirty years old.
All special features from the 2001 collectors edition DVD have been carried over as well as the addition of two new extras, one being a beefy 90 documentary ‘Beware the Moon’. A great treat for fans, this doc tackles almost everything you would want to know about the film with participation from every major cast and crew member as well as rare behind the scenes footage. Paul Davis wrote, directed and hosted this doc where he also visits the locations used in the film.
This doc is probably worth the double-dip alone for fans. Also new is a short interview Rick Baker ‘I Walked With a Werewolf’ where Baker talks a bit about his inspirations, his collaboration with Landis and his upcoming work on ‘The Wolf Man’.
Carried over from the DVD: an audio commentary with David Naughton and Griffin Dunne that is every bit as fun as I remember it back from 2001. Energetic and full of anecdotes, this makes for a fun actor commentary although it is a shame Landis couldn’t have joined them. 30 minutes of ‘Interviews’ with Landis and Baker are worth a watch.
Two featurettes are included: ‘Casting the Hand’ is 13 minutes of checking out Naughton’s hand get casted for a mold used in the transformation sequence and a quick original featurette that runs a scant five minutes. We get some quick ‘Outtakes’ and ‘Storyboards’ and finish things off with a Theatrical Trailer and tucked inside is a $5 coupon for Halloween candy good at a variety of stores – Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, here I come!
This is a no-brainer for you ‘An American Werewolf in London’ fans out there with a Blu-ray player. A nice transfer and a great new documentary make this easily worth the double-dip for owners of the eight-year old DVD.
HD-DVD owners will have to decide if the new doc is worth the extra cash but one thing that can’t be argued is that ‘An American Werewolf in London’ is a modern classic and should be on any self-respecting horror fan’s shelf. And remember…beware the moon…
An American Werewolf in London: Full Moon Edition [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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