American Werewolf In London, An: Special Edition (UK)

An American Werewolf In London is one of the best horror films ever made and contains probably the best werewolf transformation ever seen in a film. The picture quality is excellent and it`s nice to see the film in widescreen. I first saw this on Channel 5 last year and the picture was appaling!
The picture on here is far better and there are no artifacts or other digital problems. The film is quite grainy sometimes though. The sound is also good. While it`s a shame we don`t get the DTS track from the R1 version, the 5.1 mix is still good and there are some nice effects such as wind blowing strongly and wolves howling.

Universal UK has gained a reputation for poor DVD releases and have given terrible treatment to films that deserve better.
Fortuneatly, Universal has for once provided an excellent disc and have done the film justice extras wise. The main menu is animated and has an animation of the moon rising over London and featuring the gradual change of David to a wolf with Creedence Clearwater Revivial`s Bad Moon Rising. After the sequence ends, the menu is static with part of the film`s soundtrack as background music.

First up is a 5 minute featurette from 1981 when the film first came out. It`s actually quite interesting and features behind the scenes material as well as comparsions to 1941`s The Wolf Man. Next up is a 18 minute interview with director John Landis which was filmed last year. This is a great extras as John gives lots of insight into the film and he is obviously very proud of it. This is followed by a 11 minute interview with makeup artist Rick Baker who won an oscar for his work here. He reveals how the transformation was acheived and the difficulties he faced. There is also some unused footage on the wolf. There is 3 minute worth of outtakes which is silent but interesting to watch especially the end ( which I won`t spoil here ). Next is a 10 minute featurette which focuses on actor David Naughton casting his hand and shows how moulds are taken from actors. There is also a 2 and a half storyboard comparsion focusing on the final scene and a 3 minute stills gallery.

Overall, this is a fine horror film given superb treatment. Highly Recommended.

Once again I have the region 1 version with DTS. It is only one disc, but with with all the same extras. The region 2 release is 2 discs, it costs more and yet still no DTS! WHY??
(P.S don`t even think about mentioning larger amounts of disc space for R2, there`s 2 discs for god sake!!!!)
One of the best horror films ever made by the way.

top film really is, acting can be slightly suspect at times but the make-up is incredible, the mix of horror and humour while unsettling at times still makes the film funnier. the dvd gets a first rate treatment, the video whilst having the occasional speck on it is outstanding for its relative age. the extras while slightly unfulfilling are still interesting, in particular the commentary where the two guys reunite after years to talk about the film. i`d buy the dvd if i were you

An American Werewolf in London (1981) is a chilling horror movie that is one of the smartest films ever made about werewolves. But even though the movie has many disturbing moments and ends tragically, writer-director John Landis cleverly injects lots of humor, and for good measure he throws in a love story involving a little nudity and sex. The pop music is fun, too, as we get three different renditions of "Blue Moon" plus one version each of "Bad Moon Rising" and "Moondance."

The story in the movie is straightforward. David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are two American college-age guys who are bumming around Europe. One night as they walk under a full moon on a moor in northern England, they are attacked by a werewolf. Jack is killed and David is badly mauled.

The film goes on to show how all this works out, maintaining its successful mix of the gruesome and the comic. David's buddy Jack is now one of the undead and comes back repeatedly, each time in a more advanced state of decay, to talk with David. At one point, David, Jack, and the six people David killed (who are now also among the undead) sit in a movie theater talking quietly while watching a porno film called `See You Next Wednesday`. But when night falls, David is again transformed into a raging werewolf, and he creates chaos by running out into bustling Piccadilly Circus, setting up the movie's tragic ending.

It's a hoot to watch the outtakes on the Special Edition DVD, even though the soundtrack is missing. Watch for the footage of Landis talking to the camera as he sits outside some sort of facade. The facade eventually collapses over him to reveal two jolly naked couples simulating (?) sex. These four nude people are from the cast of `See You Next Wednesday`.

This is without doubt the best werewolf film to date, and considering when it was made (1981) and the superb special effects, it shows what a class film it is. The first time i watched this, i was genuinly scared at certain parts, and the
moor`s scenes, and the subway scene in particular still make the hairs on the back of my neck stick up now!!!! This film cleverly combines horror and humour, with some superb effects (for it`s time) and a good storyline. Not a very well known cast Jenny Agguter, Griffin Duanne (funny how he went on to do other respectable films, but little was seen of David Naughton, the lead character) and the brilliant Brian Glover in the start of he film. (British eagle eyes, will also spot Rik Mayal) The visual is good considering the age of the film, the sound is good, some great music and the obvious howls on surround sound. The extras are just what was required to make this a quality DVD. Commentary, behind the scenes, some pretty funny out-takes (would have been funnier with sound) and special effects, to name a few! All well worth your time to watch, and there is also a pretty cool menu screen. Overall this is a classic horror, simply the best werewolf film bar none. And it is great to see it out on special addition with all the extras to fully justify the value of this film. Great stuff!
Watch out for one of the most chaotic and realitsic crash scenes, seen in a film at the end.

This is for the Australian Region2/4 release. Identical to the region 2 release. It was about £4 cheaper than the best price i`ve seen in England(£12.99), so am quite happy. There are some amusing out-takes, but sadly no sound. Great to see the movie in widescreen for the first time as I would have been 1 or 2 years old when it was released.

A Nice Package. This really is a full blown Hooror in the end as well as a love story. Very difficult to make films of this kind as good as this now...

The elements have worn well