Search - An American Werewolf in London

While wandering the English moors on vacation, college yanks David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) happen upon a quaint pub with a mysterious patronage who warn them not to leave the road when walking after dark. Irreverent of such advice as characters in horror films always are, the two decide to find a short cut....David wakes up in the hospital with a nasty bite wound to his shoulder; the freshly deceased, and rapidly decomposing, Jack arrives soon after to deliver the grim news that, unless he commits suicide, David will become a werewolf when the moon is full. David dismisses the encounter as a hallucination, but all indicators point to lycanthrope; evenings of barking and bloodletting follow closely behind. While the story is thin and much of the tongue-in-cheek humor is overdone, there are plenty of genuine jolts thanks to makeup guru Rick Baker's eye-popping special effects. The werewolf, resembling a cross between a bear and a wolverine, appears frighteningly real, and, given the fantastic premise, the gore is most convincing (although surprisingly and refreshingly scant). The hospital dream sequences are creative, and the scenes in which the werewolf runs rampant through downtown London are particularly good. In all, An American Werewolf in London is an original, atmospheric film that manages both to scare and amuse. While dismissed by most American critics upon its release, the film managed to secure a place in the annals of American cinema when Baker won an Academy Award for his amazing effects and creature designs. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

David Naughton - David Kessler
Jenny Agutter - Alex Price
Griffin Dunne - Jack Goodman
John Woodvine - Dr. Hirsch
Brian Glover - Chess player

1981

Best Makeup (winner)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie

Rick Baker

Live Entertainment's release of John Landis' landmark horror comedy An American Werewolf in London features an attractive transfer of the film, letterboxed at 1:85.1 and featuring attractive flesh tones and minimal, though notable, appearance of grain and artifacting. The creepy opening nighttime vignette, in which a werewolf stalks the protagonists who are attempting to make their way to safety, bears the most evidence of artifacting, as the combination of darkness and fog reveals slight distortion, though it is short-lived and not particularly distracting. The same scene also contains some of the DVD's best use of the 5.1 audio presentation. As the creature circles the hapless travelers, multiple channels are utilized well in encompassing the viewer in the ominous growls, creating a truly discomforting effect. While the colors appear well balanced and consistent, the film's age does occasionally draw attention to itself by appearing slightly washed out.
The menu selection screen offers no more than chapter selections and a brief teaser trailer that is in notably worse shape than the presentation of the feature on the disc. Overall, this is a fair bare-bones presentation of the film, which should appeal to the casual viewer, though true fanatics may opt for the special edition disc featuring numerous extra features in addition to an anamorphic widescreen transfer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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