Search - Swamp Thing on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Questionable for Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1982 DVD Release: 08/01/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 33 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 18 Genres: Science Fiction, Superhero Film, Sci-Fi Comedy See Also: Swamp Thing

Director Wes Craven, who went on to fame as the force behind blockbuster horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, departed from his favorite genre to film this unique cult classic -- a spoof on the mad scientist movies of the 1950s. Adrienne Barbeau stars as Alice Cable, a government agent sent to replace a man who has disappeared while guarding a secret experimental lab in the middle of the Louisiana bayous. Dressed in heels and a skirt, Cable professes unease at her strange new surroundings, but she is soon wooed by Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise). Holland is working on a concoction that combines plant and animal cells. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) is the criminal mastermind who is trying to steal the secret recipe for the potion. When Arcane and his mercenaries break into the government camp, they kill Holland's sister Linda (Nannette Brown) and the scientist is accidentally doused with his own formula and bursts into flames, then dives into the swamp. Arcane's men pursue Cable, but she is rescued by a mysterious green man. It takes several rescues for her to understand that the Swamp Thing (Dick Durock) is Dr. Holland, transformed by his own formula. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Louis Jourdan - Arcane
Adrienne Barbeau - Alice Cable
Ray Wise - Alec Holland
David Hess - Ferret
Nicholas Worth - Bruno

MGM's DVD edition of Swamp Thing does a pretty decent job of rescuing this forgotten Wes Craven effort from obscurity. The best element of this disc is its video transfer; it includes both non-anamorphic widescreen and full-frame editions of the film that are much sharper and richer in color than previous video editions of this film. Given the film's swamp setting, this a big help in terms of visual clarity. The mono audio could have used a stereo remix, but won't hinder a viewer's enjoyment since it is a well-recorded soundtrack. In terms of extras, there is a trailer and a two-page booklet of production notes. The trailer is pretty amusing thanks to tongue-in-cheek narration and comic book-styled optical effects, but the production notes are riddled with errors. There is also one additional extra on the Swamp Thing disc that isn't mentioned in the packaging: an extended European cut of the film never before seen in the U.S. that includes a few extra minutes of racy footage (Adrienne Barbeau fans will be very pleased with this version of the film). In the end, some extra bonus features would have been nice, but MGM's DVD of Swamp Thing is worthwhile for fans thanks to its presentation of the film's European cut. MGM has pulled this DVD from the market so all remaining copies of it have achieved collector's item status. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide