An American Werewolf in London
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Synopsis
One of the greatest directors of the 1980s, John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Trading Places), expertly combines macabre horror with dark humour in the lycanthropic classic, An American Werewolf in London.
American tourists David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. David awakes in a London hospital to find his friend dead and his life in disarray. Retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse (Jenny Agutter, Walkabout) to recuperate, he soon experiences disturbing changes to his mind and body, undergoing a full-moon transformation that will unleash terror on the streets of the capital...
An American Werewolf in London had audiences howling with laughter and recoiling in terror upon its cinema release. Landis’ film has gone on to become one of the most important horror films of its decade, rightly lauded for its masterful set-pieces, uniquely unsettling atmosphere and Rick Baker’s truly ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special make-up effects. Now newly restored and presented with an abundance of extra features, this big beast of horror can be devoured as never before...
Picture 10/10
Arrow Video upgrades their previous Blu-ray edition for John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London to 4K UHD, presenting the film in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on a triple-layer UHD disc. The film is also presented with Dolby Vision and has been encoded at 2160p/24hz. Arrow does not include a standard Blu-ray disc.
Arrow’s previous Blu-ray, though sourced from a 4K scan, was restored in 2K resolution, meaning Arrow had to go back and redo their work in 4K for this edition. I’m still a bit surprised they didn’t do that to begin with, but their revisit was more than worth it. I'm not sure where to begin exactly, as the image manages to improve on just about all areas over the previous Blu-ray, thanks to the increased resolution and wider range provider HDR and Dolby Vision, but for the sake of just getting into it I’ll start out by pointing to how the increased resolution does noticeably increase the level detail, even though the standard Blu-ray did a hell of a job to begin with. The finer details just seem to come out so much clearer, from fine hairs in close-up (on humans and creatures alike) to the busy setting of Piccadilly Circus. Grain is also noticeably finer, and it comes out looking far more natural in comparison to the Blu-ray, which (again), did a fine job of it to begin with.
What really boosts this presentation, though, is the application of HDR. The early nighttime sequence, where our hapless victims-to-be are wandering the moors, offers a perfect early example. The range in the blacks and shadows are improved upon allowing better gradients and more detail. The fog, which (yet again) looked great on the Blu-ray, manages to come out significantly smoother, looking more natural and photographic. It looks perfect. Highlights are also enhanced, and this is shown in the reflection of light off of the characters’ parkas in this opening sequence. All of these improvements also hold true throughout the remainder of the film, with colours being another noticeable enhancement, specifically in the reds and greens. That same opening also offers excellent examples of improved colour in those same parkas, but the reds found in the woman’s jacket that Naughton’s character dawns later in the film, or the blood that is splattered about all willy-nilly, look purer with more shades, the blood even glistening nicely. Even the greens found on the rotting corpse that appears to Naughton’s character in “visions” have a much bolder look to them. Heck, even the moss that appears throughout looks sharper. And then all of this again comes together beautifully in the theater sequence near the end. That scene is noticeably clearer than previous incarnations.
As to “brightness” things are kept to a nice level. The lights in Piccadilly Circus and a few other lamps and headlights and such are where brightness looks to reach higher levels, though I wouldn’t say they’re ridiculous and they certainly don’t come off blinding, the light appearing to always blend naturally into the environment. The most impressive moment, when it comes to light in darker settings, is maybe when a flashlight is illuminating a bloodied corpse in the movie theater near the end; how the light reflects off of the blood just makes it all extra-gross.
It all looks absolutely wonderful, and this is probably one of the best looking 4K presentations I’ve seen on the format so far.
(All SDR screen grabs have been taken from the source disc and have been converted to JPG files. They are presented in full resolution and may not properly fit some monitors. While the screen grabs should offer a general idea of quality, they should not be used for reference purposes.)
Audio 8/10
As far as I could tell, Arrow delivers the same two soundtracks that were found on their Blu-ray edition: the original mono presentation presented in 1.0 DTS-HD MA, and then the remastered 5.1 surround presentation in DTS-HD MA.
The mono track, which I assume is the original soundtrack for the film, shows its age a bit but I ended up still being pleasantly surprised by it. It’s very clean, free of any severe damage (just some audible background noise at times) and it features modest range and fidelity. Dialogue can be a bit flat but screams and other louder moments manage to pack a punch, as does any music that pops up. It’s a fine presentation, but obviously limited by being focused to the center channel.
The 5.1 sountrack ends up being—to the surprise of no one I’m sure—far more active, and it is clearly a new remix. It adds in more sound effects, or amps up ones that existed in the mono track to a milder degree. The best example is any scene in the hospital: in the 5.1 presentation you can hear voices coming in over intercoms, or more busy work in the background, which is missing entirely in the mono one. City streets also have more bustle, and there are more prominent ambient effects in the countryside sequences (like the wind). While purists may cringe, at the very least these added effects are directed impressively through the sound field, and the track is far more dynamic and richer, dialogue sounding to have slightly better fidelity as well.
I guess I found the 5.1 track unnecessarily aggressive at times, with more activity there simply for the sake of it, but it’s mixed well and doesn’t distract from what is important. At the same time, though, the mono presentation may be the weaker one, but it’s clean and dynamic in its own way. In the end it will come to personal preference.
Extras 9/10
Arrow ports everything over from their previous Blu-ray edition—which offered a number of new features while porting over Universal’s previous material—and then adds a couple of newer items.
Things start off, again, with an audio commentary featuring Paul Davis, the filmmaker behind the making-of documentary Beware the Moon, which does appear as a supplement on this disc. Davis’ track ends up being summation of everything he learned while making his documentary and as sequences come up, he talks about how the sequences were filmed, right down to the equipment used, or how certain effects were pulled off. He even talks about the scenes that became an issue for censors, shares stories around the porn-film-within-the-film, how everyone was concerned a 4K restoration of the film would make the effects look horrible now (which I honestly don’t think is the case), and even goes into detail about that planned sequel that eventually became An American Werewolf in Paris, Davis snidely pointing out “no one is releasing a Blu-ray of that.” I’ll say that I’m beyond impressed at all the little details Davis knows but Davis’ delivery still leaves a bit to be desired (he’s better as a narrator/host in the documentary) and there are times where topics can feel dragged out a bit. Still, if you were looking to learn new things around the film this commentary may hold plenty.
Arrow then ports over the commentary that first appeared on Universal’s collector’s edition DVD featuring actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne. This track is more of a “hang-out” track as you listen to the two revisit the film and talk about whatever pops into their heads. When it’s not about their shared crush on co-star Jenny Agutter, the two recall funny stories around the shoot or the various difficulties they had around make-up and effects. Naughton’s experience around the transformation, which was a grueling experience calling for him to sit in a hole in the floor for hours all for one quick shot, proves to be the most interesting portion of the track. It can be a fun discussion but it admittedly doesn’t offer a whole lot of insight.
The video material then starts off with the lengthy 77-minute Mark of the Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf, which, as the title suggests, looks at how the Werewolf/Wolf Man has changed I film through the decades, going from the first Wolf Man film all the way up to the Benicio del Toro remake, though more attention is paid to American Werewolf than most of the others. It’s a fun retrospective that does span out a little to the other Universal monster films, and also notes how the prior Wolf Man films directly influenced Landis’ film.
Arrow then provides their interview with the always loud and lively John Landis, which runs 12-minutes. Landis appears consistently throughout the features so having yet another interview with him seems a bit redundant, but this interview has the filmmaker focus more on his time in London and Europe during the late 60s while working on other films, and how those experiences played into influencing American Werewolf. He also talks about the British films that influenced him, and recalls proudly how he stumbled upon the very first airing of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and how it just blew him away.
Wares of the Wolf is a fun if short 8-minute extra, featuring Dan Martin and Tim Lawes offering a look at a few of the surviving effects props from the film, including one of the Nazi wolf masks and one of the animatronics used for the transformation. In the case of the latter the “skin” is missing but this allows you to see the mechanics of it. This is then followed by the rather odd (at first) video essay by Jon Spira called I Think He’s a Jew: The Werewolf’s Secret, Spira suggesting there’s a subtext found in the film around Jewish identity. I admit I wasn’t sure what this would be the first time I viewed it, but Spira, who doesn’t believe Landis added this subtext purposely, offers a great analysis as to why he feels this way about the film, touching on the more subtle aspects (like the uses of the words “putz” and “schmuck”) and the moments that may not be at all obvious to those unfamiliar with the Jewish faith. It’s a breezy 11-minutes.
Also new is an interview between director Corin Hardy and writer Simon Ward, found under The Werewolf’s Call. The two talk about how the film influenced them (each recalling how they first saw it), the main draw being its blend of horror and humour. Though it’s great seeing how the film has played into the work of filmmakers today, this ends up proving to be an incredibly dry feature, even at a short 12-minutes.
We then finally get to Paul Davis’ making-of, Beware the Moon, running 97-minutes, as long as the main feature itself. Davis plays host, revisiting locations used in the film (the pub has received a helluva makeover) in the order they appear. From here, through interviews, we get an incredibly in-depth look at the film’s making, which includes unused footage and behind-the-scenes material, with the most rewarding section being around the transformation sequence and its amazing effects. It also touches on post-production aspects, getting into issues Landis had with the censors and how he got around them. I was mixed on Davis’ commentary (more on delivery) but he has managed to wade through all of the material he gathered and has edited together an incredibly comprehensive and thorough recount of the film’s production that proves both entertaining and insightful. It’s really well done.
This is followed by a short 5-minute featurette from 1981 around the making of An American Werewolf in London, which features footage of molds being made of Naughton for the effects in the film. Arrow also throws on a couple of interviews recorded by Universal for their previous releases: one with John Landis, the other with effects artist Rick Baker, running 18-minutes and 11-minutes respectively. Both interviews do repeat material we’ve heard throughout the other features, though Landis expands a bit more on the Gypsy burial he saw while traveling in Europe (which was the main inspiration for his film) and talks about how The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie influenced his dream sequences.
Baker, after touching subjects covered elsewhere on the disc, talks a bit more about the effects work that went into Dunne’s deteriorating character. One other thing I don’t believe was mentioned elsewhere (though I could have missed it) was how Baker was determined to do the transformation in one shot, though he’s thankful now that Landis pushed for cuts, saying it would be more dramatic, because chances are they would have never pulled it off. Arrow also throws in another interview with the artist, I Worked with a Werewolf, with him recounting how the classic monster movies inspired him to become an effects artist, and how he jumped at the chance to work on the Wolf Man remake starring del Toro.
11-minutes’ worth of archival footage is found under Casting of the Hand, showcasing footage of the effects team making casts of Naughton, which is then followed by 3-minutes’ worth of outtakes, though without audio. There’s a short 2-minute storyboard featurette around the last section of the film, comparing them to the finished product.
Theatrical trailers and an image gallery then close off the disc. The galleries are split into “production stills,” “behind the scenes,” “posters,” “lobby cards,” “storyboards,” and “shooting schedule,” the last item literally being the sheets for the shooting schedule. It was also mentioned in the features how the theater scene was conceived differently (in a rather horrifying way I might add) and you can find evidence of this in the storyboard gallery.
Arrow then includes two additional short features here, both created in 2008 by Paul Davis: the 4-minute An American Werewolf in Bob's Basement, and the 6-minute Causing a Disturbance: Piccadilly Revisited. The latter features assistant director David Tringham revisiting Piccadilly Circus and recalling the shoot for the extended sequence there, made more difficult by the fact they were not allowed to stop traffic. The other features Bob Burns showing off his collection of American Werewolf memorabilia, which is pretty impressive, due, I'm sure, to the fact he is friends with Rick Baker. His collection includes puppets, foam rubber attachments (some of which are sadly falling apart), the wolf costume used at the end, and even the wolf torso used during the transformation. The guy also has the time machine from The Time Machine.
Like the Blu-ray, this limited edition also features a fold out poster (featuring new artwork on one side and an original poster on the other), 6 postcard size lobby card reproductions, and then a 58-page booklet, which looks to be the same outside of updated restoration notes. Like most of Arrow’s releases the booklet is a rather big addition, first providing an essay on the film and this period in horror, written by Craig Ian Mann, followed by an essay on the film’s young stars, written by Simon Ward. There is also a reprint of an article about The Howling and An American Werewolf in London being released at the same time, written by Jordan R. Fox for Cinefantastique in September of 1981, followed by reprintings of reviews written around its initial release. The reviews sampled come from Philip Strick for Films and Filming, John Brosnan for Starburst, and John Pym for Monthly Film Bulletin.
Yet again, it’s an impressive roster of material, Arrow doing a fantastic job covering the film from multiple aspects and making sure to include material from Universal’s previous releases.
Closing
Yet again, Arrow has put together an impressive package loaded with special features, but their 4K presentation for the film may be one of the best, or at least, most striking 4K presentations I’ve seen yet on the format.
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