An American Werewolf in London – Arrow Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1981
Director: John Landis
Writer: John Landis
Cast: Joe Belcher, David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, David Schofield, Brian Glover, Lila Kaye, Rik Mayall, Sean Baker, Paddy Ryan, Jenny Agutter, Anne-Marie Davies, John Woodvine, Frank Oz

Release Date: March 14th, 2022 (UK), March 15th, 2022 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 97 Minutes 16 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK), R (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £34.99 (UK), $59.95 (USA)

"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..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16-bit resolution at NBC Universal Post. The film was restored in 4K and graded in HDR10 & Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The key grading reference was a prior HD master approved by director John Landis."

An American Werewolf in London comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 91 GB

Feature: 69.8 GB

This transfer uses the same source that Arrow Video used for their 2019 Blu-ray. And as amazing as that transfer looked, watching An American Werewolf in London in Dolby Vision or HDR10, it's hard to imagine this film looking any better than it does.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English), 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. These are the same audio mixes that Arrow used for their 2019 Blu-ray release. For this release, Arrow Video did extensive work on both audio mixes, most notably correcting the pitch on the DTS-HD 5.1 mix. Both audio mixes are in excellent shape; dialog always comes through, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well-represented, and range-wise, both audio mixes sound appropriately robust. And though many viewers will be drawn to the original mono mix, The DTS-HD 5.1 mix is one of the best remix tracks that I have heard to date. Included with this release are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include image galleries: production stills (115 images), storyboards (31 images), behind the scenes (90 images), shooting schedule (13 images), posters (23 images) and Lobby Cards (17 images), theatrical trailer (2 minutes 53 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), teaser trailer (1 minute 1 second, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), T.V. spot (31 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), five radio spots (2 minutes 40 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), storyboard featurette (2 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Outtakes (3 minutes 7 seconds, no sound), archival footage from Rick Baker’s workshop as they cast David Naughton’s hand titled Casting of the Hand (10 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), two interviews with makeup artist Rick Baker, the first interview is titled I Walked with a Werewolf (7 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and the second interview is titled Makeup Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London (11 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director John Landis titled An Interview with John Landis (18 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a feature length documentary titled Beware the Moon (97 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette in which SFX artist Dan Martin and Tim Lawes of The Prop Store look at some of the original costumes and special effects artifacts from the film titled Wares of the Wolf (7 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), video essay by filmmaker Jon Spira (Elstree 1976) about how An American Werewolf in London explores Jewish identity titled I Think He’s a Jew (11 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a conversation with Corin Hardy, director of The Nun and writer Simon Ward titled The Werewolf s Call (11 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with John Landis titled An American Filmmaker in London (11 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Mark of The Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf (77 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary is with filmmaker Paul Davis director of Beware of the Moon, an archival audio commentary is with actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, reversible cover art, six double-sided postcard-sized lobby card reproductions, a double-sided fold-out poster and a 60-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Sick as a Dog: Body Horror in An American Werewolf in London written by Craig Ian Mann, an essay titled One Full Moon, Two Stars written by Simon Ward, an essay titled An American Werewolf in London Can Rick Baker and John Landis Top The Howling? written by Jordan R. Fox, a section titled Original Reviews and information about the restoration.

Summary:

However, horror cinema tends to get dismissed by many film critics for being too formulaic. This is a fair criticism since horror cinema has way too many films, judging by the number of films that bring nothing new to the table. With that being said, ultimately, horror cinema’s most celebrated films are the ones that think outside the box. A case in point is An American Werewolf in London, a film that remains as fresh today as the day it was first unleashed on audiences.

So, what makes An American Werewolf in London so special? It came at a time when horror cinema was arguably at its apex when it came to onscreen violence. And though An American Werewolf in London has an ample number of grisly gore set pieces, they are in line with other horror cinema from this era. Ultimately, it’s the way in which An American Werewolf in London uses humor that sets it apart from its contemporaries.

John Landis is the creative force behind An American Werewolf in London. And though his comedy film output as a director far outweighs his contributions to the horror genre, with An American Werewolf in London, he perfectly balances horror and humor.

On the surface, the premise of An American Werewolf in London may seem like an anomaly when compared to other 1980’s horror films. At its foundation, An American Werewolf in London actually has many of the core elements that have become synonymous with 1980’s horror cinema. Most notably, characters that are in peril feel isolated due to their surroundings.

A film’s opening setup can make or break a film. It’s in these opening moments that a film gives an indication of what type of film is about to unfold. And in the case of An American Werewolf in London, its opening setup is a textbook example of how to create the right tone. Another strength of the opening setup is how its first lighthearted tone contrasts with the first werewolf attack.

As mentioned before, humor plays a significant role in the story at hand. And though most of the humor is in the dialog exchanges, it’s actually one of the nightmare/dream sequences that gives An American Werewolf in London its most subversive moments of humor. During this nightmare/dream sequence, a group of Nazi zombies arrives at the protagonist's home and massacres his family.

Casting is another area that can make or break a film. And an American werewolf in London features an excellent cast that’s anchored by its three leads: David Naughton (Midnight Madness, Hot Dog... The Movie) plays David Kessler, a young man who transforms into a werewolf after narrowly escaping death at the hands of a werewolf. Jenny Agutter (Dominique, The Survivor) plays a nurse who quickly bonds with David, and Griffin Dunne (After Hours, Who's That Girl?) plays Jack Goodman, David's best friend who now walks the Earth as a decaying corpse.

From a production standpoint, An American Werewolf in London is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. The premise is superbly realized, and the well-executed narrative is a very satisfying mix of carnage and humor. Other strengths include the nightmare/dream sequences that reinforce the protagonists' state of mind and a surprisingly erotic shower/love sequence.

Not to be overlooked when discussing An American Werewolf in London are the exceptional special effects. Though modern cinema has since made the shift towards CGI effects, the special effects in An American Werewolf in London are a perfect example of how well-executed mechanical effects are far more effective than CGI effects. And nowhere is this clearer than how, outside of a few brief glimpses, the werewolf mostly remains in the shadows until the carnage-drenched finale.

Arrow Video, who already gave An American Werewolf in London an exemplary Blu-ray release, ports over all the content from that release and their solid transfer looks even more stunning in Dolby Vision and HDR10, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer