Rating: 
Summary: A true classic gets the 5 star DVD treatment.
Review: "An American Werewolf In London" is one of those movies you can go back to again and again, without getting bored of it. It is a nice mix of horror and comedy, while being the best werewolf movie to date. Not since "The Wolfman" from the 1940's has a movie about Werewolves been so good.The story starts off simple enough. Two American travellers in England cross paths with a vicious werewolf, one is killed, and hte other survives. The one who survives starts to experiences strange mental episodes, and he wonders if all those stories about werewolves are true--if you are attacked and survive, do you yourself become a werewolf. Director and writer John Landis took his time with the characters, making them believeable and likeable. The dialogue is very well written, with touches of black humor to keep the movie from becomming a standard "bump in the night" horror movie. The special effects and makeup were, for their time, cutting edge. And even today, the transformation scene is unmatched. The DVD is an excellent package. I always enjoy the commentary buy the film makers, but on this DVD, the two main actors (David Naughton and Griffin Dunn) do the commentary. Their commentary is more like a friendly chit-chat, with amusing anecdotes and plenty of insight. Also included are two excellent featurettes, one of the makeup, and the other is the original 1981 "Making of" special. The outtakes reel is the funniest, with one in particular that will make you fall to the floor laughing. You'll know which one when you see it, but in case you don't, it involves a falling "setpiece". This is one of my favorite movies of the 1980's, and one of the first I looked for when I bought a DVD player. With all the extras and the top quality transfer, it is worth every penny.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick to the roads, keep off the moors...and see this movie!
Review: "An American Werewolf in London" was director John Landis's effort to blend horror with comedy, and he was infinitely more successful at both than Steven Spielberg was with his disastrous attempt at comedy ("1941"). The film opens with a beautiful shot of what is presumably the moors of northern England, but your attention is immediately diverted by Bobby Vinton's cover of "Blue Moon" (its not just bad, it's wonderfully bad). This is immediately followed by a shot of a truck which is not only carrying sheep, it's also carrying two American students. David Kessler (Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne, who bids a cheerful "Bye, Girls" to the sheep as the two set off for a town called East Proctor). In East Proctor, they go into a pub called "The Slaughtered Lamb" where all conversation stops as they enter. Made to feel unwelcome, they leave and shortly thereafter are attacked by a werewolf. Goodman (Dunne) is killed; Kessler (Naughton) survives. Kessler finds himself in a London hospital where he is carred for by Nurse Price (Jenny Agutter). He has vivid nightmares and is visited in the hospital (for the first of three times) by his dead friend, Goodman. Each time Goodman appears, his body shows the effects of decomposition. His first appearance is the most comedic in nature, as he mourns the fact that the girl he lusted after found solace in the arms of another at his funeral ("Life mocks me even in death," he says). Another little gem is Goodman's plaintive question to his living friend, "You ever talk to a corpse? It's boring!" The romance between Naughton and Agutter is a bit too contrived and not well executed, and for the rest of the movie Rick Baker's make up and special effects is the real star of the film. But that shouldn't detract at all from the enjoyment of the movie, its humor or pathos. The soundtrack is fun, too, from the aforementioned Bobby Vinton cover, to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising," and Van Morrison's "Moondance." This is a thoroughly enjoyable, sometimes gory, sometimes funny, at all times well made film. (NOTE: The R rating this film received is thoroughly deserved for violence and some sexual content).
Rating:
Summary: Strange movie
Review: "American Werewolf in London" is a difficult movie to evaluate. What genre do you place it in? Watching parts of this movie, you would think "American Werewolf" is a dark-comedy, then it switches over to gruesome horror, then back to funny scenes again. Really weird style. Regardless, the performances are good, and the scary scenes are definitely scary. Jenny Agutter is probably the standout of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: werewolf from america.com
Review: "AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON" is by for one of the best werewolf movies ever made when I went to see the movie with some friends when it was in theaters I was really impressed and still am the special effects are great this and "THE HOWLING" have got to be without a doubt the best werewolf movies to hit the seen. One more thing about the special effects in this movie they make todays effects on werewolves like an american werewolf in paris look bad. So I highly recommend this movie!!!!1
Rating:
Summary: A true classic gets the 5 star DVD treatment.
Review: "An American Werewolf In London" is one of those movies you can go back to again and again, without getting bored of it. It is a nice mix of horror and comedy, while being the best werewolf movie to date. Not since "The Wolfman" from the 1940's has a movie about Werewolves been so good. The story starts off simple enough. Two American travellers in England cross paths with a vicious werewolf, one is killed, and hte other survives. The one who survives starts to experiences strange mental episodes, and he wonders if all those stories about werewolves are true--if you are attacked and survive, do you yourself become a werewolf. Director and writer John Landis took his time with the characters, making them believeable and likeable. The dialogue is very well written, with touches of black humor to keep the movie from becomming a standard "bump in the night" horror movie. The special effects and makeup were, for their time, cutting edge. And even today, the transformation scene is unmatched. The DVD is an excellent package. I always enjoy the commentary buy the film makers, but on this DVD, the two main actors (David Naughton and Griffin Dunn) do the commentary. Their commentary is more like a friendly chit-chat, with amusing anecdotes and plenty of insight. Also included are two excellent featurettes, one of the makeup, and the other is the original 1981 "Making of" special. The outtakes reel is the funniest, with one in particular that will make you fall to the floor laughing. You'll know which one when you see it, but in case you don't, it involves a falling "setpiece". This is one of my favorite movies of the 1980's, and one of the first I looked for when I bought a DVD player. With all the extras and the top quality transfer, it is worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: He's not "a Pepper" anymore!
Review: "An American Werewolf in London" was the first really scary and not campy movie my mother (who is a true horror movie buff) let me watch. Looking at it from a technical point of view, I much prefer this type of werewolf (the all-fours, more wolf-like) to those of "The Howling" or "Silver Bullet". The soundtrack is really cool too. Without giving too much away, I think the scariest part of the movie isn't werewolf related at all. It's the dream David has in the hospital. There's a lot of subtle humor too, notably the scene in the movie theater. Then there are others that aren't intentionally funny, such as the fact that Frank Oz is one of David's doctors (the sound of "Bert" giving medical advice is hilarious!).
Rating:
Summary: Even a man who's pure of Heart and says his prayes by Night
Review: ...May turn into a snarling, drooling, hungry hell-hound that boogies down to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" while tearing up yuppies in Kensington and uptight bankers in the London Underground---all when the wolvesbane blooms and the Moon is shining bright, of course. .............. Landis's "American Werewolf" is for my money the greatest werewolf movie ever made, and coincidentally marks Landis's directorial high-water mark. "American Werewolf in London" wastes no time sharpening up its claws, slicking back its hair, and heading out for a gory good night on the town---Merry Olde London Towne, to be exact. ............. "An American Werewolf in London" has long been regarded as a comedic horror film, and it's not hard to see why. The title is campy and glib, the film itself has a cocky and sarcastic air about it, and the dialogue between the increasingly Lupine David and his ghastly revenant friend Jack is wickedly, blackly funny. But "American Werewolf in London" is not a funny movie; it is far more of a classic evocation of the black, wild terror you feel when you find that the hungry, uncontrollable beast that stalks the night and slakes its thirst with the blood of innocents---is you. Landis, who had a fine touch for the comedic, sarcastic flair, uses funny barbs and witty dialogue to heighten the terror, the mounting horror, of David's awful, lonely plight. Make no mistake about it, this is a terrifying movie, one of the scariest I have ever seen. Landis has created a work of sheer, diabolic genius, channeling the stuff of pure nightmare....................... Underneath the gaudy veneer of modernism Landis has mastered all of the classic techniques of lycanthropic legend: the windswept and haunted moors, the chilly streets of London, the darkened mews and haunts of Knightsbridge, the candle-lit claustrophobia of The Slaughtered Lamb---all of the sets are deliciously atmospheric and serve to accent the film's growing sense of unease. Landis is a master with some truly stunning shots here, particularly David's dream sequences shot from the perspecting of a beast loping through a dark, foggy forest. The acting here is also top-knotch, rounded off by some fine English character actors, including John Woodvine as a London doctor (Woodvine played the fascistic Marshal in a 1979 Doctor Who episode "The Armageddon Factor") and the late great Brian Glover, who plays a grumpy chess player and "Slaughtered Lamb" denizen. Elmer Bernstein's haunting, brooding score is also a nice touch, swelling when you need it to, circumspect when you don't. Naturally, Rick Baker's special effects are outstanding............. The effects are so shocking, so gruesome, and so organic that the film (especially on the crisp Special Edition transfer) looks like it could have been made yesterday. But when all is said and done, the real credit for this masterwork comes back to Landis: here is the work of a director in the prime of his career, finely balancing comedy with terror, and willing to take a chance. Those inured to its shocks from having watched the film hundreds of times may not realize what an insidious, subversive little piece of grue this is, but think about it: Landis zigged where a lesser director would have zagged, and the result is the stuff of nightmare. Where did those squealing Nazi pig-soldiers come from, anyway? I don't know, but thanks to Landis they have been regular guests in more of my nightmares than I can remember. Dreamy, surreal, hysterical and terrifying, modern and classical at once, "An American Werewolf in London" is the greatest werewolf film of all time, and a fitting meditation on the Beast Within.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest Werewolf film ever!
Review: 1981 was The Year of the Werewolves...the furry fiends leaped onto movie screens in three major films: "The Howling," "Wolfen," and the classic of the genre, "An American Werewolf in London." There has never been a greater werewolf film, there has never been a better transformation scene, and few horror movies can match the entertaining mixture of humor and scares that writer/direction John Landis ("Animal House," "The Blues Brothers") achieved here. Although there had been humor in horror films before this movie, "An American Werewolf in London" showed once and for all that having comedy in a horror film didn't mean that the film would lose out in the scare department. Landis makes it clear that the film is NOT a comedy -- the horror scenes are carried with dead-seriousness and shocking impact -- but there is so much quirky humor surrounding these scenes that the film becomes incredibly likable and buoyant. Most of the laughs come from seeing the old movie werewolf premise dropped into the modern day and watching the characters try to deal with it. Actors Griffin Dunne and David Naughton, neither of whom had been in a movie before, create a wonderful 'ordinary guy' feeling to their characters of two young American boys backpacking through Europe. In rural England, they have a nasty encounter with a legendary monster, and Naughton faces the consequences of being bitten when he returns to London and takes up living with a pretty nurse (Jenny Agutter). The transformation scene is justly famous and a milestone in visual effects. Make-up wizard Rick Baker lets the viewers watch a real-time twisting of a human body into a wolf shape: limbs stretch, snouts pop, hair grows, the body contorts...it's amazing to watch. (And on DVD, you can watch it over and over and over again). Even computer graphics can't achieve an effect as startling as this one. This DVD offers some nice extras. The image is good, and the 5.1 Surround Sound is decent (although there's not a lot of back speaker sound). Actors Naughton and Dunne do feature commentary on the film, and provide some interesting information and sound as if they were having a great time reliving the experience. I wish that Landis had been on the commentary as well, but you can hear his thoughts on the film in an 18-minute interview. Landis is an absolute hoot to listen to; the guy is as funny as his movie, and he absolutely bursts with ideas and observations. To go along with the Landis interview is an 11-minute interview with make-up maestro Rick Baker. He provides a fascinating look at crafting what he calls "the coolest werewolf film ever made." Also included is a vintage featurette on the making of the film, although it's only about five minutes long (but you get more of wise-cracking John Landis), ten minutes of archival footage of Baker making a cast of David Naughton's hand, and an assortment of storyboards, outtakes, and production photos. "An American Werewolf in London" is a major turning point in horror films and visual effects -- and even over twenty years later, it is still one of the most entertaining movies of its decade. It hasn't aged at all, and this DVD lets you experience it the way it should be seen (and in the company of wild-man John Landis!)
Rating:
Summary: The only Werewolf movie!
Review: 1st let me say...this movie has the best trasphormation ever in a werewolf movie. The effects even hold up today. Baker won the Oscar he diservered. If you like comedy with your horror this movie is a great choice. It mixes good gore (not to scary) with laugh out loud comedy. The story line is great but if you like your horror movies with more chills get the Howling if you like "cool" fun horror movies get this.
Rating:
Summary: "Little Ol' Lady Got Mutilated Late Last Night..."
Review: 2 american backpackers trek across the moors, unaware of the horror awaiting them. One of them (played by Griffin Dunne) is killed by a hideous beast. His friend is only wounded, escaping with his life. Unbeknownst to him, he's been mauled by a werewolf. In the hospital, he starts having terrible nightmares of senseless violence. He gets together with his nurse (check out the lovemaking scene, done to the tune of Moondance) and everything seems fine. That is until he begins turning into a lycanthropic monster himself in a terrific transformation sequence that shows the bone-bending, muscle-tearing agony of the change in a way never done up to that time! In his human form, he keeps running into his long-dead pal, now moldering before his eyes, with pieces falling off and everything. He's back from the grave and as funny as he is creepy! AAWIL is full of humor and scares. Lots of blood. Some nudity. Watch it as part of a triple feature with Dog Soldiers & The Howling. Highly recommended...
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