An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 27, 2019

Having recently returned from a wonderful trip to northern England and Scotland, I can state with some confidence that I encountered virtually no werewolves of any kind — that I remember, anyway. In just one of several kind of cheeky approaches writer-director John Landis takes in An American Werewolf in London, those “quaint” (backlot) locations that were typically either fictional, fictionalized or even unnamed in any number of the vintage Universal horror films are given a relatively more realistic depiction here, with two American hitchhikers, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne) supposedly trekking through the North York Moors (actual filming was evidently done in Wales, for what that's worth). Despite the obviously winking subtext of a lot of An American Werewolf in London, there’s an at least somewhat more authentic feeling to the opening scenes of the film, where David and Jack interact with some of the locals before unwisely venturing out into the moors on a night with a full moon, which is when they interact with another “local”, to disastrous effect for both of them. An American Werewolf in London is probably best remembered today for its bracing “combo platter” of comedy and horror, as well as its Academy Award winning makeup effects by Rick Baker (the first ever statuette awarded for such work), and it remains a rather entertaining romp that can simultaneously provoke laughs (or at least titters) along with more shocked responses from what are some pretty graphic depictions of wounds and, later, transformations.

An American Werewolf in London has had a couple of previous releases (along with various special packaging releases like steelbooks) on Blu-ray courtesy of its "home" studio, Universal. For those wanting a complete plot recap, I refer you to my colleague Casey Broadwater's An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray review. A so-called "restored" version was released several years later, and those interested can peruse Martin Liebman's An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray review of that version. Both of these reviews can offer good opportunities for those wanting side by side (by side) screenshot comparisons. I'd note for you folks who keep track of scores that I evidently am a bit more of a fan of the overall film than either Casey or Marty is, and so my score in that regard reflects that opinion.

An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

An American Werewolf in London is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

An American Werewolf in London has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with mono and 5.1 sound.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at NBC Universal's Studio Post facility. The film was graded and restored in 2K resolution at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The grade was approved by director John Landis.

The original mono mix was remastered from the original mag reels at Deluxe Audio Services, Hollywood.

It's kind of interesting and maybe even instructive to look back over the two previous Blu-ray releases from Universal and see the slow but steady improvement in image quality subsequent releases have offered, something that this Arrow release continues. The first Universal release got a 3.0 score from Casey, and in just the latest installment of "different reviewers, different opinions", I might not have been as generous as that middling assessment in my score for that version. Just comparing the first screenshot of Casey's review with the first one in this review will reveal several significant improvements in image quality, with the first Universal release looking (to my eyes, anyway) artificially sharpened and with at least somewhat boosted brightness. Grain also looks considerably rougher and even mottled in that first Universal release, something that I'm attributing at least in part to (again what looks to me like) sharpening efforts. Things get a little more nuanced with regard to the second "restored" release reviewed by Marty, who gave that release a 4.0. Things on that second release are definitely an improvement in my estimation, with a less processed look and what to my eyes look like more normal brightness levels. That said, this Arrow release looks even better in terms of "natural" brightness to me, and the grain field also looks a bit more organic. The Arrow version offers really excellent detail levels across the board, with everything from close cropped patterns on things like suit jackets or even the increasingly gruesome signs of decay offered in close-ups of Jack (Griffin Dunne) appearing precise and well defined. Shadow detail is at least marginally improved here, with better looks in the "nooks and crannies" of everything from the moors to some of the dimly lit interior sequences later. The palette pops with good authenticity throughout, especially with regard to elements like David's bright red hiking vest. There are still some rough looking moments here, as with the two previous releases, notably some of the early material where grain is fairly splotchy and yellow looking (see screenshot 19).

An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Neither Casey nor Marty was that blown away by the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks on the releases they reviewed, but neither of those releases offered the original mono track from the initial theatrical exhibition, which is included here via DTS-HD Master Audio mono. The mono track is obviously more "confined" sounding than the surround track, but is quite enjoyable on its merits, offering good fidelity and generally smart prioritization. As Casey and Marty noted, the surround track isn't a nonstop array of "showy" effects, but it certainly does engage the side and rear channels with a fair degree of regularity, offering good placement of ambient environmental effects both outdoors (the moors sequence is notable in this regard) but even with regard to some of the urban environments. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout.

An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Several of these supplements were included on the previous Universal releases. I've attempted to mark what I think are the new supplements with an asterisk (*) below:

• Audio Commentary by Paul Davis*


• Audio Commentary with Actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne


• Mark of the Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf* (1080p; 1:17:18) is an absolutely wonderful retrospective by Daniel Griffith that revisits some of those very backlot locations I mentioned above while giving a nice history of Universal's history with werewolves.


• An American Filmmaker in London* (1080p; 11:41) is a fun new interview with John Landis, who discusses working in England.


• Wares of the Wolf* (1080p; 7:58) is another new piece featuring SFX Artist Dan Martin discussing things like makeup and special effects, while also looking at costumes and props from the film, with Prop Store's Tim Lawes.


• I Think He's a Jew: The Werewolf's Secret* (1080p; 11:26) is a really engaging video essay by Jon Spira about his perceived subtext of Jewish identity in the film, which is actually something I mentioned to a noted film critic decades ago, who completely pooh-poohed the idea. Way to go, Mr. Spira, it's nice to know there are two of us.


• The Werewolf's Call* (1080p; 11:26) is a dialogue between Corin Hardy and Simon Ward about their histories with the film.


• Beware the Moon (1080i; 1:37:39) is the excellent retrospective by Paul Davis which features numerous cast and crew interviews, and which was previously released on the Universal versions.


• Making An American Werewolf in London (1080p; 4:54) is a short archival piece with some fun footage of Naughton's head mold being formed and Landis' skill (?) as a stuntman.


• An Interview with John Landis (720p; 18:19) is another archival piece.


• Make Up Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London (720p; 11:13) offers Baker's memories of working on the film and at least a few other aspects of his career.


• I Walked With a Werewolf (1080i; 7:30) is a fun archival interview with Rick Baker which gets into Universal's history with wolfman characters.


• Casting of the Hand (1080p; 10:59) is an archival look from October 1980 at more of the casting processes David Naughton underwent to create some of the prosthetics for the film.


• Outtakes (1080p; 3:07) are windowboxed, with timecodes and without a soundtrack.


• Storyboard Featurette (1080p; 2:27) offers two kinda sorta side by side frames, one with storyboards, the other with footage from the film.


• Original Trailers*

  Trailer (1080p; 2:53)

  
  

  Teaser (1080p; 1:01)

  
  

  TV Spot (1080p; 00:31)

• Image Galleries* are authored for Manual Advance, hence no timings:

  Production Stills (1080p)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes (1080p)

  
  

  Posters (1080p)

  
  

  Lobby Cards (1080p)

  
  

  Storyboards (1080p) contains some really interesting introductory (text) comments by artist John Bruno.

  
  

  Shooting Schedule (1080p)

Additionally, this is yet another Arrow release that features some extremely handsome packaging, as well as some non disc "swag". The chipboard slipbox has engaging cover art, and it holds another pamphlet sized booklet with essays and technical data, a folded mini-poster, and the disc keepcase, which itself contains six postcards as well as Arrow's usual larger cardstock promotional insert, which in my set contained the cover artwork (I can't guarantee that all of these cardstock inserts will be uniform, as my experience is the film being advertised on this piece, which advertises "joining the cult" on its obverse side, seems to have been random on previous releases, rarely if ever related directly to the actual disc).

An American Werewolf in London Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

An American Werewolf in London is actually a rather sweet love letter to Universal's heritage with the Wolfman, but it manages to update the basic storyline with some post-modern irony and healthy doses of both humor and gore. This was one of my favorite films the year it came out, and I've continued to admire its rather bracing blend of gross out effects and at times rather trenchant comedy. Arrow has done fans an enormous service by offering a release with excellent technical merits and really engaging supplements. Highly recommended.