Rating: 
Summary: Must Have Even If A Few Flaws....
Review: I have noticed others complained about this DVD. Of course, they fail to realize that time has past. We all expect the super clear digital quality, but as time goes normal film prints fade down. And not that the original theatrical release was all that perfect either. If you look and watch carefully, you can see scratches, hairs, etc. on the screen (closeups, even the graveyard scenes). Second, we as Americans come to expect the hero lives and thrives so the eventual sequel is made. Whop-ti-do. The fact that Ash (in this director's cut) screws up and damns himself to a world destroyed is more ironic that bringing the "evil" back with him. (BTW, anyone care to note that the wise man was to use a spell to rid of the evil forever? Even though they don't show it, it is heavily applied throughout he would. That would mean even if Ash screwed up the words, the evil would be dead and could not follow him) I enjoyed the director's ending when I moved to Europe and bought the British release of the video. In Europe, the movie was released almost the same except it contained the original ending, some of these scenes included in this disc in place of other scenes that where cut short. The little Ash scenes where heavily butchered. Plus Ash says "I ain't THAT good" when he shoots Evil Ash instead of "Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun." The ending was in place to stop the Evil Dead movies. Universal forced him to make the "american" ending (surprise, suprise! as it was only shown in American theaters with the "S-Mart Ending",) as they wanted to cash in just in case it was a money maker. We as Americans expect the good guy to go on. I think Sam had a good sense of irony that only can be discovered if we experince more out of life than the over-the-top ending. Try living in Europe for two years. I still laugh when Ash falls to his knees and cries out "OH NO! I'VE SLEPT TOO LONG! " It reminds me of PLANET OF THE APES. So, in short: Just experience the movie and stop trying to worry about the clarity of the picture or the difference. It still stands on its own. BTW, check out DARKMAN...it was made just before AOD.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite films to Own on DVD.
Review: (...) I own the Theatrical Version and Original Version on DVD, both for Anchor Bay Entertainment. Theatrical version, the sound in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound. 20 minute featurette. Original theatrical trailer has some scene didn`t appear theatrical relase. Original Ending. Full-Screen and Widescreen Anomorphic Format 1:66.1 but it`s a good thing is more like 1:78.1 WS/Format is almost close to the original 1:85.1 WS/Format. On the another hand, the Limited Edition-Director`s Cut has great audio commentary by the Director:Sam Raimi and His Brother co-wrote the film:Ivan Raimi and Of Course:Bruce Campbell. Storyboards on the film, while you are watching the film with opitinal selection. Deleted Scenes with/without Commentary by the director and star of the film. Widescreen Anomorphic Format and Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound.There is some people didn`t like this DVD, because the picture or sound. Quality on Picture is fine, some scenes needed better contrast, Colors could have at times be better but added footage had some very dark scenes and contrast is little too dark but fine quality from anchor bay entertainment. Some people are [complaining] about the Sound, is only stereo surround sound (It`s not Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround but does work on a 6 Channel Sound"), to me, sound quality is very good. Don`t [complain] too long, is the last time, you can own this Director`s Cut on DVD. Last year was a Limited Two Disc Edition owning two different version of the film. Maybe by next month, the director`s cut will be gone on sales and this is collector`s to keep. The longer cut of the film is better on the DVD than the VHS Edtion. Some Scenes in the added footage is better picture quality on the DVD than the VHS. I know, i own both Limited Edtion DVD and VHS. Grade:A-.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't get this version!
Review: It is unfortunate that I have to agree with previous reviews listed here that this particular version of Army of Darkness is not the one to get. I already owned the 'theatrical edition' (also available here at Amazon - the cover is different to this one) but bought this as well just to get the extra 15 minutes of footage and deleted scenes. This was somewhat of a mistake. The menu is the same as the theatrical edition, with just a few changes to content. The deleted scenes I did find amusing, particuarly the "windmill scene" which adds 6 extra minutes to Ash's growing insanity, very much in the style of Evil Dead 2 (quiet, no dialogue, blank stares..). Also the original beginning gives a darker impression of the movie, like ED2 - I would assume both of these were removed simply because of that fact; Universal wanted to market this movie as a seperate entity. The quality of the movie varies. With the scenes that are the same as the theatrical edition, the quality is perfect. However, when a "directors cut" bit kicks in, the entire scene drops into bad rental VHS quality. This simply is not acceptable, and I don't see how Bruce Campbell could put his name on the back of this (perhaps they only showed him the scenes from the other version). It is good to see these scenes, but unfortunately it is hard to watch them. I know I will only watch this version of the DVD when I want to see the extra footage itself. Another bad point is the soundtrack. The theatrical edition has a full 5.1 soundtrack, yet only the menu in this edition exhibits this quality - the movie itself is presented in 2.0 Surround sound. So once again, do yourself a favour and buy the theatrical edition of the DVD listed above, and not THIS one unless you have money to burn and really want to see the extra footage.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Supplement
Review: I now understand why there was an earlier limited collector's edition which included two versions of the film -- one being the original theatrical version and the other the director's cut. As some other reviewers have noted, the "restored" footage/scenes look absolutely horrible, something like bad video. These occur mostly during the windmill scene and the long final battle scene. While much is added in these scenes, it's nothing all that spectacular (nothing to warrant the severe drop in quality). What I enjoyed more was the deleted scenes section. This added a great deal of continuity to the film, particularly to the windmill scene. The whole bit with the mirror in the windmill always seemed a bit odd, but the deleted sequence which covers the period where Ash is running from "evil" and later smashes into the mirror has a nice feel and simply makes more sense. Further, it answers how Ash recovers his horse. The commentary is solid as various camera and effects techniques are explained, also the DVD features an innovative film to storyboard comparison with the storyboards appearing simultaneously in the lower right-hand corner of the screen throughout the film. Lastly, I prefer the original theatrical ending, and it should have been included as well. All in all, I think you should only get this, if you already have the original theatrical version and want a supplemental disk.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie! Bad DVD
Review: Right off the bat let me say that the visual quality of this DVD is THEE worst i have ever seen. I saw the movie twice in the theater and at least a half dozen times on VHS and i never remember that quality being this bad. Some of the scenes are restored beautifully, while some are just horrible. The action scenes are a blurry mess, especially the windmill scene. Very distracting. The fact that this is Director approved makes me question Sam Raimi's ability as a Filmmaker. Another big problem i had with this film is that it's not Dolby 5.1. A six speaker system is wasted here. 2.0 is weak weak weak! The deleted scenes are interesting and the commentary is entertaining but it's not enough for me to recommend this DVD to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: TOOOO DARK FOR THE ARMY..
Review: ARMY OF DARKNESS, IS BY FAR A CULT CLASSIC. BUT IT'S WAY TO DARK FOR DVD. THE MOVIE ALONE IS AWESOME,BUT THE QUALITY OF THE FILM IS WAY TO POOR IN SOME PARTS OF THE MOVIE. I RECOMMEND THE REGULAR VERSION OF THIS FILM. THE SOUND IS GOOD, BUT IT SHOUDL'VE BEEN MORE FOR DVD. IT SHOULD OF HAD THX, OR DTS ATTACHED TO IT. I WAS SO EXCITED TO GET THIS MOVIE, BUT NOW I THINK I'LL TRADE IT IN FOR THE BASIC VERSION. ALL THE EXTRA'S WITH THE DVD, LIKE THE ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE AND ALTERNATE ENDING IS A VERY GOOD ADDITION TO THIS TITLE. IT'S NO, "MATRIX OR INDEPENDENCE DAY AS FAR AS SOUND GOES. I CAN SEE WHY THEY CUT ALL THE FOOTAGE OUT, IT WASN'T NEEDED AS FAR I CAN SEE. I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL IT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED,..RENT IT FIRST AND THEN YOU DECIDE IF IT'S WORTH IT. IF YOU EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO GO GET THE BASIC VERSION OF..ARMY OF DARKNESS. THANK YOU....
Rating: 
Summary: Very Very Unhappy
Review: I love the film, and there ends the theatrical review. This DVD Video is the worst quality I have ever seen. Entire Sections of film exhibit a "filtered" like quality with a purple banding on the right of the screen; the effect seems linked to the stop motion elements of the film. Colours are muggy and the overall intensity of the film renders it very difficult to see what is going on.This is a severely distracting and irritating making the film unwatchable. On the other hand the parts without the stop motion are perfect with high colour definition and deep blacks. How could a DVD with such diametric qualities make it through to the End Users. THE VHS VERSION IS FAR SUPERIOR. PS - A supposed special edition and it doesn't even include both endings....who made this DVD again. I'll make a point never to buy there products again.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST OF THE THREE
Review: Army was terrific. Cant wait for Sam Raimis career to faulter so a fourth can be made.
Rating:
Summary: Director's Cut a big dissapointment
Review: While I love Army of Darkness more than life itself, I was hugely let down by the Director's Cut DVD. Not only is it woefully short on extra features (no theatrical trailer, no cast / crew bios; to be fair, there is director's commentary and a storyboard function that's sort of neat, but not -that- neat), the shortcomings are many. The "extra footage" is negligible, split up into several 5-second blips that you'll likely only catch if you've seen the movie ten times or more. Some of the best lines ("Good.... bad...I'm the guy with the gun") have been stripped in favor of less-funny replacements (or just stripped), and the new ending, though I've seen it previous to buying this edition, is a good portion less entertaining than the theatrical ending. This would all be OK by itself, but there are some -terrible-quality issues with the DVD - during any portion involving stop-motion, the picture quality simply tanks -- there's huge purple lines at one edge of the screen, and the color gets so dark and muddy that it's actually inferior to VHS. the color and quality snaps back whenever there's -not- stop-motion, so it feels like you're watching two different films, twenty years apart, haphazardly spliced together. It's extremely distracting and impossible to get over. Having rushed to buy the Director's Cut, I now find myself wishing I'd just bought the "vanilla" theatrical edition instead... my money would not have been wasted. I am sorry and disappointed to advise you not to purchase the Director's Cut.
Rating:
Summary: Alright you primitive screwheads, LISTEN UP.
Review: See this? This...IS THE FUNNIEST FILM I HAVE EVER SEEN! Ol' Bruce is supberb in this film, which is a nice welcome due to the seriousness of the last two. I recommend this film to anybody who wants a quick laugh. GROOVY.
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