Rating: 
Summary: Reinventing the Werewolf Flick
Review: Director/Writer John Landis and Make-up Artist Rick Baker reinvent the werewolf movie with AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. With definite nods to the classic werewolf and wolfman films of years past, and though more or less adhering to the basic tenets of the traditional werewolf legend, Landis and Baker create a werewolf film that is more tragic, more horrifying, and more realistic than any that have come before it. In other words, it ain't your father's wolfman. (Actually, if you're too young to have seen this movie during its original theatrical run, this just might be your father's wolfman. But Lon Chaney it ain't.)Borrowing from the successful formula of James Whale's classic horror films of the 1930s, Landis uses both macabre humor and visual gruesomeness to tell the story of David Kessler, a young American college student who is bitten by a werewolf and subsequently begins to engage in "carnivorous lunar activities" himself. The juxtaposition of jocularity and repugnance creates a sense of uneasiness that only adds to the tragedy of David's fate, and Landis is successful in milking from this ambivalence a crescendo of terror that reaches its apogee with the film's abrubt, though effective, climax. The contributions of Make-up Artist Rich Baker to the effectiveness of this film should not be underrated. The realism and hideousness that Baker creates with his make-up and related visual effects provide the audience with the ability to suspend disbelief and buy into Landis' tragedy, and without them the film would certainly fail. Many of the effects for the scenes depicting the man-to-wolf metamorphosis are actually ground-breaking make-up effects, and Baker was awarded the 1981 Oscar for Best Make-up (first ever for this category) for his work on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. The 2001 DVD edition of this film does not include Theatrical Trailers or TV spots--a required bonus these days, especially since a previous DVD release did include them--hence the four-star rating. The film alone actually deserves a five-star rating, as it represents both ground-breaking filmmaking and great entertainment. It is a must for fans of the horror film, especially those genre fans who place the werewolf flicks at the top of the list.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious take on a classic horror formula.
Review: You wouldn't think that John Landis, director of 'Trading Places', 'Blues Brothers', and 'Three Amigos', would make a serious horror film, did you? Didn't think so. What Landis has done, however, is skillfully combine shocks and chuckles into a wild romp through one of horror's most worn-out sub-genres: the werewolf movie. Anyone who has seen 'American Werewolf In London' has not forgotten it completely. Many people only remember the startling transformation scene, a make-up masterpiece that would go unrivaled until Rob Bottin's work on John Carpenter's 'The Thing' in 1982, one year later. But those people need to see this film again for the effective performances (especially Griffin Dunne as the ever-rotting Jack) and the tight direction. In fact this film could easily be looked at as the pre-cursor to films like 'Scream', mixing horror and comedy in such a way that it constantly keeps us off-guard, guessing what will come next, a scream or a laugh. And like 'Scream', it's as much of a parody as it is a true example of the genre. The film is also a marvel to look at, with many gloriously lighted locations and eerie, tense atmosphere. But what keeps 'American Werewolf In London' afloat is that it perfectly strikes the balance between gut-wrenching horror and gut-busting humor, making it the perfect date movie and a film that no fan of horror films should miss. The DVD is long-overdue and has some nice extras to it. An interesting interview with special effects master Rick Baker is a nice addition as is the commentary track (by actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne), which is almost as fun as the movie itself. The outtakes are a mixed bag and the featurette leaves a lot to be desired, but all-in-all I couldn't have asked for a better DVD edition of one of my childhood favorites. A perfect purchase for the Halloween season. Trust me people, werewolf flicks don't get any better than this.
Rating:
Summary: An American Werewolf in London
Review: It was midnight and I was in a small strange town in Colorado on my vacation. I was walking to the theater to see the opening of American Werewolf in London. The moon was full and I looked up in the sky and I am not kidding because I have never seen this before or since but the light clouds floating in front of the moon looked like they were stained with blood! I couldn't have picked a more perfect night to see the film.
American Werewolf in London is about two best friends taking a walking tour through the countryside of Great Britain. "Stay on the path and beware of the moors." They are warned by locals. After some light hearted banter they soon realize they have wandered off the path. A sound of a large animal in the distant mist stops them in their tracks and suddenly panic sets in as they realize something unseen is blocking them off at every turn...and then the attack.
American Werewolf is an original blend of the macabre and some truly gruesome but very funny humor delivered especially well by Griffin Dunne as David Naughton's cynical decaying friend who has to convince him he has become a werewolf and is killing the innocent people of London. American Werewolf is scary fun and even has a little sex thrown in for good measure with a nice performance from Jenny Agutter as Naughton's nurse/girlfriend. The film really cleverly uses Van Morrison's Moondance and Creedance Clearwater's Bad Moon on the Rise to perfectly set the tone for the film. Touches like that really make this film memorable. I think most everyone is familiar with Rick Baker's now famous werewolf transformation scene which inspired Michael Jackson to ask John Landis to direct his video "THRILLER". The film holds together great until the gruesome slam bang finale in Picadilly that is a little silly and over the top. But this still ranks as the best and most original Werewolf film made. I have not had the privilege of hearing the extras on the new DVD but they should be a lot of fun because the commentary is by Naughton and Dunne who have really great chemistry together. John Landis also is interviewed in the featurette. This should be a nicer widescreen print than the last DVD however I much preferred the old cover with Naughton and Dunne in the moors than this new closeup of the werewolf. It looks more like a gargoyle what it's supposed to be. If you are lucky enough to have a DTS receiver you are really going to enjoy the sound in the early attack sequence as the werewolf stalks its prey.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best horror films ever
Review: One of the best horror films ever. Combines humor and terror. The werewolf metamorphasis scene has not been rivaled in any other werewolf film. A must buy for horror fans and movie buffs.
Rating:
Summary: Number 4: Top Twenty Greatest Horror Films ever
Review: I rarely give a film 5 stars. Something has to really grab me about it, and in AWIL it's Jenny Agutter. HOw hot can one British woman be ?
Oh, ok. I must admit, the dialouge, the plot. Griffin Dunne as the decomposing corpse, this is dark comedy at its best.
AWIL came at what i claim is the best 5 years in horror movie history. Written and filmed in the same era as the Howling, Scanners, Halloween, etc. For you youngsters, this was back before kids shooting each other in high schools and conservative politicial rants caused Hollywood to tone down violent content. And, before CGI special effects poisoned hollywood against conceptualizing and writing unique scripts.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Werewolf Film of all Time
Review: I was just a toddler when this film came out. It wasn't till I was 10 Years old that i saw it, and it scared the crap out of me! In the movie era of big computer effect(an American werewolf in paris, a phony looking wolf)Rick Baker created the most frightening monster on film, a hugh animatronic wolf that actually scared the audience. And the best and funniest part of the movie was the soundtrack, every song had a "Moon" Theme to it(Blue Moon and Bad Moon Rising) That was a perfect touch to the perfect horror monster of them all, the Werewolf.
Rating:
Summary: Have one DVD looking forward to two.
Review: This DVD version has been a long time in coming. I had to search and search and finally found a DVD copy of this movie on auction site.To see they are releasing it again and making it also availiable in the collectors version is wonderful news. I already reviewed this movie once and gave it very high marks. It is a wonderful horror movie with all the attributes of gore,shock and sex that makes for a wonderful night at the movies. Also the script is wonderfully writen the acting is great.All in all a real tribute to the horror movie makers art!Buy it-you won't be disappointed.By the by don't even bother with the sequel "American Werewolf in Paris" just save your money,it's not even worth a look see.
Rating:
Summary: A truly great monster movie.
Review: That's the way this film was advertised when it came out in 1981, in the classic Universal monster sense "a monster movie." As a child of divorce, I had a weekend Dad that would take my sister and me to any movie regardless of rating (well, within limits) and this one scared us silly. I remember sitting in the theater and watching the transformation (having seen Lon Chaney Jr.'s transformation in "The Wolf Man" I was familiar with the lineage of the genre and the example this film had to live up to... having seen "The Howling" later (not much later, as the films nearly competed with each other theatrically) I was a huge fan of Rob Bottin and his mentor, Rick Baker (not to mention the late, great Dick Smith and the master of splatter, Tom Savini), I was just glued to the screen during one of the coolest effects of all time, just awed by what was happening, and just freaked at the believability of it all when compared to the stop-motion transformation of the Chaney makeup) not to mention the scene with David Naughton ("be a Pepper! Drink Dr. Pepper!) and Jenny Agutter in bed (not to mention the shower)... yowza! (Well, I was 11).
The only thing that's ever bugged me about this film is the lack of what's supposed to be a supremely gory scene that Landis cut out because it overwhelmed the scene that came after it (supposedly, audiences were so grossed out and shocked that they babbled through the entire dialogue scene that followed David waking up in the wolf's pen at the zoo): the scene was the expanded murders of the bums by the dock, and I don't think it makes it to this new DVD version of the film (which is a bummer, because the expanded gore in Verhoven's Robocop (Criterion edition) actually plays better than the MPAA approved version).
In any case, this is a truly great "monster movie" in every sense of the word... it's gross, funny, sexy, exploitative in many ways (the book "Splatter Movies" calls it gore porn), truly a Landis film by dint of it's "in" jokes and orgy of automotive mayhem, and it offers great acting and casting (even in small roles like the Pakistani shift worker at the hospital and the punks on the London Underground). Just an all-around fun movie, with truly amazing, and Oscar-winning effects (still looking awesome and believable... nothing digital comes close!! I'll say it again: digital just ain't there yet... the transformation looks bone crunching, painful, horrific, and stretches the imagination in more ways than one). Bottom line, I've waited for this damn DVD forever... the first edition DVD was slop and went out of print so fast, I was lucky to find a video store copy to rent. No extras on that one... but this one is the one to own.
Rating:
Summary: An American Werewolf is reborn
Review: This was one of the first 'horror' films I ever saw, and it is by far one of the most memorable films of the genre I have ever seen. From the cold, bleak beginnings with the two young American back-packers wandering into The Slaughtered Lamb, there is a certain ominous and effectivly eirey quality from the word go. The comical naivety and the even-more comically sombre attitude that the locals at the pub engage in is movie entertainment at it's best. It sets the scene for the true rollercoaster of a movie that is yet to come. The gore is gorey, the scares are scarey, the comedy is spot on and the surrealism is baffling and highly disturbing. It has to be said that the setting for the film in London is inspired. Of course, the tolken well-mannered coppers and the ever-so nice doctors and nurses seem to be plucked straight out of the nearest Britsih book of cut-out stereotypes, but I don't think the film could have worked any other way. A lot of people claim that Scream (1996) is the best horror-comedy since this little masterpiece, but how they can even be compared is beyond me. Scream mocks (respectivley) an entire genre of slasher movies that died way before Freddy even hung up his old slasher-glove. An American Werewolf was the only, and still is, the only film in it's 'genre'. Original, profound, desperately enteratining and memorable in every aspect. The soundtrack's great (fantastically ominous title music clashing with hilariously cheesy covers and classics). The acting is also spot-on. Buy this film. Buy this film and then wonder why Michael Jackson's Thriller video isn't shown as often as it should be too....
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST WEREWOLF MOVIE !!!
Review: I loved this movie when I first watched it in the theater. It has all the ingredients of a horror film but with a twist of dark humor thrown in. Michael Jackson hired John Landis and Rick Baker to do his Thriller video after seeing this film. And we all know the results of that video. It's a difficult movie to describe since it's both very graphic but also has that dark humorous edge to it.
David Naughton's character is going through that typical evolving realization that he's really a werewolf. But of course he has to have a number of victims before it really sinks in. The creature itself is fantastic.
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