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Army of Darkness: Special Edition

Army of Darkness: Special Edition

List Price: $44.98
Your Price: $40.48
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Gimme some sugar, baby!
Review: Before there was Austin Powers, there was...Ash of the Evil Dead Trilogy. In this installment, Ash has evolved from a frightened survivor to a smooth-talking fighter from the 20th century stuck in the Middle Ages. This movie more or less picks up where the second one left off, with Ash trying to defeat the "Deadites" with the help of a small village of people. As with other sequels, this one does stray a little from the original movie, plus it is not so much a horror film as it is a silly comedy. Still though, it does have it moments. Ash's puns have gotten decidedly funnier, but the film itself is not the best of the Evil Dead trilogy. It tries too hard to be an action-comedy, and it does not pay as much homage to its predecessors. Obviously, the budget in this film was a lot bigger than in the first two, but part of what made the first two so good was the fact that they managed to have a good horror flick without a boatload of dollars. Yes, they were cheaply made, but it didn't matter. In this one, it seems like the budget becomes a burden. I think they should have stuck to the formula that made the other two so good and not worried so much about pleasing everyone else. All in all, a good film, but could have been much better.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Outrageous comedy disguised as horror
Review: Boy, after seeing all the trailers and preivews of Army of Darkness back in 1993, it looked like an enjoyable enough fantasy movie with Bruce Campbell, who starred in Brisco County, Jr. (A truly funny series) at the time. But the movie died in the theaters before I had a chance to watch it and it sort of slipped from my mind. Then, just last year, I watched Evil Dead 2 because a friend of mine recommended it; though, I have to say, I didn't like that movie, but when I found out it was the prequel to Army of Darkness I immediately went to the video stores and looked for a copy of the second sequel. Finding it, I watched it and enjoyed it much more than Evil Dead 2.

The plot begins in The Evil Dead (an okay and serious horror movie that's a bit too bloody for its own good) where five college students vacation in a cabin in the woods of Tennessee. Everything is peaceful enough until they find a book inside the basement. After playing a tape that had recorded the chants in the book, it awakens evil spirits in the woods and they systematically possess each person. Eventually, only Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) remains an intact person at the end of the movie and Evil Dead 2 chronicles his continuing battle with the spirits (now known as Deadites)in the woods (he can't leave since the bridge out is destroyed). At the end of Evil Dead 2, a few more chants are read and a portal is opened, transporting Ash and his Chevy to the year 1300, a time when the Deadite terror was at an all-time high. The villagers believe him to be the Chosen One, making Ash reluctantly agree to search for the Necronomicon, the same book that caused all of Ash's problems in the future (or past, whatever). With the book he can help the villagers defeat the Deadites and help himself return to his own time, but it's only a matter of time before his own clumsy brain gets him into a bigger mess.

Ash is back, and much better than ever! After the less than mediocre Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness is a major improvement. This time, there's more action, adventure, outrageous humor with a comedic tour-de-force performance from Bruce Campbell.

I was thoroughly impressed with the special effects, which are intentionally cheesy, but done well, nonetheless. The sets are pretty good but nothing more than a large medieval castle is really shown during most of the movie. Certainly, the best part of the movie is Campbell's quest for the Necronomicon that leads him to a windmill and a pack of his clones and a graveyard full of three-stooges skeletons.

Army of Darkness is placed in the horror section in all the video stores, but it's an all-out action/comedy with snappy one-liners. The humor can be somewhat dark but it mostly feels oriented for adolescents and young teenagers. There's some similarity in the comedy style between this movie and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, although I find AoD more entertaining because of its action sequences and a somewhat more coherent plot. I also enjoyed the time loop in this series. In Evil Dead 2, it was mentioned that a man ridded the world from the terrors of the Deadites in the year 1300 to which Ash replies that the man didn't do a very good job of it, not knowing he's the one who defeated the Deadites even though at that point he hadn't gone back in time yet, although paradoxically, he already had.

My only complaint is that the movie's 81 minute running time is too short. There is the new version that's 15 minutes longer but it's ending is far below satisfactory, unlike the theatrical version's "showdown with a witch" ending.

This is a fun, enjoyable, and very entertaining comedy that's nowhere near as gory as critics seem to think (In fact, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is just as bloody if not more). Also, Amazon's review states that Army of Darkness is strictly for horror fans. Well, I know many friends of mine who have seen this movie without knowing it's a part of a horror trilogy and they found it to be hilarious.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The video box lied
Review: The movie ARMY OF DARKNESS is great and I recommend it. However, if you have never seen the movie before, just get the regular version- you can get it for 5 dollars. This version I paid $18 for. It claimed that it was, quote, "The uncut version originally turned in(...) before it was edited." It also quotes "Now bootleggers can find something else to sell at conventions." The first statement is a lie and the second goes along with it. This video is NOT complete. Although it does have a few scenes, there are scenes that are shown on television that are not on ANY version of the video! I bought this because I thought they would include all the missing scenes, including TV scenes. One of the more interesting scenes was a longer battle scene when Ash is captured, where he actually threatens Arthur with a sword. This is missing in the so called "uncut/complete" version! I could have kept my Japanese laserdisc bootleg and saved my money, but because I thought this would be so much better, I spent my money on it. As for the "bootleg" comment- I still have a copy of the version I taped off of television, so no this doesn't stop bootlegging. And don't pay too much attention to the word "letterbox"- there are two little tiny lines across the top and bottom. There is so little trimmed off the sides in the "pan and scan" version that a letterbox release is unnecessary. All in all, I feel ripped off. Not only this, but also, there is a Limited Edition(which I am commenting on) and a "Collector's Edition." The Collector's Edition has a behind-the-scenes special and the trailer but not all the new scenes. These are NOT on the Limited Edition, even though it is $5 higher in price. In other words, Anchor Bay is saying "Ha ha loyal fans of THE EVIL DEAD. We are releasing several versions of the movie and you must buy them all just to get the parts you want! Ha ha ha!"

Please, whoever edits these "uncut" versions: When you claim you have the undedited version, make sure it is actually unedited. I wish I could return this rip-off of a video. Take my advice- if you buy this movie, be prepared to find scenes missing(even though it claims to be undedited). What annoys me even more is Bruce Campbell is the one who wrote this inside the video liner notes! Did he just not know better?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: BUY IT NOW!
Review: I loved this movie so much, I've bought 3 copies! Seriously! Cleaner, smoother and funnier than the other two. If you are a cult horror buff, I do not recommend it as you may be disappointed due to the lack of scares. For anyone who wants undemanding slapstick fun on the other hand-BUY IT NOW!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Army of Dumbness
Review: This movie was absolutely the dumbest horror movie ever made. I suggest For any who thinks this is scary to watch The Excorcist. Then you'll really get the hell scared out of you.I have to admit though that the movie did make me laugh and nobody could've made it better than Bruce Campbell. This movie might have made it bigger if it was located in the comedy section of a video store.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Best B-Movie Out There (and a great DVD too!)
Review: Army of Darkness is an extremely rare movie in one regard: it's a silly movie that knows it's silly; it has all the gloriously pathetic one-liners that can be asked for, wonderful acting and physical comedy on Bruce Campbell's part, and battle scenes that are both fabulous and cheesy looking at the same time. I am, though, rather dismayed with the "R" rating this movie received - it's just too silly to be seen as offensive. But, I'll leave my critique of the movie rating system for another time (heh, heh).... The Limited Edition is worth every penny. The commentary by Campbell and the Raimi brothers is side-splittingly funny as well as informative. The "making of feature" is also interesting, as are the story boards, trailer, deleted scenes and creature drawings (its obvious that everyone had a lot of fun making this DVD). Its also interesting having the two versions of the film, but it left me wishing that there was a third cut. The battle scenes in the Director's Cut were much better and - as pointed out in the commentary - make much more sense. Overall, the directors cut should have been used as a base, with the theatrical version's vastly superior one-liners and ending and prudent lack of a sex scene (Raimi pointed out, and I agree, that the sex-scene was completely inappropriate - it just makes the movie WAY too serious. Ash and Sheela's relationship really was much better left at "Gimme some sugar, baby.") Overall, an extremely fun movie that stays funny with multiple viewings.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Groooovy!
Review: This is definetely one of the best horror films ever made. I do own a copy of this movie and there is a reason why. The film is very creative and scares the audience and at the same time, makes them laugh. The film has wonderfuly witty punch-lines ( if you have seen it, you know what I'm talking about). The speacial effects, I hate to say, are not very good but are far better than the ones in the first two films of the Evil Dead series. Besides, who really cares about the special effects? All in all, the film is brilliant and should be better recocnized than it is. A definant classic!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another Beautiful Digital Transfer From Anchor Bay
Review: You'll really get your money's worth out of "Army of Darkness" on DVD. The picture quality on some DVDs really doesn't look much better than the picture quality of VHS tapes. But, here the digital transfer is gorgeous. The picture is clean and bright. As I watched it, I thought, "yes, this is why I bought a DVD player."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great Cult Movie
Review: This is one of the best cult movies ever. Get with friends of family, you won't be disapointed. Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are great horror movies too. Army of Darkness is a must have for any movie goer.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Funny uh oh
Review: Picks up where the second left off. Campbell is transported back through time with his chainsaw to the days of black knights and the landscape just happens to be crawling with dead people. He is tasked by the village people to save them against the evil which he excepts on the basis of being sent home directly after. A nice recovery over part 2 is smothered in immature jokes that will have the kiddies laughing their butts off. Not really designed for an R rating, this is plenty safe for children. In fact, one could argue that this was entirely made for children. Older generations won't get much of a kick out of this.


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