The Evil Dead

Rating:
Summary: Great Package - Beware the DVD
Review: If you're a fan then this is worth buying just for the packaging. The DVD itself is pretty good, too. However, the original release of "Evil Dead" was not widescreen but full frame, so this is a rare instance where the 1.33:1 aspect ratio is the correct version and not the widescreen version presented here. So, if you want to see the movie as it was originally shown, the elite version is the way to go, but if you want packaging that rocks - get this.

Rating:
Summary: Great Package for a GREAT MOVIE
Review: Maybe this movie is not what people usually watch, but even if you don't watch movies like this you should give this one a chance. Watching this movie is a great experience if you like Cinema, Raimi gave us one of the most experimental camera work ever and it gave the movie it's own look, that just Raimi have been able to do in his other movies again.
The Book is great for all fans out there, it has some blank pages so you can get your autographs there. And the Extra stuff is Great, but for a movie like this one no matter what they put in the DVD it's never enough, because you will always want more from Ash and the Evil Dead.

Rating:
Summary: Dear God This is Just Bad
Review: After the largest mislabeling scandal in video history this movie remains the worst thing to hit Hollywood since the plot for Halloween 3. I deeply feel sorry for the people thinking they were buying Ben Hur (an actually good movie) and due to the scandal ended up with this [junk]. Is it any wonder Bruce Campbell's career has hit virtual rock bottom. Just watch this low budget [stink]fest. A bunch of poorly animated monsters attack some people in a cabin. At first the gore and killing of the monsters is pretty crazy and entertaining but it soons becomes stale and repetitive after 82 minutes of the same wackiness. Calling this a "cult classic" is unbelievable since there really is nothing classic about it.

Rating:
Summary: A film for sadists?
Review: That's what a previous reviewer called this film. I strongly disagree. It seems to me that he failed to realise that this film wasn't intented to be a dark comedy. It's a horror movie. And the purpose of a horror move is to scare and shock us (which this flick does quite well). Not to make us laugh. He went on to compare this film to porn. How can you compare the two??? Unlike porn in which the sex is pretty much real, the violence and gore in this film is SIMULATED. I've seen this movie a few times and of course the first time it scared the hell out of me! But during repeated viewings one cannot help but laugh at the bad acting and the cheesy (though gruesome) effects. It's not seeing a person getting mutilated that gets a chuckle out of me, it's the hokeyness of it! Anyways, I'm through venting.
This is probably my least favorite of the ED trilogy but when I saw a picture of this collectible edition I had to get it! The same illustrated pages within the Necronomicon in the film can be found in the cover! (I'm still having a hard time deciphering the text) There's also a nifty little booklet included. Of course there are alot of extra goodies within the DVD itself with a couple of hidden surprises! My favorite was the 'Fanalysis' feature with Bruce Campbell himself. There's only 2 small problems however. On the inside back cover of the book the DVD is enclosed in a tight plastic sleeve. It's a struggle to get the disc out without scratching it up. Unlike the actual Necronomicon in the movie this edition isn't made of human flesh but judging from the way it smells you'd think it was. It stank up my whole room the evening I brought it home! But other than that I'm pretty damn satisfied. If only more movies had specials editions as cool as this!

Rating:
Summary: Coolest version of Evil Dead yet
Review: Yes I am a Dead head, an evil dead head, I always buy the newest version of the DVD when they come out but when i heard about the book of the dead edition i flipped, i finally got to see pictures of the casing and was a bit disapointed but once i saw this on the store shelf i had to have it, it is so much cooler looking in real life then int he photos, also, you get the standard commentary with the first evil dead re release but you also get this awesome Fanfare documentary put together by Bruce, overall it is a good colelction of stuff and if you shop around you can probably find an even better price, although the amazon price is pretty good, there is also a pretty well rounded book included with evil dead info and all the good stuff fromt he frst release on DVD, if you can swing the extra bucks i would defiantely pick this up.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Video Transfer, a price only a fanboy would love.
Review: I'm not gonna turn this into a long review, basically I'll say that this has got to be one of the nicest, cleanest DVD's I've seen in a long time.

Video is so clean you'd think the movie was filmed and transfered to DVD digitally. (I'm not an audiophile, I'm sure some of you will notice stuff, but considering prints of this video in the past, trust me when I say this disc is really nice.)

Sound track was remixed into a "stunning" DTS-ES sound track (That's that new Dolby Digital 6.1 with the extra rear center track) and is quite delightful to listen too.

Price blows, but if your a fan it's still worth it. Of course if your a fan with a tight pocketbook, I will tell you that I found a store selling it for less. I won't tell you where though, it would be unfair and kindda rude, buy it here.

Excuse me, I'm gonna go chop up my girlfriend now.

Oh yeah, Hail to the Chin, baby...

Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING, AMAZING, A MUST BE FOR EVERY GOREHOUND
Review: Blood everywhere and you stand in the middle of it, the first time I saw this movie I got very very surprised I was scared, this is the best of the best in horror movies, I have saw it 23 times and donÂ't bore me because is very strong. GREAT FXS, ATONISHING CAMERA MOVEMENTS JUST ONE BY ONE WE WILL TAKE YOU!!!

Rating:
Summary: Its hotter than a mildly warm coffee with no sugar its:
Review: THE BOOK OF THE DEAD LIMITED EDITION
Da dada da da da... daaaaaaa!!!!!

Here we are at the apex of all DVD collectibles. Now its a costly investment Ill give you that but if you are just a fan of the film you wont be getting this, youll just go for the edition with a proper case that will fit neatly in your collection. But this, this is for us fans who now will spend, spend, spend for this gem to be placed on the mantle to scare the elderly parents when they come to visit.

"What is that son?"
"Oh that? Well thats just the BOOK OF THE DEAD!!!!"

Ok. Now the DVD is personally one of my faves in my ever expanding DVD library. It has the commentaries which are endlessly humorous as you would expect from these depraved filmmakers. There is a nice gallery but the really good stuff is the FanAlysis doco on there a production by Bruce 'Just call me Ash' Campbell. Oh yeah and there are a couple of very nice easter eggs in there too. (for the unititiated that means hidden features)

The book istself. The cover is the version seen in the opening of Evil Dead II but the pages inside are from this film. And yes if you look closely all that text is a bastardised version of the english language and it does translate completely. I have done the whole thing... Thank you... And it is quite amusing spending hours all agitated then looking down the next morning and going 'Oh it says FLYING DEADITES not FLU IN DEAD I TEST'. Give it a go!!!!! Its highly entertaining. Plus the illustrations are very well done.

One problem though is the DVD itself is in a horrid little slip case where the opening is in the shape of womans ovaries (you remember those print outs at school) and the DVD gets scratched easily.

Now the picture is remarkable, colors jump out and everything is so clear! You see all these mistakes you never would with your old smudgy vhs. Like reflections of the camera man in the window when they first enter the cabin and the producer standing in the bushes as the car crosses the bridge is now so clear you wont have to keep rewinding for the slow friends who kept on missing it. Audio is tremendous great surround, crisp and clear. If anything the audio is clearer than the picture because the film is still grainy.

Its presented in widescreen and it really makes the film seem more professional. Plus the animated menus will make you giggle like a schoolboy...well maybe just me then.

Oh yeah the actual film. Well its a cheesy horror film with tones of excess gore and unnessisary violence. Its a hoot youll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding packaging, but...
Review: I don't think a whole lot has to be said about the movie itself, it's been covered already. An incredible, classic movie.
The packaging is pretty darn cool. The look, the feel, the way it looks on your coffee table...
But, I was extremely disappointed with the "wide-screen" aspect of this dvd. The Elite dvd, an awesome dvd in it's own right, was full frame, and I was pretty sure that if the movie was wide at all, it was only slightly. It seemed full frame was the best way to see this movie. So when I was watching the disc, I couldn't believe how wide this dvd was. I had to investigate. Playing both dvds side by side, my suspicions were correct. Yes, the book of the dead dvd is slightly, and I mean slightly wider. But boy oh boy, did they chop off the top and the bottom to give it a phony wide-screen look. I just don't understand why Anchor Bay would do that. It's just silly.
So should you buy this? If [you like] packaging, then yes. If you're not, then look for the Elite version of the dvd. The picture is superior. The only extras this dvd has is a couple of useless documentaries, that aren't particularly interesting and don't add anything to your viewing experience of The Evil Dead.

Rating:
Summary: Grab The Book Of The Dead DVD Before It's Too Late!
Review: This is any fans or collectors dream! For the very first time the original classsic, The Evil Dead, is being presented in the WIDESCREEN format (1.85:1) and encased in a replica of the original Book of the Dead, which includes actual pictures from the book that was used in the film. The outer casing of the book is amazing..very soft like styrophone, great detail and craftsmenship...your hands will shake when you first touch it. The DVD is hidden on the last page of the book with a mini book about the genesis of the film located just before it. I found the mini booklet very informative (and you will too!). The DVD itself conatains all the extra features from the original Special Edition DVD released by Elite Entertainment: The Behind the Scenes Footage & Outakes are the same. Both audio commentaries are identical to that release. The Still Frame Gallery is different from the first release with many new & different pictures given (a reason to keep your Elite version if you're a collector). You have to check out "Fanalysis" a short documentary starring and directed by the great Bruce Campbell himself, which focuses on the fans of Evil Dead as well as Campbells own experiences at Sci-fi conventions and his devotion to his many admireres. The other "making of", entitled "Discovering Evil Dead" is far less interesting simply because Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, & Ted Raimi are not included in the featurette. The theatrical trailer is also released in Widescreen and you even get some TV Spots as well which is rare. The other big bonus is the film has DTS sound for the very first time and it sounds fantastic! You can expect future DTS releases for Evil Dead 2 & Army of Darkness sometime soon. If we're lucky, maybe each film will be encased in its own Book of the Dead...or at least a Boxed Set, right Anchor Bay?!

On a personal note, the first time I viewed this film, I dared it to scare me, so I watched it by myself at midnight with no lights on and the sound way up on my VCR (many years ago this was). HUGE MISTAKE!! I couldn't sleep the next few days and had nightmares of deadites screaming "JOIN US!!!!" at me. Truly one of the scariest movies ever made! But act fast and pick this Book of the Dead DVD release up soon before it's no longer available. (remember what happened to the Army of Darkness 2 disc set?)

The Evil Dead - A Horror Classic!

"Kill her if you can...LOVERBOY!!!!"