BY MARK MAWSTON
If you’re a fan of American Werewolf In London, Arrow’s
latest Blu-ray release of the film will leave you salivating as much as the
film’s titular beast. Crammed full of
extras, it’s simply stunning and the key point here is that these are mainly new
features and are as informative and essential as the best-ever “making of documentary,
Beware The Moon by Paul Davis, that appears here, as it did on the film’s
previous releases. This Arrow release is a full Rick Baker-style transformation
from good to great as far as quality and content is concerned.
AWIL is easily one of Arrow’s most impressive releases
and finally does justice to what is a fully fledged cult classic. Not only are
the extras superb (including two feature length documentaries, the pick of
which is the brand new documentary about Universal’s Wolfman mythos by Danial
Griffith) but the transfer of the film itself is outstanding.
Earlier this week I asked Director John Landis what he
thought of the transfer, to which he replied:
“I am delighted with the new Arrow release of An
American Werewolf in London. Picture quality is excellent with strong blacks
and you can choose between the original theatrical mono track or the surround
stereo remix. They packed it with extras and a small poster of Graham
Humphrey's excellent new art for the filmâ€.
Not only is the content superb but the packaging is also
up there and deserves to gain the recognition it deserves when it comes to the
Rondo Awards next year. Along those lines I also took the opportunity to ask
the man responsible for the superb new cover art, legendary poster artist
Graham Humphreys (Evil Dead, Nightmare On Elm Street) about how he approached
this commission, the execution of director Landis so admires:
“A fan of ‘An American Werewolf In London’ since going to
the cinema during its first run, I recall leaving the London West End cinema
and walking into the night, in the very same locations that I’d just witnessed
on screen. It was thrilling! I was living it! This particular painting was a
private commission from a fan of the film, one of a series I’ve been creating
for their private poster gallery of 80s horror classics. A previous
illustration of mine had already adorned the book ‘Beware The Moon’ by Paul Davis,
but with a constricted brief. The new commission provided the opportunity to go
‘the full blood’ with imagery. Starting with my client’s requested elements
list, my composition also included the decomposed Jack and the monstrous
stormtroopers, though these additions proved not to their taste, thus resulting
in a compromise and the addition of the transformation sequence (filling the
otherwise vacant space). So although not satisfying my own preferred direction,
the compromise has proven attractive enough to find its way beyond the private
collection. It’s an honour that it has been recognized and appreciated by the
director himself. At some point in the future I’ll ensure my own version makes
it onto paper.â€