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An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Director: John Landis
Cast overview: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter
Running time: 97 minutes
This is a film I've been meaning to watch for a while, and it seemed from the outset something I'd like. Set in England, it centres around two American college students who are attacked by a werewolf while walking on the rural country moors of Yorkshire. I was also interested as I thought Griffin Dunne's performance in After Hours was great. What did surprise me about this was that the main plot strand actually only lasts for the first twenty minutes or so of the film.
Did I enjoy this? Yes, reasonably. It's certainly an unorthodox film, but it's nevertheless interesting. There are some nice touches in the film - the parochial part-Yorkshire setting, the use of only songs with "moon" in the title. This was clearly a project that Landis was passionate about, and I heard he wrote the script ten years before he used it. This is clearly a labour of love, yet one that feels uncertain and rushed despite this.
What I didn't like were the dream sequences - I just felt they were superfluous and unnecessary, and didn't really do much to advance the story. The story should be simple and easy to follow; it isn't. That's the thing about this film - it's divisive. You feel sure you know what's going on but you begin to doubt yourself. I suppose it's quite clever in a way, and it's certainly a film that would require multiple watches, I reckon, in order to fully appreciate the qualities it does undoubtedly have - apt soundtrack (The Marcels' "Blue Moon" is particularly good), wonderful special effects, good locations.
The ending seems to have particularly divided people - personally it was one of the things about the film I liked. Overall, a decent film that I think could have been done far better, but it still works well with what's there. Recommended.
Quotes
Dart Player: Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors.
Chess Player: Beware the moon, lads.
Jack: It's a full moon...
Jack, David: [remembering the warning they received] Beware the moon...
David: And stick to the road. Oops.
Jack: I vote we go back to the Slaughtered Lamb.
Nurse Susan Gallagher: He's a Jew.
Alex: How do you know?
Nurse Susan Gallagher: I've had a look.
Trivia
This is the first film to earn the Academy Award for Best Makeup. That category was created in 1981.
All the songs in this film have the word "moon" in their titles.
The fake porno movie "See You Next Wednesday" was the first thing to be filmed during production.
Trailer
Director: John Landis
Cast overview: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter
Running time: 97 minutes
This is a film I've been meaning to watch for a while, and it seemed from the outset something I'd like. Set in England, it centres around two American college students who are attacked by a werewolf while walking on the rural country moors of Yorkshire. I was also interested as I thought Griffin Dunne's performance in After Hours was great. What did surprise me about this was that the main plot strand actually only lasts for the first twenty minutes or so of the film.
Did I enjoy this? Yes, reasonably. It's certainly an unorthodox film, but it's nevertheless interesting. There are some nice touches in the film - the parochial part-Yorkshire setting, the use of only songs with "moon" in the title. This was clearly a project that Landis was passionate about, and I heard he wrote the script ten years before he used it. This is clearly a labour of love, yet one that feels uncertain and rushed despite this.
What I didn't like were the dream sequences - I just felt they were superfluous and unnecessary, and didn't really do much to advance the story. The story should be simple and easy to follow; it isn't. That's the thing about this film - it's divisive. You feel sure you know what's going on but you begin to doubt yourself. I suppose it's quite clever in a way, and it's certainly a film that would require multiple watches, I reckon, in order to fully appreciate the qualities it does undoubtedly have - apt soundtrack (The Marcels' "Blue Moon" is particularly good), wonderful special effects, good locations.
The ending seems to have particularly divided people - personally it was one of the things about the film I liked. Overall, a decent film that I think could have been done far better, but it still works well with what's there. Recommended.
Quotes
Dart Player: Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors.
Chess Player: Beware the moon, lads.
Jack: It's a full moon...
Jack, David: [remembering the warning they received] Beware the moon...
David: And stick to the road. Oops.
Jack: I vote we go back to the Slaughtered Lamb.
Nurse Susan Gallagher: He's a Jew.
Alex: How do you know?
Nurse Susan Gallagher: I've had a look.
Trivia
This is the first film to earn the Academy Award for Best Makeup. That category was created in 1981.
All the songs in this film have the word "moon" in their titles.
The fake porno movie "See You Next Wednesday" was the first thing to be filmed during production.
Trailer