Army of Darkness
Amazon.co.uk Review
It’s hard not to feel there’s something wrong when Army of Darkness, the third entry in Sam Raimi’s lively Evil Dead series, opens with a 15 certificate. And indeed, this is not quite the non-stop rollercoaster of splat we’re entitled to expect.
Like Evil Dead II, it opens with a digest-cum-remake of the original movie, taking geeky Ash (Bruce Campbell) back out to that cabin in the woods where he is beset by demons who do away with his girlfriend (blink and you’ll miss Bridget Fonda). Blasted back in time to 12th century England, Ash finds himself still battling the Deadites and his own ineptitude in a quest to save the day and get back home.
Though it starts zippily, with Campbell’s grimly funny clod of a hero commanding the screen, a sort of monotony sets in as magical events pile up. Ash is attacked by Lilliputian versions of himself, one of whom incubates in his stomach and grows out of his shoulder to be his evil twin. After being dismembered and buried, Evil Ash rises from the dead to command a zombie army and at least half the film is a big battle scene in which rotted warriors (nine mouldy extras in masks for every one Harryhausen-style impressive animated skeleton) besiege a cardboard castle. There are lots of action jokes, MAD Magazine-like marginal doodles and a few funny lines, but it lacks the authentic scares of The Evil Dead and the authentic sick comedy of Evil Dead II.
On the DVD: Army of Darkness may be the least of the trilogy, but Anchor Bay’s super two-disc set is worthy of shelving beside their outstanding editions of the earlier films. Disc 1 contains the 81-minute US theatrical version in widescreen or fullscreen, plus the original “Planet of the Apes” ending, the trailer and a making-of featurette. Disc 2 has the 96-minute director’s cut, with extra slapstick and a lively, irreverent commentary track from Raimi, Campbell and co-writer Ivan Raimi, plus yet more deleted scenes and some storyboards. The fact that the film exists in so many versions suggests that none of them satisfied everybody, but fans will want every scrap of Army in this one package. –Kim Newman
I know what you’re thinking – this classic film starring Bruce Campbell has been released so many times already (and it has)… but whether you’re a long-time fan or newcomer, it’s worth getting this movie on Blu-Ray. Essentially, it’s the HD-DVD version transferred to the Blu-Ray format, but what a difference HD makes – the quality of the picture is the best I’ve seen of this film. One thing worth mentioning, as it neglects to tell you under EXTRAS on the box cover: This Blu-Ray edition is the U.S. theatrical cut with the S-Mart ending – but the Director’s Cut appears as an “extra” in standard definition. Incidentally, the DVD release (with the same box art and extras information) is the Director’s Cut! All in all, worth £14 of anyone’s money. Hail to the king baby!
Rating: 5 / 5
Finally a decent DVD version of Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness! I was ecstatic originally when the first Director’s Cut of the film came out on a 2-disc edition (the second disc being the US Theatrical Cut – I wasn’t so bothered about that version). Of coarse, as I’m sure many of you came to realise as I did, that “edition” wasn’t so special after all. It just felt like Anchor Bay released someone’s bootlegged version (a title the Americans had used) from some cheap VHS cassette. The picture was poor for the extended scenes and even the sound on the final battle was extremely ropey. I fobbed the DVD off rather rapidly afterwards.
Right, anyhow.
Now, Optimum has stepped in and finally done something about it and what we have… is another DC of the film, yes, but with better sound and picture quality, well as better as it can get for AoD. This is it; this is the version that is a definite keeper. The extended scene in the mill doesn’t add much to the film admittedly, just a couple more giggles but the final battle has changed considerably and, to my mind, is a little more exciting with a few more antics in it. Plus they have kept the much favoured “apocalyptic ending”. All in all this is the version of the film (since the European Cut) I’m going to stick with, and hope all you fellow AoD fans can enjoy just as much as I have. My only tiny gripe really is the lack of special features (which include the rather stupid “happy ending” – sorry to those who liked it, hail to the king baby!), but it’s the film that matters.
Rating: 5 / 5
Army of Darkness continues were “Evil Dead II” left off with Ash (Bruce Campbell) falling from the sky into a medievil world. Some may consider this film to be the weakest of the Evil Dead trilogy but surprizingly the story line was much better than Evil Dead I and II with some great action scenes and lots of one-liners. This is definitely an entertaining movie with many very original moments. If you are looking for a good horror/comedy spoof, then this is well worth checking out!
Rating: 4 / 5
Bruce Campbell, the hero of ‘Army of Darkness’ looks excellent in Blu-ray. The story about a one-armed (one-and-a-half, to be exact) man that falls into a very Hollywood-ish Medieval world, that is supposedly England, is a tall tale. That he would also bring with him his motor saw, that fits to his stump arm like glove, and his Remington double-bore, with enough ammo to last from here to eternity, is even taller! That this world not only is populated with English Kings and Scottish Chieftains, fair maids, and midgets (Tinkerbell-sized!), but also filled with ghouls, and other creatures of the dark, is just absurd!
But what a great yarn it is! Bruce is Bruce, and while the DVD we have is crap, quality-wise, the Blu-ray is surprisingly good (not impeccable, but OK), so
now the midgets are not just fuzzy, they are actually quite sharp – at least as good as a good normal DVD, and that’s a great relief for us fans :-)!
So buy this gem, if you like a good yarn, with lots of humor, and like a wee bit of splatter – if you hate it, please avoid as the plague!
Rating: 5 / 5
As a big non-fan of both the horror and the spoof genre this film should have been rubbish to me, but it was without doubt one of the best films I have ever seen!
Army of Darkness has the most incredible one liners and cheesy lines ever; almost every line is quotable and will leave you laughing for ages!
Bruce Cambell’s acting is brilliant both as good Ash and as evil Ash and his crazy style never stops being entertaining, especially during the two end sequences. The video is great because you get the two end sequences which are both as brilliant as each other.
Also Sam Raimi’s directing is amazing and his traditional stylistic traits are seen throughout including “the car” that appears in every film he makes!
All-in-all I would recomend this film for anyone who wants to have a good night in. The film has semi-scary bits and plenty of jokes to keep you entertained!
Rating: 5 / 5