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Army Of Darkness - The Evil Dead 3 [DVD]
Product ID: 50890031
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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 In this, the third instalment in the 'Evil Dead' series, Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his chainsaw are transported back in time to the 14th century via an evil book. In his attempts to return to the present he has to battle skeletons and Dark Age warriors, as well as romancing a medieval damsel. Review: Hail to the King Baby... the Army of Darkness is here - 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. Review: Army of Silliness - To fans of the Evil Dead films this DVD is no doubt a godsend; it contains two versions of Army of Darkness, the cinema release and a director's cut, each with different endings. In this respect the latter wins; Sam Raimi's intended last shot is a funny, bitter punchline. The studio approved finale's also good - it has a neat fight scene - but Raimi's is better. The studio were right about one thing though: Raimi's cut is too long. There's a lengthy action climax that doesn't suit a madcap film; the plot's just a clothesline on which to hang comic set pieces and special effects, so the swordplay grows pointless. The heroes and villains are caricatures, so why do they need an epic battle? It's like if Airplane! ditched the jokes during its third act and became a serious action film. The studio cut is also better-looking; its effects scenes are much clearer, but I think that's because Raimi's unused cut wasn't cleaned up for general release (or maybe, as another review suggests, it was poorly transferred from someone's VHS copy). The plot is very simple: after a prologue covering Evil Dead 2 we pick up where that film left off, with Ash (Bruce Campbell) in 1300AD, where he's surrounded and almost killed by Lord Arthur's (Marcus Gilbert) men. After he shows off his shotgun and chainsaw they make a deal with him; if Ash brings them the Book of the Dead they'll use it to send him home. Ash messes this up, and in doing so raises an army of the dead which he'll lead Lord Arthur's men against. The angelic Embeth Davidtz plays a love interest, and in a great scene she and Ash parody how fantasy heroes fall for each other. Army of Darkness' tone is almost the polar opposite of Evil Dead's, and though Evil Dead 2 was a comedy it's still much grimmer than this second sequel. Army of Darkness is a bit like if David Lynch directed a Three Stooges short. It's compellingly strange at times, but through it all is a light and jolly romp which aims for humour rather than tension. Campbell, who was an average slasher hero in Evil Dead, gives a brilliant comic performance here. He's a great physical comedian; he has a few slapstick scenes which are surreal and hilarious. It would be unfair to say that everyone else phones it in, but that's kind of how it feels. Apart from a couple of villains the others aren't memorable; they're basically enacting cliches for Ash to banter with. All in all, Army of Darkness is a weird, light-hearted fantasy adventure filled with imagination. Raimi rightly doesn't worry about plot, focusing instead on slapstick, parody and awesome visuals. This is a shamelessly outlandish film which doesn't care if you get it or not; for those who do get it, it's a hell of a ride.
| Contributor | Bridget Fonda, Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Ivan Raimi, Robert Tapert, Sam Raimi |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 5,743 Reviews |
| Format | PAL |
| Manufacturer | Platform Entertainment Limited |
| Number of discs | 1 |
| Runtime | 1 hour and 25 minutes |
O**N
Hail to the King Baby... the Army of Darkness is here
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.
A**R
Army of Silliness
To fans of the Evil Dead films this DVD is no doubt a godsend; it contains two versions of Army of Darkness, the cinema release and a director's cut, each with different endings. In this respect the latter wins; Sam Raimi's intended last shot is a funny, bitter punchline. The studio approved finale's also good - it has a neat fight scene - but Raimi's is better. The studio were right about one thing though: Raimi's cut is too long. There's a lengthy action climax that doesn't suit a madcap film; the plot's just a clothesline on which to hang comic set pieces and special effects, so the swordplay grows pointless. The heroes and villains are caricatures, so why do they need an epic battle? It's like if Airplane! ditched the jokes during its third act and became a serious action film. The studio cut is also better-looking; its effects scenes are much clearer, but I think that's because Raimi's unused cut wasn't cleaned up for general release (or maybe, as another review suggests, it was poorly transferred from someone's VHS copy). The plot is very simple: after a prologue covering Evil Dead 2 we pick up where that film left off, with Ash (Bruce Campbell) in 1300AD, where he's surrounded and almost killed by Lord Arthur's (Marcus Gilbert) men. After he shows off his shotgun and chainsaw they make a deal with him; if Ash brings them the Book of the Dead they'll use it to send him home. Ash messes this up, and in doing so raises an army of the dead which he'll lead Lord Arthur's men against. The angelic Embeth Davidtz plays a love interest, and in a great scene she and Ash parody how fantasy heroes fall for each other. Army of Darkness' tone is almost the polar opposite of Evil Dead's, and though Evil Dead 2 was a comedy it's still much grimmer than this second sequel. Army of Darkness is a bit like if David Lynch directed a Three Stooges short. It's compellingly strange at times, but through it all is a light and jolly romp which aims for humour rather than tension. Campbell, who was an average slasher hero in Evil Dead, gives a brilliant comic performance here. He's a great physical comedian; he has a few slapstick scenes which are surreal and hilarious. It would be unfair to say that everyone else phones it in, but that's kind of how it feels. Apart from a couple of villains the others aren't memorable; they're basically enacting cliches for Ash to banter with. All in all, Army of Darkness is a weird, light-hearted fantasy adventure filled with imagination. Raimi rightly doesn't worry about plot, focusing instead on slapstick, parody and awesome visuals. This is a shamelessly outlandish film which doesn't care if you get it or not; for those who do get it, it's a hell of a ride.
N**N
Army of the Dead
Excellent
S**Y
Good comedy
Best funny film
J**E
4K great, Blu Ray region locked
Bought this as I’m a massive fan of the Evil Dead films with this one being my favourite. The 4K never released in the UK so I had this imported from the US, the 4K works great but the other Blu rays are region locked so if you’re interested in the bonus features then maybe don’t get this unless you have a region free dvd player. 4K looks amazing, the best this film has ever looked. Steelbook looks cool as well, well worth the extra £3.
S**N
Weird one
OK. I received this and it was smashed up beyond what is acceptable. Sorted out sending this back and got a full refund. Got the disc from another vendor. The disc itself it magnificent and you must know the film already and this is the best it had ever looked. Worth it!
T**Y
evil dead dvd
loved this film but not as good as the first evil dead film that was released many years ago.
D**E
Only for fans of the Evil Dead.
I have never been a fan of The Evil Dead & thought it to be rather silly. After seeing a trailer for Army of Darkness, I thought it looked better but boy was I wrong. If you love the first two Evil Dead films then you will appreciate this film, I did not.
K**R
Vraiment très beau steelbook
Étant fan de ce film le steelbook me va parfaitement merci
J**6
Army of Darkness Screwhead edition: Lleva español latino y subtítulos en castelllano
Advertencia: si has llegado hasta ésta opinión a través de la edición en cuyo título pone Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness, no estamos hablando de la misma edición. Ésta es la Screwhead Edition, como indica la portada, y no pertenece a UK como indica la ficha de Amazon. Ésta es la edición USA, y puedo confirmar que lleva español latino en 5.1 y una pista en DTS-HD master audio 5.1 en versión original, que la edición española no lleva (aquí tenemos un mísero 2.0). Ya sólo por eso vale la pena. Los subtítulos son es en latino, pero casi no se nota, y además están presentes en los extras, que son el final alternativo y una featurette sobre los efectos visuales. En definitiva, una buena edición, mejor que la española, pero con ausencia de escenas eliminadas.
P**R
DVD
Was as described by the seller. Fun film. Great buy.
J**N
Todo un clásico a un súper precio!
Llegó la película en excelente estado como debe ser para este clásico de culto de terror.
A**R
Schwächer als die ersten Teile, aber trotzdem Kult!
Armee der Finsternis ist der dritte Teil der Tanz der Teufel Reihe. Mir gefällt der Film sehr gut, obwohl er nicht so gut ist wie die Teile 1 und 2, hat der Film dennoch die unschlagbare Kombination aus Sam Raimi (Regie), Bruce Campbell (Ash Williams), eine unglaublich lustige Zeitreise, voller Dämonen, Rittern und mitten drin Ash mit Kettensäge und Schrotflinte! Der Film macht Spaß und ist jetzt als Director's Cut auf Blu-ray. Die Qualität der Blu-ray ist sehr gut. Alles in allem bekommt Armee der Finsternis 5 Sterne 🌟 von mir.
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