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Army Of Darkness  Hot
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Written by Staff Writer   
Sunday, 16 January 2005


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Army Of Darkness

Grade

Content Grade: A
Sound Grade: C+
Extras Grade: n/a
Picture Grade: B-

Specs

Directed by Sam Raimi Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) English 3.0, French 3.0 Subtitles: English, Spanish 81 minutes, color, 1992 Rated R (for horror-filled violence, some language, and some sexual innuendo)

Review

Army of Darkness is the third installment in the Evil Dead series. But you really don't have to view these movies in order (Army of Darkness was one of my favorite movies for 2 years before I even knew about Evil Dead 1 and 2). Starring one of the greatest comedy actors of all time (Bruce Campbell), these three films have achieved a cult following. Army of Darkness strays slightly from the theme of it's predecessors, by giving us a new and different setting. It was a hilarious idea to have Ashe (Bruce Campbell) transported back in time to the days of King Arthur. His patented chainsaw arm and "Boomstick" stand out as much as his sarcastic wit in this conservative time period. Raimi seemed to focus less on horror and gore, and more on the patented comedy of Campbell in making this film. Perhaps he chose this plan in order to reach the mainstream audience that Evil Dead couldn't grab.
Ashe (Bruce Campbell) is back once again to do battle with the evil "Deadites". This shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk from S-Mart's housewares department is sent back in time to England's Dark Ages. Once there, he meets a beauty (Embeth Davidtz), and is recruited to retrieve the "Necronomicon" (Book of the Dead). Ashe needs this book in order to get back to the present day. In searching for the book, he manages to awaken a massive army of resurrected mercenaries. Now Ashe must save King Arthur and his people from the "Deadites" before he can return home. Bruce Campbell is the heart and soul of this film. His hilarious sarcasm, and laid-back mannerisms, serve as the driving force behind the comedy in Army of Darkness. Campbell's success over the years has been quiet yet consistent. Co-starring in Sam Raimi's television series Hercules, he managed to earn enough respect to star in two television series of his own (Brisco County Jr., and Jack of all Trades). This film is rated R for gory violence, though much of it is done in a comedic format. There isn't much language, and sexual content is kept to a minimum. The subject matter is definitely geared toward a more mature audience (only those that can see the humor in the movie).

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Picture and Sound

Picture-After owning this movie on DVD for over three years, I have noticed an interesting change in my perspective on the picture quality. Before DVD, I owned a VHS copy of Army of Darkness. When I purchased it on DVD, I was taken aback by the huge difference in the quality of the picture. Now, after experiencing the evolution of the DVD format, the picture looks far from great. Color tones are rich and vibrant, and picture clarity is far better than VHS, but that is where the positive aspects end. A good portion of the film is grainy and a bit blurred. There are also a large number of dust specks (producing both black and white dots on the screen). Early in the film, I noticed some dark blotches on the picture, which remained until the end of that camera angle (at first I thought they were on my television set). Sound-Army of Darkness was an early addition to Universal's library of DVD's. As a result, they chose not to remaster the movie in Dolby digital 5.1 (which is becoming more common due to the success of DVD). As a result, the sound quality and separation on the stereo track leave a lot to be desired. Even during the huge battle sequences, I heard nearly nothing from my back speakers. I wouldn't mind too much if I didn't notice much separation between the two back channels, but to hear nothing at all is disappointing. The separation in the front speakers is noticeable, but nothing to rave about. Only during very extreme scenes (the battle at the end of the movie), and occurrences where something flies across your screen, will you notice good front separation.

Extras

Universal gives us the usual list of extras for an early release. Aside from the theatrical trailer for the film, we are given some written pages of production notes, and cast/filmmaker bios (with their corresponding film highlights). Later releases of this film have contained a lot more extras.

Summary

The question here is not whether or not you should own this movie, but which version you should buy. I do not understand why a movie would need to be released 5 different times on DVD, but that is the case here. I purchased my Universal copy, when I first bought my DVD player. So the version I have just reviewed was the first one on DVD. Anchor Bay bought the rights to this film approximately one year after Universal's release, so they decided to release their own copy. The only difference in this new edition, was an added 5.1 audio track supervised by THX. Approximately one year after that DVD hit shelves, a director's cut of the film was released. I was in the store the day it came out, anxious to see a new version of my favorite film. What a huge disappointment that was. My friends and I watched it together, and we were all embarrassed for Anchor Bay. Some scenes were noticeably changed, and the extras were nice to see, but the picture quality was the worst I have ever seen on DVD. I promptly took it back to the store, only to find that I could only exchange it for the exact same movie. I finally ended up selling it at a used movie shop. Now, in 2001, a bootleg edition has been released. Not wanting to make another bad purchase, I think I will just stick with my Universal copy. I have also seen a two-disc special edition set, but it is hard to find. Ultimately, Army of Darkness is a solid purchase (if you can find a good copy). It single-handedly defined the horror comedy genre, and I have yet to find someone who did not enjoy the movie at some level.

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