A decidedly funny horror romp - with bite
A distinctive mix of humor and grisly, straight-up horror is what makes “An American Werewolf in London’’ (1981) worth revisiting nearly 30 years after hapless backpackers David Naughton and Griffin Dunne fatefully crossed a wolf’s path in remote northern England. But according to writer-director John Landis (“Animal House,’’ “The Blues Brothers’’), this tonal schizophrenia is also what kept his script on the shelf for a decade before he could persuade anyone to make it. As Landis notes in a 100-minute retrospective, his teenage glimpse of a real-life gypsy burial got him thinking about the strangeness and ludicrousness of the supernatural. “I always got the same two comments: ‘This is much too scary to be funny,’ and ‘This is much too funny to be scary.’ ’’ The funny holds up slightly better; there’s post-millennial cynicism in macabre moments like the decomposing, purgatory-snared Dunne telling the disbelieving Naughton, “Don’t be a putz.’’ But the re-release spotlights the bizarre werewolf-transformation magic worked by effects makeup master Rick Baker, a mesmerizing jumble of warping, cracking anatomy that was worlds away from Lon Chaney Jr. placidly sprouting photo-dissolve fur. The disc is one of several timed to get an early jump on Halloween. Look for Blu-ray debuts of “Shaun of the Dead’’ and Sam Raimi’s “Army of Darkness,’’ as well as DVD releases of Rob Zombie’s animated romp “The Haunted World of El Superbeasto’’ and the Rankin/Bass ghoulie groove “Mad Monster Party.’’ (Universal, $26.98; Blu-ray, $19.98)
COMEDY
OBSERVE AND REPORT (2009)
There’s no question Seth Rogen’s crew has it all over “Paul Blart’’ when it comes to doing bumbling mall cop humor with an edge. Still, some might find this edgy to a fault. Writer-director Jody Hill drops Rogen (inset) into the same aggressively abrasive lowbrow mold he used for Danny McBride in the karate academy satire “The Foot Fist Way’’ and HBO’s “Eastbound & Down’’ - pretty dark territory at times. Extras are available only on Blu-ray, and include feature video commentary with Rogen profusely - and rightly - thanking a streaking bit player for his scene-stealing, um, openness. (Warner, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99)
DRAMA
NIGHTWATCHING (2007)
Boundary-testing filmmaker Peter Greenaway takes his customary idiosyncratic, sexually charged approach to an evocative biographical portrait of Rembrandt (Martin Freeman, the BBC’s “The Office’’). The film focuses on the theory that the classical master’s “Night Watch’’ was a veiled conspiracy indictment, one that ultimately ruined him. Freeman (inset) plays bohemian timelessly, and the examination of Amsterdam social jockeying circa 1642 is rich territory. But too many calculated affectations - static, painterly scenes, stripped-down surroundings - end up detracting. (E1 Entertainment, $34.98; single-disc edition, $24.98; available now)
FOREIGN
O’HORTEN (2009)
Norwegian writer-director Bent Hamer (“Kitchen Stories’’) unapologetically admits in a supplemental (and very Euro) brewpub interview that he’s more interested in unusual situations than in characters. Hence the series of wry trials endured by melancholy, newly retired train engineer Odd Horten (amusingly deadpan Bard Owe, inset), from being stood up by a baggage handler friend on an airport runway to episodes that really find him risking life, limb, and dignity. In the process, of course, Hamer and Owe sketch a character who’s actually rather nicely defined, an engine of precision dutifully chugging through life on a strange new track. (
EASY VIRTUE (2009)
Jessica Biel (above) plays a race car-driving American feminist meeting British in-laws Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth in this Noel Coward adaptation. Extras: filmmaker commentary. (
GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST (2009)
Matthew McConaughey does his incorrigible stud bit yet again, only here his inevitable taming plays out in “Christmas Carol’’ fashion. With Jennifer Garner. Extras: production featurettes and deleted scenes on Blu-ray only. (Warner, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99)
WAGON MASTER (1950)
In the inspiration for TV’s “Wagon Train,’’ John Ford cast a young Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. as cowpokes who join up with a Utah-bound Mormon caravan. Extras: commentary by Carey and Peter Bogdanovich. (Warner, $19.97; available now)
TRUMBO (2008)
Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo is remembered as much for his notorious blacklisting during the HUAC era as for films like “The Brave One’’ (for which he won an Oscar writing under a pseudonym). This adaptation of his son’s stage play splices home movies, celebrity interviews, and dramatized readings to tell his story. (Magnolia, $26.98; available now)
THE PAUL NEWMAN TRIBUTE COLLECTION (2009)
“Butch Cassidy,’’ “The Hustler,’’ and “The Verdict’’ are among the essentials included in this 17-disc survey, complete with 136-page coffee table book. (Fox, $89.98)
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: THE FIRST 100 EPISODES (2009)
Nickelodeon collects five seasons - not the entire run to date, but close. Extras: an hour of new featurettes. (Paramount, $99.99)
Titles are in stores Tuesday unless otherwise specified.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
