Army of Darkness

Great condition, Army of Darkness is a comedy with horror elements. The horror sequences are very memorable as a result of this film's restraint on them. None of it feels jarring, Raimi is pretty consistent with the tones.While Ash's personality is different across all three films I'd argue it all feels like a natural progression. He's has a great arc and his ending is completely deserved.I get what Raimi wanted to do with his original ending but I prefer the theatrical ending. It feels more deserving and a chef's kiss to a fun ride. It's a great conclusion to this trilogy, definitely check it out!

Since Shout/Scream factory has seemingly abandoned Atmos tracks on all of their recent 4K releases, I have stopped buying them at full price. This has worked out quite well for me I snagged this steelbook version around Christmas for $20. There have been others that I have lucked out on also (The Fog 4K Steelbook for $20, Howling 4K for $14, Alligator 4K for $16, Funhouse 4K for $17, ect). This decision has saved me a ton of money and is the best way I can tell them I support the format but not their recent business decisions. I had no problem paying top dollar for their releases back when they gave me a full package upgrade, but if they are going to be cheap so will I.The transfer is quite nice, I have no complaints. Everything is sharp and clear. The film grain is light and feels like film without being distracting. The HDR makes the colors pop, nice inky blacks, and you can see detail in the shadows.The 5.1 gets the job done but this and Return of the Living Dead deserved and could have benefited from an Atmos track. With the price bump and the diminishing returns going from Blu-Ray to 4K, an audio upgrade makes double dipping more justifiable. They did so well in the beginning but at this point I’d say wait for a sale, it will come around again and you’ll be happy you did.

If you liked Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2, you’ll enjoy this divergence into high-fantasy taking a more lighthearted look into Ash’s misadventure.Classic one-liners and homages abound - you’ll never think of that famous three-word phrase from The Day the Earth Stood Still without chuckling again.Certainly this is not as creepy as it’s predecessors, but those had funny elements in their own right. Make sure to check out the alternate ending(s?), I don’t know if there is a “best” choice here.

It's fun to watch

When we last saw Ash Williams, he had been sucked through a time vortex and ended up in the 14th century... where he STILL had to contend with undead horrors. No, not going to give context."Army of Darkness" pretty much picks up from there, finishing up the legendary trilogy that Sam Raimi started with "The Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn." This time around, Sam Raimi dials down the horror once again, while dialing up massive quantities of skeletal comedy -- while there's the odd gross-out moment (eyeball in the shoulder!), most of the story is devoted to the increasingly manic Bruce Campbell struggling to defeat an undead horde of skeletons with only his trusty boomstick and chainsaw.Having appeared in the 14th century, Ash (Campbell) is immediately captured by the arrogant Lord Arthur (Marcus Gilbert), who mistakes him for one of Duke Henry's (Richard Grove) men. He tries to explain that he's not, but ends up tossed into an execution pit filled with iron spikes and demonic Deadites -- and only the timely intervention of the Wise Man (Ian Abercrombie) allows Ash to reclaim his chainsaw and "boomstick," kill the Deadites, and establish that he is a prophesied savior come to free them from the Deadite scourge.But of course, the entire universe hates Ash. So when he's sent on an incredibly simple quest to reclaim and de-power the Necronomicon, Ash immediately encounters bizarre Deadite attacks that are specifically designed to torment him -- including the formation of an evil doppelganger from his own body, Evil Ash. And when he manages to botch the whole thing, the Deadites prepare to storm the castle and take everything over. Life is hard when you're Ash.Considering that the series started with a serious attempt at horror, it's a little odd that "Army of Darkness" mostly drops the horror. Of course, there's still some gloriously gross moments (the emergence of Evil Ash, and his decaying face a few scenes later), but most of the movie is played for laughs (including a long sequence where Ash is assaulted by a small army of Lilliputian doppelgangers, who jab him in the butt with a fork and tie him to the floor). Even the grosser moments are played for laughs ("Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun").And that's what makes this whole movie so gloriously entertaining -- it's gross, nasty and violent, but it's presented with the gleeful joy that comes with a cavalcade of one-liners and memetastic moments ("All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up... this... is my BOOMSTICK!"). Nothing is presented very seriously, because... well, how can you take this seriously? It's about a college student/S-Mart employee who gets blasted back in time to fight demonic zombies in a medieval setting. The cheese is thick and gloriously unserious, climaxing as Ash careens through the titular army in a massive armored steampunk-car/tank that easily hacks them apart.And despite the much larger cast and more extensive sets and special effects required, somehow Raimi maintains that rough, low-budget feel -- the stop-motion, tiny Ashes, and especially the battle sequences that are clearly against inanimate Halloween skeletons. It still feels like a cheesy low-budget movie that does NOT careBruce Campbell is at the absolute height of his Campbellitude here -- he gives a delightfully hammy performance as a gun-toting, one-liner-spouting Ash. He plays the kind of guy that every guy likes to think he'd be in such a crisis, uttering don't-give-a-dang one-liners, shooting monsters and smooching a wench with extremely good teeth with great relish. And he gives an equally quotable ("Little goody two-shoes!") performance as the Evil Ash, who is just as snarky but... well, his face is rotting off. The supporting actors give good performances, especially Abercrombie as the wise man that nobody ever seems to actually listen to, but this is clearly the Campbell show here.It may have effectively left horror behind, but "Army of Darkness" instead embraces a gloriously gross brand of comedy, with knights, skeletons, bagpipes and one S-Mart employee with a boomstick and a robot hand. It's hard to find a movie more resolutely fun than this.

"Army of Darkness" is a classic horror-comedy film directed by Sam Raimi. The film follows the story of Ash Williams, a lovable but bumbling hero who is transported back in time to the Middle Ages. In this world, Ash must confront an army of the undead, as well as his own personal demons, in order to return home.One of the standout features of "Army of Darkness" is its unique blend of humor and horror. The film is full of clever one-liners and slapstick comedy, but also features some genuinely creepy and suspenseful moments. The special effects, while somewhat dated by modern standards, are still impressive and add to the film's overall atmosphere.Bruce Campbell gives a charming and energetic performance as Ash, and the supporting cast is also strong. The film's medieval setting is well-realized and adds an interesting layer to the story.Overall, "Army of Darkness" is a must-see for fans of horror and comedy. It's a film that has stood the test of time and remains a fan favorite to this day.

Definitely a good version blu ray to buy if you want the money but can't afford those expensive special editions!

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.

Ein Kultfilm der Extraklasse.Ich liebe die Tanz der Teufel-Triologie und grade der dritte Teil, Armee der Finsternis, ist immer wieder ein riesen Vergnügen.Auf die Geschichte des Film, geh ich jetzt mal nicht ein, da dies genügend Vorredner schon fantastisch beschrieben haben.5 Sterne dafür, ohne Frage.Da ich alle 3 Teile schon Ewigkeiten auf DVD habe (1 als damals beschlagnahmte Version aus Österreich besorgt, Teil 2 als die leider damals verfügbare gekürzte Fassung und Teil 3 als Red-Edition) und ich die Reihe, wie oben geschrieben, liebe, konnte ich es mir nicht verkneifen alle 3 Teile diesmal als Blue-Ray zu kaufen. Da der erste Teil nun auf FSK 16 als uncut gesetzt wurde, war dies natürlich eine riesen Freude. Auch den 2. Teil endlich als uncut zu sehen war Spektakulär.Jetzt zum 3. Teil um den es ja schließlich hier gehen soll:Von Bild her auch Top, auch wenn zwischendrin sowas wie Dreckflecken auf der zu sein scheint, die hierbei deutlicher auffallen als auf der DVD... trotzdem auch dafür 5 Sterne, da es trotzdem für den alten Film eine gute Qualität ist.Ebenso der Ton... 5 Sterne, da auch über einer Soundbar der Ton sehr gut rüber kommt. Kurz auf den Service von Amazon.5 Sterne, da ich grade wegen den Film mich mit Amazon in Verbindung setzen musste, da die Hülle ein Defekt aufwies, wo ich eine sehr freundliche und kompetente Hilfe bekommen habe. Hier auch noch mal Danke dafür 😊Als Bonus sind der deutsche, wie auch der englische Trailer mit drauf, wie auch eine Bildergalerie mit insgesammt 188 Bildern.Sehr schön, aber für eine Blue-Ray etwas wenig. Trotzdem hat das mit den Bildern viel Spaß gemacht, weswegen ich auch hier 5 Sterne gebe.So, warum hab ich nun im Gesamten 4 Sterne gegeben?Ich bin soweit mit allem zufrieden, bis auf eine Sache, dies hatte ich auch vorher nicht mitbekommen, obwohl ich es jetzt in den Kommentaren gesehen habe, dass es jemand erwähnt hat.Dieser hier verfügt nur über das Alternative Ende. Das normale Ende, wo Ash wieder in der Gegenwart landet und auf seinem Arbeitsplatz, im Smartmarkt, das Böse wieder auftaucht, fehlt vollkommen.Zum Glück hab ich DVD Red-Edition, so dass ich beide Enden habe... nur das verstehe ich nicht... auf der Blue-Ray ist soviel Platz... mehr Platz als auf einer DVD... und auch wenn die bessere Qualität mehr Platz braucht, ist da wesentlich mehr Platz drauf... warum lässt man dieses da weg?Rein deswegen ein Stern Abzug, da dies mich wirklich enttäuscht hat.Trotzdem macht es Spaß ihn zu schauen.

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.

Army of Darkness wraps up the original trilogy of Evil Dead films. A continuation of Evil Dead II sees our hero Ash in the year 1300AD in England, and now he has to try and find the book of the dead in order to get back to his present time. But before that he is captured and sentenced to hard labour and death. But wisecracking and swashbuckling Ash will have plenty to say and do to convince the local swordsmen that he is on their side, plus he has awoken the Deadites and a war will begin.Lots of slapstick even more than the sequel ensues. This is far and away from the horror experienced in the first Evil Dead film and is more cartoonish and crazy than the second. However it is nowhere as good as the first two movies. But what the film does have going for it is that it is literally non stop, something is always happening. However the script could have been better and the real problem here is in character development and characters, there just isn't enough of them, this movie is all about Ash, which is why some versions of the movie run as Bruce Campbell vs Army of Darkness.The effects on a whole are done well and there is a clear tribute to Ray Harryhusen films however some of the effects especially in the windmill scene look iffy. But there's a lot of fun to be had here and the extended fight scenes have been done well. 25 years on and ASH V EVIL DEAD is a perfect sequel TV show, if you've just gotten into watching the show then AOD is well worth the look and acts as a great pilot because the cheesiness and craziness of the show is here to see in this movie.This edition contains the 81 min version and the 96 min version.

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!