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Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 96 mins
Retail Price: £19.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie

Synopsis:
The third and final chapter of director Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy, Army Of Darkness immediately follows the events of Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn with our hero, Ash (Bruce Campbell), being sucked into a vortex which transports him to Medieval England. Initially perceived as a spy by the occupants of a royal castle under siege from the dark forces of the Deadites, he soon proves himself to the locals and is hailed as the deliverer of the Necronomicon, an ancient tome with the power to ward off the evil onslaught and the potential to return Ash to his own time.
Meanwhile, he falls in love with a local woman, Sheila (Embeth Davidtz). Unfortunately, while retrieving the book, Ash screws up the required incantation and unwittingly unleashes an army of skeletons led by his own Deadite alter ego, Evil Ash. Now he must use his 20th Century wits and skills to overcome his evil self, his possessed medieval girlfriend and the entire Army of Darkness in a battle to save the living from the dead!

Special Features:
Disc One:
Original US theatrical version
Theatrical trailer
Behind-the-scenes featurette 'The Men Behind the Army' narrated by Bruce Campbell
Talent bios

Disc Two:
Director's cut including an additional 15 mins of extra footage
Audio commentary with Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Ivan Raimi
4 deleted scenes
Director's storyboards

Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 1.66:1

Directed By:
Sam Raimi

Written By:


Starring:
Embeth Davidtz
Bruce Campbell

Soundtrack By:
Joseph Lo Duca
Danny Elfman

Director of Photography:
Bill Pope

Editor:
Bob Murawski

Production Designer:
Tony Tremblay

Producer:
Robert Tapert
Bruce Campbell

Distributor:
Anchor Bay

Reviews, Articles and Videos for this Item


Review of Army of Darkness: Special Edition (Review)
added by
Jason Newington

Comments on this Item
ChangesPosted by straightjacket on 1-12-2002 21:40
8 / 10

This 2 disc set is exactly the same as the US Limited Edition set that people pay absolutely idiotic prices for on ebay, and a very nice set it is too (Although it's debatable whether it's worth over £100!!!)

Disc 1 contains the US Theatrical Cut, considerably shorter than the UK Theatrical Cut and with 1 or 2 different lines of dialogue. Strangely this is actually an improvement, as this version has a much more frenetic pace and the messy second half is tightened up considerably.
The picture quality on this version is very good although there is some noticeable dirt on the print in places.
The sound is also first rate with an impressive Dolby Digital 5.1 mix!
Extras on this disc include the Trailer and a featurette called 'The Men Behind The Army' which is similar in style to the excellent 'The Gore The Merrier' from the Evil Dead 2 disc, also included is the original ending which seems kind of pointless as this is the ending of the Director's Cut which is on disc 2.

Now, onto disc 2 which contains the Director's cut.
Let's not beat about the bush here, the picture and sound quality of the Director's Cut is basically total crap!
The new scenes have not been remastered in any shape or form and look like sh*t!
The sound is also only 2 channel.
It is however still interesting to get a feel for how the full length version runs and the audio commentary is excellent!
Also included are 4 interesting deleted scenes which unfortunately also look like someone just picked them up off the floor and wiped the footprints off them!
Lastly there is an option to watch the film along with the storyboards and a small design gallery.

All in all a great package which gives you hours of interesting viewing if, like me you're a die-hard Evil Dead fan!

Oh, and just found out that this 2 disc set is to be re-released AGAIN by Anchor Bay on Region 1 as "The Boomstick Edition", the only new feature being a competition to meet Bruce Campbell!

Guys, this is just getting silly now!

ChangesPosted by dicanio on 20-2-2003 16:37
7 / 10

Movie is so silly that its actually hilarious. Cheesy dialogue and lots of gore make this a cult classic. The movie continues where it left off from evil dead 2 and he is surrounded by medieval people who, after he defeats a few deadites, see him as the chosen one who will bring them the book of the dead. Ash goes on this quest and accidently awakens an army of darkness. Now its a fight to the death between the kingdom and the evil army of darkness lead by an evil version of Ash. I think this was somehow inspired by The Two Towers as there are so many similarities in the final battle. Great stuff though. Its a bit gory but light hearted so it can be enjoyed by many.

The picture and sound on the first disc(Theatrical Version) was awesome. Top notch. The second disc has its moments but basically the added scenes of the Directors cut were very poorly mastered (If mastered at all).Sound is only a 2.0 which was decent at times but no way near as good as it should have been.

There is a few extras spread accross the 2 discs and they are watchable.

Overall this two disc set is let down by its dismal handling of the second disc. It should have been properly mastered or should not have been there at all. It is worth getting it just for the first disc which is very good.

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