American college students David Kessler and Jack Goodman on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists. Jack dies. David recovers in a hos... Read allAmerican college students David Kessler and Jack Goodman on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists. Jack dies. David recovers in a hospital, where he has nightmares.American college students David Kessler and Jack Goodman on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists. Jack dies. David recovers in a hospital, where he has nightmares.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 4 nominations total
- Kermit the Frog
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDue to the controversial lack of recognition for The Elephant Man (1980), make-up and industry technological contributions became recognized by the Academy Awards in 1981. Make-up artist Rick Baker was the first to receive an Oscar in the new category. William Tuttle was the first make-up effects artist to receive an honorary Oscar, for his work on 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964). At 31, Baker was also the youngest person to win the award, a record that was later tied by Tami Lane for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
- GoofsRepeated mentions of werewolf attacks during a full moon are ignored when David undergoes his transformation on two consecutive nights. There is only one full moon during a lunar cycle. If the moon is full on a Saturday night, for example, it cannot be truly full on the next night, Sunday.
- Quotes
David: I want you to arrest me, you asshole!
Bobby in Trafalgar Square: There's no call for that kind of language.
David: Queen Elizabeth is a man! Prince Charles is a faggot! Winston Churchill was full of shit!
Bobby in Trafalgar Square: That's enough.
David: No! Let go of me!
Alex: David, please!
David: Shakespeare's French! Fuck! Shit! Cunt! Shit!
- Crazy creditsKermit the Frog and Miss Piggy star as themselves.
- Alternate versionsUniversal Studios re-mixed the film's monaural soundtrack to Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS for the 20th anniversary "Collector's Edition" DVD, replacing the older sound effects and adding some new ones (see also Jaws (1975)).
- Extra thunderclap sound effects were added in the scene when David and Jack are walking in the moors and it starts to rain.
- The first werewolf can now be heard growling in the rear channels as it circles David and Jack. A louder growl has been added to the rear-left channel after Jack says "It's circling us" to make the audience jump.
- All the gunshots and car crash sound effects have been replaced.
- The train in the "London tube" scene can now be heard moving from one channel to another
- Despite already being bad enough, the entire mix is inexplicably pitched down a half-pitch and sounds very different from the original mix.
- ConnectionsEdited into Poppers (1984)
- SoundtracksBlue Moon
Music by Richard Rodgers (uncredited)
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart (uncredited)
Performed by Bobby Vinton
Courtesy of Columbia Records
I had the opportunity to sit down and watch writer and director John Landis' 1981 movie again here in 2022, and of course I needed no persuasion to do so, because "An American Werewolf in London" truly is a horror classic. And I find that the movie is every bit as entertaining and enjoyable as it was back in the day when watching it as a kid.
The storyline is pretty straight forward, and it is actually rather enjoyable, despite being somewhat generic. But take into consideration that this movie was made in 1981, so it was somewhat pushing boundaries back in the day.
The visual effects were great back in the day. And I will actually go as far as saying that they still hold up now 41 years later. Sure, there are signs of aging, but having just seen the movie again, I still find the special effects in the movie rather enjoyable and good. Especially the transformation scenes, they are just spectacular and very, very impressive for a movie 41 years old.
The cast in the movie is good, and I've always liked David Naughton in this movie. But the movie also have familiar faces on the cast list such as Jenny Agutter, Frank Oz and even a short appearance by Rik Mayall.
If you enjoy werewolf movies, then you should be well-familiar with "An American Werewolf in London" already, and if you are not familiar with this 1981 classic, then you should make haste and acquire a copy and sit down to watch John Landis' masterpiece.
My rating of "An American Werewolf in London" lands on a well-deserved eight out of ten stars. This is a classic werewolf movie, and it is one that can be watched over and over.
- paul_haakonsen
- Jan 19, 2022
- Permalink
- How long is An American Werewolf in London?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Un hombre lobo americano en Londres
- Filming locations
- Crickadarn, Powys, Wales, UK(East Proctor)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $30,565,292
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,786,512
- Aug 23, 1981
- Gross worldwide
- $30,819,283
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1