One of Hollywood's most iconic werewolf films, 1981's An American Werewolf in London, is coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray thanks to Arrow Video. The cult classic film, directed by John Landis, follows two American tourists named Jack (Griffin Dunne) and David (David Naughton) traveling through the English countryside when, in classic monster movie fashion, they are attacked by a werewolf, with the rest of the film following David as he becomes a werewolf and deals with the aftermath of Jack's death at the hands of the beast.
American Werewolf is most remembered for its mind-blowing special effects courtesy of Rick Baker, who won an Oscar for his work on the film. Arrow previously released a normal Blu-ray edition of the film back in 2019, but this new version comes with a 4K restoration of the feature, with all the previously released content from the boutique label, including a feature-length documentary with interviews from Landis and Naughton, a film discussion with Baker about his work on the film, outtakes, and a video essay by filmmaker Jon Spira discussing the film's exploration of Jewish identity.
The release also comes with a hardshell case, a double-sided poster, six double-sided postcard-sized lobby card reproductions, and a sixty-page book featuring writing and reviews of the movie by Craig Ian Mann and Simon Ward. This limited edition release comes out on March 15, 2022 for $45 USD, but if that is not enough to satisfy the die-hard werewolf fan, there is a more expensive Zavvi Exclusive version that comes with a “Transformative Hand Statue” from the iconic transformation scene in the film, running for $180 USD.
Companies like Arrow Video have been preserving both physical media and horror films for a while now. This exciting announcement joins another cult classic werewolf film, Joe Dante’s The Howling, which is being released by Scream Factory in February 2022. Fans can pre-order An American Werewolf in London in 4K, as well as see the full list of special features on Arrow's website.