"Alright, who's next? Who wants some?"
With that classic phrase uttered from Bruce Campbell's lips, Raimi's stop-motion ode to all things Ray Harryhausen roars to supernatural life in home theatres everywhere, blowing the heads off of all the "primitive screwheads" in his quest to return home.
Army of Darkness, now remastered in 4K with stunning clarity by Shout Factory from the original camera negative approved by director Sam Raimi, Director Of Photography Bill Pope, and Editor Bob Murawski and blessed with a wild SteelBook design, arrives in yet another variation; this time spread out over 4 discs, which includes FOUR different versions of this cult classic.
Poor Ash. Left off in the far past from the events in Evil Dead 2, he finds that his path back to the correct time period is going to be pretty difficult. Unfortunately, standing in his way is a wicked army of Deadites sworn allegiance to protect the evil contained in the Necronomicon, a book Ash must capture if he wishes to return home safely to the shopping aisle of S-Mart.
With the same swooping fluidity that marks Raimi's pre-Spider-Man material, Army of Darkness is not quite the capstone on his Evil Dead series. The television show gets that honor. This time out though, Raimi trades in most of the gore and horror for more slapstick antics courtesy of Campbell's familiar mug. Campbell's one-liners zig and then zag, giving audiences a new sort of craziness to the Ash character.
Truthfully, the departure from horror to slapstick goes a bit overboard only in the multi-Ash scenes - and enters into the realm of unfunny three Stooges antics before its put to a violent end. That is, until the real Ash saves it all with, "Good. Bad. I'm the one with the gun" and blows his mirrored-self away. While Army of Darkness has its source material in classic literature, namely Johnathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, one can see how influential this movie's dementia has been for other artisans with epic qualities in mind. 
For example, there's a book, one of the fake Necronomicons - that feels a bit too Harry Potterish for its own good; it bites and it moves just like the books in Potter's wizard world. Is it possible that Rawlings stumbled across Raimi's movie in her research? It's probable.
It also seems that the writers of Pirates of Caribbean borrowed the mini-Ash brigade in writing the scenes of Jack Sparrow's self-splitting madness in the third installment of that somewhat-forced "trilogy". Humorously enough, fans of the sandal and sword epic will also find thematic commonalities in Ridley Scott's Gladiator albeit certainly not in tone.
The point is that Army of Darkness might have its faults, but it remains widely influential. The maddening drive of the music cues, composed once again by Joseph LoDuca (Evil Dead 2), are as grand and as cheesy as the movie itself. The cues are over the top and raucous and sound every bit as epic in scope as the movie projects itself to be. Still, one wonders what Danny Elfman's March of the Dead would have sounded like had Raimi kept up his partnership with Tim Burton's go-to maestro.
But, really, what’s a handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk trapped in the Dark Ages supposed to do? There are no rules for this kind of stuff!
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray - Steelbook - Limited Edition
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - October 4, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: HDR - Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc; Four-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A
Unspeakable evil is unleashed upon mankind in director Sam Raimi's (Darkman, Drag Me To Hell ) outrageously hilarious third chapter in his Evil Dead Trilogy. Bruce Campbell returns as Ash, the handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk who is time warped backwards into England's Dark Ages, where he romances a beauty and faces legions of the undead. Can Ash save the living, rescue his girlfriend, and get back to his own time?
VIDEO
The new 4K scan is a thing of beauty. The new scan looks great, with crisp details, and bright colors, while the blacks and dimly lit scenes hold up very nicely. There are some problematic aspects, with some shots being a bit out of focus and a tad messy thanks to the crisp transfer. The rich palette of the production design amped the nines with the HDR-10 magic, finer details of the costumes leap off the screen. The film grain is intact; however on a 4K screen the grain layers on optical effects are more prominent than other scenes. Blacks are sumptuous and detailed. This is the best example one can give for an A-level upgrade.
AUDIO
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 shreds away at all the bloody skulls with solid intensity.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- See below for details
Special Features:
This boomstick is loaded and ready to kill all sorts of foul beasts! Just check it out!
DISC ONE (THEATRICAL CUT – 4K UHD):
- NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative Approved By Director Sam Raimi, Director Of Photography Bill Pope, And Editor Bob Murawski
- In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 Compatible)
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
DISC TWO (THEATRICAL CUT – BLU-RAY):
- NEW 2022 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative approved by director Sam Raimi, director of photography Bill Pope, and editor Bob Murawski
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- Medieval Times: The Making of “Army Of Darkness” – A Feature-length Documentary With Over 20 people Interviewed Including Star & Co-Producer Bruce Campbell, Actors Ted Raimi, Bill Moseley, And Patricia Tallman, And Many More…
- Original Ending
- Alternate Opening With Optional Commentary By Sam Raimi And Bruce Campbell
- Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary By Sam Raimi And Bruce Campbell
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- U.S. Video Promo
DISC THREE – (DIRECTOR’S CUT – BLU-RAY):
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0
- Audio Commentary With Director Sam Raimi, Actor Bruce Campbell, And Co-Writer Ivan Raimi
- Additional Behind-The-Scenes Footage From KNB Effects
- Creating the Deadites – Vintage Featurette
- Vintage "Making Of" Featurette
- Extended Interview Clips With Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, And Robert Tapert
DISC FOUR – (INTERNATIONAL CUT – BLU-RAY):
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0 (International Cut)
- Television Version With Additional Footage (Standard Definition)
- International Theatrical Trailer
- Still Galleries With Rare Behind-The-Scenes Photos From Production Designer Anthony Tremblay, Visual Effects Supervisor William Mesa And Special Make-Up Effects Artists Tony Gardner And KNB EFX, Inc. (Over 200 Stills)
- Still Gallery Of Props And Rare Photos From The Collection Of Super Fan Dennis Carter Jr.
- Storyboards For Deleted Or Alternate Scenes
- The Men Behind The Army – Vintage Featurette
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 81 mins
Director: Sam Raimi
Writer: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell; Embeth Davidtz; Marcus Gilbert
Genre: Horror | Comedy
Tagline: Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Out of gas.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I'll swallow your soul!"
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site: https://shoutfactory.com/products/army-of-darkness-limited-edition-steelbook-1
Release Date: February 19, 1993
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 4, 2022.
Synopsis: When Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home.
