Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20631 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-09-30
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 86 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the Autumn of 1979, Sam Raimi and his merry band headed into the woods of rural Tennessee to make a little film called The Evil Dead. They emerged with a roller coaster of a film packed with shocks, gore and wild humour, a film that remains a benchmark for the genre. Ash (cult favourite Bruce Campbell) and four friends arrive at a backwoods cabin for a vacation, where they find a tape recorder containing incantations from an ancient book of the dead. When they play the tape, evil forces are unleashed and one by one the friends are possessed. Wouldn't you know it, the only way to kill a "deadite" is by total bodily dismemberment and soon the blood starts to fly. Raimi injects tremendous energy into this simple plot, using the claustrophobic set, disorientating camera angles, and even the graininess of the film stock itself to create an atmosphere of dread, punctuated by a relentless series of jump-out-of-your-seat shocks. Much of the film's energy is supplied by the "Raimi-cam," a gliding, swooping, rushing camera that suggests a dislocated, otherworldly point of view while injecting a lively if spooky fleetness to the pace. Though it's no comedy, Raimi's dry wit and cinematic cleverness pervades the entire film. The Evil Dead lacks the more highly developed sense of the absurd that distinguish later entries in the series--Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness--but it is still much more than a gore movie: it marks the appearance of one of the most original and visually exciting directors of his generation, and it stands as a monument to the triumph of imagination over budget. --Simon Leake, Amazon.com

On the DVD: For a film made on the tiniest of budgets and shot in 16 mm, The Evil Dead looks impressive in this widescreen 1.85:1 anamorphic print, even if the picture quality is never going to rival that of 35 mm. The revelation here is the soundtrack, with optional DTS 6.1 audio mix, which showcases Sam Raimi's bizarre assembly of sound effects and Joseph LoDuca's minimalist Bernard Herrmann-inspired score. Director Raimi and Producer Robert Tapert chat amiably about making the film on the first commentary track, but the real treat is Bruce Campbell's "alternate" commentary, which is not only extremely informative but laugh-out-loud funny, too. Among other nuggets we learn that: the distinctive moving camera effects were created by strapping the camera to a plank held between two people who had to run very fast through the woods; most of the actors were so worried about appearing in a horror movie that they made up stage names for the credits; and Raimi's 73 Oldsmobile has since reappeared in almost every one of his films. A trailer and stills gallery complete the extras package. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Dolby 5.1 or 6.1 DTS Audio
1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen (16:9)
Commentary with Director Sam Raimi and Producer Robert Tapert
Commentary with star Bruce Campbell
Trailer
Photo Gallery

Synopsis
Director Sam Raimi's first film has achieved legendary status since its 1982 release, and for good reason. Though perhaps not as widely seen as its two sequels, EVIL DEAD 2 and ARMY OF DARKNESS, THE EVIL DEAD is arguably the best of the three. It is the story of five college-age friends who travel to a cabin in rural Tennessee where the stumble upon the Book of the Dead, an ancient tome bound in human flesh and inked in blood. After unwittingly awakening the unspeakable terror told of in the book, each of the friends is transformed into the evil dead, one by one, except for Ash (Bruce Campbell). So Ash is left with no other way to survive than to dismember the living corpses of his sister, girlfriend, and two of his friends. Shot on a shoestring budget, the film boasts some impressive camera work and extremely over the top gore effects as well as a sense of humour much more subtle than the tongue-in-cheek aesthetic of the two sequels.

Customer Reviews

Great Film , Good Extras and it's Uncut too.......
First of all the last point ...... IT'S UNCUT . This is really good as it's been banned for 20yrs and it's now available as the director intended .
Secondly , it's low-budget 80's horror so don't look for any grade A* acting , That is one of the best things about it though it's cheesy and spooky at the same time . The stars are all relatively unknown . Now The film itself........

The picture is fantastic and the sound is amazing. The extras are great too , there is....

:The original USA Evil Dead trailer,
:A Gallery of stills from the film,
:Commentert feat Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert,
:Commentery feat Bruce Campbell (this is ... hillarious and informative.).

Poor transfer on Anchor Bay editions
Avoid the Anchor Bay edition of this movie like the plaque. The picture quality is atrocious. I must admit that the picture has never looked brilliant for this low budget movie, but I did a side-by-side comparison of this movie between the Elite Entertainment and Anchor Bay editions.
With the Anchor Bay transfer the colours look all wrong and the picture is darker and muddy looking.
The Elite disc the colors look more crisp and the picture is clearer and brighter.

On the Anchor Bay disc the picture has been re-framed from it's original fullscreen 4.3 ratio to fill a 16:9 display. The movie was never shot in widescreen, black bars have simply been added to the top and bottom of the picture resulting in the loss of a lot of picture information and it looks terrible.

The best version and correct version to buy is the Elite Entertainment edition which was released in the U.S. several years ago. It's also region 0 so will play in any DVD player.

Don't let the fancy packaging and cheap extras tempt you into buying the dreadful Anchor Bay editions.

A true classic and landmark horror film
It is about time that this film has been released in all its glory uncut. The dvd is a good transfer and the commentary is very funny and entertaining to listen to. The film doesn't have that much of a story but it certainly keeps you on your toes and delivers plenty of chills and gross out moments through out the film - right up the climax. Bruce Campbell is fantastic as Ash - sort of an anti hero as he keeps getting beaten up alot through out!!!!! I recommend this film to anyone who hasn't seen it and any true horror fan. A true classic and the beginning of 2 brilliant careers - Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi.