An American Werewolf in London

1981
R
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

126K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

223

Griffin Dunne and David Naughton in An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Play trailer1:42

2 Videos

99+ Photos

Body Horror Buddy Comedy Dark Comedy Supernatural Horror Werewolf Horror Comedy Horror

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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

126K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

223

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 4 nominations total

Videos2

Trailer 1:42

Watch An American Werewolf in London

Interview 3:25

Watch 'The New Mutants' Cast Reveal Characters & Film Inspirations

Photos357

+ 351

More like this

7.6

The Fly

7.1

Fright Night

5.1

An American Werewolf in Paris

7.7

6.9

7.4

7.2

7.3

7.4

A Nightmare on Elm Street

7.4

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

7.4

Carrie

7.8

Night of the Living Dead

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Due 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).

Goofs
Repeated 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 credits
Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy star as themselves.

Alternate versions
Universal 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.

Connections
Edited into Poppers (1984)

Soundtracks
Blue Moon
Music by Richard Rodgers (uncredited)
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart (uncredited)
Performed by Bobby Vinton
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User reviews530

Review

Featured review

9/10

Ooooo. Scary.

The old adage of the simplest ideas being the best is once again demonstrated in this, one of the most entertaining films of the early 80's, and almost certainly Jon Landis' best work to date. The script is light and witty, the visuals are great and the atmosphere is top class. Plus there are some great freeze-frame moments to enjoy again and again. Not forgetting, of course, the great transformation scene which still impresses to this day.

In Summary: Top banana