RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Media Army of Darkness on DVD questions

Hello all, I finally got a DVD player today, and I have a question about the multiple versions of Army of Darkness that are available.

There is the regular version with the Ash cover, then another "Director's Cut" with a less distinctive cover. At a glance, they seem to have most of the same features, and both cost $22 at Best Buy.

But then I saw a "Bootleg Director's Cut" of Army of Darkness that comes in a plain brown package with handwritten text. It is actually labeled "Bruce Campbell Vs. Army Of Darkness." Apparently this version has several deleted scenes and "the original ending," plus commentary by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Its simple box has a note from Bruce saying this is as close to the version he and Raimi wanted as was possible. It is also $12, whereas the "normal" versions of AoD are $22.

I am intrigued by this, because it is cheaper, more authentic, and has the commentary, which I'm sure is a hoot. Has anyone seen this version, or could give me a comparison? I'd hate to buy an inferior product, and I'm sure I'm not the only fan of this movie around these parts.

im not sure of the differences in content, though i can tell you the latter version is cheaper because it came out in a mass market print to wal-mart and k-mart as well.......

Pick up the "Bootleg" version...it's the best possible version.

I own the following versions:



this was Anchor Bay's first release...it's decent, basically the domestic theatrical cut, with a short documentary on the SFX, the theatrical trailer, and the original ending as extra features..



The original Universal Home Video DVD release...basically the same, with only the theatrical trailer as a special feature and cast bios. I bought it the day I got my first DVD player, back in April of 1999.

I also own the aforementioned "Bootleg" version, which is great, it's the uncut international version of the film with original ending, and has theatrical trailer, a commentary by Sam and Ivan raimi, and Bruce Campbell, plus some other goodies...

I picked it up when it first came out for 14.99 at a local Best Buy...it must have shot up in price. You can pick it up at most Wal-Marts for around the price I gave for my copy still, though.

If ya want some EVIL DEAD DVDs that'll knock yer socks off, check out these two...I've copies of both of these as well...



Evil Dead II Limited Edition Tin Box set

Great disc, with incredibly funny commentary by Raimi, Campbell, and Scott Speigel...a really nice package. Anchor Bay can sure put together a good package...



Evil Dead- Book of the Dead Special Edition

Great stuff...great commentary, and the Bruce Campbell documentary, "Fanalysis"

[ 07-30-2002, 07:12 PM: Message edited by: HEROKILLER ]

i may just be echoing everyone else, but i have the "bootleg" bruce vs the army of darkness one, and i love it. the commentery of bruce, sam and rob alone are worth it, as you can tell they loved making the movie for the hell of it(i think either during the deleted scenenes commentery, or the movies, sam mentions at some point he actually started paying some of the people on the set with his own money, as they had run out of the studios for the pic. talk about dedecation!!!).

Thank you all for your input. Now I'm especially leaning toward getting the Bootleg, and it's $10 cheaper at my Best Buy. But one last question... is anything significant missing from the Bootleg that was in the original movie? I don't mean extras, but actual parts of the movie that would make me notice if they weren't there?

Yeah. The ending is different. They got the original one, not the one where he's in S-Mart and fights the deadite. Truthfully, it's worth spending the money on both. That's my opinion. Commentary on both are great. Esp. Campbell talking about the fact that everytime something bad happened to ash in the movie, Raimi was the one doing it to him.

truthfully, i thought the ending he over sleeps in was better than the s-mart ending. more true to the series.

Ya oughta read "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor" by Bruce Campbell, and you'd see how true that really is...