A Nightmare On Elm Street Infinifilm Edition

Posted In: A Nightmare On Elm Street

Kim Schulenberg says...

I won't go too in depth into the story. If you don't know who Freddy Krueger is then you've been out of the pop cultural loop for well over two decades. What I will say is this DVD gives a great deal of info behind one of the classic slashers of the 1980s. Finally seeing the two alternate endings as well as listening to Wes Craven's commentary on his best movie helped to deepen the respect I have for this masterpiece, and yes, this is an excellent film.

Posted on October 16, 2010

Bianca Hengen says...

I finally saw this classic horror flick last night and I absolutely LOVED it.Whenever Krueger jumped out from behind something, I jumped 6 inches off the couch (of course laughing at myself afterwards since I just KNEW it was coming).The whole concept of the movie wasn't something that I'd experienced before which made it really cool.Like most horror movies, there are parts that had me shaking my head and mumbling at the characters.Everyone KNOWS it's a bad idea to split up the group and let the big macho guy go look outside (or around the house) for what's making the creepy noises!

I loved that the severely gross stuff of kept to a minimum because the whole gore thing just doesn't work for me.I like my horror flicks to work on my mind rather than my gag reflex.I most definately enjoyed this and would recommed it.With Halloween just around the corner, Nightmare adds to all the spookiness that comes with the holiday.

Posted on October 17, 2010

Rolanda Propst says...

It is a true testament to writer-director Wes Craven's genius that many people now first think of Scream rather than A Nightmare on Elm Street upon hearing his name.While Scream certainly re-energized the horror movie genre, A Nightmare on Elm Street revolutionized it entirely when it was released in 1984.Twenty years after the fact, the movie doesn't seem quite as scary as it did originally, but this movie has truly shocked and frightened many a moviegoer over the years, resonated with untold numbers of men and women in a new and undeniably powerful way, drawn in many viewers that had never cared about horror before, and introduced one of the greatest, most popular horror icons of past, present, and future in Freddy Krueger.

When you really look at the genesis of this movie, its incredible success is truly mind-boggling.Wes Craven had already made waves in the business with such horror classics as Last House on the Left, but the script for A Nightmare on Elm Street made the rounds of Hollywood for three years before the relatively unknown New Line Cinema stepped up to make the movie a reality.The total budget for the film was well under two million dollars, and the filmmakers basically worked miracles to make the film as viscerally shocking and beautifully gory as it is.A tremendous cast was assembled: veteran actor John Saxon and newcomer Johnny Depp (in his very first role) are terrific, Robert Englund needs no introduction for his unforgettable portrayal of Freddy Krueger, and a young and innocent Heather Langenkamp delivers a dazzling performance as Nancy Thompson.(Ronee Blakley's performance as Nancy's mother is over-the-top and rather poor in general, but this is essentially the movie's only weakness.)Many people think that Englund carries this film with his brilliant portrayal of the nightmarish killer, and in a sense he does, but for me it is Langenkamp's performance that absolutely makes this movie something way beyond special.I have always been a big Langenkamp fan; she brings to Nancy a mesmerizing sense of innocence, charm, and natural beauty that wins the audience over completely.Freddy is a dark and menacing presence, but he really doesn't get that much camera time in this first film; Nancy is the essential conduit that connects the audience to the horror.

I don't think much is required in terms of explanations or plot summaries here.Freddy Krueger was a murderer of children who was hunted down and burned to death by local parents.He still exists, though, in the world of dreams, and now the teenaged children of the men and women who destroyed him are his targets.Nancy and her friends all begin to see this strange burnt man in an old fedora and a dirty red and olive green sweater in their dreams; Nancy soon learns that whatever happens in these awful dreams also happens in real life.The first victim dies a spectacular death, one that surely poured heaps of shock value on 1984 audiences and which still works wonderfully today.Several other notable deaths follow, and Nancy knows that she alone must face Freddy and somehow engineer a trap with which to snag him.It's not easy killing a dead man who lives in dreams, of course, but Wes Craven built a really beautiful logic into the story that makes it work convincingly.

The special effects of this film are remarkable, especially given the tight budget restraints.The death scenes are powerful and bloody, the atmosphere and look of the boiler room sets in particular are dark and malevolent, everything about Freddy's look and performance are perfect, and even really cheap effects such as the phone tongue and melted stairs work beautifully.The special features included on the DVD are nothing short of superb, especially the commentary by Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, and director of photography Jacques Haitkin - I learned so much from this commentary (including the fascinating true-life facts that helped give birth to the original idea in Craven's mind), all of which made me all the more impressed with this seminal horror classic.A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most enjoyable, powerful, and influential horror films ever made, and the transfer to DVD makes this film look better than ever.

Posted on October 18, 2010

Kenda Ladue says...

I can honestly say that this is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Of course, I first saw it (and its sequels) at a young age but they're classics already to me and others as well. If for some reason you're notfamiliar with the plot by now, a handful of teens are being stalked by asupernatural killer, (Freddy). They each are having the problem but don'teven know just how bad yet because the killer comes in their nightmares!Each is horrified by their dreams and they come to find out they're allhaving the same dream about the same guy. In this movie, the firstinstallment of the series, Freddy Krueger is much more hidden and darker,and ultimately scarier. He truely enjoys scaring these kids to death andthen brutally killing them. Yet despite all this, he's almost a heroicfigure and definitely larger than life. He would soon develop someexcellent one-liners in the sequels which I also recommend (esp. part 3).If you're going to watch an 80's slasher film, be sure to watch one withstyle!

Posted on October 18, 2010

Elana Neiffer says...

this is a great film. it is a 80 s classic. it is only a shame that this is a r rated version of the movie. the dvd is also excellent with some nice extras.

Posted on October 21, 2010

Michaele Glanden says...

A Nightmare on Elm Street directed by Wes Craven has one of the most scariest villians of all-time, Freddy Kreuger. I remember watching this film when I was a little kid and being totally freaked out by Freedy, and I absolutely loved it! This film is the best of the series and that scene with Nancy in the bathtab and Freddy's creppy hand peeking through the water has to be the ultimate scare fest scene. And look for a young Johnny Depp, hard to believe his career started here. I highly recommend A Nightmare on Elm Street, a great Halloween film to watch again and again. One two Freddy's coming for you...!

Posted on October 22, 2010

Connie Lorenzi says...

I just got the new nightmare on elm street bluray and after watching it I must admit this looks great! The video transfer looks amazing! Considering this movie is 26 years old, I am amazed this looks so good! And if your asking, yes this is a big improvement visually and audio wise to the previous DVD editions. The bonus features are good and stick to the original movie, instead of focusing on the new remake. The bonus features are mostly making of and creation of the Freddy saga! But another sweet addition included is the alternative endings all in 1080p HD! I hope the rest of the sequels are released aswell as the Jason goes to he'll and Jason x movies on bluray! Anyways the verdict, the video transfer looks crisp and shows little grain or film damage, the HD transfer looks amazing! The audio is 7.1dts and sounds amazing from my Bose entertainment center! The bonus features are awesome!



Video: 9 out of 10

audio : 8 out of 10

bonus features : 8 out of 10

Posted on October 23, 2010

Shauna Choudhary says...

A Nightmare on Elmstreet is a horror movie classic and its antagonist, Freddy Krueger, the ever charismatic son of a thousand maniacs is one of the best movie villians to ever be created. When I saw this new remastered version on Amazon I just had to buy it, and I am not disappointed. It is true that some of the horror masterpieces of yesterday may be somewhat neutered with its grainy roughness cleaned away, but not so with Nightmare. This crispness only highlights and brings new depth to the dreamlike surreality. Some of the its most legendary scenes (the demonic wall stalker, body-bag Tina,etc,..)are even enhanced giving them a almost painting like quality, reminiscent of a Fuseli painting.

The special features are pretty interesting and informative as well if not just a little redundant after awhile. Let me explain. Disc one has the movie and a few options as to how to view the film. First, and I foremost recommend for all nightmare fans, is the infinifilm version, which is just a fancy way of saying interactive movie. You watch the flick a prompt will come up telling you to push a button and get more info about the scene, the actors, inspirations for the movie, and even alternate footage. Next is the commentary, which to me is the worst aspect about this version of the movie. You'v go two versions to choose from (I have not heard the archival version, this is about the new one) the problem is that this commentary really doesn't follow the movie but kind of just retreads the information given during the infinifilm version, with alittle bit more added here and there.

The second disc basically collects all the infinifilms together as a series of featurettes. There are also trailers and alternate endings, which also look to be remastered, and a trivia game that should be pretty easy to master after watching all the features.

Overall, with its new remastered sound and picure quality, this feature pack installment of A Nightmare On Elmstreet is a great buy for both fans of Freddy or for those who like horror (real horror, not the modern day CGI fluff) but may not have indulged this series as of yet, this is a good version to initiate yourself into the nightmares of elmstreet and become a victim of Freddy's evil charm.

Posted on October 23, 2010

Caron Semonis says...

Overall this two-set disc DVD is great. It includes many deleted scenes and the sound and picture is great as well.



Although this is certainly not definitive/complete. There are out takes, extended scenes, FX shots, TV spots, etc., that are not included. Such as a dialog between Lt. Thompson and Sgt. Garcia in the police station, more scenes of Nancy getting ready to battle Freddy (like pouring gasoline in that glass bottle she threw at him in the basement), another take of Glen's body rising out of the bed, an extended dialog between Marge and Mr. Thompson at the cemetery, a dialog between Lt. Thompson and Mr. Lantz (Glen's father), etc. These others were released in 1996 on laserdisc by Elite Entertainment and a two-cassette VHS by Anchor Bay. There is also trivia missing from the movie like, for example, the guy who was reading Hamlet aloud in English class is Daryl Hannah's brother. Although there is a discussion of the different types and ways of doing Freddy's makeup, there's no mention of what Wes Craven originally wanted (such as the teeth showing through the flesh above the jaws, which ironically was used on the "demon" version of Freddy when he jumps out of the lake in Jason vs. Freddy). Nor mention of all the actresses Heather Langenkamp beat out such as Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing), Demi Moore, Courteney Cox (Ave Ventura, Scream, Friends), and Tracey Gold (Growing Pains).



But this is as close to complete as currently available on DVD. Now that we have the infinifilm special edition, hopefully a special edition director's cut/uncut will appear one day with (if possible) the extended scenes placed back in the movie itself and not as special features to be viewed separately along with all the goodies in this and the VHS/laserdisc versions.



It was nice to finally have Amanda Wyss and Ronee Blakey (boy she changed!) interviewed. But it would have been also nice to get Mr. ever-so-famous Johnny Depp, Jsu Garcia, and John Saxon (71 yrs old now!) interviews.



Overall, I give it 4 and a half stars.

Posted on October 27, 2010

Sanora Birtcher says...

Freddy Krueger is something else.Robert Englund plays the slasher/boogeyman with the relish of a Batman villian without sacrificing his menace.Compared to Jason or Michael Meyers, Freddy is the life of the party...or the death of it if he catches you asleep.Not that this first installment of the Nightmare series is full of laughs.In his first appearance Freddy is truly scary.But he enjoys being scary and as audience members we enjoy being scared by him.As a horror personality Freddy is unequaled and seeing how he was introduced to audiences you can see that he was both a charismatic monster and a terrifying threat from the start.

But I need to admit something: I generally think less is more where blood is concerned.It's a matter of taste, I know, but that said I decided I really like this movie.

This is an unabashadly bloody slasher movie but one cannot deny that it is an imaginative one.I have been more terrified by other horror movies But few horror movies stay with you like A Nightmare on Elm Street.You'll likely be dreaming of Freddy Krueger yourself afterwards.

I recall one horror movie historian saying that horror movies are our way of making friends with the monsters of our imagination.I think he's right.And I think therein lies the appeal of Freddy.He's a sick killer but we also want to make friends with him.

Finally, I think the extras on this two disc set are what really make it special.If it were the movie by itself I might subtract a star or two, but I really liked the making of video and extra documentaries.Wes Craven tells you about the origins of Freddy down to the reasons for the color selections for his stripped sweater.(That particular shade of red and green were said to be the most distressing color combination to the human psyche).

So if your a horror fan, get A Nightmare on Elm Street (if you don't already have it).

Posted on October 28, 2010