Army of Darkness (1993) [41603]
The Equipment
LG Infinia 55LW5600 - Display
Pioneer Elite CLD 99 - LaserDisc
Pioneer SC-1223 - Receiver
Klipsch RC-3 II - Center
Klipsch RS-35 - Rears
Deftech Promonitor 1000 - Fronts
Sony SA-WM40 - 2xSubs
The Movie
Klaatu Barada Nikto!.........As a favorite when I was younger, It's been hard to explain this Sam Raimi masterpiece to the uninitiated. Is it horror? Is it comedy? Is it shtick? All of the above. Also known as "Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness", this one leans more to the comedy side than the horror side. Yes, there are horror elements in this one, but not as much as the first two. I think for this reason the "Evil Dead 3" moniker was not displayed as prominently in the US.
This third installment picks up right where the second leaves off. Ash is pulled into a vortex and transported to Medieval times. He is promply captured by Lord Arthur and accused of being "One of Duke Henry's men!". Ash is hooked up, marched back to the castle and thrown into the pit. Just before he's thrown into the pit he acquires his chainsaw and works his way out. When he climbs out of the pit, he proceeds to show his boomstick to the primitive screwheads and hilarity ensues for the next hour and a half.
The film has had many releases throughout the years on multiple formats with many different cuts, lengths and even endings. This is the standard US cut with the S-Mart ending being 87 minutes in length.
The film was released on 2/19/93 and the LaserDisc was released on 11/8/93. If you want the widescreen release on LaserDisc in the US, this is the only option you have (unless you import that is). It's a one disc/two sided release with 24 chapter stops. Those being the following:
Disc 1/Side 1
1. It Wasn't Always Like This...
2. The One Written Of
3. The Pit
4. Prisoner Of The Pit
5. The Promised One (And His Boomstick)
6. An Evil Book
7. Even Handed
8. The Necronomicon Awaits
9. Ash Goes To Pieces
10. Split Personalites
11. Three Books
12. Three Little Words
13. Dealing With The Dead
14. The Snatching Of Sheila
15. Through Running
Disc 1/Side 2
16. Better Killing Through Chemistry
17. The March Of The Dead
18. Death To The Mortals!
19. Say Hello To The 21st Century
20. Battle Of The Alter Egos
21. Dead Again
22. A New Kingdom
23. In Thine Own Time
24. The Hero From Housewares
The Ratings
The Video
Taking into account the time in which this was released it is pretty decent. The colors are correct and the blacks, while not super inky, still retain their black level pretty good. Granted there are many other discs which have much better contrast, but you could also do a lot worse. Sam Raimi's famous crazy cam pops off the screen pretty well. Now a disclimer....I was spoiled by watching the French Blu-ray of this, which is the best looking version I've ever seen, but for what it is, the LaserDisc is pretty good.
7/10
The Audio
Dolby Digital surround is what's heard on this pressing. Most of the sounds and spoken words are quite legible. I personally like the tone of the voices on this better than the standard DVD release. The whirring of the chainsaw, the "POW" of the boomstick........all can be heard very well. The sound is a strong point on this one. Overall it is a very good soundtrack that comes through well on the speakers.
8/10
Summary
If you've seen this movie, I don't know what else I can tell you except it's awesome. In my opinion the transfer and soundtrack are decent enough, but many iterations of this have been released throughout the world, including the French Blu-ray release (Evil Dead 3: L'armée des ténèbres) which is the best I've ever seen and heard. That aside, If you give it a spin in your player you won't regret it. The movie takes you back to a time when practical effects ruled and what a great time it was.
Overall: 7/10
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