An American Werewolf in London

An American Werewolf in London
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Landis
Written byJohn Landis
Produced byGeorge Folsey Jr.
Starring
CinematographyRobert Paynter
Edited byMalcolm Campbell
Music byElmer Bernstein
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • August 21, 1981 (1981-08-21)
Running time
97 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom[1]
  • United States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5.8 million[3]
Box office$62 million[4]

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and John Woodvine. The title is a cross between An American in Paris and Werewolf of London.[5] The film's plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, who are attacked by a werewolf while travelling in England, causing David to become a werewolf under the next full moon.[6]

Landis wrote the first draft of the screenplay for the film in 1969 and shelved it for over a decade. Prospective financiers believed that Landis's script was too frightening to be a comedy film and too humorous to be a horror film. After achieving success in Hollywood with the comedies The Kentucky Fried Movie, National Lampoon's Animal House and The Blues Brothers, Landis was able to secure financing from PolyGram Pictures to produce An American Werewolf in London.

An American Werewolf in London was released in the US by Universal Pictures on August 21, 1981. It was a critical and commercial success, winning the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and makeup artist Rick Baker winning the inaugural Academy Award for Best Makeup. Since its release, it has become a cult classic.[7] A sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, was released by Hollywood Pictures in 1997.

  1. ^ a b c "An American Werewolf in London". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "An American Werewolf In London (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  3. ^ Moses, Antoinette (Autumn 1982). "British Film Production 1981". Sight and Sound. Vol. 51, no. 4. p. 258. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "An American Werewolf in London, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hallencom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ DeMara, Bruce (June 26, 2016). "Rewind: An American Werewolf in London still howlingly good". Toronto Star. pp. E4.
  7. ^ Berardinelli, James (2000). "An American Werewolf in London review". ReelViews. Retrieved July 26, 2009.