Product Details

• Actors: George A. Romero, John Carpenter, Tom Savini, David Cronenberg, Wes Craven
• Directors: Adam Simon
• Writers: Adam Simon
• Producers: Caroline Kaplan, Colin MacCabe, Eliza Mellor, Jonathan Sehring, Paula Jalfon
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: New Video Group
• DVD Release Date: March 30, 2004
• Run Time: 73 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00018YCJQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,130 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The American Nightmare - A Celebration of Films from Hollywood's Golden Age of Fright" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

The explosion of gruesome horror cinema in the wake of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" is explored in this serious documentary, which has a welcome respect for an easily derided genre. A few academics make piquant observations (no film critics, although Robin Wood pioneered this line of thinking years ago), but mostly we hear from the filmmakers themselves: Romero, John Carpenter (on "Halloween"), Wes Craven ("Last House on the Left"), Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), and David Cronenberg ("Shivers"). The directors focus on those films, not their entire careers, which limits the scope of the movie. Juxtapositioning newsreel horrors with movie scenes introduces provocative ideas about where horror comes from, but also feels a little facile. Unexpected bonus: the enthusiasm of John Landis, in describing the out-of-kilter experience of watching these affronts to good taste, and suggesting why they thrill as well as scare us. "--Robert Horton"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, Respectful Documentary, August 25, 2004

By 

L. E. Pearlman (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American Nightmare - A Celebration of Films from Hollywood's Golden Age of Fright (DVD)

A well directed, informative documentary that explains the links between horror films of the late sixties and seventies and the social changes going on in the United States at the same time. This documentary serves as a great companion to David J. Skal's book "The Monster Show" and other essays that tackle horror movies from a more sociological standpoint. One cannot ignore what was going on in the world at the time their favorite film was made. Even with escapist fare, the social and political goings on of the era often trickle into horror movies in the most surprising of ways as this doc shows. I've always been a fan of George Romero's Zombie movies, but was even more impressed with the way this doc dealt with Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left" and David Cronenberg's "Shivers", two movies that I've found in the past to be pretty unredeemable. Hearing the filmmakers discuss their motivations for these two movies helped me understand them better and made me want to give them another look! My only complaint with this movie was that it was not longer. I think that the film makers could have expanded on their thesis and covered more ground. I would love to see a sequel documentary that deals with the slashers of the later seventies like "Friday the 13th" and the arrival of the more psychological and fantasy oriented "Nightmare on Elm Street" series that came on the scene in the eighties and how they were linked to their respective decades.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best doc on horror movies, ever!, April 2, 2004

By 

joe vanderhooven (Truth or Consequences, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Nightmare - A Celebration of Films from Hollywood's Golden Age of Fright (DVD)

a beautiful documentary that treats these horror films with the respect they deserve" dawn of the dead, shivers, halloween, last house on the left, texas chainsaw massacre.

it combines interviews with the directors, tom savini, and several film scholars; as they all describe how the films were actual unconscious reflections of the times. combined with the beautiful music of "godspeed you black emperor," this film gives overdue creedence and social justification to these films.

and, i have to say, the ending of shot of the leatherface dance, combined with music from "godspeed" is one of the most beautiful pieces of film i've ever seen!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Documentary Of Films From The Golden Age of Fright, February 14, 2006

By 

Amy Lynn (Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The American Nightmare - A Celebration of Films from Hollywood's Golden Age of Fright (DVD)

This is a documentary about horror films and their impact on the world between 1968-1979. We get to hear the points of views of the directors of some of the most frightening classic horror films ever made. IFC interviews Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, David Cronenburg, John Landis, Wes Craven, George Romero and more. We get an in depth look at the politics and upheaval of the 60's and 70's and how they influenced everyones life and the horror genre.

The DVD contains clips from events in history such as the Vietnam War, assasinations of some of the most prominent figures in America, clips from classic horror movies and discussions on what horror is about and why we go to see these films. The directors discuss some of their inspirations for the films, what scared them as a child and the horrors of the real world. Theres many striking and powerful images in this documentary, both real and fiction.

In a way it reminds you reality can be just as frightening as fiction, the real events that happen can be compared to the horror films, just with a diffrent face. Some of these events do happen in real life, yet we dare to face them, facing it gives you the illusion of control or knowing and that is the first step. Confronting it. And you can even examine what parts frighten you and what parts you enjoy and ask yourself why?

Professor Tom Gunning's words- Why do you go to see a horror film? some compare it to a roller coaster ride, theres a desire in a funny way for stimulus, we sometimes get disatisfied with that protection and we want it to be pierced.

Director Adam Simon left out some important horror/thriller films of the 70's like The Exorcist, Jaws, Carrie etc.. But i assume the movies he covered were some of his personal favorites. The ones he covered were enough to satisfy but i would have liked to have seen more films discussed.

Very good documentary and Highly recomended.