Product Details

• Actors: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore
• Directors: Wes Craven
• Writers: Kevin Williamson
• Producers: Bob Weinstein, Cary Woods, Cathy Konrad, Dixie J. Capp, Harvey Weinstein
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• VHS Release Date: December 2, 1997
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (620 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304675348
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,497 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

With the smash hit Scream, novice screenwriter Kevin Williamson and veteran horror director Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street) revived the moldering corpse of the teen horror picture, both creatively and commercially, by playfully acknowledging the exhausted clichés and then turning them inside out. Scream is a postmodern slasher movie, a horror film that cleverly deconstructs horror films, then reassembles the dead tissue, and (like Frankenstein's monster) creates new life. When a serial killer starts hacking up their fellow teens, the media-savvy youngsters of Scream realize that the smartest way of sticking around for the sequel is to avoid the terminal behaviors that inevitably doom supporting players in the movies. They've seen all the movies, and the rules of the genre are like second nature to them. One of the scariest/funniest setups features a kid watching John Carpenter's seminal Halloween on video. As Jamie Lee Curtis is shadowed by Michael Meyers and the kid on the couch yells at her to turn around, Craven reverses his camera and we see that the kid should be taking his own advice. The fresh-faced young cast (including Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette) is fun to watch, and their tart dialogue is sprinkled with enough archly self-conscious pop-culture references to make Quentin Tarantino blush. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Blu-ray is NOT the Unrated Director's Cut, April 15, 2011

By 

Nick-L (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scream [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Please note: I'm rating the release, not the movie (which is a favorite of mine).

Save your money and wait for a complete, uncensored release, preferably with some new bonus material.

***SPOILER WARNING***

I broke down and picked this up because Amazon had it on sale for $6. Though not perfect, the picture quality is good/very good. The sound, on the other hand, is fantastic - one of the best DTS-MA tracks I've heard on blu-ray. However, despite all the audio and visual goodness on display, the admittedly small edits to achieve the "R" rating are annoying. The tone of the film changes subtly as a result.

The slow-mo zoom at the end of the opening scene is far more effective than when sped up. A snipped second here and there in a number of other death scenes make them seem cartoonish and sanitized. Two characters appear to repeatedly stab each other with little consequence.

If Scream were released today, it would surely receive an "R" in its uncut form. Compared to the likes of Saw and Hostel, the on-screen violence is positively restrained. Lionsgate dropped the ball on this one. Please don't wait another 15 years to fix it.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These days you got to have a sequel !, February 18, 2000

By 

Jamie Bouadana (Rhymney UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scream (Dimension Collector's Series) (DVD)

The writing behind the film is excellent, the idea of teens imitating the movies with more twists than twister. An action packed slasher movie with mystery behind it all no imortal killer just messed up teenagers. It was impossible to guess who done the murders from the begining, you may think you know who is doing the killings then somthing happens and turns your eye to someone else. Overall a fantastic beginning to the best horror trilogy around. The DVD has a few interesting special features, go for this special edition rather than the standard DVD.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of the blu ray transfer, May 21, 2011

By 

barry (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scream [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Finally we get all the SCREAM films on blu ray and here we have the first and best that was hugely original and put a much needed original kick in the horror movie genre. We all know the story and we also know that when an older classic film comes out on a blu ray transfer it is really important to find out the quality and if the transfer succeeded. I was thrilled when I popped this movie into my blu ray player and was itching to see the infamous opening scene with Drew Barrymore. Sadly it was a huge disappointment. The audio was great but the video totally lacked clarity and seemed blury and overly grainy. For me the full effect of the scene was lost. Luckily when we get to the next scene with Neve Campbell at her computer the video had hugely improved. The picture was pretty crisp, colors were vibrant, flesh tones realistic and I was then impressed. Throughout the rest of the movie the video quality gets about a B. The dark scenes work well. Black and white ratio is clean and the colors do blend in well. The graininess after the opening scene is there on purpose and looks fine. When the villian dashes in and out of the picture the black and white of the costume looks great. But the part of the movie that is a truly huge improvement over the dvd is the audio. The DTS HD Master 5.1 audio track uses all surround speakers to full effect. Dialogue is crisp and you will be jumping out of your seat in all the right moments. The track is perfect for this classic horror movie and shines. The soundtrack blends in with all the films sounds perfectly.

But the video is where opinions will clash. For me the upgrade to blu ray is much better than my dvd version. I never liked the dvd presentations and the blu ray is in a 1080p enhanced widescreen which makes viewing the film better. There is some fine detail but the picture overall just does not POP like a quality blu ray does. I think when most people watch a blu ray they want that crispness and clarity that just makes it far surpass the dvd. It can become almost like you are in the movie. I think people forget the film is 15 years old and overall the picture is acceptable but the poor quality of the opening scene just leaves it lacking for me. When the movie is offered on blu ray at a steal price which Amazon seems to be doing now it is definitely worth a buy but if you are pretty satisfied with a dvd version you own I would think before purchasing it at full price.