Swamp Thing (BluRay/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

Definite Guilty Pleasure!
I first saw Swamp Thing on HBO waaay back in the early eighties. As a young teen male with my nose constantly buried in comic books, I was certainly part of the target demographic for this low-budget Wes Craven adventure. Admittedly, I didn't think too much of Wes's efforts; It seemed pretty bland, not colorfully action-packed like the comic book, and silly all at the same time. However, it did have the not-inconsiderable presence of Ms. Barbeau(Mrs. Carpenter), whom I had seen the year before in Escape From New York and The Fog, when she had her image(and figure)indelibly burned into my long-term memory. In regards to this new DVD, I have to say that the 30 seconds of restored bathing sequence is a pleasant surprise, especially since it is mentioned nowhere on the case. It should also be noted that more <gratuitous> nudity was re-inserted into the party sequence at Arcane's mansion, and the DVD should have been re-rated from PG to UNRATED(at least PG-13, possibly R) to...

A Romp in the Swamp!
This DVD is sorely lacking in special features. All you get is the movie trailer, (which is unintentionally funny as the voice-over narrator intones "Adrienne Barbeau....an outrageous pair!" Well, she does look great in a tight sweater!) a language selection, a scene index, and a leaflet with some background material.

The movie, though, is great and in widescreen format. Wes Craven departs from his usual gore to make a comic book hero into a comic book movie, with lots of action and derring-do. There's even a poignant love story. It's a fast moving romp in the swamp.

Adrienne's nude bathing scene has been restored in this DVD version. For some reason it was edited out of the U.S. theatrical release, although not the European version. But now the complete movie is available, and I recommend this DVD to all Adrienne Barbeau fans, all Wes Craven fans, and all comic book fans.

Which copy should you buy?
Just to get it out of the way, Swamp Thing is okay. However, it did spawn the much better sequel Return Of The Swamp Thing in all its campy goodness.

But, there are 2 distinct versions out there. If you want the US version, then buy the RED title cover. It is also 91 minutes. If you're looking for the added nudity version, then buy the GREEN title cover. The run time for the green version is 93 minutes. Then again, it makes more sense that the less butchered version is 2 minutes longer.

Plain English: RED = Less nekkid, GREEN = more nekkid. Get it?

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