Blu-ray, DVD Release: The Raven

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Oct. 9, 2012
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack $39.99
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment


The Raven movie scene

John Cusack is Edgar Allen Poe in The Raven

John Cusack (Hot Tub Time Machine) stars as Edgar Allen Poe in the 2012 mystery thriller film The Raven, which revolves around the troubled writer’s investigation into a string of grisly murders seemingly inspired by his most macabre works.

The film is set in Baltimore, 1849, where police detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans, Immortals), while investigating a horrific double murder, discovers that the killer’s methods mirror the twisted writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Suspecting Poe at first, Fields ultimately enlists his help to stop future attacks. The stakes are raised as the gruesome slayings continue, the hunt intensifies, and Poe’s own love, Emily Hamilton (Alice Eve, The Decoy Bride), becomes a target for the killer.

Directed by James McTeigue (Ninja Assassin), the R-rated film also stars Brendan Gleeson (Safe House) and Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides).

Release wide to U.S. theaters in April, 2012, The Raven rang up a disappointing $16 million at the domestic box office, despite its “novel,” high-concept premise. The critics were as unenthusiastic as the audiences, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a 4.4/10 rating based on 119 critics’ reviews.

The DVD contains an audio commentary by director McTeigue and producers Marc D. Evans, Trevor Macy and Aaron Ryder. The Blu-ray also includes the commentary, along with the following features:

● Deleted & Extended Scenes
○ Poetry Reading
○ The Red Mask
○ Emily’s Recital
○ Fields Check on Poe
○ Poe Brings Carl to Field’s Home
○ Doctor Clements and Fields
● The Raven Guts: Bringing Death to Life
● The Madness, Misery, and Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe
● Behind the Beauty and Horror
● The Raven Presents John Cusack & James McTeigue
● Music for the Raven: The Team
 

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About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.