A Nightmare on Elm Street

As pointed out more than once in the supplemental features for this groundbreaking 1984 horror film, New Line's producers Robert Shaye and Sara Risher gambled everything they had—and then some—on Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, a project that had been rejected by every studio in Hollywood. In “Never Sleep Again,” an excellent 50-minute “making-of” documentary, line producer John Burrows recalls using his own credit cards to keep production going while Shaye arranged for bridge financing from pioneering indie video supplier Media Home Entertainment. Succeed it did: the story of knife-fingered maniac Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a literal “bad dream” who stalks adolescents in their sleep, went on to become a commercial and critical success and spawned six sequels (so far). Viewers will also learn that then-unknown actor Johnny Depp was convinced he was doing a poor job and constantly needed reassurance from the director; John Saxon (who played the father of female lead Heather Langenkamp) was hired as the requisite “name” for overseas distributors; and star Englund, prior to meeting Craven for the first time, smudged cigarette ash under his eyes to give himself a more sinister appearance. Other DVD extras include two audio commentaries with Craven and others, a featurette on dreams, alternate endings, a trivia game, and what is essentially a 23-minute commercial for New Line horror franchises, which could easily have been omitted. Presented in an “infinifilm” version—offering the viewer the option to branch off while watching the film to access specific video interview clips of cast and crew—A Nightmare on Elm Street has been both remastered and remixed and looks and sounds great. Recommended. (E. Hulse)