The Lawnmower Man

The world was fearful of something called Virtual Reality back in 1992. Hence, out to movie theaters came the futuristic "The Lawnmower Man", one in a long line of Stephen King stories/novels to get adapted for the big screen. Like many of King's other works, this one wasn't successful but grew into a cult classic over the years. One can now see this 1990's amalgam of science fiction and avant-garde special effects film, presented on Blu-ray of course by the fine folks at Shout/Scream Factory.

"The Lawnmower Man" could be seen as a modern retelling of "Frankenstein," as a mad scientist (Pierce Brosnan) takes a simple-minded young man (Jeff Fahey) under his wings for a bizarre experiment. The most telling thing about the movie is how it veers wildly from King's short story, something which made the famous author sue the filmmakers to have his name removed from the credits.

On Shout Factory's two-disc Blu-ray, both the theatrical version and the bloated Director's Cut (clocking in at an overlong 140 minutes) can be viewed. This reviewer recommends the much more condensed version and watching the deleted scenes that were inserted back into the longer cut get included as a bonus feature.

As you can imagine, Scream's special features are plentiful and seeing that this is a two-disc Collector's edition, you'll need hours of extra time to view them:

"Cybergod: Creating the Lawnmower Man" - a brand-new documentary featuring interviews with many of the cast and crew

"Audio Commentary" - writer/director Brett Leonard and writer/producer Gimel Everett explain what is going on in "The Lawnmower Man"

Other extras include edited animated sequences, storyboard comparisons, trailers, and behind-the-scenes/production stills. Ordering the Blu-ray right from Shout Factory's website garners a shipment of the film's poster with newly commissioned artwork.

"The Lawnmower Man"
Blu-ray
$34.93
www.shoutfactory.com