Writer/director John Landis always intended to use Sam Cooke’s version of the song “Blue Moon” over the famous transformation scene in his 1981 classic An American Werewolf in London (watch it HERE), and he let the film’s composer Elmer Bernstein know that up front. He chose “Blue Moon” because he wanted the scene to come off as being sad and painful rather than scary – but while putting together the score for the film, Bernstein decided to go ahead and compose some of his own music for the transformation scene. Just in case. Landis ended up rejecting Bernstein’s transformation music and stuck with “Blue Moon”… but now filmmaker Paul Davis, who generously shared 35 minutes of rare outtake footage from The Exorcist on Halloween this year, has put Bernstein’s rejected music over the transformation scene and uploaded it to YouTube. You can check it out in the embed at the bottom of this article.
An American Werewolf in London has the following synopsis: David and Jack, two American college students, are backpacking through Britain when a large wolf attacks them. David survives with a bite, but Jack is brutally killed. As David heals in the hospital, he’s plagued by violent nightmares of his mutilated friend, who warns David that he is becoming a werewolf. When David discovers the horrible truth, he contemplates committing suicide before the next full moon causes him to transform from man to murderous beast.
The film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, and John Woodvine.
To compare, the version of the transformation scene that ended up in the finished film, with Sam Cooke’s “Blue Moon” playing over it, can be seen at THIS LINK. Once you’ve re-familiarized yourself that classic sequence, take a look at the video below.
Bernstein’s music definitely drives home the horror and strangeness of the scene, which is the opposite of what Landis was going for. I much prefer the “Blue Moon” version over the horror music version.
How do you think the transformation scene plays with Elmer Bernstein’s music? Do you like it better or worse than the “Blue Moon” version? Let us know by leaving a comment below.