One challenge I anticipated with High Anxiety is that certain subjects like murder and suspense do not work well in comedy (like in Have you Heard About the Morgans).  Truly, the only way to make a thriller work with humour is to go way, way, way over the top, much like in the Police Squad series of movies.

However, my pleasant surprise at the quality of To Be Or Not To Be left me with some anticipation that this movie may also surprise me with its wit and charm.

Film

To catch the Hitchcock references, I watched the film with the trivia track on.  And early in the move, it is stated that Mr. Brooks wanted this movie to appeal to all viewers, not just those who were fans of Mr. Hitchcock.  Although this is a noble sentiment, I found the material to be quite uneven; hilarious at times, boring at times, and likely way more interesting if you are a Hitchcock-phile.

The premise of the movie is that Nobel-prize winning psychiatrist Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke (played by Mel Brooks) has been recruited to run the “The Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous” in Los Angeles.  As we discover early in the film, the previous head psychiatrist passed away under very suspicious cicumstances, apparently related to “big changes” he wanted to make. 

Upon arrival at the Institute, we meet Dr. Montague (played extremely well by Harvey Korman), and the intimidating Nurse Diesel (played well by Cloris Leachman), with both appearing to be up to no good.  Dr. Thorndyke and Dr. Wentworth (Dick Van Patten) represent a threat to what they are doing at the hospital, leading us into the main action of the movie. 

Other characters who appear are Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn) who feels her father is being held against his will at the institute, and Professor Lilloman, a past teacher of Dr. Thorndyke’s.  Ron Carey does a turn as Brophy. Dr. Thorndyke’s chauffer, sidekick, and comedy relief.

As mentioned above, the humor in this film was quite uneven.  Some scenes, like one in the limousine when Dr. Thorndyke arrives is hilarious.  I also laughed so hard my stomach hurt when Drs. Montague and Thorndyke were visiting with a patient that appeared to have been cured of his neck pains and dreams of werewolves. 

However, much of Mel Brooks’ own material fell flat, and I found his line reading to be almost mechanical; this is his worst performance I have seen as an actor.  And although Nurse Diesel was to be played as comic relief, Ms. Leachman does too good a job with her weirdness, making her less funny and more creepy than a comedy would support.  In the featurette included on the Blu-ray, Rudy DeLuca (co-writer and the killer “Braces” in the film) states that Mel’s Sinatra-esque performance of “High Anxiety” was the high point of the movie for many.  For me, this was a low-point, and served as a good divider between the funny set-ups in the first half of the film, and the less funny suspense-tinged latter half of the film.

Harvey Korman’s performance as Dr. Montague deserves plaudits.  In many scenes, he provides the comic relief for the film, and his chemistry with Cloris Leachman is phenomenal.  Korman’s gift for physical comedy makes some average scenes much funnier than they deserved to be.

As a spoof on Hitchcock, the movie was good, with attention to detail in framing shots, shoot locations, and background music.  Unfortunately, to simply spoof others is no way to make a quality movie (see any of the [insert genre here] Movie series), and I believe this adds to the somewhat disjointed feel of the film.  That the suspense did not feel real, and the movie was conflicted between being a comedy and a thriller in its latter half made this movie less entertaining than it could have been.

Video

There has been a real appeal to the visuals in this box set of movies, and High Anxiety meets this high standard.  Appropriately grainy, with a true 70’s look and feel, this movie was watchable, pleasing, and authentic.

Although the picture could be a little soft at times, it was still an excellent presentation, and much better than one normally sees in a 33 year-old movie.  Again, the wizards at Fox have done an excellent job cleaning up a print while retaining its authenticity. 

Audio

In these older films, we expect a lack of dynamic range, a strong front-loading, little LFE information, and muffled dialog.  No surprise, this description fits High Anxiety perfectly.

Surprisingly so, this move seemed even poorer than other movies from this box set.  I cannot recall hearing any use of the surround channels, nor do I remember any rumbles from the LFE channel.  Worst of all, even the score suffers in this presentation, with a shrillness and forwardness in the high midrange that made it very unpleasant.  Generally a poor presentation, and worse that of the similar era Silent Movie.

Special Features

Unlike Silent Movie and To Be or Not to Be, High Anxiety did receive a solo Blu-ray release.  Surprisingly, we find a small feature set on this disc, similar to those released as collection-only releases.  Included are a trivia pop-up track (good for highlighting the Hitchcock parallels), an isolated score track, a medium-length HD featurette on Brooks and Hitchcock, an interactive “anxiety test” to do while the movie is playing, plus trailers for this film and other Mel Brooks films.

Although the main HD featurette is entertaining, I found Mr. Brooks to be less charming in this one than in those included on other discs.  However, it does contain some great shots from classic Hitchcock movies, as well as good anecdotes for a number of actors regarding the production.  The rest is fairly pedestrian fare.

Final Thoughts

I cannot describe myself as a Hitchcock fan; although I enjoyed his movies, they are not something I go out of my way to watch.  This shouldn’t have been an issue for this film, as Mr. Brooks wanted High Anxiety to be enjoyed by non-Hitchcock fans as well.

Unfortunately, despite a very nice video presentation, High Anxiety was simply not consistently funny enough.  Combined with substandard audio and a small batch of special features, this movie deserves only a rent, as the funny scenes (which are really good) will likely not stand up under repeated watchings.  I imagine that a student of Hitchcock would enjoy this film much, much more than the layperson.

Mr. Brooks has never struck me as a subtle humorist, and I had some worry that a comedy-musical-drama about World War II and Nazism could be taken from funny to farcical under his guidance.  Perplexingly, I also had high expectations at the same time – with such rich subject matter, and a stellar cast, this movie had the potential to be really good.  And in short, this movie was really good, the type of comedy I grew up on, and the type that seems to have fallen out of favor with the viewing public.

Film

Set on the eve of World War II, Mel Brooks plays Frederick Bronski, an apparently “famous” Polish actor who takes pride in his portrayal of Hamlet in his Excerpts from Hamlet.  In art imitating life, his wife Anna Bronski is played by Mr. Brooks’ very talented wife, the late Anne Bancroft.  As owners and lead actors in a Polish theatre company, not all is rosy between the couple, as Mrs. Bronski is feeling her importance to their success is being minimized.  This is illustrated early in the film with one of the best visual jokes I’ve ever seen (when Frederick is shown a poster for their upcoming performance of The Merry Widower).  Mrs. Bronski has her own issues, including her encouragement of advances being made to her by a dashing Polish airman, Lt. Sobinski (played by Tim Matheson).

As we historically know, the Germans invaded Poland, leading Lt. Sobinski to find himself flying for the free Polish forces in England.  There, he and his comerades give names of friends and family who are in the Polish Resistance to Professor Siletski (played well by Jose Ferrer), a traitorous agent who secretly wishes to give the information to the Nazis.

Although Lt. Sobinski gives a cryptic message of love to be taken to Anna, he later deduces Professor Siletski’s plan, and is asked by officials to go to Poland to keep Dr. Siletski from delivering this list of names to the Gestapo.  However, since Anna’s name appears on the list of people to send messages to, the Bronskis are drawn into this drama, as is their entire theatre company.

The decision to have Alan Johnson direct the film may have been the most important decision Mr. Brooks made for the quality of this film.  Mel Brooks-directed films share a certain manic “over-the-topness” that would have been inappropriate for To Be or Not to Be.  This is a story that makes fun of Nazi Germany and the self-aggrandizement of actors, yet still has serious overtones such as the Gestapo, the invasion of Poland, and the Holocaust.  Although humorous, the material requires a sensitivity and finesse to make it funny, while never losing sight of what Nazism actually meant.

Despite its grim subject matter, this is easily one of the funniest and wittiest movies I’ve seen in a very long time.  The chemistry between the actors is palpable, and their interaction is superb.  Classic comedic timing is apparent on every joke, and laughs are for the viewer to figure out – they are not handed to the audience with auditory clues or over the top visuals (a la American Pie).  The surrounding cast are as superb as they get, with standout performances from George Gaynes, Charles Durning, and James Haake.  However, special mention goes to Anne Bancroft for playing Anna in a wry and comedic way, to Mel Brooks for toning down his schtick when the script calls for it, and to Christopher Lloyd, who steals every scene he is in as a hapless SS man.

In the end, this is a very funny movie that demonstrates how good comedy can be, especially when understated humor meets over-the-top humor.  It also makes great use of classical elements of comedy, including visual jokes, running gags, caricature, and classic timing to make the audience laugh.  I cannot recollect the last time I had seen a film where I have laughed out loud this much, many times at my surprise in finding a joke that wasn’t all that obvious.  Smart, funny, and a bit melancholy, this is what a comedy should be.

Video

Again, the producers of this box set have done an excellent job with the video restoration of this film.  Although the grain we would expect for an early 80’s movie is there, enough is cleaned up so that it doesn’t become distracting in 1080p.

However, there were some issues with the presentation, most notably the soft focus that seemed to be used on Anne Bancroft from the midpoint of the film-on.  These scenes simply have a quality not congruent with the rest of the exceptional visuals in this film.  There are also scenes where there are color bleed issues, such as when Frederik returns from his meeting with the Gestapo then finds Lt. Sobinski in his bed – his shirt looks like a light bulb in the dark room.

Set design must have been done well, as they all look great and pop with color (especially the luxuriously appointed theatre interior).  Costumes were also equally well done, and the fabrics and detail truly shine in HD.  Originally a choreographer, the exactness in Director Johnson’s eye plays out well through this film, creating a great visual landscape that translated very well to Blu-ray. 

Audio

As an early 80’s film, I expected the audio presentation to be a bit of a mixed bag.  And true to form for movies of this era, it was.

Firstly, the score by John Morris is superb, and itself contains very wry and ironic themes while accompanying the movie.  It is not often one hears “Deutschland Uber Alles” incorporated slightly off kilter into a soundtrack.  Through the DTS-HD MA presentation, this score shines.

Dialog is also very clear through the centre channel, though it seems to be a bit mixed-down or muffled.  Although volume levels are good, a certain crispness or sibilance was missing.  We do suffer from the early 80’s issue of lack of dynamic range and spatializing, with the LFE channel being sadly underused, much like the surrounds.

All-in-all, an average audio presentation for a film of this era – nothing great, but better than serviceable.

Special Features

Much like Silent Movie, To Be or Not to Be did not receive a solo Blu-ray release, and we therefore find a skinnier feature set on this disc.  Included are a trivia pop-up track (a good one by the way), an isolated score track, a short HD featurette on Bancroft and Brooks working together, a short vintage promo piece (in SD), three short interviews (also in SD), plus trailers for this film and other Mel Brooks films.

Generally, not an overly impressive special feature set, with the main HD featurette being charming yet below the standard of the one that accompanied Silent Movie.

Final Thoughts

Although the “extras” of this film were minimal and the audio presentation was pedestrian, the video presentation was quite good, with the film itself being wonderful.  Well-acted, possessing a sensitivity to the subject matter, and delivering comedy in an intelligent and witty way, this is a movie I know I will watch again.

Although not a “traditional” Mel Brooks movie, I have not seen a film that better highlights his ability as an actor.  Nor have I seen a film in recent memory show how closely related comedy and tragedy are.

And unfortunately, I am again giving a “Buy It” recommendation for a film that is only available as a part of this collection.

Film

Steven Seagal plays John Hatcher, a DEA officer who after accidentally gunning down the naked prostitute that killed his partner (seriously…), realizes he has become what he most despised. He retires from the force and decides to go back home and live with his sister. Obviously, trouble has a way of finding its way back into Hatcher’s life when he gets mixed up in a drug war between the mafia and a Jamaican gang run by a mysterious, possibly magical villain named Screwface (again seriously… I can’t make this up).

Screwface is played deliciously over-the-top by actor Basil Wallace. He’s one of those slightly insane bad guys that even gives his own men the creeps. Although, who could blame them. There is a scene in the movie where Screwface is in the middle of a game of dominos when he receives some upsetting news. He freaks out, flips the table over, rips off one of the table’s legs and proceeds to beat one of his men almost to death with it. And of course, he is believed to have magical powers or something. Who knows? Still, he’s one of the more entertaining bad guys to ever chew scenery around a Steven Seagal movie. I imagine Tommy Lee Jones (Under Siege) and Michael Caine (On Deadly Ground) somewhere giving Wallace a pat on the back. “You’re in the cool club now boy!” one of them would say. I know Marked for Death came out before those other movies, but I can dream it can’t I?

The movie is competently directed by Dwight H. Little, the man behind the camera on movies like Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home. The guy seems to be able to handle any genre with ease and this movie has a real strong pace. The action scenes are very well choreographed, with Steven Seagal using his aikido techniques to take on as many as six guys at once almost effortlessly. There is a particularly good scene that takes place in a Tiffany’s and involves Hatcher throwing people through numerous glass display cases. As well, the final battle between Hatcher and Screwface literally has to be seen to be believed. (Spoiler Alert!) All I’m going to say is that if you have already turned someone into a blind paraplegic, you don’t also have to throw him down an elevator shaft. (Spoilers end)

Excellent fights scenes, mixed with an interesting Voodoo element and you got yourself Marked for Death, a classic ‘movie for guys who like movies’ complete with a funky reggae soundtrack. Steven Seagal fans already know this movie as one of the better early ones and they won’t be disappointed. It still holds up after all of these years. Although, the problem with bad stunt doubles lately in his movies, now clearly seems to have always been a problem.

As a P.S., it’s funny seeing actor Danny Trejo as a goon Steven Seagal casually beats up and throws into the trunk of his car in an early scene in this movie. Although they would also star in the direct to DVD action flick Urban Justice together, ironically enough, this fall, twenty years after the release of this movie, Steven Seagal would star in his first theatrical release in nine years as a villain in Machete, opposite Danny Trejo as the lead. Hopefully, the magic will strike twice.

Video

Marked for Death’s video is displayed in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 using the AVC MPEG 4 codec. The film is one of those catalogue titles that doesn’t get much care or restoration, but at least the negative is a pretty clean one.

Colours are a bit plain and skin tones are reddish at times. The palette is pretty neutral, which is a staple of early 90’s flicks as well as the indoor scenes have that awesome foggy looked created by actually using a fog machine to fill the set with a hazy smoke to soften the image.

Besides having some dated attributes the film’s video quality isn’t too bad, scenes that are shot in daylight look really great with little to no visible grain and even some of the lower lit indoor scenes are pretty clean. However when we move to the late night scenes, especially during the Jamaican assault the grain is noticeable.

The image is pretty sharp and some scenes really display some great detail, such as the pores and texture of an actor’s face in a close up, but a lot of early 90’s did their best to soften the image, such as the fogging technique. There’s definitely not an issue with an overly soft image, but it would’ve been nice to have a slightly crisper display.

Audio

Marked for Death’s audio comes at us using the DTS-HD Master audio 5.1 mix, but as we’ve learned many times before; having one of the best audio codecs doesn’t mean we’re getting some of the best audio and this film is no exception.

We’re given a pretty straight forward mix with little to no “outside-of-the-box” play. A lot of the sound effects come through the main speaker and the low end frequencies don’t come out that much. A lot of the explosions and crashes that occur barely register, but regardless we get a very clear mix nonetheless.

The dialogue is clean, while staying in the center. The score, which just screams early 90’s action flick, stays in its place and doesn’t overshadow the sound effects. The sound effects themselves are somewhat flat, but do have some pop considering the film is 20 years old. A bit of irony in the mix is that the Jamaican assault near the end of the film uses mostly silenced weapons, so it was interesting to try and critique the sound effects when there were none.

Special Features

Although this is the 20^th anniversary of Marked for Death, we don’t get a single special feature.

Final Thoughts

If you’re into classic mindless action, then look no further than Steven Seagall. The audio and video presentation on this disc makes my old VHS copy look like it had taken a karate chop from Seagall himself; it’s a great presentation for a catalogue release and although it doesn’t stand out as showcase worthy it could’ve been a lot worse.

Film

Crazy Heart is a tale of a country musician, Bad Blake played by Bridges, who is teetering on the edge as he wanders from gig to gig in seedy bars trying to earn off of his fallen stardom in order to fuel his alcohol driven lifestyle. As dark as the path looks there are some lights that show up to help Blake get his life out of the gutter; including a possible love interest who comes in the form of a reporter who is doing a story on the old country star.

As we watch Blake’s journey, we try and see if there’s going to be a turn to the worse at any moment for we’re still not sure if Blake’s story is already in the third act and we’re watching the sad denouement of the story go deeper into a depressing rut that he won’t be able to pull out of.

The film’s story isn’t the most original, I’ve heard it being compared to The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke as a similar fallen star trying to rise back up but are faced with not only opposing obstacles that surround them, but also they have to overcome their own personal obstacles.

Jeff Bridges performance definitely stands out, but doesn’t overshadow some of the other great performances, such as Colin Farrell’s, who actually portrays his role as a fellow musician authentically.  Robert Duvall and Maggie Gyllenhaal also give great performances as well.

Video

Crazy Heart‘s video is displayed in it’s 2.35:1 aspect ratio using the AVC 1080p codec. Crazy Heart’s Blu-ray release has the specs to back up top quality video and it doesn’t disappoint. Although the film was an independent release, you can barely tell from the video quality.

The black levels are very deep and yet the film’s contrast remains very clear. The colours are vivid and details remain sharp. The picture is clear and it looks good projected on a 100″ screen, the grain isn’t noticeable even in scenes with dynamic lighting range, such as someone being lit by a spotlight on a dark stage. There is also no noticeable artefacting.

Audio

Crazy Heart’s audio comes at us using the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround codec and although the film doesn’t exactly give your sound system a run for its money but it definitely fits the material perfectly.

When there’s a scene that takes place in during a concert; the mix makes it sound just like a real concert Blu-ray. I was impressed at how the mix juggles that and the quiet contemplative scenes that are dialogue heavy seamlessly.

The dialogue is clear and up front, which the rest of the mix finds it’s place. I was worried that considering the musical nature of the sound, that my “surround” style rear speakers may not hold up well because I’ve heard that bookshelf style rears are better for music. My impressions on this during the concert scenes were that even with “surround” style rears, it sounded great. Echo spills over and gives your room the same ambiance as the rooms the actors are in.

Special Features

The special features of the film are a bit light, but they still provide something to chew on. With almost 30 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes that make up the majority of the features, but a selection of interviews and a trailer round out the rest. Although there isn’t much, if you consider Crazy Heart for a rental then it’s a good amount to go through.

Final Thoughts 

Crazy Heart combines a collection of good performances within a interesting story that is both entertaining and emotional. With a solid audio and video presentation and a few features to add some value, it’s a safe rental or purchase to Jeff Bridges fans.

Second up for review was 1974’s Young Frankenstein, a film from which I had seen various scenes, but never sat through the whole film.  Of all the Mel Brooks movies, this one appears to have the most loyal following, and I was intrigued again by Mr. Brooks making an atypical movie (a horror movie throwback in black and white) in the 1970’s.

Film

This film has a very loyal and dedicated audience who can likely fire off lines at will from various points in the movie.  I am not one of these, and I find it highly unlikely that I will ever become one of them.  After watching the movie, I admired Mr. Brooks’ skill with the camera, and loved Gene Wilder’s lunatic acting as the Young Frankenstein (Frawnk-en-steen!), but found the movie generally uninspiring.

The plot is straightforward enough – the young Dr. Frankenstein is a respected medical teacher and doctor, who has attempted to distance himself from his nefarious ancestor who brought the dead to life.  However, a reading of his dead grandfather’s will (I think it was his Grandfather’s – the geneaology in the film is a bit confusing) ends up with Dr. Frankenstein moving to Transylvania (which has nothing to do with Frankenstein) and discovering the lab where the original monster was made.

Although originally opposed to reanimating the dead, he comes across the original Dr. Frankenstein’s journal, and decides that it may work, and that he too, can bring back the dead.  Of course, problems are caused when Igor (Eye-gor, effectively played by Marty Feldman) has an accident, and destroys the brain that Dr. Frankenstein wanted, replacing it with an abnormal (Abby Normal) brain.

So, the poor monster goes off on his adventures (mimicking those from Universal’s iconic “Frankenstein”), followed by an attempt to prove to the townsfolk that the monster is really not a monster (via a musical number).  Will Dr. Frankenstein be able to save his monster from the townsfolk?  How will he resolve his relationship with the luscious Inga (Terri Garr) and his tightly wound fiancé (Madeline Kahn)?

On the plus side, this is a beautifully shot movie, and shows Mel Brooks’ love of the old Universal horror films.  Superimposing images over people’s faces, using different styles of screen wipe, the well-timed thunder and lightning, and use of lighting and shadows is truly a love letter to these classic movies.  A special mention also goes to Cloris Leachman, who as Frau Blücher steals every scene she is in.  She has an ability to make hot milk and Ovaltine sound like a nasty and naughty thing.

However, the humor in this movie fell flat for me.  Whereas in Silent Movie, slapstick and over-expression was needed due to a lack of dialog, it fails to elicit much laughs here.  Kneeing an old man in the groin?  Not really funny.  Using a corpse’s hand as yours?  Not really funny.  Getting spun in and stuck in a revolving bookcase.  Still not funny.

Some scenes were bit more humorous, and the “Puttin’ on the Ritz” number was one of the best parts of the film.  However, these laughs were too few for me to consider this a comedic masterpiece.  Double entendre, juvenile humor, and penis jokes can only carry a movie so far.

Video

This is a difficult movie to score, as it was deliberately made to look like an old Universal horror film.  Shot in black and white, there was plenty of grain and noise throughout the movie; overall, it had a very natural “old and soft” look to it.

Favorably, the film did not appear to have much digital noise or artifacting, which suggests that its restoration was done carefully and neutrally.  However, it is difficult to score it higher than I have, and I am left to ponder if the picture on Blu-ray is substantially better than that of an upscaled DVD.

Audio

Although the soundtrack is advertised in being in DTS-HD MA, there appears to have been a deliberate attempt to make the film sound as close to mono as you can through 5.1 speakers.  The dynamic range resembles that of an AM radio station, and I could not discern any real sounds coming from the surrounds or LFE.  Even the thunder had no rumble.

Again, this lack of dynamic range appears to be a deliberate attempt to make the movie sound like an old Universal horror film.  And although this has a true sheen of authenticity, this isn’t the reason I have a Blu-ray player and a surround sound system.

Special Features

Where Silent Movie fell short on special features, Young Frankenstein has an excellent mix of both older material (from previous DVD releases), and newer material for the Blu-ray.  This is not surprising, as Young Frankenstein has also received a solo Blu-ray release as well as its inclusion in this package.

Although I am not a big commentary fan, Mr. Brooks’ commentary on this disc is very good, and in many cases, funnier than the movie.

Also included are a very good trivia track, deleted scenes (both SD and HD ones included), comments on specific scenes in the making of the movie (Inside the Lab), two HD featurettes (It’s Alive, Transylvanian Lullaby), and a number of recycled SD features (Making FrankenSense, Production Photos, Interviews, Trailers, TV Spots, and Outtakes).  The quality of these is mixed, but the volume is good, and should have lasting appeal to fans of the film.

Final Thoughts

It is rare that I am as disappointed by a movie as I was with Young Frankenstein.  After hearing for years about it’s legendary status, I was truly underwhelmed by this film.  And although the visual and audio presentations were consistent with Mr. Brooks’ vision for a comedic version of a Universal horror film, laughs were simply in too short a supply.

For real fans, this Blu-ray is available as part of this package, as well as a standalone Blu-ray.

Therefore, when The Mel Brooks Collection showed up in my docket for review, I was quite intrigued.  Not only did it contain the Mel Brooks movies I had missed, it also contained movies that I had loved when younger.  However, this is also a formidable task reviewing nine (yes, nine!) movies, so I beg the reader’s patience as I wander through this box set.

First up for review was 1976’s Silent Movie, a film I had never seen before, and one that had intrigued me.  As a boy, I loved both Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy silent shorts, and I was curious to see how well Mr. Brooks could deliver a modern version of this art form.

Film

As a silent movie, one can check their expectations for character development at the door.  Like most movies of this genre, visuals become the medium of comedy, with a large emphasis on slapstick humor and visual gags.  However, the plot is quite easy to follow, even though much of it is delivered through tersely-worded intertitles.  Mel Brooks plays Mel Funn, a famous movie director who’s career has taken a downward turn due to a drinking problem. 

Funn is determined to make a comeback through his new screenplay for a silent movie.  Presenting this idea to the “Chief” of Big Picture studios (Sid Caesar), he is told he can make his movie if he can get big stars to be in it.  We also discover that a lot is riding on this movie, as Big Picture Studios is doing poorly financially, and has become a hostile takeover target by the New York conglomerate, Engulf & Devour.

Accompanied at all times by his associates Dom Bell (Dom DeLuise) and Marty Eggs (Marty Feldman), the three engage in all nature of gags to enroll actors in the silent movie, including Burt Renyolds, Anne Bancroft, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, and Paul Newman (plus a phone call to Marcel Marceau). 

Of course, each actor who signs on to the movie is announced through the silent movie technique of putting important events on the headlines of newspapers (that accompanies another running gag involving the newspaper seller).  Nervous with the number of famous actors signed on, Engulf & Devour tries to derail Funn through having a sexy nightclub singer Vilma Kaplan (Bernadette Peters) pretend to fall in love with him.  More visual gags follow, and lead up to an appropriately over the top and satisfying ending.

At first I found the film to be a bit disconcerting to watch, as I am used to today’s modern “talkies”.  However, it did not take long to settle into the flow of the movie, made even easier by the extremely funny sequence with the first big star (Burt Renyolds).  The natural gift for physical comedy that Brooks, DeLuise, and Feldman all posses was never more evident than in the scene with Liza Minnelli, which had me laughing out loud.

Overall, this was a very different, yet very funny movie.  The three main leads make full use of their overexpressiveness and facial expressions to convey emotion, feeling, and thought (plus slip in some naughty dialog for you lip readers).  The score is cheery and upbeat (and provides it’s own jokes at times), and includes appropriately off-time sound effects.  It was also an admittedly nostalgic trip down memory lane for me, seeing actors I grew up with featured as “stars” – no one was bigger than “The Burt” in the 1970’s, and we forget how adorably cute Liza Mannelli was when younger.

More importantly, this film does have re-watchability  I can picture viewing this a few more times, simply to try and pick up more inconsistencies between the actors lines and the intertitles, or to catch additional gags I may have missed the first time.

Generally, I was very pleased that this was the first movie out of the collection that I watched.    

Video

I really liked the visual appearance of this movie, though am somewhat hard-pressed to say why.  It truly had a 70’s feel to it.  The sets were 70’s.  The actors were 70’s.  Even the color, tone and grain of the film was 70’s.

However, it was a brightly colored, reasonably sharp, and clean version of the 70’s.  As expected, grain was present, but lent a nice softness to the picture without being distracting.  Dark areas had no issues, suggesting Fox did a loving restoration of this film.  In many ways, it looks as if the Blu-ray reflects what the director wanted. 

Audio

Audio is trickier with a movie of this vintage, and the folks at Fox did a very nice job with the DTS-HD MA presentation of the film.  The score is expansive and moves nicely around the listener, as do sound effects and ambient sounds.  With no dialog (excepting one word), centre channel levels are not an issue.

However, the presentation is far from perfect, as there is no LFE information to speak of, and they dynamic range of the sound is very limited.  Although the top end has good dynamics (highlighted by the main theme in the score), the low end is sadly lacking. 

In summation, the sound is very good for a 1970’s movie, but below the high standards that have been set by some other restorations.

Special Features

It is difficult to rate the special features for this disc, as The Mel Brooks Collection comes with a lovely hardbound book discussing Mr. Brooks and his career.  However, for review purposes, I will rate what is on the disc only.

For Silent Movie, what is on the disc is not very much.  Included are the trailer for the film, trailers for other Mel Brooks films, a trivia track, and a feature on silent movies, and their inspiration for Silent Movie (in many ways, an homage to Buster Keaton).

Although a generally uninspiring collection of extras, the featurette was very well done, and also in HD.

Final Thoughts

Internet opinion seems to be somewhat divided on this film.  There are those who seem to love it, and those who are not enamored with it.  I gladly place myself in the first camp, as I do enjoy well done physical comedy and sight gags; this movie is chock full of both.

Furthermore, I admire Mr. Brooks for doing something different, especially in the formulatic and contrived 1970’s.  It is likely that Silent Movie was a parody of what Mr. Brooks had to actually go through to get it made, making it even more admirable.

Unfortunately, as of the date of this review, this film is currently only available on Blu-Ray through the collection.  Despite this, I will give it a “Buy It” recommendation.

Film 

To be as brief as possible, The Illusionist is suspense filmmaking at its finest. Although a bit slower paced that most newer films of this genre, the film pulls you right into the story. In this regard, it is a bit Hitchcockian if you will. It is very subtle in the way it snares you You know that something it afoot. You may even know what. What you don’t know is the how. In this regard, the director of the film, Neil Burger, is a bit like the illusionist in the film, Eisenheim, in that he is able to suspend your belief and pull you into the story, even though you may know better.

Ed Norton, Jr. is cast as Eisenheim and gives a wonderful performance as the illusionist, who while performing in Vienna in the 19th Century before Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) who is the future head of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, meets up with his long lost childhood sweetheart, Sophia (Jessica Biel) at one of his performances. Sophia just happens to be the fiancee of the Prince who offers her up as a volunteer for one of Eisenheim’s illusions. Eisenheim and Sophia rekindle their long lost romance and Sophia confesses that she wants to escape the clutches of Leopold who is abusive and who wants to depose his father the Emperor and rule the Empire with her at his side.

Eisenheim then concocts an ingenious plan at great personal risk to do just that, keeping one step ahead of the Vienna Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) who is a friend and confidant of Leopold. The film has several wonderful performances. In fact, the entire cast turns in top notch performances. The film features a great script and wonderful direction and was a thrill to experience in high definition. The Illusionist is very highly recommended.

Video 

All things considered, I was quite pleased with the video presentation of The Illusionist on Blu-ray. The film is mostly shot at night or dimly lit interiors, illuminated only by candle light. Not surprisingly, the image during most of the film is fairly soft. However, despite this softness, detail is fairly good, although falling a good deal short of the best looking films on Blu-ray. This is not the result of the encoding process but is just how the film was shot.

Comparing the Blu-ray version of the film with the DVD that is also included with this release, is no contest, with the DVD looking like a muddled mess in comparison. The level of clarity and detail on the Blu-ray encode is miles ahead of that on the DVD. The films’ color palette is rather subdued with the exception of the very end of the film. The rest of the film has a bit of a sepia tone, with skin tones and the image in general having a brown tinge. Fine film grain is also well preserved. I did not detect any obvious examples of digital noise reduction or edge enhancement. This is a fine encode of some difficult material and should please fans of the film.

Audio 

The audio design is rather simplistic being front heavy with sparse use of the surrounds. The surrounds are used to mostly to provide some subtle interior ambiance with the occasional sound effects such as galloping horses. While I was far from impressed with the audio design, I was more than impressed with the audio fidelity here, which is rich, smooth and full and really easy on the ears. The musical score is also presented with excellent fidelity with silky smooth strings, rich and full bass and excellent imaging and transparency. I also found the fidelity of the dialogue track to be just as impressive and proving the sense of real voices in real space which I find to be very appealing. While I would have preferred that the film had a more immersive sound design, the overall fidelity of the sound is so good that I found it easy to overlook the less than sophisticated sound design.

Special Features 

If you are looking for much in the way of extras, this is not the release for you. The Blu-ray disc that is part of this two disc combo pack contains no extras at all. The extras, such as they are, are located on the DVD edition of the film and were also included with the prior DVD release of the film. They consist of a feature audio commentary with writer/director Neil Burger and two featurettes.

The first of the two is “The Making of The Illusionist” consisting of interviews with the four lead actors in the film. The “Jessica Biel on The Illusionist” consists of a very brief interview with Jessica Biel, 99% of which is included in the prior featurette. Both of the featurettes are very short, lasting only a few minutes. I am not really sure why they bothered with the second one.

The extras also include some trailers for other films and are hardly worth a mention. As I noted above, the Blu-ray release of The Illusionist is a two disc combo pack containing a DVD edition of the film which is really the only extra worth considering.

Final Thoughts  

The Illusionist is great film that is well worth your consideration and is very highly recommended. Do yourself a favor and add this release to your collection. You will be glad you did.

Film

The film follows our chipmunk friends as they go back to school with Dave Seville’s nephew, while taking a break from being super stars. The chipmunks are then faced with their first challenge, they have to win a battle of the bands to save their school’s music program. Which I immediately thought, “if they were super stars why couldn’t they use their superstar money to save the program?”. Perhaps I’m putting too much thought into what is clearly not aimed towards my demographic.

Immediately I was reminded that this is definitely not the chipmunks I remember, basically Alvin and the chipmunks went from being misbehaved children to misbehaved adolescences, which is probably more popular to the youth of today who are curious about high school at a younger age. I just always remembered the chipmunks being little kids who were cute and fun to watch… Not stupid teenagers who are trying to rock a b-boy stance (Which is another part of the film that feels too little too late)

So our chipmunk friends hit their first speed bump in the story when they’re confronted by the Chipettes, who are their competition in the Battle of the Bands and to add to the suspense are just as talented as them.

The film is definitely not meant to be much more than for kids, we’re not dealing with a Pixar film here. I would say that if you’re looking for a flick strictly for the kids then grab this one. My girlfriend works in a daycare and they go crazy for these films! Just make sure you’ve got something else to do at the time or make sure you don’t expect too much from it.

My biggest disappointment was that Jason Lee’s character, Dave Seville, isn’t even in the film long. Not only does that change the dynamic of the original story, but it also takes out one of the legitimate reasons to watch the film… but hey, Kids still like it!

Video

Alvin & the Chipmunks : the squeakquel’s video is displayed in 1.85:1 widescreen using the AVC MPEG-4 codec and it’s another great 20^th Century Fox release. The colours are vibrant and bright, while the black levels are deep and dark. Details and clear and sharp while maintaining a smooth bokeh when depth of field is in use. There’s minimal grain and I didn’t notice any artefacting.

To put it simply, it’s a great looking Blu-ray and although the compositing of the 3d chipmunks is not flawless and the extra detail might be working against the cause of blending, but overall the film looks great and the transfer is top of the line.

Audio

Alvin & the Chipmunks: the squeakquel’s audio comes at us in English 5.1 DTS-HD master audio and is also offered in French and Spanish Dolby digital 5.1 as well there is subtitles in the three languages as well.

To match the video’s great quality, the film’s audio mix is another great staple of  20^th Century Fox ability to produce some great home theatre media.  The mix is even, properly balanced and really demonstrates its dynamic range in the musical pieces. The surrounds are used throughout and create subtle depth and atmosphere while the centre channel pumps out clear dialogue throughout.

I found that even though my audio surround system is set up for movies the music came through well and sounded great. On some of the songs with deep rhythm sections the sub was working hard and producing clear and deep bass notes that were the cherry on top of a great sound mix.

Special Features

It’s great for a family film to have watchable special features; its common sense that it makes the disc worth more when there’s more junk for our kids to watch. From the bonus music videos to the kid friendly behind-the-scenes; if you’re kid liked the movie and are craving more, give the special features a watch (especially the “meet the chipettes” if you have a girl).

Final Thoughts

The film may lack the depth and the wide range of audience demographic coverage of other children’s films, but if you’re looking for a film for your kids then this disc looks and sounds great, while providing a plethora of special features to increase the value of the disc. Don’t expect the best writing around, but if you go into it with an open mind the film will be entertaining.

Film  

Elektra opened theatrically to mostly negative critical reviews on January 14, 2005.  The movie stars Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic (ER), Kristen Prout and Terence Stamp.  The Rob Bowman directed film barely churned a profit.  Astonishingly, it was released less than 3 months later on the DVD format.  I remember that fondly because I thought that was the quickest I ever recalled a feature film coming out on the home video format.

The film’s story continues right after the events that unfolded in 2003’s Daredevil.  Thank God for continuity.  In Daredevil, the Marvel comics character Elektra Natchios (Garner) was killed by Bullseye.  Thankfully, our Blu-ray film today explains how Elektra was given a second life and able to walk among the living again.  Thank God again for martial arts masters with secret reviving life powers.  Where would we be without them?  Well, I guess I should at least be thankful for the fact that at least Elektra does not do a Michael Myers and wake up all the sudden in the back of an ambulance after being fatally shot in the head point blank.

Before we move on, here’s an interesting point to consider.  Remember me telling you about Elektra’s lightning fast DVD release in 2005?  Well the film was also released again later that year in a 2-Disc Director’s Cut edition.  And guess what?  It contained a whopping 3 minutes of extra footage.  That brought the runtime to a whopping 99 minutes.  And now we sit here discussing the May 4^th 2010 Blu-ray release of Elektra and believe it or not, I was initially pounded with rumors that it would clock in at an alarming length of 139 minutes.  Sad to say, that’s not the case.  This Blu-ray release is the Director’s Cut of the film, just like it was on DVD.   So if there is any truth to this super extended cut rumor, then we might see another Blu-ray release of Elektra in the near future.  Depending upon how much you liked the previous 2 editions of the film, this could either be a good thing or a bad thing.  It worked for Daredevil on Blu-ray, so why not Elektra?  I guess if there is one thing I am disappointed in on this Blu-ray release, then it is the fact that this rumored Extended Cut did not see the light of day on Blu-ray.  Maybe it was just all that.  A rumor?  Only time will tell I guess.

As I mentioned 2 paragraphs ago, Elektra (Garner) was murdered in 2003’s Daredevil, but a blind martial arts master, Stick (Terrence Stamp), brought her back to life.  He trains her in the martial art of Kimagure, whose practitioners can control the flow of life and death and live only to destroy the evil organization known as The Hand.  After several years of intense training, she eventually leaves her clan and finds herself employed as a hired assassin who never fails.  However, I shouldn’t use the word “never.”  The moment she receives a contract for $2 million to kill Mark Miller (Goran) and his daughter Abby (Kristen Prout) things forever change in Elektra’s world.  She doesn’t really fail, but she doesn’t really complete her assignment either.  Elektra must make a difficult choice between good or evil in executing her deadly mission while battling her childhood demons and also, singlehandedly taking on the terrifying warriors of The Hand.  At the end of the day, will she win or lose?  That’s the question, isn’t it?  Now it’s up to you to find out the outcome.  Are you up to the challenge on Blu-ray?  You better do your pushups!

Video  

I have to admit; I was pleasantly surprised by the visual presentation of Elektra on Blu-ray.  Given the fact that so many filmgoers hate this film, I was really concerned with how good it would look on Blu-ray format, but more importantly how much effort the studio would put into cleaning this title up for a quality transfer.  I love to be wrong about things like this.  Elektra looks absolutely stunning on the Blu-ray format.  The only reason you are seeing a score of 4.5 and not a 5 is for the reference quality factor only.  The heavy CGI-laden effects coupled with the mostly dark scenery doesn’t make this the most visual reference disc to show off your collection with in comparison to the newest king of Blu-ray, Avatar.  However, Fox delivers a near home run with this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video encode.  The contrast heavy film is presented in a 2.39:1 framed aspect ratio.  Despite the many dark sequences, the level of detail here is outstanding, especially in the fabric of Elektra’s many outfits (the important parts here).  The colors vibrantly pop right off the screen during the forest battles.  From what I heard about the previous DVD transfers, it looks like we have a winner here folks.  Let’s check in with the audio department and see how Elektra ranks there.

Audio  

Like the visuals, the Blu-ray’s audio presentation is near flawless.  There are little things here or there I can nitpick about, but for the most part, Fox did a bang up job on the bombastic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix.  Yes I used the word “bombastic.”  And for good reason too!  The fight scenes, the chases and the zany martial arts action all utilize deep thumping bass dynamics.  Me like!  While I was tempted a couple of times to actually turn my sound down, I didn’t for one simple reason.  A couple of times I found the dialog to be just a tad low.  It wasn’t that it wasn’t audible or a deal breaker, but it felt oddly low in just a couple of spots.  If not for that, then we may be talking about a possible 5-star rating.  But let’s be honest.  Not many people were expecting much from this Blu-ray release so we should be thrilled that it actually turned out this good.  While much of the movie is passive in dialog, the action sequences come to life thanks to the DTS-HD track that delivers non-stop zany action all around you.  I mean, who doesn’t like a good throwing star zinging by your ear every now and then?

Special Features  

Elektra makes its Blu-ray debut with a heaping helping of extras.  It may not look like much on paper, but believe me; you’ll definitely be taking a few bathroom breaks trying to squeeze all the features into one gigantic viewing marathon.  Unfortunately, it’s a mix bag of goodies.  What I mean by that is the fact that the extras are not all in High-Definition (insert a sad face).  However, the two main ones we care about here are (at least in pseudo Hi-Def).  Let’s cut to the chase and get into the good stuff.  You wanted extras, then you got your extras!  Elektra’s supplemental materials are as follows.

• Commentary by Director Rob Bowman and Film Editor Kevin Stitt – Just your standard every day commentary track.  If you’re interested in this film, then you already know you should check this out.
• Relentless: The Making of Elektra Part 1: Production (HD) – This was a long one.  Almost a whole hour and a half long.  Wow!  I never expected to learn so much about this film.  It was interesting to learn about Jennifer Garner’s hesitation towards this project.  She was very concerned this movie was going to suck and ruin her career.  Rob Bowman assured her he wouldn’t let that happen.  What do you think?  Also, interesting to note, is the discussion over the low budget and number of shooting days they had to work with.  This was another concern of Jennifer’s and rightfully so.  And finally, I was really perplexed to find out that they were not allowed to make this a love story at all.  They had their instructions.  Hmm.  That goes against everything I learned these past 5 months in film class.  You always have that B-love story.  In my opinion, I think Rob did a good job with what he had to work with.
• Relentless: The Making of Elektra Part 2: Post-Production (HD) – Here’s another long one clocking in just over 53 minutes.  If you like editing, special effects and sound mixing, then this is the place for you to be.
• Deleted Scenes (SD) – There’s a total of 3 scenes with optional commentary by Rob Bowman and Kevin Stitt.
• Alternate/Extended Scenes (SD) – There are 7 scenes here with optional commentary by Rob Bowman and Kevin Stitt.
• Elektra: Incarnations (HD) – This is really cool.  This 52-minute documentary takes a look at the history of Elektra in the comics.  It explores Frank Miller’s early work to the present.  This was very interesting because after watching this, I really don’t believe that Jennifer Garner’s passive character was the right choice for this film and Daredevil, to be fair.  After all, she seems like she was a cold-blooded killing machine in the comics.  Unless I am wrong, her character is not conveyed in the film like this?
• The Mythology (HD) – Dr. Katerina Zacharia, of Loyola Marymount University, discusses iterations of the Elektra story in Greek Mythology for a casual 15 minutes of runtime.
• Theatrical and Teaser Trailers (SD) – It is what it is.  Here you have the various Elektra trailers in glorious High-Definition.  Not!  Sadly, they are only presented in Standard Definition.  Boo!

Final Thoughts  

Well there you have it folks.  Elektra is one of those films you either like or you despise.   With me, the film is a guilty pleasure of mine so I stand by resolute in my feelings towards it.  It’s not the most exciting film ever made, but it’s also not the worst.  It’s my Blu-ray review so ultimately I have the right to feel the way I do about it.  I’m going to give it the green light and recommend a purchase for all the fans of the film that want to own it on the Hi-Def format of choice because of the stunning Blu-ray transfer in both the audio and video worlds, as well as the special features package, which is enough to keep you busy for hours on end.  All others should proceed with caution and maybe try a rental first.  So for all my Elektra fans out there, make sure to check out Jennifer Garner as she kicks some ninja clan a$$ in HD and at the same time looks good doing so (that’s always a plus in my opinion).

Bring home Elektra today on Blu-ray!

Film 

I will go out on a limb here and speculate that I will be the only on line reviewer to rate this films as anything other than a 5 star film. After all, given the boffo box office receipts, it has to be a great film, doesn’t it. Well….. not exactly. Don’t get me wrong, the film has stunning visuals and reference audio as noted below. However, the story is another matter. I have seen this story before and have seen it done better. The best way I can think to describe the film is that it is Dances With Wolves meets Aliens meets Greenpeace.

I am sure that all of you know the plot. The film takes place on Pandora, a moon of the planet Polyphemus (think of a blue Jupiter) in the Alpha Centauri, which is a 6 year journey from Earth. Humans have arrived at Pandora to mine a mysterious mineral named Unobtanium (couldn’t Mr. Cameron have come up with another name?) which seems to have antigravity properties and is worth a boatload of cash. The only problem is that Pandora is inhabited by the Na’Vi, a race of blue tall and thin humanoids, who will not leave their home, a giant tree (and I mean a giant tree) which happens to sit on a massive deposit of Unobtanium.

In order to try to convince the Na’Vi to move and to gather intelligence on their society and defenses, the humans or Sky People as the Na’Vi call them, the humans create human-Na’Vi clones known as Avatars are created which humans can inhabit via some sort of wireless mind link while placed in a pod on their base. The Avatars are created using a combination of human and Na’Vi DNA and as such are tailored to a particular person. However, one of the men for whom an Avatar was created as murdered on Earth and was replaced with his brother, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a marine who lost the use of his legs in battle. However, his DNA is so similar to that of his brother that he was “inhabit” his brother’s Avatar.

As Jake enters the Na’Vi community, he earns their respect and love all the while collecting intelligence on their defenses which is relayed to the military on base. When it is clear that the Na”Vi will not move, the military goes in to move them out, with extreme force, which causes Jake to have to make a choice between his new found “family” and the Sky People.

While the film has its moments, it has a very heavy political message and contains a story that has been the subject of quite few movies. Even some of the contraptions and creatures in the film look very familiar to those in other films including Aliens and even The Incredibles (take a gander at those helicopters). The film is very predictable and way too long at 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Did I enjoy the film? Sure, but not to the extent to give it more than 3 stars out of 5. All the incredible CGI aside, the script itself is just not all that great. Despite my issues with the plot, I still have to give this release a must buy recommendation as the video and audio quality is so spectacular, that it belongs in the collection of every film fan and home theater geek. Avatar is a must buy.

Video 

I must say that I am hesitant to give the video a 5 stars rating as it deserves an even higher rating. In fact, the video on Avatar is in a league of its own, being the best looking film I have yet to experience at home. On scale of 5, it is fully worthy of a 6 star rating. It is simply spectacular and is reference from star to finish. The bright colors, the deep blacks and spectacular level of detail and clarity is amazing and must be seen to be believed. The level of depth and three dimensionality here is the best I have ever seen. One can clearly see the added depth that was included for 3D as it is clearly visible in 2D. The video on Avatar is perfect in every way. Yes, I said perfect. Need I really say more?

Audio 

The audio on Avatar is every bit as good as the video and is also of reference quality from the start of the film to the very end. The sound is smooth, full, detailed, effortless and natural sounding and transports you from your home to Pandora. I can’t think of a film that I have seen at home that sounds this good. The sound design on Avatar is as good as it gets. I just keep coming back to the word effortless. No matter how loud you crank up with volume the film sounds great. Unlike many films, the higher the volume, the better this film sounds.

Dynamics are off the charts with deep and natural sounding bass that doesn’t have even a hint of bloat. The highs are smooth and open with reference levels of transparency, imaging and detail, from the softest sound to the loudest, all clearly audible and all well placed in the sound field. The surrounds are active throughout the film creating a sense of total immersion. It is the sense of immersion that really caught me by surprise as the surrounds, while actively and aggressively deployed, never call attention to themselves, sounding as true to real life that I have ever heard at home. The audio here is reference in all respects and is, dare I say it again, perfect!

Special Features

This was an easy category to score as there are now extras whatsoever. The folks at Fox have advised that there are no extras because they maxed out the bit rate for the audio and video and there was no space available for extras. They could have included extras on a second Blu-ray disc but chose instead to include a second disc that is contains a DVD edition of the film. This is probably a good move as it will no doubt greatly increase the sales for the Blu-ray version of the disc, as you can get both formats for the price of a DVD. Still, for such an anticipated release, one would have expected many extras and all in HD. I will hazard to bet that the extras will be included on the 3D later in the year. The lack of any extras is the only flaw that I can point to regarding this release.

Final Thoughts 

Avatar is in a league of its own when it comes to its video and audio presentations, both of which are the best I have yet to experience at home. Avatar on Blu-ray is a must buy for all film fans and home theater geeks like me. If you want to show off your system to friends and family, Avatar is the only film that you will need. It is that good.