Buster
Keaton Show
(1949 - 1951/MVD/Liberation Hall Blu-ray)/40
Year-Old Virgin 4K
(2005/Universal 4K Ultra HD w/Blu-ray)/Little
House On The Prairie: The Complete Series
(1974 - 1983/NBC/Lionsgate Blu-ray Box Set)/Xanadu
4K
(1980/Universal/Kino Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A-/B Picture: B-/B/B-/B- Sound: B-/A- &
B/B-/B- Extras: B-/B/C/B- Main Programs: C+/B/C/B-
Now
for comedy, sometimes adding music and sometimes drama, but here they
are...
The
Buster Keaton Show
(1949 - 1951, aka Life
with Buster Keaton)
captures the great stoneface's attempt to break into early TV, and
though it was not a big hit, it is ambitious and at least the actor's
are trying to do physical comedy, something we see too little of
today. Charming and a pleasure to watch, the filmed episodes have
him working at a sporting good store, while the kinescoped on-stage
shows just do the skit work in confined spaces. More hit than miss,
it is great to see them again and looking so good, easily the equal
of what Abbott & Costello did on their TV show.
From
what we have read and researched, of
the thirteen episodes produced/broadcast from the show, only these
nine episodes exist today and in the case of the one from February 2,
1950, it has never been viewed since its original air date, while the
episode from February 23, 1950 was never before available on any
other format!
The
only thing that might throw some people off is hearing the legend
talk and he talks more often than you might expect, but the voice
matches the man just fine and it too is always a plus and not a minus
in this collection. The look at early television is also a plus, so
all serious comedy fans should see these at least once, but then you
have bonus features.
Extras
include the silent shorts (in low definition) of Cops
(1922) and The
Goat
(1921,) plus Keaton's
This
Is Your Life
episode with commercials left in, Circus
Time
(6/27/57) and a CBC-TV (who did his Buster
Keaton Rides Again
compilation) installment of Three
Comedians In Close Up
with Keaton, Bert Lahr from The
Wizard Of Oz
and Eddie Foy, Jr. For more on Keaton, check out our coverage of
this DVD double feature of his films Free
& Easy
and Estrellados:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12612/Almost+Sharkproof+(2013/Cinedigm+DVD)/Buster+Ke
Hope
they come to Blu-ray soon too as some of his classics have been
issued in 4K restorations and need to be issued on 4K disc.
Judd
Apatow's The
40 Year-Old Virgin 4K
(2005)
gets a new release on 4K UHD in honor of its 20th Anniversary. A
coming of age story mixed with crude comedy, the film explores the
life of a lonely man named Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) who is stuck
in a single man mindset and of whom has closed himself off to a lot
of adult pleasures and responsibilities in exchange for a less
stressful yet repetitive existence. When he makes some new friends
at work (Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen), they end up discovering that Andy is
in fact a virgin at age 40 and make it a mission to pressure him into
self growth and break him out of his shell a little bit by trying new
things. Along the way he meets a woman (Catherine Keener) who
changes his life perspective and helps him become a more stable and
well rounded man.
The
film stars Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Catherine Keener,
Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Kat Dennings, Leslie Mann, with Gerry
Bednob and cameos by several others.
Judd
Apatow and Kevin Smith are both cut from a similar comedic cloth in
that they like to intermix the romantic comedy formulas with a more
realistic and crude comedic approach. It gives the film a bit of an
edgy and honesty that separates it from your standard rom com for
Hallmark Channel style movie with maybe a similar premise in finding
personal growth. Where Smith and Apatow shine is in their clever
casting which helps elevate the material with improv.
Special
Features include:
(NEW)
20th Anniversary Discussion: Director Judd Apatow joins Steve Carell,
Catherine Keener, Jane Lynch, Kat Dennings and Gerry Bednob for a
lively discussion at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Deleted
Scenes: Watch hilarious scenes not part of the final cut. Includes
optional audio commentary by director/co-writer Judd Apatow and
actor/co-producer Seth Rogen.
The
First Time:
Watch deleted scenes focusing on Andy's initial steps out of his
comfort zone. Includes optional audio commentary by
director/co-writer Judd Apatow and actor/co-producer Seth Rogen.
Tales
from the Stock Room:
Watch deleted scenes that take place at Andy's electronic store's
stock room. Includes optional audio commentary by director/co-writer
Judd Apatow and actor/co-producer Seth Rogen.
You
Know How I Know You're Gay?:
Never-before-seen extra material of the infamous routine with
commentary by director/co-writer Judd Apatow and actor/co-producer
Seth Rogen.
Date-A-Palooza:
Watch the complete version of the speed dating scene.
Line-O-Rama:
A raucous montage of alternate jokes from different scenes.
Judd's
Video Diaries:
Follow director Judd Apatow as he works alongside cast and crew to
make
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN.
Auditions:
Go beyond the movie and watch cast members like Jonah Hill and
Elizabeth Banks audition for their roles in THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN.
Raw
Footage: Watch raw footage from the poker, waxing, and bathtub
sequences.
Poker
Game Rehearsal: Watch as the cast read through the scene after a
massive rewrite.
Reel
Comedy Roundtable:
Join director Judd Apatow, star Steve Carell and the cast as they
share their unforgettable stories from the cast.
Cinemax
Final Cut: The
40-Year-Old Virgin
- An inside look at the most memorable and outrageous scenes.
1970s
Sex Ed Film:
Watch an old-school sex education film!
My
Dinner with Stormy:
Actor/co-producer Seth Rogen has dinner with adult-film star Stormy
Daniels.
Gag
Reel: Hilarious on-set moments with cast and crew.
Waxing
Doc:
A documentary showing what really happened when Steve Carell was
waxed.
And
a Feature Length Audio Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Judd
Apatow, Actor/Co-Writer Steve Carell and Cast.
The
40-Year-Old Virgin
remains a pretty funny film even 20 years later. Sure there are some
outdated elements, but the cast is comedic gold and most of the jokes
land well. This film no doubt helped ignite the careers of most
every comedian involved and especially the main three actors (Carell,
Rogen, and Rudd) who are now pretty high up on the Hollywood comedy
food chain.
I
would say this release is worth it if you're a diehard fan or don't
own the film already and want to. In terms of extras there is only
one new featurette and in terms of packaging there is a steel book
edition and a normal 4K UHD.
For
more thoughts on the film, see our older coverage of the out of print
HD-DVD/DVD edition which uses the same cover image as the new 4K
release:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5543/The+40+Year+Old+Virgin+-+Unrated+Double+Your+Ple
It
is with some irony that as several classic TV shows are starting to
roll out in 4K, we are getting Little
House On The Prairie: The Complete Series
as a Blu-ray box set, since it was one of the first TV shows of any
kind many years ago when the format launched. We covered most of the
sets, starting with Blu-ray releases as follows:
Season
Two
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13039/Little+House+On+The+Prairie:+Season+T
Season
Three
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13040/Little+House+On+The+Prairie+-+Season
Season
Four
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13303/Little+House+On+The+Prairie:+Season+F
Season
Five
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13442/The+Dakotas:+The+Complete+Series+(19
Season
Six
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13653/Little+House+On+The+Prairie:+Season+S
Then
DVD sets of Season
Seven
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13828/Little+House+On+The+Prairie:+Season+S
Season
Eight
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14055/Little+House+On+The+Prairie:+Season+8
Season
Nine
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14193/Little+House+On+The+Prairie:+Ninth+and
And
the Telefilms
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14396/Little+House+On+The+Prairie:+Legacy+M
That's
three writers offering varying degrees of how much they do or do not
like the show, with yours truly being the big non-fan, but I feel all
TV shows should be issued in the best possible transfers. With so
many classics STILL not even on Blu-ray as we post (Get
Smart,
The
Man From U.N.C.L.E.,
The
Green Hornet,)
they got this one out early enough.
Extras
include The
Pilot Movie,
a 6-part Making Of documentary and the original screen tests for
Michael
Landon and Melissa Gilbert.
Last
but not least, we have Robert Greenwald's Xanadu
4K
(1980,) the Olivia Newton-John big budget feature film dud that had a
soundtrack that sold millions of copies and had a slew of big hits.
We covered the old CD/DVD edition at this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7145/Xanadu+%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%80%9C+Magical
With
the sad and still too-young loss of Newton-John, the film is a curio
all over again, along with the constant play of the songs from the
film on radio, streaming and the like. In this case, Universal has
decided to let Kino issue this Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray edition and
the extras being expanded are one of the two big highlights, the 4K
upgrade being the other.
Some
scenes are with zero visual effects and often by design (bringing
back the style of the 1940s) are not bad, if not as good as similar
scenes from Scorsese's New
York, New York,
though this is much more of a fantasy film. The fantasy world or
that world coming into the 'real' world involves some
then-still-expensive optical prints, some animation and other touches
that were familiar to viewers from a few other fantasy films and the
likes of Levi Jeans and 7-Up Cola in some of the most expansive and
elaborate filmed advertising of the era. When Xanadu
came out, this was really old hat as Star
Wars
and other Lucas/Spielberg films were leaving that look and technology
behind for good, save any rotoscoping.
So
it is also Gene Kelly's last feature film and if the film had arrived
a few years later when MTV came out with new looks and styles for
matching music and image, this would have been considered even worse,
like its fellow music bomb of the time, Can't
Stop The Music
(also remarkably issued on a 4K disc we'll have to see to believe)
leaving the soundtrack its saving grace above all else. Now you can
see for yourself about better than ever, save a mint-condition 16mm,
35mm or especially 70mm print.
Extras
repeat
Going
Back To Xanadu
(2009) with on camera interviews with the cast/crew and behind the
scenes information and a photo gallery with rare stills, then adds an
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots, Vintage 1980 Sizzle Reel
connected to the film and four (!!!) Feature Length Audio Commentary
tracks. They are by 1) director Robert Greenwald, hosted by
filmmaker Douglas Hosdale, 2) a new audio commentary was recorded by
filmmaker Jennifer Clymer and critic Nathanuel Thompson, another new
audio commentary recorded by critics David Del Valle and Krystov
Charles and 4) a third new audio commentary by critic Samm Deighan.
Now
for playback performance. The
40-Year-Old-Virgin
is presented in 2160p on 4K UHD disc with Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra
HD Premium)-enhanced, HEVC / H.265 codec, a widescreen aspect ratio
of 1.85:1 and new and improved audio mix in lossless Dolby
Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) presentation.
While this isn't a film that one would think would be a good
candidate for 4K UHD it does its job well with beautiful skin tones
on characters and a realistic color spectrum that adds to the overall
cinematic experience.
Also
included is the previous version in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray
disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1
and an English, lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
and you can immediately tell a drastic difference in sound and
picture quality as obviously this version is a bit dated in
comparison to the newly remastered 4K UHD. It is likely the same
transfer used in previous Blu-rays, DVDS and the HD-DVD edition.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Xanadu
4K
has more grain throughout than I would have liked, even with the
optical printing, this had 70mm blow-ups made and I doubt it was that
grainy. Still, the color quality is a winner and you do get some
nice shots in between mixed ones. Maybe the film needs a little more
work down the line, but its the best it has looked on home video to
date.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray is still
much weaker and only here for convenience. The film was originally
issued at its best in 4.1 6-track magnetic stereo surround in its
70mm blow-up prints and the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on both versions are not
bad, but not as dynamic as they could sound, just based on the sonics
of the music alone versus how we have heard these hit songs at their
sonic best. Though maybe it will never get a Dolby Atmos or DTS: X
upgrade, this could still sound better and disappoints a bit. Is
this the same soundmaster used for the DVD?
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfers on the Keaton
episodes can show the age of the materials used, but these are better
transfers than all previous releases of the shows, though more work
could be done to fix the filmed shows. The PCM 2.0 Mono tracks are a
little better than expected, despite some roughness and sonic limits.
The
1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on the Little
House
episodes and telefilms are the same transfers from all those older
releases, still showing the age of the materials used, still so
detail limited and a bit waxy, though not that they have been
cleaned. All shot on 35mm film, guess they have no 4K plans at this
time or are issuing this set to see if the demand is there. With no
dated visual effects, who knows how that would look. As for sound,
the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mixes continue to be
inconsistent, not always warm and just sound slightly dated. Do the
original soundmasters sound a little better? Maybe, but by how much
is hard to tell. Still better than those later, old DVD releases,
fans should mostly be happy.
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (Virgin
4K)
https://letterboxd.com/jhl5films/
