THE 'BURBS (1989) (Shout Select Blu-ray Review)

THE 'BURBS (1989) 
Collector's Edition 

Label: Shout Select
Region Code: A
Rating: PG
Duration: 102 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Joe Dante
Cast: Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Dick Miller, Robert Picardo 

Picking my favorite film by director Joe Dante is damn difficult, he's made so many classic cult-films, his off-kilter vision of weird Americana has always fascinated me, when I was a kid it was the obvious stuff like Gremlins (1984) and Explorers (1985) that were at the top of my list, as a teen I went back and discovered his earlier horror-stuff, Piranha (1978) and The Howling (1981), but it's the suburban slice of paranoia The 'Burbs (1989) at the end of the 80's that I come back to more often than any other, a ensemble-cast comedy that's weird, a bit creepy, and wonderful. It stars Tom Hanks who was coming off a string of 80's comedies that I don't think did very well, but all of which I love, from the spy-comedy The Man with One Red Shoe (1984), the home-owner's nightmare of The Money Pit (1986) to the not-great but fun Dragnet (1987), I just love Hanks' 80's comedies, sure, he's great in all the dramas and "grown-up" movie he did after but his work in the eighties is my favorite stuff.

In The 'Burbs we have a small group of neighbors living in a suburban cul-de-sac, our main guy is Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks), an average family-man on "vacation" for a week, his wife Carol (Carrie Fisher, Star Wars)  wants him to go for a weekend getaway to a mountain lake, but instead he stays at home and along with a trio of busy-body neighbors get completely wrapped-up in paranoia and suspicion when new neighbors, the Klopeks, mysteriously move into a house on the street seemingly overnight. Their arrival coincides with the disappearance of elderly neighbor Walter (Gale Gordon), leaving behind his lawn cigar dropping ankle-biter dog "Queenie" and his treasured hair piece. The nosy neighborhood's suspicions are bolstered by a weird light show emanating from the Klopek's basement, in addition to some late night digging in the backyard, they're a kooky new addition the neighborhood and Ray and his crew are certain something awful is happening in the neighborhood, and the Klopek's are behind it.  

The 'Burbs has an awesome ensemble cast, lead by Hanks who is joined by comedian Rick Ducommun (Groudnhog Day) as his super-nosy neighbor, the guy instigates a lot of the paranoia and suspicion about the new neighbors with a local tale of a soda jerk turned homicidal maniac. Then we have Bruce Dern (Silent Running) as an eccentric 'Nam veteran named Rumsfield, and his wife Bonnie (Wendy Schaal, Innerspace), plus Cory Feldman (The Lost Boys) as the neighborhood teen delinquent who eggs on his neighbors paranoia, inviting his teen friends over to enjoy the show as it unfolds, he also enjoys watching Bonnie weed the lawn in her very short-shorts. The Klopeks are quite a weird bunch themselves, played by Courtney Gains (the evil-ginger Malachai from Children of the Corn), Brother Theodore and Henry Gibson (The Blues Brothers), Gains as primitive looking salvic-hillbilly Hans is just visually fun, while Henry Gibson as Dr. Werner Klopek is charmingly creepy as the family patriarch, meanwhile Brother Theodore is a more gruff nut with a bad temper.

The film has a Twilight Zone feel about it, particularly "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" infused with Dante's skewed view of Americana and love of horror. The cast make it fun, Hanks is your every man drawn into madness by his colorful neighbors, he seems the sensible one, but when what appears to be a human femur bone is unearthed by his dog on the property line he shares with the Klopeks common sense goes out the window and an ill-advised 'welcome to the neighborhood' visit to the neighbors goes awry, leading to further distrust and strangeness, including an all out assault on the new neighbor's property. 

The small community comedy plays well for me year after year, holding up to annual viewings with a parade of jokes and sight gags, including a fun Sergio Leone parody, and a fun devil-worshipping nightmare suffered by Hanks character, allowing Dante to go full-tilt weird for a bit, before settling back into this off-kilter take of neighborly paranoia, The 'Burbs is a top notch suburban comedy as only Joe Dante could have made, the guy is so underrated in my opinion. 

Audio/Video: The 'Burbs (1989) arrives on single-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Shout! Factory imprint Shout Select with a new 2017 transfer sourced from the interpositive, framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. It looks great, grain is nicely managed though it does level-up during a few of the darker scenes. Colors look accurate and nicely saturated, and the shadow detail is ample This is a great looking release from Shout Select, kudos to them for  ]giving The "Burbs some love. The lone audio options is audio is an English DTS-HD MA  Stereo 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The track is strong and robust, I love this Jerry Goldsmith score, it's fun and goody and perfectly compliments this slice of paranoid, off-kilter Americana.

Onto the extras, Shout Select have licensed some very cool, previously existing extras that were also featured on Arrow Video's region B locked release a few years ago, we get the audio commentary with Writer Dana Olsen, Moderated By Author Calum Waddell, oplus the feature length making of doc 'There Goes the Neighborhood" from High Rising Productions, featuring interviews with Director Joe Dante, Actors Corey Feldman, Courtney Gaines, And Wendy Schaal, Director Of Photography Robert M. Stevens, And Production Designer James H. Spencer - a fun making of loaded with lots of making of stories, if you're a fan of the film this is a must-watch! Also carried over is Joe Dante's workprint version of the film, sourced from Dante's personal VHS copy of the longer version of the film containing extended, alternate and deleted scenes. The quality is sub par but I loved watching this and noticing the differences, if you're a fan this is another must-watch extra. One extra notably not carried over from the Arrow Video release is a theatrical versus workprint video comparison, too bad they didn't carry it over. We also get the alternate ending which has been featured on the previous U.S. DVD and Blu-ray releases for the film, plus a trailer, a behind-the-scenes gallery, a still and poster gallery, and then some new Shout Select exclusive extras! 

The new stuff comes by way of new interviews with Director Joe Dante, Editor Marshall Harvey and Director Of Photography (Additional Scenes) John Hora - all adding up to about forty-minutes worth of stuff. I could listen/watch to Joe Dante talk about movies (his or anyone's) for hours, this interview was apparently filmed at the same time as his interview on the Shout Select' Matinee (1993) Blu-ray release, it touched on a lot of the same stuff as his interviews on the making of doc but there's also some new stuff.

The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork, the a-side is a new illustration from  artist Pau. Shipper, the b-side featuring the familiar one-sheet movie poster that has adorned previous releases. The first run of this release also features a slipcover (o-card) featuring the same Paul Shipper illustration. As with all of the Shout Select slipcovers it features a numbered spine on one side or the option to display it without the number on the spine.  The disc itself features a blue tinted image of Hanks from the film. 

Special Features: 
- NEW 2017 2K Scan Of The Interpositive
- NEW Interviews With Director Joe Dante (18 min) HD 
- NEW Interviews With Editor Marshall Harvey (10 min) HD 
- NEW Interviews With Director Of Photography (Additional Scenes) John Hora (11 min) HD 
- Audio Commentary With Writer Dana Olsen, Moderated By Author Calum Waddell
- There Goes The Neighborhood: The Making Of The ‘Burbs – Includes Interviews With Director Joe Dante, Actors Corey Feldman, Courtney Gaines, And Wendy Schaal, Director Of Photography Robert M. Stevens, And Production Designer James H. Spencer (67 min) HD 
- Alternate Ending (7 min) 
- Original Workprint From Joe Dante’s Archive (Includes Deleted And Extended Scenes)(106 min) 
- Behind-The-Scenes Still Gallery (6 min) HD 
- Stills And Posters Gallery (8 min) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) HD 

The 'Burbs is a hilarious cult-classic, the crowning achievement of both Joe Dante and Tom Hanks in my opinion, the pair are magic together and that alchemy is only enhanced more so by the great ensemble cast who feed off one another to a delightful degree. The new Blu-ray from Shout! is fantastic, it looks and sounds great and the combination of new and old extras are awesome. I love that Shout! in quick succession have Blu'd both Joe Dante's Matinee (1993) and now The 'Burbs (1989) with loads of extras, both releases are highly recommended and long overdue.

JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO (1990)

Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: A
Rating: PG
Duration: 102 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Surround 5.1 with Optional English SDH
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Abe Vigoda, Dan Hedaya, Barry McGovern, Ossie Davis

In 1990 I was 17 years old, head over heels in love (okay, maybe more lust than love in retrospect) with my first serious girlfriend, and we went to the movies A LOT in those days. There were very few major motion pictures in '89 and '90 we didn't catch on the big screen, and I clearly remember seeing Joe Versus the Volcano on it's initial (doomed) run at the cinema. I'd been a Tom Hanks fan from an early age, I loved him on the TV series Bosom Buddies, and loved his early 80's comedies like The Man With One Red Shoe, The 'Burbs and Money Pit, so I was excited to see him in what looked to be a fun romantic comedy with a fairytale sort of aesthetic, and that's exactly what I got. I enjoyed it, it was quirky fun, but the girlfriend thought it was pretty stupid. That relationship failed not long after, not because she hated the movie, though that probably didn't help. What doomed it was that she apparently never quite got over her boyfriend before me, fuckin' Jeffrey Post, ugh, I hated that guy so much, but I've long since gotten over it, but not before properly making a fool of myself, I didn't have much forgiveness or dignity at 17, ha ha.

Anyway, Tom Hanks (Dragnet)stars in the movie as former fireman Joe Banks, so traumatized by the life and death rigors of putting out fires that he took on a thankless clerical job in a dreary factory, the American Panascope Company, "home of the rectal probe", a thankless job working under a tyrant boss, Frank Waturi (Dan Hedaya, Blood Simple), in an office bathed in the unhealthy glow of fluorescent lighting, which gives him a permanent headache. Joe sits at his desk, in charge of sending out company catalogs, on it sits a decorative Polynesian themed novelty lamp, festooned with a images of a tropical paradise which proves to be a fortuitous image. 

Tired of suffering from headaches, depression and fatigue, an obvious hypochondriac, Joe makes an appointment with the eccentric Dr. Ellison (Robert Stack, TV's Unsolved Mysteries), who fter running some tests confirms Joe's worst fear, that it's not all in his mind, he is dying, and not from terminal cancer or some obvious illness, nope, it's something improbably called a "brain cloud". With his worst fear confirmed and not much time left, with little to lose he reports back to work where he quits, giving Mr. Waturi a proper verbal send-off, and asking his now former co-worker, the mousy Dede (Meg Ryan, Innerspace), on a date. During the ensuing night out on the town he impresses her with his new found vim and vigor, before scaring her off just as he's about to get laid by announcing that he's terminal, which she cannot warp her head around. 

The next morning he is visited by a weirdo wealthy industrialist named Samuel Harvey Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges, Airplane!), who has been made aware of Joe's terminal condition, and he comes with a strange proposition. Graynamore needs a rare mineral that can only found in large enough quantities on the Polynesian island of the Waponi Woo, and they won't let him have any of it unless he can provide someone willing to jump into their volcano as a willing human sacrifice before it erupts. It seems no one among the orange-soda slurping Waponis are willing to make the leap for the sake of their people. Bridges is wonderfully loony as the eccentric millionaire, the offer is ludicrous, handing Joe a stack of limitless credit cards offering to make sure he lives his final days in the lap of luxury. Positing that if he's going to die why not do it in style! Joe accepts the nutty offer, and thus his whimsical adventure begins, a twenty-day odyssey leading up to a fateful nosedive straight into the heart of an active volcano, a chance to burnout gloriously rather than fade away slowly. 

Joe's hires a limo driver, played by Ossie Davis (Bubba Ho-Tep), who chauffeurs Joe around NYC, assisting Banks in dressing a bit snazzier and preparing for the ocean bound adventure, including purchasing a set of airtight steamer trunks, which save his life more than once on the fantastical adventure to come. From New York City Joe catches a flight to L.A., where he is met by Graynamore's vapid daughter Angelica (Meg Ryan again) as a spoiled brat with no identity of her own, siphoning funds off her father, she's a mess of a woman all the way around, and she must have been fun for Ryan to play. After a night out with her Joe is delivered to a boat dock where he meets up with Angelica's half-sister Patricia (Ryan again!), an adventurous free spirit not content to suck on the teet of daddy's wealth, and who only agrees to sail Joe to Waponi Woo in exchange for the title to the beloved boat, the Tweedledee. 

Along the way the boat encounters a fatal storm and Joe and Patricia finds themselves adrift at sea, but the airtight luggage explodes from beneath the waves to save the day, adrift for several days before they happen to wash up on the shores of Waponi Woo, greeted by the tribe, a strange bunch who wouldn't have been out of place on an episode of Gilligan's Island, a weird mix of Polynesian and Hebrew heritage, lead by Chief Tobi, played by Abe Vigoda, who is actually dead now, FYI. The chief's right hand man is played by the usually boisterous Nathan Lane (The Producers). There's a hug celebration, and just when Joe is about to fulfill his obligation and jump into the volcano Patricia confesses her love for him, throwing a wrench into the works. 

The movie was maligned from the get-go, it was savagely reviewed by critics at the time, even in '90 I remember people really hating it, including my own girlfriend. Remind me again why I was with her... oh yeah, nevermind, lust.  Anyway, I didn't get the hate then and I don't get it now, this is a fun romantic comedy loaded whimsy,  a fairytale of sorts not played for realism, it's a bit surreal, and there's a lover's magic about it that I love. The visuals are charming, the leads and supporting characters are wonderful, particularly Hanks and Ryan, whose chemistry is so obvious, it's no wonder they went on to co-star in the mega-hit romantic comedies You've Got Mail and Sleepless In Seattle, but for some reason this one has failed to elicit the same love. I think most people were on board for the quirky romantic comedy, but the only slightly more absurd than what came before finale might have put the final nail in it for viewers. Perhaps like Hanks and Ryan's characters they were ejected from the film and left adrift at sea, but unlike the characters, viewers had no airtight luggage to come to their rescue. Hopefully this long-overdue Blu-ray will turn the tide on the disdain this movie has suffered for so long, it deserves another chance to win you over. 
    
Audio/Video: Joe Versus The Volcano (1990) arrives on Blu-ray from the cinema lovers over at the Warner archive with a fresh new 2017 HD remaster looking crisp and clean, in the original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio. Grain is tight and nicely managed, colors are rich, and the whimsical visual effects look great. In a time before digital effects we get some inspired visuals, from the depressing industrial German expressionists architecture of the American Panascope Company to the kitschy Waponi people, onto some fine looking matte paintings, there's just a lot to enjoy with this new HD image. The disc has an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround audio mix that supports the visuals well, with a soundtrack featuring Ray Charles, Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66, and The Ink spots among others, plus a fine score from Georges Delerue (Biloxi Blues), with optional English subtitles. 

Onto extras, it does make me a bit sad that we're not getting a new  retrospective  featurette or interviews with the director or stars. This one bombed at the box office but I think it has a bit of a cult-following nowadays, I for one would have appreciated some new extras. They do carry-over the extras from the DVD, we get the trailer, the "Sixteen Tons" music video, and a vintage EPK with stars Hanks, Ryan and director John Patrick Shanley, but it doesn't amount to much at only four minutes.  Thankfully they've restored the original one-sheet movie poster artwork, the old flapper-case DVD artwork was a monstrosity.  

Special Features: 
- Theatrical Trailer (HD)
- Vintage Behind the Scenes Featurette (4 min) 
- Music Video - Sixteen Tons w/ Eric Burdon (4 min) 

Joe Versus The Volcano (1990) is not the awful movie it is often remembered as, it's a romantic comedy loaded with whimsy and quirky humor, and Hanks and Ryan are a wonderful pairing. If you love the movie, like myself, you've been waiting for this HD upgrade for years, if you're not a fan or maybe missed it somehow, this is worth a watch (or a re watch), this is a movie that deserves another chance to win your heart.

THE 'BURBS on Blu-ray Steelbook from Arrow Video on September 15th

This one is right up there with Scream Factory's NIGHTBREED as one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Joe Dante's THE 'BURBS may just be one of my favorite movies

EVER! I put it right there with GHOSTBUSTERS and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.

On top of a brand new 2K restoration of the film there are oodles of extras and the WORKPRINT plus a making-of doc and featurettes plus a new commentary. Damn, I'm getting goose umps just thinking about it. 

ON BLU-RAY + LIMITED EDITION STEELBOOK SEPTEMBER 15TH

HE’S A MAN OF PEACE IN A SAVAGE LAND… SUBURBIA

Arrow Video is thrilled to announce the release of The ‘Burbs, one of the most hotly anticipated Arrow Video Blu-ray titles of the year. Joe Dante’s iconic cult classic will be released on15th September as both a deluxe Blu-ray and also as a limited edition SteelBook featuring an updated version of the original iconic artwork.

One of Dante’s most accomplished and often-overlooked entries in a canon filled with tone-shifting black comedies and satirical horror hybrids. The ‘Burbs was released in 1989 and starred Tom Hanks in one of his last tour de force comedic roles before becoming a decidedly more “serious” actor.

Though The ‘Burbs may not seem to fit into Dante’s oeuvre at first glance, it indeed does bear all the fingerprints of the director’s slightly off-kilter sensibilities, equally influenced by Mad magazine and a cadre of classic Universal monsters. In fact, The ‘Burbs is one of those rare instances in Hollywood where the material is perfectly matched with a director who understands the interdependence of horror and comedy. As he did with Piranha, The Howling and Gremlins before, Dante instinctively knew that humour would help ground the horror and make it all the more realistic and credible. “I always thought all horror is comedy,” Dante said in 2011 and indeed there has always been a fine line between horror and comedy in all of Dante’s films.

That line is never more blurred than in The ‘Burbs, which - along with Dante’s 1985 sci-fi film Explorers - has gone on to gain a level of cult status since its release. Noted critic and staunch Dante champion Jonathan Rosenbaum, who appreciated the film’s dark humour, cited in his review that The ‘Burbs “can be read as a satire about suburban conformists and snoops – xenophobic busybodies who can’t tolerate the presence of any sort of eccentricity in their midst. Or the movie is a cautionary tale about the dangers of insulation and ignorance - minding one’s own business and being unaware of the horrible things that are happening right next door. Or, finally, one can take the noncommittal stance assumed by the teenage characters in the movie, who are as undisturbed about the mysterious neighbours as they are amused by the xenophobic snoops trying to uncover them; the kids are simply around to enjoy the show.”

On paper, the plot for The ‘Burbs doesn’t really do the film justice, since it’s a blended mixture of plot, performance and, ultimately, Dante’s persistent point-of-view that make it all work. On repeat viewings, however, it becomes clear that the signature touches of Dante’s directorial style are what transform The ‘Burbs from a typical situational comedy into a dark cult classic. Those tell-tale sight gags, in-jokes and “doodlings in the margins” like the cartoons of artist Sergio Aragonés that Dante so loved in the pages of Mad magazine are peppered throughout The ‘Burbs. “The beauty of Mad magazine was that you could read it over and over and in the corner of the frame would be these little gags that you hadn’t noticed when you were reading it for the continuity,” Dante said.

“The audience is reminded constantly that they are watching a movie, and similar comic stylings have found their way into my own work,” Dante once told The Telegraph.

There’s no denying The ‘Burbs is a manufactured movie as it unfolds on the screen … but it’s a place worth revisiting if only for the non-judgmental point-of-view and understanding of human nature that Dante brings to it.

The ‘Burbs is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo 2.0 audio. The ‘Burbs was exclusively restored in 2K resolution by Arrow Films for this release. This restoration of
The ‘Burbs was overseen by James White on behalf of Arrow Films and has been approved by Joe Dante.

Arrow Video’s landmark release comes loaded with a bumper crop of bonus features including an all-new high definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Theatrical cut, newly-restored from the original film elements, and the original Workprint cut of the film transferred from Director Joe Dante’s personal copy, on home video for the very first time, which includes deleted and alternate scenes.

The Workprint cut of the film will be complimented by A Tale of Two ‘Burbs, an all-new video featurette comparing the differences between the Workprint and Theatrical cuts of the film, with optional audio commentary from Joe Dante.

Alongside this, this deluxe edition will also include a brand-new feature-length documentary There Goes the Neighbourhood: The Making of The ‘Burbs which features interviews with Dante, actors Corey Feldman, Courtney Gains and Wendy Schaal, director of photography Robert M. Stevens and production designer James H. Spencer.

The disc also features a newly recorded audio commentary with writer Dana Olsen, moderated by author Calum Waddell, an alternate ending, presented in HD for the very first time, alongside the original theatrical trailer and an exclusive collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kenneth J. Souza, author of Scared Silly: The Films of Joe Dante, and an article looking at the collaborations of Joe Dante and composer Jerry Goldsmith, illustrated with original archive stills and posters.

Synopsis

The films of director Joe Dante have taken us to some strange places – a mysterious Chinatown antique store in Gremlins; a secluded resort populated by werewolves in The Howling; even deep inside the human body in Innerspace. But now he takes us to the strangest place of all – suburbia!

Family man Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) is looking forward to a week of putting his feet up at home in the quiet, leafy cul-de-sac of Mayfield Place. But his plans are scuppered by the arrival of new next-door neighbours, The Klopeks, whose behaviour and habits are more than just a little kooky. But things go from kooky to downright sinister when local old boy Walter disappears, leading Ray and his buddies to suspect their new neighbours of killing and eating him! Sure, the Klopeks are a strange bunch what with their digging up the backyard in the middle of the night – but they’re not devil-worshipping cannibal killers… are they?

If you’re looking for a knowing slice of tongue-in-cheek terror then look no further than The ‘Burbs. A standout horror comedy from a director who has given us more than his fair share of fun frighteners, The ‘Burbs assembles a superb cast including Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher and Corey Feldman in a tall tale of small-town terror. You’ll never look at those eccentric neighbours in the same way again! The super-deluxe package, which is available both as a standard Blu-ray and as a limited edition Blu-ray SteelBook, is full of special features and bonus material.

The special features for this edition include:

· Limited Edition SteelBook packaging

· High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Theatrical cut, newly-restored from the original film elements

· Original uncompressed 2.0 Stereo PCM Audio

· Isolated Music and Effects Soundtrack

· Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

· New audio commentary with writer Dana Olsen, moderated by author Calum Waddell

· There Goes the Neighbourhood: The Making of The ‘Burbs - A new feature-length documentary including interviews with Dante, actors Corey Feldman, Courtney Gains and Wendy Schaal, director of photography Robert M. Stevens and production designer James H. Spencer

· The original Workprint cut of the film transferred from Director Joe Dante’s personal copy, on home video for the very first time - includes deleted and alternate scenes!

· A Tale of Two ‘Burbs – Video featurette comparing the differences between the Workprint and Theatrical cuts of the film, with optional audio commentary from Dante

· Alternate ending, presented in HD for the very first time

· Original Theatrical Trailer in HD

· Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kenneth J. Souza, author of Scared Silly: The Films of Joe Dante, and an article looking at the collaborations of Joe Dante and composer Jerry Goldsmith, illustrated with original archive stills and posters