Cocoon Blu-ray offers solid video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
A group of Florida retirees become mysteriously rejuvented when their retirement home swimming pool turns into a fountain of youth. But, the magical powers stem from some cocoons left by good-natured, human-appearing aliens who have come back to retrieve them.
According to legend, Ponce de Leon went looking for the mythical Fountain of Youth in Florida in
1513. Now, nearly 500 years later, the so-called Sunshine State is home to America's largest
assemblage of migratory retirees, a gum-toothed populace that has flocked southerly to live it up—
golfing, shuffleboard, socializing—even as they grow old. It's the perfect setting, then, for director
Ron Howard's Cocoon, a 1985 sci-fi immortality fable that manages to combine aliens,
geriatrics, skin suits, Steve Guttenberg, and even a few boner jokes. Erectile humor aside—and
really, there are some seriously horny old men in this film—Cocoon is host to several
greeting card-worthy messages about love and loss, aging and rejuvenation, family and enduring
friendship. Like many films about the elderly, Cocoon veers into some overly sentimental
territory—there's nothing like old people in love to start the waterworks—but in an almost
Spielbergian fashion, Ron Howard takes what could've been saccharine sap and turns it into
something a little more palatable and unusual: the odd sci-fi movie with heart.
Meet the Antareans...
Don Amache, Wilford Brimley, and Hume Cronyn play Art, Ben, and Joe, three retirement home
buddies who get their kicks breaking into the somehow perfectly maintained pool at a nearby
abandoned resort. These old fogies are a sprightly bunch, but time is clearly taking its toll with
cancer, vision problems, and, let's say, a lessened vigor for what, in polite company, might be
called the marital arts. Past their prime, knocking on death's door, in their autumnal years—
whatever you want to call it, the three friends don't have much time left. But this is all about to
change. Boat owner Jack Bonner (Steve Guttenberg) has just been hired to charter his vessel to
a strangely taciturn group, led by Walter (Brian Dennehy) and Kitty (Tahnee Welch, Raquel's
daughter), who turn out to be aliens on a mission to rescue several of their comrades, who were
preserved in cocoons at the bottom of the ocean when the lost continent of Atlantis sank some
10,000 years ago. When Walter rents the abandoned resort and uses the pool to house the
retrieved cocoons, Art, Ben, and Joe get more than just the tingle back in their dingles—the
restorative power of the cocoons has them doing flips off of the diving board, breakdancing at a
nightclub, and convincing their significant others and rest home hombres to hop in the pool and
join in the age-reversal shenanigans.
It's not all fun and games and restored libido, however, even though the first half of the film is
basically the 1980s equivalent of a Viagra commercial, complete with come-hither stares and
some hilarious sexuality-skirting dialogue. Amongst the comedy inherent in the elderly acting like
hormonal teenagers, the film also explores some weightier themes. The prospect of death looms
like a dark Floridian thundercloud over the retirement home, but an offer by the aliens—known
as Antareans—leaves the aged and infirmed residents faced with some arthritically stiff choices
regarding the possibility of immortality. Could you leave behind a caring daughter and a clingy
grandson if it meant you could live forever? After playing the hand that nature dealt you, is it
okay, as one reluctant character asks, to reshuffle the deck? (Wilford Brimley's Ben certainly
doesn't mind, as he replies, "The way nature's been treating us, I don't mind cheating her a
little.") Of course, it wouldn't be a film about the elderly without at least one heartbreaking
death, and though these kinds of scenes always feel a little emotionally manipulative—I'm
thinking The Notebook—Cocoon's tragedy and heartbreak is less cloying than
most. There's also some young love thrown in to entice the not-yet-grey members of the
audience, via an intergalactic, interspecies relationship between Jack and the alien woman, Kitty,
who shows him how Antareans give and receive affection. ("If this is foreplay," Jack says, "then
I'm a dead man.")
Steve Guttenberg does his whole awkwardly charming, populist Woody Allen routine, and Tahnee
Welch seems appropriately alien—I can't tell if her acting is wooden or if her character is
supposed to be stiff—but the film belongs to the geriatric cast of one-time Hollywood
stars and starlets, who are impossible not to like. Wilford Brimely has since become associated
with Quaker Oats, life insurance, and an uncanny resemblance to the Diabeetus Cat, but he's a
crusty old horn-dog here, the kind of loveable grouch that anyone would want for a grandpa. Don
Ameche even won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Art, a crooning lovebird who
finally weds his long-time sweetheart, though I think it's safe to assume the award was more of a
lifetime achievement honor. Perhaps the trickiest acting act is by Hume Cronyn, who cheats on
his loving wife after getting all hopped up on the pool water—they even joke that there might be
cocaine in it—but still manages to be a sympathetic character worthy of redemption and
forgiveness. Cronyn acts opposite of his real-life wife, Jessica Tandy, which probably adds to the
convincingness of his portrayal. Cocoon is what you might call soft sci-fi. The whole alien
element is really just device that allows us to question what it is about life that makes it worth
the living, and asks us how far we'd go to avoid the sorrows and indignities of death. It's also
funny and warm, a rare feat in science fiction.
Cocoon makes its way to Blu-ray with a solid but never overwhelmingly impressive
1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, framed in the film's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Fox has used a very
clean source print for the transfer—no scratches, stains, or hairs, and only a few scattered white
specks—and the technical presentation is strong as well, with no distracting compression related
issues and only a few instances of what appears to be light edge enhancement. The image as a
whole is slightly soft and a little dim, but it certainly has its striking moments, like whenever Jack
Bonner's boat takes to the open seas in broad daylight. Clarity fares well in close-ups, defining each
wrinkle, mole, and age spot, but the image quality deteriorates somewhat during the dated special
effects composite shots—especially of the glowing Antareans—giving rise to some blotchy and
overexposed-looking colors. Otherwise, color reproduction is natural and black levels are decent, if
lacking contrast and presence. Grain is present, untouched, and unobtrusive. Overall,
Cocoon makes a splash in high definition, but it isn't quite a Wilford Brimley-sized
cannonball.
The film's original stereo sound elements have been effectively reworked into a more than adequate
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix. This is still a predominately dialogue driven experience, but
the rear channels put out some quiet ambience, along with the occasional panning effect, like when
Kitty's aura or spirit or whatever zips around the poolroom and into Jack's chest, sending him into
comically orgasmic shudders. The sound effects certainly hold up better than the dated visual
effects, with little noises—the squeals of dolphins, water lapping and splashing—going a long way to
create a modestly convincing audio experience. James Horner's score, heavy on big digital beats and
synth lines, is quaintly 1980s, but it sounds impressive here, with a strong dynamic range and
plenty of breadth across all speakers. Aside from a few moments when the voices feel a little too low
in the mix, dialogue is clean and easily understood.
Commentary by Director Ron Howard
One of the nicest guys in Hollywood gives a candid, friendly, and informative commentary track
that spans the usual topics—technical details, on-set stories, and other pertinent reminiscences.
Well worth your time if you enjoy the film.
Behind the Scenes Featurette (SD, 6:56)
A vintage EPK promo that gives an overview of the story and includes several brief interviews
with director Ron Howard.
Ron Howard Profile (SD, 2:34)
From Opie to Richie to feature film helmer, this vintage profile gives an overview of the then-34
year old director's career.
Underwater Training (SD, 3:35)
Actor and diving instructor Mike Nomad—who trained Ron Howard for the production of
Splash—discusses the perils and challenges of shooting underwater.
Actors (SD, 2:52)
An overview of Cocoon's ensemble cast, with snippets of interviews with a few of the
actors and footage from the film.
Creating Antareans (SD, 3:56)
The actors who play the film's aliens talk about the process of creating their
characters.
Like E.T. or Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Cocoon is another entry
into the 1980s canon of "friendly" alien films, typically heartwarming stories that are less about
science fiction and more about the triumph of the human spirit. The movie doesn't hold up quite as
well as its Steven Spielberg-created cousins, but it certainly still has its charms. Like its elderly
characters, Cocoon itself has gotten some life-extending rejuvenation, thanks to a strong
high definition transfer by 20th Century Fox. Casually recommended.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has officially announced and detailed Ron Howard's sci-fi drama Cocoon, which as previously reported will be released on Blu-ray on April 6. Despite being promoted as a "25th Anniversary Edition," no new content has been created ...
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has revealed its slate of catalog releases for April and May, which also includes one title from MGM. The most notable entries are Ron Howard's 1985 science-fiction movie Cocoon, as well as the release on individual editions ...
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