United States 
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
Most Popular Blu-ray Deals at Amazon
|
|
Show latest price drops |
 $12.00 |  $12.00 |  $10.00 |  $12.99 |  $10.00 |  $19.49 |  $12.00 |  $12.99 |  $16.99 |  $7.99 |  $7.49 |  $19.49 |  $19.99 |  $7.99 |  $12.00 |
|
|
|
United States
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
Most Popular Blu-ray Deals at Amazon
|
|
Show latest price drops |
$12.00 | $12.00 | $10.00 | $12.99 | $10.00 | $19.49 | $12.00 | $12.99 | $16.99 | $7.99 | $7.49 | $19.49 | $19.99 | $7.99 | $12.00 |
|
|
|
The Goonies Blu-ray
Warner Bros. | 1985 | 114 mins | Rated PG | Oct 06, 2008
The Goonies Blu-ray ReviewReviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, November 1, 2008 A joint effort between Steven Spielberg and Richard Donner, "The Goonies" premiered in the summer of 1995. Since then, it has grown into a cult picture with millions of dedicated fans insisting that it is the best kid movie ever made. "The Goonies" makes its debut on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner-UK. Mikey (Sean Astin) and Brand (Josh Brolin) are told that their house will soon be demolished. A brand new country club is to be erected where the boys grew up. Visibly disturbed by the announcement the two are joined by their good friends Chuck (Jeff Cohen) and Clark (Corey Feldman). While playing in the attic, the friends discover an old map pinpointing the exact location of a large pirate treasure hidden in an even larger ship. The boys embark on a fascinating journey with plenty of unknowns determined to see whether the map and its instructions are real.
The two key elements that transform The Goonies into an entertaining kid-film are tempo and imagination. The first is achieved through an overwhelming amount of action scenes where aside from the humor and dirty talk there are practically no other distractions. Once the journey begins you better pull your popcorn bucket closer as The Goonies switches into a wild mode and never slows down. Scene after scene you will be effectively entertained with pranks, jokes, and witty twists that few directors I could think of could have put to use as well as Donner and Spielberg have. The second key element is imagination. There is so much going on in The Goonies that at times it is quite difficult to follow everything at once. It is even harder to appreciate how colorful the story gets when you add up all the laughs, pranks, jargon, and everything else Spielberg and Donner cooked up. Still, as mentioned earlier, the tempo is so consistent that even if you missed some of the extra flavor The Goonies offers you will appreciate the journey. This is what works in The Goonies. Here's what it does not: Character development. Arguably all of the main protagonists are notably flawed. What is even worse is that their lines are littered with so many cliches that eventually it becomes impossible to tolerate them. Yes, you could argue that this is a kid's film which does not necessarily need less than transparent protagonists. Well, maybe! But spending twenty or so minutes with the goonies certainly reveals so much about their personalities that eventually you would find yourself knowing precisely what their lines would be. I know I did. The sweetness. It has been a long time since I first saw The Goonies but to this day I am a firm believer that it was simply overpolished. Everything in it is glossy, colorful, and measured. Which makes for a great ride, as mentioned earlier, but it also adds too much sweetness to the film's already questionably exotic flavor. As a result when the goonies finally encounter the pirates there is quite a bit one would be hard-pressed not to dismiss as kitsch. Only a year after the The Goonies was released Rob Reiner gave us his marvelous Stand By Me (1986), a film about a group of friends on the road to adulthood. Unlike the boys in The Goonies the gang in Stand By Me was slightly older and wiser. And yes, their adventure was slightly darker, slightly more real. Rob Reiner's film also had a heart, soul, and poetic beauty that made me dream and admire his characters, all key ingredients I never discovered in The Goonies. Video  Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with VC-1, and granted a 1080p transfer Richard Donner's beloved The Goonies makes its debut on Blu-ray via Warner Brothers-UK. Well, those outside of the Kingdom hoping for a solid release of The Goonies should not be disappointed by Warner's package. This is a clean, very natural looking, and free of artificial sharpening transfer. It certainly reveals a somewhat dated look but all of the basics appear to be intact - contrast is adequate, the color-scheme is natural, and the actual print appears free of specks, dust, and debris. This being said, those of you hoping for a sharp print with a strong popping look will be disappointed. The film certainly does not support such an appearance and the Blu-ray transfer does not reveal such a modern look. In fact, during some of the poorly lit scenes (the cave footage in particular) the 1080p transfer enhances the grainy structure of The Goonies tremendously. With other words, the film reveals a type of dated appearance I would be enormously surprised to see mishandled in any future releases. On the other hand, where there is an adequate amount of lighting contrast appears strong and detail impressive. Finally, I must note that when blown out through a digital projector The Goonies retains a good, and overall, tight look. The picture does not break down and contrast, clarity, and color reproduction remain considerably strong. (Note: This is a region-free release which you will be able to play in your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location). Audio  There are a number of audio options on this release: English: Dolby True HD 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1.0, and English: Dolby Digital 2.0. For the purpose of this review I opted for the English Doby True HD 5.1 mix. Folks, this is where The Goonies benefits the most from this Blu-ray release: the audio department. The Dolby True HD track Warner have provided is potent and very strong. There is a great deal of activity in the rear channels (the action in the cave offers all sorts of bells and whistles you are likely to have never heard on your SDVDs). From the water splashes, to the explosions, to the action at the ship the Dolby True HD 5.1 mix delivers. The dialog on the other hand is crystal clear and very easy to follow and I did not detect and disturbing pop-ups, cracks, or hissings. The soundtrack by Dave Grusin is also well mixed with plenty of depth that anyone familiar with this film will appreciate. Frankly, Warner's audio treatment appears to be solid to say the least. As noted above the disc also offers French and Spanish dubs. Optional English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese subtitles are added up as well. (Note: The subtitles for this release appear mostly outside of the image frame). Supplements There are a number of exciting supplemental materials on this Blu-ray disc and the good news is that they are perfectly playable in your US PS3 or SA. First of all, Warner have offered Cyndi Lauper's notorious music video "The Goonies R Good Enough" and this is actually the extended cut of the video they used to play on MTV. Yes, it must have been a long, long time ago (smile). In addition to the original theatrical trailer there are also three deleted scenes (the first one being an extended deleted scene). There is nothing really groundbreaking here so obviously the decision to cut the footage from the final version was a good one. "The Making of the Goonies" is actually the old 1985 piece where you get to hear Richard Donner's comments on the production of his film (in addition to a quick comment by Steven Spielberg) while you see the cast preparing or in action. Next is a commentary by the aged cast and crew of The Goonies titled "Hidden Treasures" which offers mixed footage from the film (a small box pops up in the bottom left corner of your screen while the camera focuses on the cast in the studio, or, portions of the film in full). The majority of the comments here are actually driven by nostalgia, I must say, rather than anything else. There is a great deal of enthusiasm amongst the now slightly older (smile) cast of The Goonies but little substance to their observations. In any event, the footage that accompanies their words balances things out and this is a rather interesting piece to spend some time on. Give it a try! Finally, the key piece here is the full-blown commentary with Richard Donner and the entire cast of The Goonies (with the subtitle options provided for the main feature available here). This is quite an entertaining piece, slightly more serious and coherent than "Hidden Treasure" which should bring back to life plenty of memories amongst those who love this film. Once again, the nostalgia overtones here are rather strong but there are some genuinely hilarious observations. It is worth it! Final words It is difficult for me to criticize The Goonies. I know that it is a beloved by many film and as far as I am concerned indicative of a time when cinema was so much more exciting. There is also a veiled sense of innocence here which many films could not reproduce after the early 90s. From a purely technical point of view The Goonies still delivers - the editing is great and so is the pacing, a factor I always thought was incredibly well handled. The story and acting, however, feel very dated. Sure, many could argue that this is precisely where the charm of The Goonies is hidden, in its ability to transform us back to a time when anything and everything was possible. I understand. But its charm never truly had such an effect on me. For those who love The Goonies - the UK BD is a nice upgrade over the existing SDVD which should meet your demands both in terms of audio and video. 
Back to The Goonies Blu-ray »
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This web site is not affiliated with the Blu-ray Disc Association. All trademarks are the property of the respective trademark owners. © 2002-2010 Blu-ray.com. All rights reserved. Registration problems | Business Inquiries | Legal Notices |
