National Lampoon’s Animal House Blu-ray Review
“National Lampoon’s Animal House is a product of its time.
After being snubbed by the fancy Omega Theta Pi fraternity, Faber College freshman Larry and Kent try their chances with the party animals over at the rundown Delta Tau Chi. The two become accepted and are soon known as Pinto and Flounder. Pinto and Flounder’s joy at being in a frat is short-lived, however, as Dean Wormer wants to shut down Delta. The Dean even goes as far as to enlist the help of Omega in his quest. Not wanting to accept defeat, Delta seek revenge and have their sights set on the homecoming parade.
Directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, and Chris Miller, 1978’s “National Lampoon’s Animal House” is a treasured raunchy comedy that doesn’t quite hold up in parts. The sexual assault “jokes,” derogatory words and unsavory non-PC material is cringe worthy when you look at it now, but there’s still a lot of humor that does work here primarily because the movie never takes itself seriously as it spoofs 60’s college life. In fact, it’s often cartoonish (particularly in the chaotic final act with the parade sabotage).
What really lifts the movie up is that it has so much talent within it. You’ve got Landis at the helm (who is arguably one of the finest comedy movie filmmakers), you’ve got the late great Harold Ramis as a writer (one of the premiere comedy writers) and you’ve got a stacked cast featuring Donald Sutherland, Tom Hulce, Tim Matheson, Kevin Bacon, Stephen Furst, Karen Allen, Mark Metcalf and even Otis Day and the Knights. And then there’s John Belushi who is probably the number 1 reason this movie has had an enduring legacy. He truly is the MVP here. He may just be a supporting character as Bluto, but he makes so much comedic magic from his zit impression to his guitar smashing.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.85:1 1080p. How does it look? This new (?) remastered Blu-ray disc doesn’t offer up much to ride home about. It’s a fuzzy and glossy print that needs a better restoration (and so does the recent 4K from what I hear).
Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? A muted and lackluster track that doesn’t live up to 5.1 standards.
Extras (less than the previous Blu-ray for some reason):
* “Where Are They Now? A Delta Alumni Update”- John Landis narrates this comedic extra in which he catches up with cast members.
* “SceneIt?” trivia game.
* “The Yearbook: An Animal House Reunion”- A 45 minute retrospective with interviews and set footage.
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