High Anxiety

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray

Release: May 11, 2010

Rated: PG

Runtime: 94 Minutes

The Movie:

Mel Brooks stars in this movie as psychiatric administrator Dr. Richard Thorndyke. At the Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, he begins to notice the patients demonstrating rather bizarre behavior. But when he is framed for murder, Dr. Thorndyke has to face his own fears, a severe case of "high anxiety," to clear his name.

This movie spoofs a lot of Alfred Hitchcock's classic movies such as The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest and Vertigo. If you have ever seen those classic movies, and you actually never seen this film, then you really owe it to yourself to see this. Even if you find yourself not liking the film, it's still worth it to see all of the references that Brooks has incorporated into this film.

Even though it is labeled as a spoof movie, Mel Brooks did this film as an homage to Hitchcock and even dedicated this film to him as well. Hitchcock admitted to loving the movie when he saw it, and went on to send Brooks a bottle of wine as a gesture of appreciation.

The supporting cast in this movie is great. You have Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein), Ron Carey (TV's Barney Miller) and Cloris Leachman (Most recently seen in TV's Dancing with the Stars, and Malcom in the Middle).

Granted, I may not have been alive when this movie came out in the 1970's, and didn't actually see this movie until about 10 years ago. But even from then to now, I have grown to enjoy this movie more as I get older. Now that I have seen a fair amount of Hitchcock's movies, I was able to recognize which films were being parodied throughout the movie, and was able to enjoy the film more than I did almost a decade ago. The movie definitely ages well!

Presentation:

Wow, for a movie that's over 30 years old, I was very impressed with the transfer this film received for the blu-ray release. Skin tones look great, with facial detail looking incredible. There is a considerable amount of grain throughout the film, but you are going to be too busy laughing to even notice the grain. Most colors are strong throughout the film, blacks are deep, and images can be real sharp at times. The movie is presented with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

Now, this isn't a movie that you would consider reference quality, but you can use it as a reference to show people how good classic movies do look on blu-ray. This blu-ray is a HUGE improvement of the dvd.

Audio:

High Anxiety is given a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Everything comes through sounding clear and strong. At times, the dialogue can sound a little lower than normal, but it is clear enough that you won't miss any of the jokes. The score sounds great and the sound effects (as old as they are) still sound really good. Everything holds up well here.

The disc also inlcudes English, French, Spanish and Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital audio tracks.

Bonus Material:

• Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the Master of Suspense (1080p, Runtime 29:20) - Consists of interviews with Mel Brooks, one of Hitchcock's granddaughters, and others as they point out the references to Hitchcock's films.
• The "Am I Very Very Nervous?" Test - By clicking on this feature, you are turning on a multiple-choice trivia track that will be played during the film.
• Don't Get Anxious! The Trivia of Hitchcock - As the title of this feature implies, its a trivia track of Hitchcock references.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, Runtime 2:41)
• Mel Brooks Trailers (1080p) - History of the World Part I, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Silent Movie, To Be or Not To Be, and Young Frankenstein

Bottom Line:

Is there really a bad Mel Brooks movie out there? If there is, I have yet to find it, and it's definitely not this movie. This movie (along with his other films) hold their value over the years. The disc looks and sounds great. The bonus features are lacking, but the included documentary will be liked among fans. I'd recommend this movie, especially for Hitchcock fans!

Edge of Darkness

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray

Release: May 11, 2010

Rated: R

Runtime: 117 Minutes

The Movie:

The last time Mel Gibson was in front of the camera on the big screen was back in 2002 for the hugely successful film "Signs." Eight years later he returns to the big screen in this emotional and action packed drama, "Edge of Darkness."

Thomas Craven, a homicide detective and a single father, goes out looking for revenge for the person(s) that murdered his 24 year old daughter on the steps of his home. Naturally, everyone is under the assumption that he was the intended target, but he suspects differently. He seeks out to find out about what his daughter was up to, and his investigation leads him to a government official, Darius Jedburgh, who was actually sent to clean up the evidence.

This film is based on the 1985 BBC miniseries of the same name (which I haven't seen, so I can't compare the two) and is also directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed the BBC miniseries in 1985. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this movie. It's been compared to Pierre Morel's "Taken," because of the "revenge-them", so I can understand why, but at the same time, it is still a different movie. In this movie Craven's daughter has already been killed and that's what causes Craven to go looking for revenge. This movie feels more like his 1996 film "Ransom" except more clichéd and predictable. If you couldn't predict the ending far in advance, then you must not watch many movies.

It's not a great film and it's not a bad film, and at times the movie can drag on, but what made this film watchable was easily the performances by Gibson and Ray Winstone. If different actors would've been used, the film probably wouldn't have worked, and wouldn't have even done anything in the box office. But it was good to see Gibson back on the big screen again, and hopefully he can still put out some good and memorable movies.

Presentation:

This 2.40:1 1080p image delivers a very sharp and crisp presentation with vey fine detail. The close-ups on the faces are extremely detailed and skin tones look almost lifelike. There is a light amount of grain throughout the film, but it will barely be noticeable to most. As good as the backgrounds look, during the darker scenes, the backgrounds do look washed out a bit. Otherwise detail is sharp throughout the movie. It's not a movie that would be considered a reference-quality disc, but it does look good enough to make blu-ray owners feel satisfied.

Audio:

This movie comes loaded with intense moments and action scenes and having the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sounds excellent! Even during quieter scenes, the sound that comes through is always sounding so strong. Dialogue is always clear without any issues whatsoever. The score that's used also brings a strong feeling to this drama.

Bonus Material:

This 2-disc set is broken down with disc 1 being the blu-ray disc which features the movie and bonus features, and disc 2 is a dvd copy of the film and it also includes a Digital Copy.

• Focus-point Featurettes (480p, Runtime 31:00) - A total of nine short featurettes focusing on the locations, the original mini-series, about the director and more.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 6:00) - A few scenes that were not relevant in the film.
• BD-Live

Bottom Line:

It's a movie worth checking out if you're a fan of Gibson or in the mood for a good drama or action movie. The movie looks and sounds great, but is seriously lacking in the bonus features area. I'd say this is worth a rental.