Review

Movie

It had been a long time since I had seen this movie.  So it was with great anticipation that I popped the disc in the player.  This is the 2 disc collectors editon that replaces the original MGM disc.  For those of you who don’t know what the movie is about, and there can’t be many of you, it’s a tale of murder, lust, greed, revenge, and seafood.  If that does not make you want to watch I don’t know what will? The movie stars John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin.  Wanda brings her new secret lover, Otto (Kevin Kline) to England to help her and her lover George and stuttering animal lover Ken (Michael Palin) steal $20 million in diamonds.  Wanda and Otto turn George in to the police to have the diamonds for themselves.  But George has already moved the diamonds.  Everyone starts double-crossing each other and that is where the comedy begins.  I have to say that when I watched it a long time ago I remember it being more funny.  But its still a fun movie!

7 out of 10

Video

The movie is presented in a 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio.  The old MGM release was non-anamorphic, so that is an upgrade right there.  Everything looked pretty good here but I did notice a slight bit of grain.  But that is expected considering its age.  Overall this is a definite upgrade from the old release.

7 out of 10

Audio

The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 and again is an upgrade over the previous disc because it was mono.  Everything comes across sounding pretty good.  I am still humming the theme song as I write this.  Nothing spectacular but it does the job.

7 out of 10

Extras

On disc one there is a feature length commentary by John Cleese.  I would say if you’re a big fan of the movie there are some interesting moments in his commentary.  Also on disc one there is trivia track which also gives you more insight into the film. 

On disc two there is a documentary called “Something Fishy”, which is basically your standard talking heads piece.  Also we have over thirty minutes of deleted scenes.  Again most of these are not worth watching and were cut for a reason.  If you’re a fan of John Cleese there are 3 more featurettes on this disc that talk about his comedy, previous roles etc.  There is also a featurette that talks about some of the locations.  The rest of the disc contains a photo gallery and some trailers. 

8 out of 10

Overall

I would recommend this two disc set if you’re a fan of the movie or John Cleese.  If  your not a fan, then I would give it a rental a least.  There is plenty here from the upgraded transfer and audio to recommend it even if you have the previous MGM disc. It is available now from 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

8 out of 10