Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Blame It on Rio Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 10, 2015

Stanley Donen's "Blame It on Rio" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Fabulous Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"You're never too old to be crazy"

Stanley Donen’s Blame it on Rio is the perfect film to see on a lazy weekend afternoon. It is more than a bit silly, but it has that rare ability to make one temporarily forget about a lot of the things that complicate one’s life on a daily basis.

Best friends Matthew (Michael Caine, Get Carter) and Victor (Joseph Bologna, Cops and Robbers) land in Rio de Janeiro together with their teenage daughters Jennifer (Michelle Johnson, Death Becomes Her) and Nicole (Demi Moore, Indecent Proposal) determined to have a good time. This of course is what everyone else is doing in Rio so the two friends and their daughters easily join the wild crowds of naked people. However, instead of trying to have fun with some of the local boys, Jennifer decides to seduce Matthew. This proves to be an easy task and Jennifer immediately assumes that it is only a matter of time before the one-night stand evolves into a serious relationship.

But the old geezer isn’t sure that he wants to be in a "relationship" with the daughter of his best friend and goes into defensive mode. However, the more he tries to convince Jennifer that they cannot possibly be together, the stronger her determination becomes to win his heart.

Meanwhile, Victor begins meeting a local beauty from his age group who just like him has concluded that marriage is overrated. Nicole also discovers that Matthew and Jennifer have been taking unusually long walks on the beach, but instead of confronting them decides to learn more about the local dating scene.

Here’s the truth about Blame it on Rio: It wasn’t meant to be a multiple Oscar winner. As mentioned earlier, it is a very silly film that wants to have a bit of naughty fun without keeping track of all those unwritten rules that determine what it can’t and can do so that it does not offend the politically correct crowd. That’s it. And as soon as one realizes that this is indeed the case, the easier it will be for one to see how charming the film truly is.

There is some nudity in the film, but it does not make it sleazy (which is exactly what the late Roger Ebert argued). On the contrary, the entire film has that genuinely relaxed atmosphere that is found in many similarly-themed European comedies from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Some of the actors also act goofy at times, but so do many real people when they go vacationing in places like Ibiza and Mykonos.

Caine and Bologna’s experience clearly shows, but it does not make Johnson and Moore look terrible. It is easy to tell that they knew exactly what type of film they were making with Donen and simply mixed business with pleasure. Only Valerie Harper, who plays Caine’s frustrated wife, looks slightly more intense than the rest of the cast.

The various panoramic shots from Rio are outstanding and make the city look a lot friendlier and safer than it is. The large white villa and its beautiful garden also have to be seen to be believed.

Donen decided to shoot Blame it on Rio after viewing Claude Berri’s Un moment d'égarement (In a Wild Moment). The relationships between the main characters in Berri’s film are practically identical, but they visit the French Riviera.

Blame It on Rio Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Stanley Donen's Blame it on Rio arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Fabulous Films.

The release is sourced from a pre-existing master, but the technical presentation is very nice. There are some obvious limitations that typically come with older masters. For example, contrast levels are not as well balanced as they should be and as a result some of the daylight footage looks a tad too bright (see the whites in screencaptures #1 and 16). During the darker footage shadow definition could be better as well. However, there are no traces of recent problematic degra8inbing and sharpening adjustments and this makes a huge difference. Indeed, grain is retained throughout the entire film and density is surprisingly consistent. Colors are stable and natural, though it is easy to see that there are nuances that are missing. Image stability is very good. Finally, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in our review. All in all, there is certainly room for some important improvements, but this is a very pleasing organic presentation of Blame it on Rio. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Blame It on Rio Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The audio track has not been fully remastered, but depth and clarity are very good. Balance also does not disappoint. In fact, during some of the mass sequences -- such as the beach party -- separation and dynamic movement are probably as good as they can be. The dialog is stable and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts, pops, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Blame It on Rio Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Blame it on Rio. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Blame It on Rio Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a lot of old reviews floating around and claiming that Stanley Donen's final film, Blame it on Rio, is a big pile of nonsense that should have never been made. I disagree. It is a silly film, but it is very entertaining and wonderfully lensed by Reynaldo Villalobos (Risky Business). To be honest, I much prefer these types of films over the safe and politically correct films Hollywood is mass-producing nowadays. The technical presentation could be better, but the Blu-ray release is the best one I have seen from Fabulous Films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.