7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Greenskeeper Carl Spackler is about to start World War III - against a gopher. Pompous Judge Smails plays to win but nubile niece Lacey Underall wants to score her own way. Playboy Ty Webb shoots perfect golf by becoming the ball. And country club loudmouth Al Czervik just doubled a $20,000 bet on a 10-foot putt.
Starring: Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Bill MurrayComedy | 100% |
Sport | 29% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono (Spain)
English SDH, French, German SDH, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Motion pictures supposedly killed vaudeville in a sort of bloodless murder that left a lot of victims but very few complaining witnesses. The old style vaudevillian entertainment of quick vignettes ultimately made its way to sketch based television variety shows like Sid Caesar’s and Milton Berle’s in the early 1950’s, but, save for a very few examples, it never became a staple of the silver screen. How odd, then, that as late as 1979, in the wake of the huge success of National Lampoon’s Animal House, that film’s co-writer Harold Ramis should reinvent the idiom for the much beloved comedy Caddyshack, which he similarly co-wrote and also directed. One almost expects there to be gorgeous girls holding placards announcing the various acts and skits as Caddyshack wends its way through a largely formless hour and a half, an inchoateness fostered by the improvisatory predilections of several of the film’s stars, chief among them Chevy Chase and Bill Murray. What had started out as a coming of age story revolving around a sweet-faced caddy named Danny (Michael O’Keefe) rather quickly evolved into a vignette-laden farce with Chase as millionaire playboy Ty Webb, Murray as sadsack greenskeeper Carl Spackler, Ted Knight as snob extraordinaire Judge Smails and a twitchingly manic Rodney Dangerfield as lowlife real estate developer Al Czervik. Not exactly a seamless blending of acting styles, to say the least, but probably a major reason Caddyshack’s ramshackle humor has made it one of the best remembered comedies of its era. Looking back now from three decades’ hindsight, one might be tempted to ask: does it deserve its reputation?
Michael O'Keefe and Chevy Chase become one with the ball.
Caddyshack is never going to be reference quality material for a videophile, but my hunch is most fans of the film probably won't care all that much. The film arrives on Blu-ray in a decent enough VC-1 encoded image, in full 1080p and a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. As with its original 1980 theatrical presentation, colors (especially the greens) are incredibly garish, as was the intentional style of the day. The palette here is almost obnoxiously strong, and the Blu-ray supports that with really robust saturation. While the bulk of the film looks sharp (and certainly sharper than an SD-DVD), strangely several soft moments crop up from time to time, typically in shots of the golf course, which may have been handled by a second unit using different stock which the Blu-ray exposes, but also more generally in medium and far shots. On the other hand, details like every hair on that furry little gopher's head is clearly visible, and the lines and pores of the humans' skin argues against any aggressive utilization of DNR. Caddyshack is, like Flash Gordon which I reviewed here recently, an inherently ugly film. It wasn't pretty to look at in 1980 and it's certainly no prettier today in all its high-def glory. If you don't expect miracles, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the image quality here, at least for the most part.
Similarly, there's next to no immersive quality for a true audiophile to get excited about with this repurposed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. For all but a few moments of the film, things are resolutely anchored to the front three channels. That works just fine for Caddyshack, however. Low end is appealingly robust in the opening bars of Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright," and discrete channel usage pops up fitfully in some of the crowded dialogue moments when the screen is full of characters. Rear surrounds kick in only very rarely, including the climactic explosion. There's a surprisingly lame score from one of my favorite film composers, Johnny Mandel, who I'm guessing received a nice, fat paycheck for his work here and basically phoned in some pretty bland cues. This is certainly not the best work of the composer of such classics as "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "Emily," but the underscore is mixed relatively well into the proceedings and is never too obtrusive. Dialogue (with the exception of O'Hooligan's unbelievably thick Irish accent) is clear and easy to understand.
Two above average featurettes augment this new Blu-ray release. Originally airing on The Biography Channel, Caddyshack: The Inside Story (80 minutes; 1080i) is an excellently in-depth look at the development and the filming of the movie. You'll finally get some sense of what the original Danny story was all about, why O'Hooligan has that incredibly thick Irish accent, and a host of other questions answered. Almost all of the cast and crew are interviewed, and while the television origins of the piece are evident (lots of recaps coming out of the now excised commercial breaks), it still makes for a really interesting near hour and half. More to the point, if also a bit more generic, is Caddyshack: The 19th Hole (31 minutes; 480p), which does offer the allure of some deleted scenes which aren't in the longer documentary. The original theatrical trailer rounds out the bonuses.
Caddyshack is not quite the eternal classic its most ardent fans insist it is. But it is still a very funny film with a hugely disparate group of actors turning in some fine performances. If certain elements of the film haven't aged particularly well, and Ramis' still unsure directorial hand is a bit too much on display, there are enough wonderfully wacky moments to overcome these limitations. This Blu-ray, while never approaching anything near reference quality, is a nice step up from the SD-DVD, and should have fans exclaiming, "At least it has that going' fer it."
1998
1988
1986
Holy Schnike Edition
1995
2018
1987
2009
2006
Unrated
2003
2011
1984
2015
2016
Unrated
2004
35th Anniversary Edition
1989
1978
Enlarged Edition w/ Extended Cut
2011
1997
Warner Archive Collection
1986
2010