Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

City Slickers Blu-ray Movie Review

There were a good few years where a Billy Crystal comedy was generally considered an appealing event. His follow-up to “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers” was the comedian’s “Avatar” in terms of box office success and media saturation, fitting Crystal for leading man shoe lifts via an unlikely vessel of bellylaughs and cowboy buffoonery. “City Slickers” is easily digestible as a well-crafted comedy, loaded with slapstick and sincerity, permitting Crystal a starring vehicle to exercise his best Jackie Mason impression while submitting a successful catchphrase in Mitch’s greeting, “Helllllooooo.” The man is genuinely funny here, distributing one-liners and pained expressions, playing beautifully off the likes of Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, while the producers filled supporting roles with a number of colorful character actors, including Supergirl herself, Helen Slater. And then there was Jack Palance, who clearly beamed down from his private asteroid to portray leathery cowboy Curly, a man so cured, he can light a match off his own cheek. Palance would go on to accept accolades and an Academy Award for his work here (cue the one-armed push-ups clip), and all of the love was heartily deserved, with the actor playing to his breathy strengths as a tough guy who develops a fondness for Mitch’s neuroses. Palance and Crystal worked beautifully together, creating wonderful highlights along the way.

City Slickers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"City Slickers" originally made its Blu-ray debut in 2011, and at the time the MGM transfer was praised for its clarity and color. Shout Factory has elected to revisit the title with brand new 4K scan, hoping to bring something a little extra to the table to encourage sales. The upgrade satisfies, with the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation delivering a filmic viewing experience for the feature, which benefits from newfound sharpness and restraint with brightness, helping to grasp the nuances of the great outdoors as the characters run the herd across America. Distances are true, surveying mountain ranges and the expanse of the ranch is sustained, permitting a sense of scale for the comedy. Facial close-ups enjoy true texture, from Palance's leathery appeal to Josh Mostel's plumpness, while it's easier to track Mitch's evolution from an ashen family man to a rugged cowboy, picking up on facial hair growth and sunbaked skin. Costuming also enjoys the refreshing. Colors comes through with vigor, leading with a grand sense of greenery, giving grasslands a warm feel of nature. Other environments are equally evocative. Skintones are natural. Clothing secures period fashion and classic western fatigue. Delineation is satisfactory, maintaining shadow play and evening interactions. Source is in fine shape, without elements of damage. Some very mild banding is detected.

City Slickers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers comfortable heft to the "City Slickers" listening experience, giving the rousing score by Marc Shaiman proper placement and emphasis, gifting the cattle drive the sweep it requires. Instrumentation is appealing, and softer, emotional cues aren't lost along the way, supporting the dramatic arc of the picture with care. Dialogue exchanges are preserved, providing a full sense of performance as acting goes from sincere to slapstick, never slipping into distortive extremes. Surrounds are sparingly used, but action heats up with the third act storm sequence, offering a more circular listening experience. Atmospherics are understood throughout, capturing wide open spaces and ranch activity, and also milder campfire discussions and apartment banter. Sound effects are sharp, while low-end is primarily dominated by cattle stampedes.

City Slickers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout Factory has ported over all the extras found on the 2011 Blu-ray release, but there's a problem with encoding. Featurettes (not the trailer) appear in low resolution and with stuttery frame rates, robbing the informational offerings of clarity and visual comfort.

• A Theatrical Trailer (2:54, HD) has been included.

City Slickers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"City Slickers" provides a warm message of personal rebirth, and the cowboy beats are well cared for, making for a vivid contrast between wide-open spaces and these urban clowns. It still satisfies, though goodwill toward the film would eventually be tested with a 1994 sequel -- a follow-up that I enjoyed at the time, but something tells me a second look at that one might cause an allergic reaction. Still, Crystal in his element, in 1991, with a game cast to help him out? Pretty irresistible stuff. Too bad he couldn't sustain the magic. A "Forget Paris" here and a "My Giant" there can turn an audience on you quickly. Shout Factory's 2018 release captures the essentials of the picture, offering refreshed detail and deeper color to best embrace production achievement, and while supplement visual quality suffers greatly in the move to a new Blu-ray home, the disc remains an easy upgrade from the 2011 release, gifting "City Slickers" renewed life in HD.