Coneheads 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Coneheads 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 28, 2025

Steve Barron's "Coneheads" (1993) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new program with actress Michelle Burke; new program with stop-motion effects specialist Phil Tippet; archival audio commentary by Steve Barron and critic Michael Felsher; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The invaders

Coneheads materialized because of how successful Wayne's World turned out, which, despite not being an MTV production, targeted a massive demographic that was heavily influenced by MTV’s enormous advertising power during the 1980s and early 1990s. Popular Saturday Night Live sketches inspired both films, and Paramount produced both. After these films, Paramount greenlighted Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, which had even closer ties to MTV, and MTV Films produced its first feature film, Joe's Apartment.

I mention all of the above because it makes it a lot easier to understand what Coneheads did, why it did it, and how it did it. If not placed in a proper context, Coneheads is extremely easy to dismiss as an astonishingly silly, often perplexingly chaotic comedy that is not funny at all. To be clear, Coneheads is not a great or good film. However, despite losing millions at the box office, Coneheads -- like Joe’s Apartment, which lost millions at the box office as well -- did exactly what its producers wanted. It played the MTV roulette, mismanaged its bets, and lost. (By the way, the MTV roulette is what also killed the classic MTV, the one that used to play great music videos all the time, which began expanding its programming with exactly the type of material that took down Coneheads).

In a busy corner of the galaxy, something goes wrong, and the alien couple Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymatt (Jane Curtin), who may or may not have been on a reconnaissance mission, crash-land in America. Shortly after, the illegal aliens, both with cone-shaped heads and sticking out like sore thumbs, settle down in Suburbia, hopeful that a rescue spaceship will arrive soon and take them back home. Beldar manages to get a job with Otto (Sinbad), a small-business owner, while Prymatt, already visibly pregnant, becomes a housewife. However, while trying to get legal with illegal social security cards and other fake documents, Beldar and Prymatt become targets for veteran INS agent Gorman Seedling (Michael McKean) and his protege Eli Turnbull (David Spade), who want to permanently redirect their careers by bringing down a criminal organization that helps foreign folks like them remain in the country. As Beldar and Prymatt welcome little Connie (Michelle Burke), and she rapidly becomes a teenager and begins falling in love with Ronnie the Mechanic (Chris Farley), Seedling and his protégé successfully track them down. However, moments before they are to be arrested and taken into custody, the rescue spaceship the two have been waiting for appears and picks them up -- and with them, the two INS hunters.

The narrative is loaded with political satire and conventional mockery of the type that Saturday Night Live did rather well years ago. The decent material features predominantly the latter, which targets various Hollywood blockbusters, famous characters from various places, and themes and trends they popularized. However, the satire and mockery are mixed with quick recipes from MTV’s 1990s cookbook, so every sequence they produce is missing a crucial ingredient -- wit. As a result, viewing Coneheads is a lot like trying to enjoy ten different types of melted ice cream at the same time, relentlessly scooping them up with an oversized fork.

Coneheads is very much a product of its time. It is easy to understand why it was greenlighted, and even easier to understand why it flopped at the box office. It looks and feels like an unusually long MTV commercial, cramming as much material approved by marketing gurus as possible, pursuing approval from a very specific group of consumers. It has some decent visuals, but it is irredeemably artificial.

Coneheads 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Coneheads is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-27 are taken from Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #32-39 are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of Coneheads, recently completed at Paramount. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision and later spent time with its 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray.

I have nothing but great things to say about the 4K restoration and its presentations on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. The 4K restoration is an all-around stunner, providing the entire film with a terrific, very healthy, enormously impressive organic appearance. On my system, all areas of the film, which frequently utilize some quite diverse content with unique qualities, looked spectacular. In fact, I expected some of the dated special effects to appear a bit rough, but I was quite surprised to see how well the 4K presentation handled them. (The fight with the massive monster is one such area with dated yet wonderful special effects). Delineation, clarity, and depth range from excellent to outstanding, and the fluidity of the visuals is terrific. Color reproduction and balance are enormously satisfying. All primaries are lush, very healthy, and stable, and all supporting nuances are properly set. I did not see any shifts toward cyan, turquoise, etc. The Dolby Vision grade is effective, especially in areas with the most outrageous special effects, several of which also feature interesting color overlapping. Darker areas, like the ones with the space footage, look gorgeous. The 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration handles the same areas exceptionally well, too. However, I tend to prefer the dynamic range of the native 4K visuals, which in this film benefit quite a lot from the expanded color gamut of 4K. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Coneheads 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I switched the tracks quite a lot to test different areas of the film, and I think that both are outstanding. The 5.1 track unquestionably does more with some of the busiest action material, but the definition of more can be pretty flexible. I do not think that the overwhelming majority of the same areas any less impressive with the 2.0 track. On the 2.0 track, dynamic intensity is very, very good. The dialogue is clear, but I am unsure if I can describe it as easy to follow. Dan Akroyd frequently fires off his lines very fast, and his 'alien' accent can make it pretty difficult to get absolutely everything he says.

Coneheads 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by director Steve Barron and critic Michael Felsher. Barron discusses his background and career, the 1980s and its opportunities and limits, the production of Coneheads and the massive cast that was gathered for it, the quality of the humor that shapes the identity of the film, and even its reception. It is a very informative and, in my opinion, refreshingly honest commentary, so if you are a fan of Coneheads, consider listening to it in its entirety.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by director Steve Barron and critic Michael Felsher. Barron discusses his background and career, the 1980s and its opportunities and limits, the production of Coneheads and the massive cast that was gathered for it, the quality of the humor that shapes the identity of the film, and even its reception. It is a very informative and, in my opinion, refreshingly honest commentary, so if you are a fan of Coneheads, consider listening to it in its entirety.

• Consuming Mass Quantities - in this new program, actress Michelle Burke reveals how she started her acting career in Hollywood (by heading to Austin, Texas to shoot Dazed and Confused) and discusses her involvement with Coneheads. Burke also has some interesting comments about the many stars who were cast for various smaller parts, most of whom she apparently did not know, and her relationship with Chris Farley. The program was produced for Kino Lorber in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• A Garthok Narfled - in this new program, stop-motion effects specialist Phil Tippet discusses his contribution to Coneheads. Tippet has some particularly interesting comments about the creation of the big monster that Beldar faces and how it was made to look as impressive as possible, as well as some other famous characters he has worked on over the years. The program was produced for Kino Lorber in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Vintage EPK - this archival program features raw footage from the shooting of Coneheads, as well as clips from archival interviews with Dan Aykroyd, Sinbad, Jason Alexander, and Chris Farley, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Extended Vintage Interview Clips - presented here are additional archival interviews with Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Michelle Burke, and Steve Barron, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• BTS Footage - additional extended and behind-the-scenes content. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Coneheads. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• TV Spots - presented here are several vintage TV spots for Coneheads. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

Coneheads 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Coneheads is not devoid of charm. However, it goes so hard after the MTV crowd that it quickly begins resembling an unusually long and chaotic commercial, which is a transformation that provides it with a very artificial quality. While this is not the only reason it flopped at the box office, it is almost certainly the biggest. Kino Lorber's combo pack presents a fabulous 4K restoration of it that looks great on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. A standalone Blu-ray release is available for purchase as well. RECOMMENDED only to the fans.