Rating summary
| Movie |  | 2.0 |
| Video |  | 3.5 |
| Audio |  | 4.0 |
| Extras |  | 3.0 |
| Overall |  | 2.5 |
Fatso Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson January 5, 2020
Shout Select has reissued Fatso (1980) as part of the boutique label's eight-disc box set, The Anne Bancroft Collection. My colleague Brian Orndorf covered Shout's standalone release of Anne Bancroft's directorial debut last summer. To read his thoughts on the film as well as his critique of the disc's a/v/supplements, please click here.
Fatso Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Shout has released the same disc that it did in June. Fatso appears in its original exhibition ratio of 1.85:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. I'd rate the transfer a little higher than Brian has. I concede that the image is soft throughout but detail on faces and objects is well-pronounced. Shout has encoded the feature with a mean video bitrate of 36000 kbps.
Twelve chapter selections accompany the 93-minute film.
Fatso Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Shout has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1699 kbps, 24-bit) as the sole sound track.
Optional English SDH are available through the menu or via remote control.
Fatso Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Extras remain the same from the initial summer release. Please see Brian's review for descriptions of each.
- NEW Looking Back on FATSO With Producers Stuart Cornfeld and Mel Brooks (12:20, 1080p)
- NEW Interview with Film Historian Maya Montañez Smukler (26:14, 1080p)
- Image Gallery (2:01, 1080p)
Fatso Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Fatso has its heart in the right place and it's a noble effort by Anne Bancroft to confront the obesity epidemic but the movie has inconsistencies in tone. Bancroft's screenplay repeats itself in slapstick bits involving Dom DeLuise's Dominick DiNapoli and the comedic skits don't push the story in the right direction. I found it occasionally boring and thought the script could have used some doctoring. Currently, Shout Select's individual release is 42 percent the total price of the Bancroft box set so it's a much better deal to just grab the bundle because you'll also get seven other films.
