Gidget Film Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Gidget Film Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 8, 2023

"Gidget Film Collection (1959-1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The only bonus features on the release are two vintage theatrical trailers for "Gidget" and "Gidget Goes Hawaiian". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for each presentation. Region-Free.

Do you remember what was your first impression of the original poster for John Milius’ Big Wednesday (1978)? How did it sell the film to you? (Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release of Big Wednesday does not use this poster as its cover art). On the poster, there are three surfers -- these are the three characters played by Jan-Michael Vincent, Gary Busey, and William Katt -- staring at a massive wave. This wave looks very, very dangerous, but in an odd sort of way relaxing as well. My initial read of the poster was that it was selling a film about young men in love with the sea, living a dream that has not been corrupted by the real world. Needless to say, I went to see Big Wednesday expecting a completely different film than the one Milius had shot. Yes, Big Wednesday is about surfers in love with the sea and having the time of their lives, but it is not a one-dimensional film promoting a vision of a seemingly perfect existence. Big Wednesday is actually a rather remarkable time capsule that mixes the good and bad that define our lives and, rather surprisingly, very much as it still happens today. It is also about the experience of growing old and realizing that it is a process that gradually eliminates many of the freedoms we enjoy while we are young. (Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release has an outstanding commentary and program with Milius in which he reveals how he fell in love with the sea and for a while lived like the surfers in his film. When Milius grew older and parted ways with the sea, he experienced what the surfers do at the end of his film, too. So, in addition to being a remarkable time capsule, Big Wednesday is a very personal film).

This past weekend, I spent all of my free time viewing the four Gidget films in Via Vision Entertainment’s recent two-disc set. Much to my surprise, this proved to be my first experience with these films. Before I opened the set, I was convinced that I had seen at least one of them, but by the time I finished the first film, I knew that I was wrong. More importantly, the cover of the two-disc set and the various promotional materials for these films made me misjudge them in almost the exact same way years ago I misjudged Big Wednesday. The four films in the set are: Gidget (1959), Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), and Gidget Gets Married (1972).

While it may seem strange, I think that if you combine all experiences that are depicted in these four films, you will have an elaborate retelling of pretty much the same story that is told in Big Wednesday. Obviously, because they have many more unique characters the four films offer completely different viewing angles, plus there are all kinds of different details that emerge in them, but the story mixes the good and the bad in an almost identical way. As a result, together they become pieces of another terrific time capsule.

In the first film, the character that Sandra Dee plays was apparently modeled after the daughter of Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman, who was one of the two writers that scripted it. In the remaining three films, the same character is played by three different actresses: Deborah Walley, Cindy Carol, and Monie Ellis. I think that Dee’s character is the most authentic one, but not because the quality of her performance is drastically different. The first film is the only one in which this character is surrounded by secondary characters whose experiences reveal a lot about the environment in which she exists.

On the beach, the older surfers begin calling her Gidget because she is a tiny girl. (If you mix up girl and midget, you get Gidget). At first, they laugh at her persistence to fit into their environment, but after she nearly drowns, they reward her by allowing her to spend time with them. Slowly but surely, Gidget then begins learning about life on the beach, being accepted, and being a girl that a boy (James Darren) wants to be with.

The remaining three films reintroduce many of the same themes that define the narrative of the original film but with one major omission – the sea and its ability to inspire. To be clear, the sea is not completely eliminated from them, but the special bond that exists between the sea and Gidget and the surfers in the original film is gone.

The most surprising quality of the story that is told in these films is its frankness. It caught me off-guard because there is a lot of fun and laughter in them that is not shamelessly used to downplay or hide the timeless truths about acceptance, falling in love, and growing old. Beautiful Southern California weather, terrific beaches full of youngsters living their lives to the fullest, rational adults looking after seemingly perfect communities. The trips to Hawaii and Rome are excerpts from the same idyllic world. And yet, in all four films, there are a lot of ‘odd’ moments that reveal how misleading the many different variations of the perfect in this idyllic world can be.

Gidget Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Each of the four films in this two-disc set is encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer. Each disc hosts two films. The two discs are Region-Free.

Each film is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. However, there are no traces of problematic digital corrections and the quality of the presentations ranges from good to very good. What are some of the limitations of these presentations? You will notice small density fluctuations in some areas, though I must point out that the most obvious ones occur before and during transitions and are inherited. Select highlights could appear uneven. Gidget Goes Hawaiian features the most unconvincing ones. There are tiny surface imperfections -- nicks, dirt spots, blemishes on all four presentations -- but they never become distracting. Gidget is the healthiest one, followed closely by Gidget Gets Married. Color balance is very convincing in all four films. However, saturation levels and balance can be improved. Image stability is good. To sum it all up, though slightly dated, all four films have pleasing organic appearances.

*The back cover of the two-disc set indicates that Gidget was sourced from a "restored 4K master". It is the best looking film, but it is not properly restored in 4K. New 4K restorations that are prepared at Sony Pictures boast superior quality.

Gidget Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Each of the four films in the collection is presented with an English LPCM 2.0 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for each film.

The audio is very good on all four films. In fact, I was surprised that there were virtually no signs of any age-related anomalies. All exchanges are clear, sharp, and stable. Dynamic intensity is good, but the original sound designs produce memorable contrasts primarily through the use of music. In other words, you should not expect to hear a great deal of dynamic activity.

Gidget Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - there are two vintage theatrical trailers, one for Gidget and one for Gidget Goes Hawaiian.

Gidget Film Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Had the folks at Via Vision Entertainment not produced this two-disc set, I almost certainly would have never managed to see at least two, possibly even three of the four films that are included in it. I was quite surprised by Gidget because I expected it to be a very light, even silly film. It is not. Some of the secondary characters in it are a lot like the main characters in John Milius' Big Wednesday, which is a very special multi-layered time capsule and an old favorite of mine. Without Sandra Dee, the remaining three films seem different, yet they are very similar and produce many equally illuminating contrasts. While not fully restored, the four films have very pleasing organic appearances. The two-disc set is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.