Home Alone 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Home Alone 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 8, 2015

Here’s a little reality check for those of you who have grown immune to seeing the steady parade of new gray hairs every time you greet yourself in the bathroom mirror each morning: as of the writing of this review, Macauley Culkin is 35. That’s right, the kid actor who portrayed “little” Kevin McCallister in the first two Home Alone films is old enough now to at least be pre-qualified if not outright considered for that euphemistic epithet “middle aged”. Now on the 25th anniversary of the release of the first Home Alone film, Fox is re-releasing that original, advertised as having been sourced from a new 4K restoration, along with re-releasing the second film on Blu-ray and the subsequent sequels on DVD in a so-called Ultimate Collector's Edition housed inside a paint can (if you need to ask, you’ve never seen Home Alone).

For thoughts on the two films presented on Blu-ray in this set, I refer readers to our previously published Home Alone Blu-ray review by Martin Liebman and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Blu-ray review by Casey Broadwater.

One of the calling cards (cans?) of this release may well be its unusual packaging. A cardboard box with a cellophane window measures 7.5" wide x 7" deep x 8" high. Inside the box is a paint can which measures approximately 7.5" high x approximately 21" circumference. Inside the paint can a cardboard flip case holds all discs (Blu-rays and DVDs) in separate sleeves which present none of the disc removal issues that Fox's recent deluxe release of Lost in Space did.

Home Alone 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of the new remastered version of the first film can be found here: Home Alone Blu-ray review.

Video quality of the second film can be found here: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Blu-ray review.

Home Alone 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of the new remastered version of the first film can be found here: Home Alone Blu-ray review.

Audio quality of the second film can be found here: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Blu-ray review.

Home Alone 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For a list of supplements included with the first film, see our Home Alone Blu-ray review .

For a list of supplements included with the second film, see our Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Blu-ray review.

The three final sequels are offered in standard definition versions on separate DVDs.

Aside from the packaging, the paint can also includes this additional swag:

• Christmas Ornament with the iconic image of Culkin grimacing on it
• (Folded) map of Kevin's "battle plan"
• Rubber spider
• (Folded) "escaped" wanted poster for the two bad guys

The score above reflects all of the supplements, including the deluxe packaging.

Home Alone 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The paint can packaging is a cute if probably impractical idea which will appeal to some, but the real lure here is having the entire Home Alone canon together. While the 4K restoration of Home Alone looks fine by and large, some may come to this release with unrealistic expectations, especially considering Fox's stellar reputation with its upgrades of catalog titles. There's an undeniable law of diminishing returns in the ensuing sequels, making the first two films the real gems of this set. Fox has wisely decided to separate Home Alone as a standalone Blu-ray release for those who couldn't care less about fancy packaging and questionable swag. Recommended.