Kingpin 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Kingpin 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 29, 2025

Bobby and Peter Farrelly's "Kingpin" (1996) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry; archival audio commentary by the directors; archival program on the making of the film; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

One throw, one million dollars.

Bobby and Peter Farrelly’s best work remains in Kingpin, which is a disappointing fact because they directed it nearly three decades ago. It is a long time not to have another gem like it. After Kingpin, the Farrelly brothers did not veer off in new directions to prove they could make different but equally good films, either. They continued making comedies like Kingpin, often with bigger actors and larger budgets, but kept getting the math wrong. Why, is the obvious question. The Farrelly brothers have a wonderful adult sense of humor, but keep churning out mainstream films that are allergic to it, instead promoting safe and silly humor of the type that is right for the summer crowds.

Kingpin is the only film the Farrelly brothers have directed to date where their sense of humor is unobstructed. It is done with a very good screenplay that takes full advantage of it, but never produces crass material, which is a major issue in virtually all of their other films. Also, Kingpin is the most consistently funny film the Farrelly brothers have directed.

Woody Harrelson plays Roy Munson, an amateur bowling champion from a small town somewhere in Iowa, who in a matter of minutes loses more than he could ever win in a bowling tournament. It happens after he hooks up with another bowler and notorious hustler, Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray), who convinces him to cheat several bad characters and then leaves him to deal with them alone. When Munson gets half of his right hand turned into mush, he gives up bowling and becomes a full-time loser. Some years later, while working hard to drink himself to death and occasionally selling bowling supplies, Munson bumps into Ishmael (Randy Quaid), an Amish bowling virtuoso, and makes him believe that he could earn enough money to help his family keep their farm by becoming a champion in Reno, Nevada. They hit the road and, while Ishmael has various educational experiences, the most memorable of which occurs in a striptease club, befriend Claudia (Vanessa Angel), an on-again off-again escort girl, who escapes from her shady ‘boyfriend’ and joins them on their journey. Not too long after that, fate intervenes and Munson, not Ishmael, enters the bowling event in Reno, where, much to his surprise, he is reunited with McCracken, who also desperately wants to win the grand prize -- one million dollars.

Kingpin is impossible to dislike because it gets the math right. Indeed, it is funny in a very loose but tasteful way. Also, it is free of fillers, where one or several characters pretend to be something they cannot possibly be, or make statements that are supposed to satirize current developments, events, or public figures. It is why it still looks fresh and does not in any way insult the IQ of its audience.

Harrelson and Quaid are terrific together. In fact, one could rather easily argue that some of their very best work is in Kingpin, though they impress in very different ways. Angel also looks good in their company. Only Murray’s performance hosts a degree of off-putting artificiality that typically makes Ben Stiller’s characters intolerable.

Kino Lorber’s release presents two versions of Kingpin: Theatrical Version, which is approximately 114 minutes long, and Unrated Version, which is approximately 118 minutes. The former is now fully restored in 4K.

Kingpin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Kingpin 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 disc and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-25 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #28-40 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release presents two versions of Kingpin: Theatrical Version, which is approximately 114 minutes long, and Unrated Version, which is approximately 118 minutes. Only the former is fully restored in 4K and presented in native 4K on the 4K Blu-ray. It can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision. I also spent time with its 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray, as well as the 1080p presentation of the Unrated Version.

The overall quality of the visuals is excellent. All have a very solid organic appearance that easily impresses with outstanding delineation, clarity, and depth. On a large screen, the entire film looks simply fantastic now. The 4K makeover is graded very well, too. I did various comparisons with the previous Blu-ray release and have to say that the improvements in saturation and balance are quite easy to appreciate. The new color grade makes some areas of the film marginally cooler now, but it is not because the native values of different primaries and nuances are compromised. The new color grade strengthens the saturation levels and, in the process, properly rebalances them. As a result, there are no troubling anomalies. I thought that the Dolby Vision grade was quite nice. However, I think that without it the 4K makeover looks mighty impressive, too, in some darker areas possibly even slightly more convincing. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review. Image stability is excellent. What about the 1080p presentation of the new 4K makeover? It looks really, really good. To be honest, if it was the only presentation available of it, I still would have been very pleased because all major strengths of it are still just as easy to appreciate. In other words, if you cannot play 4K content yet, this release still gives you a very good and satisfying upgrade of the film.

Kingpin 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 viewed the entire Theatrical Version with the 5.1 track. It is a good lossless track. However, even though there is a lot of diverse material, some of which features light action footage, dynamic variety is limited. The music has primarily a supporting role as well. All exchanges are very clear. The most important detail is that the 5.1 track is very healthy.

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

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry. It is a commentary that offers a lot of information about different areas and places in Pennsylvania where parts of Kingpin were shot, the film's surprisingly complicated production history (with some very interesting comments about the evolution of its screenplay), the casting choices, the striptease club footage (and why not all critics were in love with it), and the film's popularity. There are some silly comments, too, like the one addressing the Indians throwing garbage at Ishmael and wondering why they do it. Why wouldn't they do it in a comedy like Kingpin?

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry. It is a commentary that offers a lot of information about different areas and places in Pennsylvania where parts of Kingpin were shot, the film's surprisingly complicated production history (with some very interesting comments about the evolution of its screenplay), the casting choices, the striptease club footage (and why not all critics were in love with it), and the film's popularity. There are some silly comments, too, like the one addressing the Indians throwing garbage at Ishmael and wondering why they do it. Why wouldn't they do it in a comedy like Kingpin?

• Commentary Two - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Bobby and Peter Farrelly for the Extended Cut of Kingpin and has appeared on other home video releases of the film. This commentary also offers plenty of factual information about the shooting of various sequences, as well as its brand of comedy, characters, etc.

• Kingpins - in this archival program, the Farrelly brothers recall their work on Kingpin, which apparently was a difficult project to get greenlighted by a major studio despite the success of Dumb and Dumber. Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, and Bill Murray comment on their contributions to the film as well. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage theatrical trailer for Kingpin. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

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

Bobby and Peter Farrelly's best work remains in Kingpin and this is rather unfortunate because they directed it nearly thirty years ago. This film sums up just about everything that makes their loose sense of humor effective, and I think that its reputation will only grow bigger as time passes because comedies are no longer made this way. Kino Lorber's combo pack introduces a fabulous new 4K makeover of the Theatrical Version of Kingpin. The slightly longer Unrated Version is included as well, but it is not redone in 4K. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.