5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Takeoff on the Godfather with the son of a mafia king taking over for his dying father
Starring: Jay Mohr, Christina Applegate, Lloyd Bridges, Billy Burke, Olympia DukakisComedy | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
NOTE: 'Mafia!' is currently available only in a bundle from Mill Creek Home Entertainment.
In this country, we gotta look out for ourselves.
Jim Abrahams is one of the modern masters of the Parody genre and the accompanying Comedy landscape. His films -- on which he works in any
number of capacities -- have delighted audiences
for decades and hold up well years after release for a myriad of reasons, chief amongst them their inherent sense of humor that never goes out of
style
as well as their service as offbeat companions of sorts to the classic, time-tested, long-lasting films they spoof. Films like Airplane!, Hot Shots!, and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! show that the least
serious side of the filmmaking business can be big fun and well-received cinema both; more modern
spoof artists should take note. But not everything Abrahams ever touched turned to
comedy gold. Mafia! is a perfect example of a great idea that didn't quite hit the mark like those other films. It's a noble effort that falls
short of
greatness but that should nevertheless please Mafia movie aficionados looking for something a little lighter than that genre generally has to offer.
Mafia!'s high definition presentation, courtesy of Mill Creek, doesn't sleep with the fishes, but it's not exactly alive and kicking, either. This is a rather pedestrian Blu-ray transfer that offers solidly unremarkable details and colors. It's sometimes soft and a bit fuzzy, but at other junctures -- the extended wedding celebration, for example -- it offers some rather nice details, good clarity, sharp images, and nearly vibrant colors. Generally, then, details prove rather middling, basically sufficient for a high definition picture but hardly breathtaking. Ditto colors. There's some very light dirt here and there, pale blacks, inconsistent flesh tones, and a grain field that disappears and spikes. Noise can be substantial in some scenes. It's a watchable image but not one Blu-ray fans will turn to to dazzle their friends.
Mafia! features a minimalist sort of soundtrack. Mill Creek's sound presentation is the definition of "passable;" the film by its nature offers nothing of note beyond the basics, and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track strives to only deliver the basics with little attention to finer details. Dialogue is this presentation's primary element. It's serviceable, clear, and unimpeded by other elements. It remains centered in the front and the backbone of the track for the duration. Other pieces of the sonic puzzle play with little energy or clarity; the track has a certain blandness about it, a decided lack of effort to push itself further than the delivery of simple musical and supportive elements that exist beyond what's needed to get the point across. Music spacing is fine across the front, and basic sound effects take basic sonic shape. That's all the movie really needs, but listeners will rightly want something more.
This Blu-ray release of Mafia! contains no supplemental content.
Mafia! is a fair little excursion away from the harder Mafia films it so frequently and so deliciously spoofs. It hits most of the right notes and throws in mention of other, non-Mob flicks for good measure. The laughs don't come as regularly as they do in superior Parodies like The Naked Gun or Airplane!, but there's enough goodness here to warrant a watch, particularly considering the relatively good performances found within. Mill Creek's featureless Blu-ray offers midlevel video and audio. Rent it.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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