Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

The Best of Times Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 19, 2023

Roger Spottiswoode's "The Best of Times" (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by director Roger Spottiswoode, screenwriter Ron Shelton, and screenwriter and critic C. Courtney Joyner, as well as vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

What rematch? What are you taking about?

Thirteen years ago, Jack Dundee (Robin Williams) did something awful, something unforgivable, something that instantly made him the biggest loser in the small town of Taft, California. During the biggest football game of the season, with just seconds to go, Jack dropped the ball, and Taft lost to Bakersfield. The play that quarterback Rino Hightower (Kurt Russell) made was perfect, so all Jack had to do to become a legend was catch the ball. That’s it. Reach out, catch the damn ball, and then cross the line with it. After that, everyone in Taft would have been talking about Jack for as long as the oil industry kept the town alive.

But instead of becoming a legend that the kids would want to imitate, Jack became The Man Who Dropped the Ball, which in Taft and the surrounding areas instantly translates as A Very Special Kind of Loser. In the years after the game, Jack also married Elly (Holly Palance), the daughter of The Colonel (Donald Moffat), quite possibly Bakersfield’s biggest booster, who gave him his job and has not missed an opportunity to remind him that, well, he dropped the ball. What a story, eh? He dropped the ball, lost the game, and surrendered to the enemy. They don’t make ‘em losers like this anymore, do they?

Now, Jack has a plan that would change everything. He is going to rebuild the team, challenge Bakersfield to a rematch, and this time make the winning play. It is the only way for Jack to erase the shame he has been living with all these years. If Jack does not do it, he will go crazy and self-destruct in a most horrible way, so to remain sane he must play again and win.

Organizing a rematch with Bakersfield, however, is easier said than done. In fact, it is legitimate crazy talk because all of Jack’s former teammates have gotten older, fatter, and slower. Reno is also on the verge of losing his auto shop and wife, Gigi (Pamela Reed), who has had enough of his antics and finally gathered the courage to pack her bags and walk away from him. Without Reno, one of the best quarterbacks Taft has ever had, there is no game. So, how does Jack convince everyone to participate in his plan and in a few weeks enthusiastically go back out on the field playing ball? Scratch an old wound, make it hurt again, and then bait everyone to do “the right thing”.

Absolutely nothing that happens in Roger Spottiswoode’s The Best of Times can surprise a viewer who enjoys comedies like it because there must be hundreds that rehash the same material. And yet, The Best of Times is a wonderful, incredibly enjoyable comedy producing seemingly endless laughs that never feel repetitive. Its secret? It is the oldest one in the film business -- great actors having great chemistry and doing great things before the camera. The secret of The Best of Times really is this simple.

While the camera spends a lot of time with Russell, Williams, Palance, Reed, and Moffat and they lead with authority, The Best of Times is very much a team effort. Indeed, there are terrific contributions from such legendary character actors as M.Emmet Walsh, R.G. Armstrong, and Dub Taylor that add extra flavor to the comedy that makes a crucial difference. Sometimes, just a quick remark or witty one-liner transforms an entire sequence, which then charges the next one with positive energy that keeps the laughs coming. Everyone recognizes this positive energy and feeds off of it too, so the special chemistry that materializes because of was probably a lot more important than the screenplay Ron Shelton prepared.

There is one more thing that needs to be mentioned. The Best of Times is a PG-13 comedy, but does not behave like one. It is very fluid and witty in that very casual, very sincere way that a lot of great comedies from previous decades managed to be.

The Best of Times Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Best of Times arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very disappointing master. The visuals reveal obvious traces of filtering that flatten detail and compromise clarity and depth. In most darker areas, for instance, there are hardly any proper background details. Unsurprisingly, shadow definition is very, very problematic as well. Also, when the camera moves the filtering produces plenty of smearing, some of which makes certain segments look like borderline upscaled material. (Very similar anomalies are present on the recent release of Staying Alive). Colors are stable. However, color balance is not convincing either. There are some very odd brownish/greenish shifts that affect various primaries and nuances, plus the overall dynamic range of the visuals. The blending of the issues noted above and the color inconsistencies can produce some very strange, unnaturally soft visuals. Image stability is good. All in all, The Best of Times simply does not have a proper organic appearance on this release. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Best of Times Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not have any trouble following all exchanges throughout the film. However, during some of the group footage where it feels like there need to be plenty of good dynamic contrasts the lossless track remains quite anemic. To be honest, I do not think that this is an inherited limitation. If properly remastered, the audio will more than likely sound healthier and noticeably more vibrant and potent. I did not encounter any audio dropouts, pops, or distortions to report in our review.

The Best of Times Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - presented here are two vintage trailers for The Best of Times. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by director Roger Spottiswoode and screenwriter Ron Shelton, and is moderated by C. Courtney Joyner. I listened to the entire commentary and thought that it was outstanding. The commentators share a lot of information about the real game/story that inspired The Best of Times, the terrific cast that was assembled for the film and the great chemistry that materialized before the camera, Universal's handling of the film and the audience's reception of it, etc.

The Best of Times Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the future, a new master will have to be prepared so that The Best of Times looks as it should on Blu-ray. Some fans of the film may find Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray release serviceable, but the truth is that at the moment the film does not have a proper organic appearance. I found its technical presentation very disappointing. On the other hand, the Blu-ray release offers a very nice exclusive new audio commentary with director Roger Spottiswoode, screenwriter Ron Shelton, and screenwriter and critic C. Courtney Joyner. If you absolutely have to have it in your collection, pick up a copy only when it is heavily discounted.