The Legend of Billie Jean Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		1.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Legend of Billie Jean Blu-ray Movie Review

Mill Creek has released Director Matthew Robbins' 'The Legend of Billie Jean' to Blu-ray as part of its collection featuring 'Retro VHS' slipcovers which mimic the look of old videocassette rental copies. The film has been released to Blu-ray by Mill Creek before, notably as a standalone release that hit the market in July 2014. The film was also bundled in a six-film collection dubbed '80s Overdrive.' For this 'Retro VHS' release, Mill Creek appears to have simply repackaged the 'Fair Is Fair' 2014 release for this pressing. I do not down that disc, and I did not review it, so I cannot absolutely confirm, but this disc does share the same audio specification, the same supplemental feature, and the same menu screen (it is also dubbed 'Fair Is Fair,' even on the newly manufactured slipcover) leaving little doubt anything has changed. Read below for more on the 'Retro VHS' slipcover that is this release's distinguishing characteristic.

The Legend of Billie Jean Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a full video review, please click here.

The Legend of Billie Jean Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full audio review, please click here.

The Legend of Billie Jean Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Finally, a purpose for slipcovers! So often the collectible outer shell features the exact same artwork, front, back, and side as the Blu-ray case inside, making them largely ornamental at best. Occasionally embossing/debossing work adds a little variety but this reviewer has always pitched them in the trash, partly for that reason and partly because doing so saves precious (albeit finite) shelf space, critical when one's collection is in the thousands. Mill Creek has taken a step to make slipcovers a little more meaningful with this line of "Retro VHS" slipcovers that offer a shrunken-down approximation of a vintage rental store copy and also feature a portion of a VHS tape extending from the side of the case, even if most VHS covers were open at the bottom.

For The Legend of Billie Jean, the cover features a bit of fake wear (creases, edge frays) and a peeling "Fair Is Fair" sticker appears on the box. The main title sticker on the VHS tape mostly reveals legalese rather than the film's title, even as the tape is partially pulled out from the side of the box. The sticker shows some handling wear, too. "Please Rewind" and a well-worn PG-13 ratings notification stickers have also been slapped on. Of course these are not real stickers but rather part of the print, and there's no texture to the cassette, either. Still, it's a pretty nifty visual. The rear side is a little less neat, keeping up with the vintage look at the top but showing a few necessary tech details on the bottom that correspond to the Blu-ray. The bottom side of the VHS tape is also visible. Humorously, a handful of Blu-ray disc logos appear on the front, rear, and spine to break the illusion (though not entirely); the one on the front, situated at the bottom, in a fairly large size, and in blue coloring, is the worst offender.

What would be really cool would be if the entire box art mimicked the VHS cover and the Blu-ray artwork underneath entirely mimicked the VHS tape, which could have easily been accomplished. That would offer more of a seamless illusion of actually pulling a VHS tape out of the package rather than it simply appear printed on part of the slipcover.

Note: Photographs of several other Mill Creek 'Retro VHS' slipcovers can be found here, here, and here. Because each slipcover offers the same basic layout with only some small unique identifiers distinguishing one from another beyond cover art, photos will not be included for every release in the line. Those linked images do offer a good overview representation of what to expect form this line.

For a few thoughts on the included commentary track, please click here.

The Legend of Billie Jean Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

These "Retro VHS" slipcover releases must be a hit for Mill Creek, because they keep on coming. One of the alluring characteristics is that no two of them are identical; each features different stickers, different box styles, and different points of handling wear. There's obviously been a good amount of TLC put into making each of them standout. There's room for total package improvement, but as they are these are nifty little collectibles. The disc inside appears to be identical to the 2014 issue, so unless one is a serious, die-hard slipcover fanatic there's no reason to upgrade. Newcomers should choose this version and get a good up-close-and-personal look at Mill Creek's latest packaging hit. Recommended.