Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Transformers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 8, 2016

Writers of screenplays often face daunting challenges, none more challenging than the tyranny of a blank white page (either physical or virtual). That underlying issue confronts any writer, of course, but screenplay authors often face other obstacles, especially if they’re attempting to adapt a story culled from another medium. How, for example, does one whittle down a novel of several hundred pages, perhaps with an omniscient narrator, into a serviceable script that presents the basic tenets of the tale in a reasonable time allotment while also preserving the general tenor of the original saga? That example aside, there’s probably no more unique hurdle that writers had to overcome than the one detailed in one of the appealing supplements on the new Blu-ray release of The Transformers: The Movie. As a couple of talking heads detail in the main featurette appended to the release, there is no disputing the fact that both the old television series and this subsequent feature film based on the toy line were in fact designed to promote that very toy line, and any other tangential reasons for existence were considered secondary (and maybe tertiary). It’s a patently hilarious way to have to write a screenplay, but as story consultant Flint Dille (who hints in his interview that he had as much to do with the final screenplay as credited writer Ron Friedman) mentjons, it’s what he was tasked with, including such amusing developments as being told by Hasbro that certain toys were being discontinued, others were being introduced, and the film had to contend with those elements in some way. Younger viewers who grew up with a different set of Transformers (so to speak), namely Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and/or Transformers: Age of Extinction, will probably want to set aside any story elements in those films, not to mention any expectations that circa 1986 animation is going to come anywhere close to the CGI wonderment of the live action outings. But for those who are a bit older and who grew up with this particular Transformers, this new Blu-ray release should be a nostalgic journey back to their childhoods or adolescence, albeit with some attendant trauma this very film may have engendered in those early viewing experiences.

Note: As alluded to above in that "attendant trauma" comment, The Transformers: The Movie has a couple of upsetting plot developments which those who haven't seen the film may find spoiler-ish as a result, but which need to be discussed in any overview of the film. Those wary of spoilers are encouraged to skip to the technical portions of the review, below.

2005 probably sounded like an eon away when The Transformers: The Movie came out in 1986, but of course we look back on the film’s “future” setting now as just one of several quaint elements this enterprise offers. That timeframe issue aside, the film begins with a typical good vs. evil scenario as the Decepticons attempt to vanquish the Autobots with what boils down to a cosmic vacuum cleaner (AKA Unicron). Meanwhile, Hot Rod and Daniel Witwicky are enjoying a little (male? robot?) bonding while fishing, though the arrival of a ship filled with Decepticons brings a quick close to their idyll.

It’s at this point that several viewers who were young kids in 1986 may have initially gotten an adrenaline rush as Optimus Prime took on Megatron, only to have that excitement turn to horror as the fight left both of these iconic characters near death. Those who did grow up with this film will know that Optimus doesn’t make it out alive in one of the film’s most shocking (and still hotly debated) elements, while Megatron barely escapes, only to encounter even more trauma at the duplicitous hands of Starstream. Megatron is ultimately resurrected in a manner of speaking, becoming Galvatron in the process.

While Ultra Magnus would seem to be the Autobot the film would logically focus on in the wake of Optimus Prime’s untimely demise, the screenplay probably wisely shunts that character to the sidelines (at least most of the time), instead detailing the exploits of Hot Rod (who undergoes his own transformation late in the film) and little Danny. There’s certainly good reason for the film to do this, since it puts a little boy at the center of things and therefore no doubt appealed to the film’s target demographic at the time. The voice cast for this outing is an exercise in eclecticism, with Judd Nelson voicing Hot Rod, Casey Kasem voicing Cliffjumper, Frank Welker voicing Megatron (with Leonard Nimoy picking up after the transformation), Lionel Stander voicing Kup, Susan Blu voicing Arcee and the iconic Orson Welles voicing Unicron. Add in Monty Python's Flying Circus Eric Idle and Star Trek: The Original Series’ Harry Mudd, Roger C. Carmel, in other roles and you begin to get a feel for what a bizarre but entertaining kaleidoscope this Transformers often is.

The Transformers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Transformers: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.85:1 and 1.35:1 on separate BD-50 discs. Shout touts a new 4K scan and restoration for this feature, and an accompanying featurette documenting these procedures is included on the Blu-ray discs as a supplement (interestingly, there's a very brief and unfortunately never followed up on comment by a Fotokem worker that the original scan was actually at 6K resolution). This is by and large a very nice looking video presentation, though there will of course be those who find niggling things to complain about. A lot of concern has been voiced about the color timing for this release, because now 30- to 40- something guys have nothing better to worry about than what color Hot Rod is (this is a joke, in case it's not clear). Two of the supplements on the release actually get into this, at least somewhat, with "proof" that this release's color timing is "accurate". I can't authoritatively opine on this since I only ever saw the film in its post-theatrical broadcasts and home video releases, and I never consider those kinds of viewing experiences an apt barometer for what's "correct" and what isn't. I can say that this new version looks significantly better suffused and less washed out and brown than the DVD version, which my sons had when they were young. Line detail and just general detail are also markedly improved here, as is overall clarity, and the palette is quite commendably nuanced. Despite efforts to remove dirt and debris, both aspects still remain, at least intermittently, and especially in a lot of the opticals like dissolves. There are also a couple of weird anomalies that almost resemble mismatched frames that lead to what looks like superimposed versions of the same image (watch in the first scene introducing Hot Rod and Daniel and it's quite apparent, albeit for a fleeting moment). Why these anomalies weren't addressed in the restoration process may simply boil down to time and money. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation, spiking appreciably in opticals as should be expected. The only real instance of image instability (other than those aforementioned brief bouts of "superimposition") is slight wobble during the very beginning of the film on the DEG logo.

Note: Screenshots 1-10 are from the widescreen version, and screenshots 11-19 are from the full frame version. Our aspect ratio measurement tool is showing the full frame version as 1.35:1, not 1.33:1, and as soon as our database is updated the specs above will be corrected to show that.

The Transformers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Transformers: The Movie offers both a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix which recreates the film's theatrical exhibition (and which the Blu-ray discs default to) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Both mixes have pluses and minuses, with a slightly compressed ambience that tends to at least minimally undercut some of the action elements' bombast. The film is very noisy at times, with an almost inescapable synth heavy score, and the 5.1 mix does a good job of providing at least a little more space for effects and the music. In fact, the surround channels are typically used only for discrete placement of sound effects and a general spread for the score, with dialogue kind of oddly dispersed across the front channels. There are occasional issues with prioritization, if only (again) because there's so much sonic activity in a lot of the scenes. While dynamic range is just a tad restricted, fidelity is excellent and there's no actual damage to report.

The Transformers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both discs offer the same supplemental material, with the full frame disc offering widescreen supplements where applicable like the widescreen disc:

• Til All Are One: Looking Back at Transformers: The Movie (1080p; 46:32) is a typically well done Shout supplement that contains a ton of great interviews and copious information about the film. This has a bit "artier" approach than some other recent Shout featurettes--note the panning camera replete with lens flare during several of the interview sequences with Flint Dille.


• Transformers: The Restoration (1080p; 7:16) is a really interesting if perhaps too brief piece on how Shout went about scanning and restoring the feature.


• Rolling Out the New Cover (1080p; 4:49) is an appealing interview with artist Livio Ramondelli.


• Audio Commentary features Director Nelson Shin (whom I personally found a bit hard to understand at times), Story Consultant Flint Dille and Star Susan Blu (excellent surname for this release, don't you think?).


• Featurettes are archival and look to be sourced from older and probably upscaled video elements:

  The Death of Optimus Prime (1080p; 5:02). Whoops, spoiler alert.

  The Cast and Characters (1080p; 10:02)

  Transformers Q & A (1080p; 13:03)

• Animated Storyboards

  Fishing Scene (1080p; 2:09)

  Battle (1080p; 4:31)

  "One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall" with Deleted Sequences (1080p; 5:27)

• Original Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 3:05)


• TV Spots (1080p; 5:52)

The Transformers: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm going to be met at my front door by thousands of Transformers fans bearing pitchforks and torches, but as someone who was already an adult (in word if not in deed) in 1986 and who only really experienced this film through the eyes of my boys when they were little (a good decade after the film's original release), I have to say that the film, as sweet and occasionally exciting as it is, is certainly no undiscovered masterpiece. It's a victim of a utilitarian approach toward screenwriting, where everything had to be tailored to the exigencies of Hasbro's needs for their toy line. What an odd way to make a movie! Those who are fans of the film and who are ready to bask in a certain nostalgic glow should be generally well pleased with this release, one which boasts improvements in video and audio, albeit with a few attendant (minor) issues in both cases. As is typical with Shout! releases, the supplementary package is quite appealing. Recommended.