Troop Beverly Hills Blu-ray Movie 
30th AnniversarySony Pictures | 1989 | 105 min | Rated PG | Jul 23, 2019
Movie rating
|
| 6.6 | / 10 |
Blu-ray rating
| Users |  | 4.0 |
| Reviewer |  | 3.0 |
| Overall | | 3.0 |
Overview click to collapse contents
Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
Phyllis Nefler, a soon to be divorced Beverly Hills society wife is determined to prove to her husband Freddy and herself that she can finish what she starts out to do. She soon realizes that being a Wilderness Girls' den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills-bred girls is not as easy as buying cookies.
Starring: Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas, Mary Gross, Stephanie BeachamDirector: Jeff Kanew
| Comedy | Uncertain |
| Family | Uncertain |
Specifications click to expand contents
Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles
English, English SDH
Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Playback
Region free
Review click to expand contents
Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.5 |
| Video | | 3.5 |
| Audio | | 3.5 |
| Extras |  | 2.0 |
| Overall | | 3.0 |
Troop Beverly Hills Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 25, 2019Sony previously released Director Jeff Kanew's 1989 Comedy 'Troop Beverly Hills' to Blu-ray in 2015. This new issue includes the same audio and subtitle options and identical supplements. The notable change comes in picture quality; read below for a description of whether this update is an upgrade or a downgrade.
Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) loves to shop. She's enjoying what remains of her lavish Beverly Hills lifestyle, buying up as much as she can before the money is cut off. Her divorce from muffler magnate Freddy (Craig T. Nelson) is all but signed, sealed, and delivered. Her daughter Hannah (Jenny Lewis) isn't too thrilled -- especially when her father seems to favor his new girlfriend more than her -- but her spirits rise when she learns her mother, who usually can't commit to anything, signs on to lead Troop Beverly Hills, a go-nowhere band of eight misfits that hasn't earned a badge or sold a cookie in quite some time. Phyllis is mockingly met by the dictatorial Velda (Betty Thomas), a rival troop leader who will stop at nothing to see her girls succeed. Phyllis' band of rich kids, whose parents include filmmakers, washed up stars, writers, and even a dictator, give it their best, but their leader is no fan of the true spirit of wilderness life. For her and her group, "roughing it" means riding in limos, packing overstuffed suitcases, and dismay that their campground had no electrical outlets, never mind that it rained on them. Campfire stories center on salon nightmares, and order-in food replaces hot dogs and marshmallows over an open flame. But the troop pulls together and, as they approach a jamboree Velda is determined to win, sets out to upset the party and prove that it's the accomplishment that matters, not how one achieves it.
For a full film review, please click here.
Troop Beverly Hills Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Advantage 2015 disc. Sony has made some tweaks to this pressed MOD (Manufactured on Demand) 1080p Blu-ray release of Troop Beverly Hills in order to address the black crush issue on the previous disc, noted in the original review as the only glaring weakness in an otherwise highly impressive transfer. To alleviate the problem on this disc Sony has lightened the entire image. Contrast is now universally lacking. Colors are less robust and the image appears thinner and flatter. The palette never does find the same punch and pop as the other one. Shadow details are more reveling and the feel of crush is greatly reduced, but the rest of the image's color spectrum suffers as a result. There is no change to detail or clarity; this appears to be the same master with a tweaked color palette. Which flavor one prefers will depend on one's taste in contrast. Perhaps Sony could have found a happy medium somewhere in between. Darker scenes (a campfire scene, a nighttime interior by the fireplace) do fare better but the rest is, subjectively speaking, a downgrade. The included screenshots capture some of the same, or nearly the same, stills from select shots from the original review, allowing readers the opportunity to compare-and-contrast.
Troop Beverly Hills Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
For this 2019 Blu-ray release, Sony has included the same language and subtitle options as found on the 2015 disc. The audio bitrate consistently runs ever so slightly higher on the previous disc, but any actual sound delivery differences seem negligible. For full coverage of the included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 loses soundtrack, please click here.
Troop Beverly Hills Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
This 2019 MOD Blu-ray release of Troop Beverly Hills contains the exact same supplements as found on the 2015 disc. Below is a list of what's
included. For full supplemental reviews, please click here. Note that the previous issue included a digital copy
code which is not included here. This release does not ships with a DVD copy or a slipcover.
- Shelley Long Remembers Troop Beverly Hills (1080p, 14:25)
- The "Real" Phyllis Neffler: Ava Ostern Fries (1080p, 9:32)
- Deleted Scenes (480i, 8:16 total runtime)
- Troop Beverly Hills Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:50).
Troop Beverly Hills Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Troop Beverly Hills' latest release earns the "30th Anniversary" monicker but isn't an upgrade over the old release. Audio and supplements remain unchanged while crushed blacks have been corrected by a universal lightening of the image that robs it of the color punch and density of the older release which, for this reviewer's tastes, anyway, is the superior issue, even with the crushed blacks.
