Used Cars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Used Cars Blu-ray Movie Review

Robert Zemeckis's Used Cars (1980) was previously reviewed by my colleagues, Jeff Kauffman and Dr. Svet Atanasov. Scroll down to the Video section to read a comparison of the releases.

Used Cars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout Select has brought Used Cars to Blu-ray (#67 in the boutique label's series) for the second time in the US and third worldwide. In 2014 Jeff reviewed Twilight Time's LE and recently, Svet covered the German-based Explosive Media release. Shout's MPEG-4 AVC encode appears in the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this BD-50. It appears struck from the same source print TT licensed from Sony and looks bright with vivid colors. (Explosive's image is opened up to 1.78:1.) Grain level is rather thick over the main titles. I spotted very few if any artifacts. In some multi-plane compositions, the background is fuzzy with indistinct details. Discerning viewers may notice moderate crush in nighttime scenes that Jeff alluded to. The main feature has been encoded at an average video bitrate of 30000 kbps while the full disc clocks in at a total bitrate of 37.09 Mbps.

The 112-minute feature comes with the usual twelve chapter markers.

Used Cars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout supplies the movie's original DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Dual Mono (1674 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (3031, 24-bit). I concentrated on the remix (which is also on the TT edition) and outside of f/x during the "auto stampede", it's a very front-heavy track. Dialogue is quite clean and fully comprehensible. There is excellent clarity in the sounds where a character's shoes/boots are planted or moving on gravel. The score by the late Patrick Williams pulsates with energy along the front speakers. Shout has not retained TT's isolated score composed by Williams or the rejected score written by Ernest Gold. La La Land Records' complete soundtrack album featuring both works seems to still be in print.

Optional English SDH are available through the menu and can be activated via your remote.

Used Cars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Robert Zemeckis, Producer/Co-Writer Bob Gale, and Actor Kurt Russell - recorded ca. 2000, this feature-length track finds Zemeckis, Gale, and Russell reminiscing and guffawing. Columbia TriStar debuted this track in 2002. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Would You Buy a Used Car from These Men?: Getting USED CARS Made with Producer Bob Gale (27:11, 1080p) - This newly recorded interview with producer/co-writer Bob Gale is split into two parts. In this segment, Gale recounts the genesis of Used Cars around 1975 when executive producer John Milius came up with the concept after an afternoon of surfing. Steven Spielberg was originally slated to direct and Robert Preston was the first choice to play Roy L. Fuchs. Gale also goes into developing the first draft of the script, which took a full year. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Kicking the Tires: Making and Selling USED CARS with Producer Bob Gale (27:09, 1080p) - the second half of the interview is partially devoted to anecdotes and stories that Gale can recall. Some of these are repeated from the commentary track. Gale then brings out novelties and car accessories that Columbia's advertising department mailed to press critics throughout North America. He presents them in front of the camera and notes that that are indeed scans of them on the disc's photo galleries. John Dodd, the Edmonton Journal's movie reviewer at the time, writes that he received "a gas cap from an old Ford Mustang, an auto dipstick and a plastic key chain holder with a picture of a lemon on it. Scratch it and it smells like a lemon." R. H. Gardner of the Baltimore Sun spends the first half of his review describing the a hub cap and oil-dipper that Columbia sent him. Similarly, The Morning (PA) Call's Dale Schneck recalls getting "a real, grease-covered dipstick." Gale's interview is in English and not subtitled.

• Gag Reel and Outtakes (4:25, 480i) - a compilation of flubs and follies from the set of Used Cars. They are analog sourced and definitely look their age. Another holdover from the DVD.

• Radio Spots (7:55) - seven radio spots that are also recycled from Columbia's 2002 SD disc. In English, not subtitled.

• Radio Interview with Kurt Russell (5:04) - a promotional radio interview with Russell that clearly was part of Columbia's marketing campaign. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:16, 1080p) - this is really a teaser trailer for Used Cars. It looks a bit cropped and is presented in approximately 1.78:1. The print is riddled with artifacts.

• Alternate Trailer (Unrated) (1:51, 1080p) - this is Columbia's longer, R-rated trailer. It's been fully restored with improved colors and is presented in 1.85:1.

• TV Spot (0:34, 480i) - a full-frame TV spot that originally aired on Canadian television in July 1980. It's of VHS quality and displays faded colors as well as blown-out contrast. Still great to have since the other Blu-rays lack it.

• Press Kit Gallery (7:30, 1080p) - "The Press Kit" is the reprint of a Columbia pressbook containing 14 stills. The presentation's second half, titled "Promotional Items," displays around 56 separate images.

• Photo Gallery (6:19, 1080p) - the first set consists of 17 glossy black-and-white photos taken from Columbia's press kit folder; next are 10 color stills. This is followed by "Stunts and Action," which is comprised of 25 color photos. Finally, we get a "Behind the Scenes" collection of a dozen B&W and color pictures.

• Advertising Gallery (4:32, 1080p) - another slide show starting with 6 U.S. Posters and 8 U.S. Lobby Cards. It wraps with 21 Foreign Posters & Lobby Cards.

Used Cars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The acerbic humor of Used Cars is a far cry from the cheery sweetness of Zemeckis and Gale's first collaboration, I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978). The viewer needs to be in the right mood to take in the mean-spirited tone and the harmful-looking sight gags. It's a picture in which Russell broke free of the innocuous persona he projected in Disney films to portray an unscrupulous salesman here. Jack Warden's very different takes on the Fuchs brothers is a major reason to see Used Cars. Shout Select has added a very good two-part interview with Bob Gale. The image galleries are plentiful with the most extensive stills of any DVD or BD edition. The transfer and two lossless audio presentations largely replicate Twilight Time's. If you're keen on the two isolated scores, I'd suggest fetching the OOP disc. (Explosive Media only includes Williams's music on an alternate track on its disc.) RECOMMENDED to fans of Zemeckis and Russell.