National Lampoon's Vacation (DVD)

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One more thing: I had not recalled the film moving as leisurely as does. It had been a long time since my last seeing it, and I had always remembered it as more frenetic than it actually is. I wonder if the fast-edited pace of today's comedies hasn't changed my perspective over the years? Whatever, I enjoyed director Ramis's measured tempo for the action, allowing one to better savor every catastrophe and to more fully anticipate Clark's slowly going mad as his obsession to reach Walley World intensifies. Oh, and one other thing: I fear the "Chariots of Fire" spoof near the conclusion of the picture will be lost on many of today's younger viewers. Oh, well; their loss.

Interestingly, this original "Vacation" is the only one in the series to be rated R, the others being PG or PG-13. The R rating derives from several brief shots of Ms. D'Angelo topless, several sexually suggestive references and situations, and Chase's use of several hard profanities. Perhaps the filmmakers initially had no idea how many young people would be attracted to the film and thus restrained themselves in subsequent productions. In any event, the reasons for the R are mild by current standards.

Video:
The picture quality in this new digital transfer is quite good, particularly in the way it displays its rich, reasonably vibrant colors. The ordinary 1.74:1 anamorphic screen size is nothing to brag about, and facial tones are a bit on the dark side most of the time, but everything else about the image is more than satisfactory, although not state-of-the-art. There is very little noticeable grain, very few jittery lines, almost nothing to distract one from the goings on. Delineation is a tad soft, perhaps, but daylight scenes are commendably bright and clean. No complaints.

Audio:
There is almost nothing to report on here. The sound is reproduced just as it was in theaters of twenty years before, in a straight monaural, here rendered possibly more crystalline via Dolby Digital processing. It's plain vanilla, to be sure, with limited frequency and dynamic ranges, yet it does everything one could expect of it, mainly conveying clear, easily understood dialogue. Sure, a couple of scenes could have benefitted from the use of surround audio effects, but, again, you'll get no serious complaints from me.

Extras:
For a 20th Anniversary Special Edition, there really aren't all that many special features on the disc. Probably the most substantial is the audio commentary with the Griswold family, which includes reminiscences by Chase, Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron, producer Matty Simmons, and director Harold Ramis. Then, there are some all-new and entirely too brief introductions by Chevy Chase, Quaid, and Simmons, mostly Chase. In fact, I don't know that Quaid says a thing; he just sits there with the others on a couch, smiling vacantly. Maybe that was part of the joke. The main bonus item, though, is a series of featurettes called the "Family Truckster," which includes excerpts of the film introduced and narrated by cast members. Christie Brinkley gets a few words in here, too. After that are thirty-three scene selections, a cast and crew listing, and a theatrical trailer. Spoken languages and subtitles are available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Parting Thoughts:
Now before I go, I don't want to leave you with the impression that "National Lampoon's Vacation" is a cinematic masterpiece or a major comedy classic; I don't think it is. In truth, upon revisiting the film after many years, it was like seeing an old friend again after a long absence and not finding him nearly so witty or so charming as remembered. Still, "Vacation" is an enjoyable trifle and showcases Chase's low-key comic talents as well as anything else he has done. "Vacation" may not be a comic masterwork, but it is a pleasant trip.

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