Stripes remains one of the strongest entries in the lovable-losers-against-the-establishment comedies, and one of Bill Murray's funniest overall performances.
John, John, we're missing graduation!
One of the wonders of "Stripes" is that the U.S. Army actually cooperated by allowing Reitman to film at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and providing him with tanks and men—even staging a graduation ceremony for the benefit of the film. But "Stripes" has always struck me as two films jammed into one. There's the first story about basic training, where Murray and Co. wreak havoc on the base and their drill sergeant, with its "That's the fact, Jack!" rifle drill (which everyone except Murray practiced for weeks) that really puts a nice cap on the film. Then there's the sequel, where the group is picked to fly to Italy to accompany the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle (which, of course, Winger and Ziskey have to test drive by going A.W.O.L. and taking their women to a resort Chateau). When Capt. Stillman and their comrades, who have gone after them, wander into communist Czechoslovakia, there's a second climax and resolution, along with an "Animal House" style postscript. At times, especially in the "second film," "Stripes" always struck me as overly long, a film that could have been strengthened by tighter editing. So this "Extended Cut," while it intrigued me, seemed to move in the opposite direction.
There are two viewing options—extended or theatrical cut—but it would have been nice if they didn't mar the long version with subscripts. If you watch the six added scenes (John's apartment, Montage & South America, Stillman's Office, You Two Volunteer, The Chateau, and Platoon in Trouble) in the extended cut, a star pops up in subscript to tell you when the deleted scene begins and ends. As an optional feature, that would be great for the first viewing, but for those who actually prefer to watch the long version over and over, it's more than a little annoying to have these pop-ups. And unnecessary, frankly, since all the scenes are available as view-singly or view-all deleted scenes. That's the downside on the "Extended Cut." The plus is that there's a super-playful scene between Murray and Coles where we see even more of Coles without clothes, and a long scene where the animosity between Hulka and Winger is further delineated.
Video: Let's start with the High Definition transfer. Though it's admittedly better than the first digital transfer, to my eyes (and on my HD TV) it's only slightly, not significantly so. There are still tiny flecks and flickers on this new print—though not as many—and still some slight graininess. Where you can tell more of a difference is around the edges of bright reds, which often lose their delineation on a poor, VHS-quality picture or transfer. If you compare apartment scenes with Murray in his red coat you'll notice that the new transfer is, in fact, sharper. The previous release offered widescreen and "standard" (1.33:1) screen options. This new extended cut just has the widescreen (1.85:1 ratio).
Audio: The previous audio was Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, and so the 5.1 Stereo is a considerable upgrade, with sound effects now separated across the speakers. I have to say, though, that the sound isn't as full and rich as some of the 5.1s I've listed to, and it also seems to have been transferred at a slightly lower volume level than the previous release. It also has a slightly hollow qualiy. But as with the video, when you're talking about a classic comedy, any upgrade is appreciated. It beats Mono.
Extras: I'm wondering if the Suntory-sipping Murray was behind the "top secret EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle to cut out and assemble," because it's the kind of stunt he would pull. There's not a whole lot to "assemble," actually, because this miniature only takes up the equivalent of a single-sheet insert (with the flipside a preview of other Sony titles). But as I said, the two-part "making of" feature is quite good, and it includes recent interviews with Young, Coles, Ramis, Murray, Larroquette, Diehl, Reitman, and Goldberg. The Reitman/Goldberg commentary has quite a bit of overlapping with the feature, but they still have enough to say to make that worth watching . . . and upgrading to the "Extended Cut" if you already own this.
Bottom Line: "Stripes" remains one of the strongest entries in the lovable-losers-against-the-establishment comedies, and one of Bill Murray's funniest overall performances. Reitman had the good sense to let his improv experts do their thing, and "Stripes" crackles with energy because of it. With this new face lift, the DVD makes a fine new recruitment poster for potential new fans.
One of the wonders of "Stripes" is that the U.S. Army actually cooperated by allowing Reitman to film at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and providing him with tanks and men—even staging a graduation ceremony for the benefit of the film. But "Stripes" has always struck me as two films jammed into one. There's the first story about basic training, where Murray and Co. wreak havoc on the base and their drill sergeant, with its "That's the fact, Jack!" rifle drill (which everyone except Murray practiced for weeks) that really puts a nice cap on the film. Then there's the sequel, where the group is picked to fly to Italy to accompany the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle (which, of course, Winger and Ziskey have to test drive by going A.W.O.L. and taking their women to a resort Chateau). When Capt. Stillman and their comrades, who have gone after them, wander into communist Czechoslovakia, there's a second climax and resolution, along with an "Animal House" style postscript. At times, especially in the "second film," "Stripes" always struck me as overly long, a film that could have been strengthened by tighter editing. So this "Extended Cut," while it intrigued me, seemed to move in the opposite direction.
There are two viewing options—extended or theatrical cut—but it would have been nice if they didn't mar the long version with subscripts. If you watch the six added scenes (John's apartment, Montage & South America, Stillman's Office, You Two Volunteer, The Chateau, and Platoon in Trouble) in the extended cut, a star pops up in subscript to tell you when the deleted scene begins and ends. As an optional feature, that would be great for the first viewing, but for those who actually prefer to watch the long version over and over, it's more than a little annoying to have these pop-ups. And unnecessary, frankly, since all the scenes are available as view-singly or view-all deleted scenes. That's the downside on the "Extended Cut." The plus is that there's a super-playful scene between Murray and Coles where we see even more of Coles without clothes, and a long scene where the animosity between Hulka and Winger is further delineated.
Video: Let's start with the High Definition transfer. Though it's admittedly better than the first digital transfer, to my eyes (and on my HD TV) it's only slightly, not significantly so. There are still tiny flecks and flickers on this new print—though not as many—and still some slight graininess. Where you can tell more of a difference is around the edges of bright reds, which often lose their delineation on a poor, VHS-quality picture or transfer. If you compare apartment scenes with Murray in his red coat you'll notice that the new transfer is, in fact, sharper. The previous release offered widescreen and "standard" (1.33:1) screen options. This new extended cut just has the widescreen (1.85:1 ratio).
Audio: The previous audio was Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, and so the 5.1 Stereo is a considerable upgrade, with sound effects now separated across the speakers. I have to say, though, that the sound isn't as full and rich as some of the 5.1s I've listed to, and it also seems to have been transferred at a slightly lower volume level than the previous release. It also has a slightly hollow qualiy. But as with the video, when you're talking about a classic comedy, any upgrade is appreciated. It beats Mono.
Extras: I'm wondering if the Suntory-sipping Murray was behind the "top secret EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle to cut out and assemble," because it's the kind of stunt he would pull. There's not a whole lot to "assemble," actually, because this miniature only takes up the equivalent of a single-sheet insert (with the flipside a preview of other Sony titles). But as I said, the two-part "making of" feature is quite good, and it includes recent interviews with Young, Coles, Ramis, Murray, Larroquette, Diehl, Reitman, and Goldberg. The Reitman/Goldberg commentary has quite a bit of overlapping with the feature, but they still have enough to say to make that worth watching . . . and upgrading to the "Extended Cut" if you already own this.
Bottom Line: "Stripes" remains one of the strongest entries in the lovable-losers-against-the-establishment comedies, and one of Bill Murray's funniest overall performances. Reitman had the good sense to let his improv experts do their thing, and "Stripes" crackles with energy because of it. With this new face lift, the DVD makes a fine new recruitment poster for potential new fans.
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[release]15812[/release]