Home Alone Blu-ray Review
Home Alone is the beloved Christmas
classic created by
screenwriter-producer John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Planes,
Trains, and
Automobiles) and director Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's
Stone, Adventures in Babysitting). The film stars Macaulay
Culkin as
Kevin McCallister: the kid left behind by his family on Christmas.
Kevin must
learn to take care of himself while his family is on the way to France
for
Christmas vacation and protect the home from a pair of bumbling thieves
named
Harry Lime (Joe Pesci) and Marv Merchants (Daniel Stern). The film is
executive
produced by Mark Levinson (Teen Wolf, Mystic Pizza),
Scott M.
Rosenfelt (Mystic Pizza, Smoke Signals), and Tarquin
Gotch (Ferris
Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles).
Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) gets left home
alone at
Christmas by mistake. At first, Kevin thinks it's a perfect dream.
Christmas
without the family... including his older brother Buzz McCallister
(Devin
Ratray), who teases and picks on Kevin. Cheese pizzas exactly as Kevin
wants.
But before long he starts to miss his family and finds himself having
to
protect the McCallister home from a pair of thieves Harry and Marv, who
are
robbing the homes of families out on Christmas vacation. Kevin sets up
a series
of elaborate booby-traps for the duo and sets out to save Christmas
while home
alone.
Meanwhile, Kevin's parents are worried about Kevin
being
left home alone by himself: his mom Kate McCallister (Catherine O'Hara)
and dad
Peter McCallister (John Heard) are trying to get back home. Kate is
especially
worried and sets out to be the first one home. She tries whatever steps
she can
to get home to her son, including offering her personal belongings to
try and
get a better ticket to bring her home. She ends up finding help in the
aid of a polka musician with a kind heart, Gus Polinski (John Candy),
who brings her
along for a road trip which will bring her back.
Home Alone is a classic family Christmas
film which
has managed to stay timeless. The film plays on two comedic concepts:
parents
going on vacation without the kids (in this case, Kevin) and a kid
getting a
day without their parents. Yet the spirit and meaning of the film is
one which
reinforces the importance of family. The film is heartfelt and the
story
carries the true meaning of the Christmas season.
The film is goofy and entertaining with Macaulay
Culkin
giving a star-making performance as Kevin McCallister. The role was one
of the
best ever for a child-actor and Culkin brings his all to the role. This
is one
of the best performances by a child actor in film history. The role is
also
perfectly balanced with a stunning performance by Catherine O'Hara, who
provides the filmmaking a strong emotional core through her quest to
get back
home.
The film is quite hilarious and charming. The film
has so
many classic moments, including the scenes in which Kevin asks about a
toothbrush he plans to buy and Kevin's trip to the grocery store. Much of the comedy also comes from the
over-the-top booby-traps created by Kevin against Marv and Harry. The
comedic
timing of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern was impressive. Pesci had never
done a
role like it before and was still excellent in the part. Stern was a
scene stealer
(pun intended). Both Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern give excellent comedic
performances.
Home Alone wouldn't be the same without the
classic
score composed by John Williams (Star Wars, Harry Potter,
Jaws).
The film has some of the best Christmas score music around. It is
simultaneously beautiful and playful with strong musical themes.
Williams
crafted an amazing score which is beautiful, endearing, and memorable.
The cinematography by Julio Macat (Wedding
Crashers,
Pitch Perfect) is beautiful. This is an impressive film
visually. The
colors and warmth of the filmmaking shines through well with Macat's
excellent
cinematography. The effort manages to convey the warmth and beauty of
Christmas.
Home Alone excels with its production. The
production
design by John Muto (Species) is quite effective. The art
direction by
Dan Webster (The Huger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, Life of Pi)
works
well. The costumes by Jay Hurley (Home Alone 2, Jingle All
the Way)
are effective for the film and the Christmas season. The production
team for Home
Alone helped make it a film which comes together beautifully.
One of the main reasons Home Alone is a
Christmas
classic is the writing. The film was written by John Hughes (The
Breakfast Club,
Ferris Bueller's Day Off). Home Alone is a well-written
classic
that is both witty and emotionally rich. The storytelling is superb and
it
balances the filmmaking by focusing on both the importance of family
and
Christmas while keeping the hilarity and entertainment-factor high.
The film was directed by Chris Columbus (Harry
Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone). Home Alone is so well realized by
Columbus,
who is one of the best director's in Hollywood at working with child
actors.
Columbus brings forth great work from not only Macaulay Culkin but also
the
rest of the large cast of supporting child actors who are staying with
the McCallister's
before setting off to France for Christmas vacation. The filmmaking is
entertaining and emotionally-rich at the same time. Home Alone
is one of
the greatest Christmas films ever made.
The Blu-ray:
Video:
Home Alone arrives on Blu-ray (again!) from 20th Century
Fox but this time the film has received a stunning 4K restoration which
is
near-perfection. The film has never looked so incredible before on home
media. The
1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer is beautiful. Everything about this
presentation shines. The film's color reproduction is superb. The film
presentation is wonderfully filmic with fine film grain left intact.
Clarity is
excellent. This is definitely an impressive 4K remastered version which
easily
upgrades the previously-released edition.
Audio:
Home Alone sounds beautiful with a strong 24-bit 5.1
DTS-HD Master Audio lossless audio presentation. The best thing about
the audio
presentation is the lush clarity of the score by composer John
Williams. The
music sounds wonderful with excellent fidelity. The film's dialogue
reproduction is excellent as well. This is a strong surround sound
presentation.
Extras:
The Home Alone: 25th Anniversary Ultimate
Collector's Set contains
the entire film series in one collectible package celebrating the 25th
Anniversary of Home Alone. In addition to the newly remastered
4K
presentation of the original Home Alone, the set contains the
previously released Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Blu-ray and
the DVD's
of Home Alone 3, 4, and 5. DVD editions of Home Alone and Home
Alone
2 are also included in the package. Home Alone and Home
Alone 2
come with Digital HD UV codes.
Unlike Home Alone, the rest of the films
in the set
are all the same previously-released editions and are simply
repackaged. The
only film with a new presentation is the original Home Alone.
The set comes packaged in a collectible paint-can
tin with
art from the original Home Alone and bonus collectibles
centered around
the first film: a plastic Home Alone ornament, Kevin's Battle
Plan
reproduction poster, The Wet Bandits reproduction wanted poster, and a
plastic
fake spider.
Home Alone also contains a number of
supplemental
features:
Audio Commentary by Director Chris Columbus
and star Macaulay
Culkin
1990 Press Featurette (4 min.) is a short
featurette
with interviews promoting the film's release.
The Making of Home Alone (19 min.) is a
longer
behind-the-scenes making-of featurette with interviews with the cast
and crew
(including director Chris Columbus, actor Macaulay Culkin, director of
photography
Julio Macat, and more). The writing of John Hughes is also discussed.
Mac Cam: Behind the Scenes with Macaulay Culkin
(5
min.) is a short behind-the-scenes piece with footage taken by Macaulay
Culkin
during the making of the film.
How to Burglar Proof Your Home: The Stunts of
Home Alone
(7 min.) is a brief featurette about the elaborate stunts designed for the film and how they were executed.
Home Alone Around the World (4 min.)
showcases brief
selections of dubbed audio versions of Home Alone from "around
the
world".
Where's Buzz Now? (3 min.) is a brief piece
about
where Kevin's older brother Buzz might be today.
Angels with Filthy Souls (2 min.) is about
the
"film within-the-film" which Kevin watches in Home Alone.
Deleted and Alternate Scenes (17 min.)
Blooper Reel (2 min.)
Theatrical Trailers
Final Thoughts:
Home Alone remains an essential holiday
classic. This
is a wonderful Christmas film which features a strong script by John
Hughes,
excellent direction by Chris Columbus, and great performances by the
entire
cast. Macaulay Culkin was perfect as Kevin McCallister. The performance
holds
up as one of the best ever by a child actor.
Home Alone has received a beautiful new 4K
restoration for this re-release. The other films included in the 25th
Anniversary set are the same previously-released editions. The bonus
collectibles seemed poorly made but the tin may entice a few fans.
The new 4K restoration is the best selling point.
Luckily,
fans of Home Alone can purchase either this new 25th
Anniversary set
edition (if the entire film series is wanted as a bonus) or purchase
the
standalone reissue with the new 4K remastered edition of the original
classic.
The new 4K presentation of Home Alone is essential for fans
wanting to
see the film with the best possible presentation quality.
Recommended.
Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.