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Ruthless People
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // R // April 2, 2002
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
One of the funniest efforts from the Zucker/Abrams/Zucker trio, "Ruthless People" is one of those rare efforts - a dark comedy with a sunny, colorful look and feel. The film stars Danny Devito as Sam Stone, a business tycoon married to Barbara (Bette Midler at her loudest and still managing to be funny). He's thrilled when, one day, he returns home to find his wife has been kidnapped. He hated her anyway - when the kidnappers threaten her if he goes to the press, he makes sure her abduction is the number one story on the evening news.
The kidnappers (Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater) want $500,000 ransom, but Stone keeps delaying the process, confusing and angering the kidnappers who thought their job would be considerably easier. When Stone is implicated the abduction, he wants his wife back desperately, but the kidnappers are no fools, raising the price.
The film's screenplay, by Dale Laudner ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels") is brilliant, combining a story full of inspired twists with some genuinely great lines. If it wasn't for a dream cast, the material might not have worked quite as well; Devito's gleeful performance as Stone is terrific, while Midler's loud and shrill character (when she finds out that the price on her has been dropped, she cries, "I"ve been kidnapped by K-Mart!") remains surprisingly likable. Slater and Reinhold are fun as the kidnappers, while Anita Morris is entertaining as Stone's mistress. It's a shame that Zucker hasn't found anything this funny since, because "Ruthless" remains a comedy classic. Cinematography by Jan De Bont, who has gone on to direct "Speed" and "Twister".
The DVD
VIDEO: Buena Vista presents "Ruthless People" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The 1986 picture doesn't look awful, but the picture quality certainly isn't going to impress anyone, either. Sharpness and detail are a bit lackluster, as the picture appears fairly well-defined at times and noticably soft at others.
Flaws are noticable and somewhat distracting, but not enormously so. Occasionally, a bit of dirt and some mild grain are seen on the print used. Certainly, I've seen worse from movies not as old, but the occasional blemish was seen, nonetheless. The only instances of wear that were visible were in the form of infrequent specks. Very little in the way of either pixelation or edge enhancement was seen.
Colors appeared consistently warm and fairly well-rendered throughout. Overall, this certainly isn't a fresh, vibrant new transfer, but it's not terrible, either.
SOUND: "Ruthless People" is presented in Dolby 2.0. Although it's mostly a dialogue-driven effort, the 80's score has a surprising amount of punch to it. I didn't find anything to be concerned about.
MENUS: Only very basic images from the film serve as backgrounds, although the score also plays behind the main menu.
EXTRAS: Not a thing.
Final Thoughts: "Ruthless People" is a hilarious dark comedy that's one of the funniest efforts from Zucker and cast. Buena Vista's DVD edition is just fair; while there are no supplements and audio/video quality is just okay, the price is low.
One of the funniest efforts from the Zucker/Abrams/Zucker trio, "Ruthless People" is one of those rare efforts - a dark comedy with a sunny, colorful look and feel. The film stars Danny Devito as Sam Stone, a business tycoon married to Barbara (Bette Midler at her loudest and still managing to be funny). He's thrilled when, one day, he returns home to find his wife has been kidnapped. He hated her anyway - when the kidnappers threaten her if he goes to the press, he makes sure her abduction is the number one story on the evening news.
The kidnappers (Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater) want $500,000 ransom, but Stone keeps delaying the process, confusing and angering the kidnappers who thought their job would be considerably easier. When Stone is implicated the abduction, he wants his wife back desperately, but the kidnappers are no fools, raising the price.
The film's screenplay, by Dale Laudner ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels") is brilliant, combining a story full of inspired twists with some genuinely great lines. If it wasn't for a dream cast, the material might not have worked quite as well; Devito's gleeful performance as Stone is terrific, while Midler's loud and shrill character (when she finds out that the price on her has been dropped, she cries, "I"ve been kidnapped by K-Mart!") remains surprisingly likable. Slater and Reinhold are fun as the kidnappers, while Anita Morris is entertaining as Stone's mistress. It's a shame that Zucker hasn't found anything this funny since, because "Ruthless" remains a comedy classic. Cinematography by Jan De Bont, who has gone on to direct "Speed" and "Twister".
The DVD
VIDEO: Buena Vista presents "Ruthless People" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The 1986 picture doesn't look awful, but the picture quality certainly isn't going to impress anyone, either. Sharpness and detail are a bit lackluster, as the picture appears fairly well-defined at times and noticably soft at others.
Flaws are noticable and somewhat distracting, but not enormously so. Occasionally, a bit of dirt and some mild grain are seen on the print used. Certainly, I've seen worse from movies not as old, but the occasional blemish was seen, nonetheless. The only instances of wear that were visible were in the form of infrequent specks. Very little in the way of either pixelation or edge enhancement was seen.
Colors appeared consistently warm and fairly well-rendered throughout. Overall, this certainly isn't a fresh, vibrant new transfer, but it's not terrible, either.
SOUND: "Ruthless People" is presented in Dolby 2.0. Although it's mostly a dialogue-driven effort, the 80's score has a surprising amount of punch to it. I didn't find anything to be concerned about.
MENUS: Only very basic images from the film serve as backgrounds, although the score also plays behind the main menu.
EXTRAS: Not a thing.
Final Thoughts: "Ruthless People" is a hilarious dark comedy that's one of the funniest efforts from Zucker and cast. Buena Vista's DVD edition is just fair; while there are no supplements and audio/video quality is just okay, the price is low.
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