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Naked Gun
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Certainly there were other films before it, but "Naked Gun" is a good example of the kind of humor that many filmmakers try for today. And we appreciate it. It's the kind of humor where if they think of it, they'll offer it up - and if it doesn't work, they move on. But at least these films are constantly trying for a laugh, rather than sitting back for a break after they score a couple of good ones.
The film (as well as the cancelled TV series) starred Leslie Neilsen as bumbling detective Frank Drebin, who falls (literally) into solving many of his cases. The plot does honestly exist mostly to hang a series of sight gags and jokes on, but when they're this funny I can certainly accept it.
Again, the plot: Victor Ludwig(Riccardo Montalban) has an evil scheme to assassinate Queen Elizabeth while she's in LA. Frank begins to get to know Jane, Ludwig's assistant, better and the two soon are falling in love. The film buzzes by at a quick 84 minutes, but at least it does try and pack almost every scene with some sort of creative sight gag. Neilsen isn't quite as solid in the last film, but during this film where the concept was fresh, he shrines in many scenes. I could say "it's not art", but when you do comedy this well, it sort of is.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount has done a very good job with this first film of the series. The only problem is generally some wear on the film, but other than that, this is a clear and clean picture that will please many. Sharpness and detail are both quite good, and clarity is never lacking, even in a few of the darker sequences.
The print flaws are the main problem, although they really aren't that much of a distraction. They consist of some minor-to-mild marks on the print used and some slight speckles. Nothing major, and generally what I would expect from a film that's now twelve years old. Pixelation is visible in trace amounts a couple of times, but again, nothing too noticable. No shimmering is apparent.
Colors are solid, looking nicely saturated and clean. The film is never terribly colorful, but a few scenes look nicer than others. All-in-all though, this is a smooth presentation with only a couple of small bumps in the road.
SOUND: As one might expect, "The Naked Gun" isn't a movie that really takes much advantage of sound, but the new Dolby Digital 5.1 audio for the film actually sounds quite good. Surrounds aren't taken advantage of, getting some minor, subtle use here and there, although most comedies today still don't take much advantage of sound either, so...
Still, audio quality in general is pleasing, with good clarity and never do scenes sound thin or contain any sort of distortion. The score is generally fun as well, and is the main element of the sound that is at all active. The film is still mainly a dialogue-driven comedy, and that remains the focus here as well, with dialogue sounding clear and easily understood. Still nothing agressive, but it's very nice to have the new Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
MENUS:: With a film like "Naked Gun", the possibilities certainly exist to do something fun with the menus, but Paramount chooses to simply use the cover art for the main menu.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is an extremely funny commentary from producer Robert Weiss, director David Zucker and host Peter Tilden. The three of them frequently goof on the movie and each other; this isn't a technical commentary, but is practically entertaining enough to be considered its own movie. There are so many little comments here and there that cause great laughter, as one point early on, one of them talks about "dailies - where you look at the work that's been ruined the day before".
There is some talk about the production, but it mainly consists of the group talking about what was cut out of the film due to length, or due to a better version of that scene existing. Although it would have been nice to see some outtakes (they probably exist somewhere for a film like this), it's interesting enough to hear about the process of how they came up with the best possible version of some of the film's scenes. The three also are able to get a few good jokes out of OJ Simpson's scenes, as well.
It almost makes you wish the Farrelly Brothers("There's Something About Mary") would come up with better commentaries instead of spending two hours pointing out their friends who they hired for bit parts or as extras. Anyways, like the film itself, the commentary for "Naked Gun" is good for more than one listen - many will want to listen at least more than once to catch some of the little comments here and there they may have missed the first time around.
Trailer: The film's trailer is also included.
Final Thoughts: Paramount has done a fine job with "Naked Gun", offering good picture and audio quality. The extras section may look slightly thin at first, but the commentary is so funny that it definitely makes up for it. Recommended.
Certainly there were other films before it, but "Naked Gun" is a good example of the kind of humor that many filmmakers try for today. And we appreciate it. It's the kind of humor where if they think of it, they'll offer it up - and if it doesn't work, they move on. But at least these films are constantly trying for a laugh, rather than sitting back for a break after they score a couple of good ones.
The film (as well as the cancelled TV series) starred Leslie Neilsen as bumbling detective Frank Drebin, who falls (literally) into solving many of his cases. The plot does honestly exist mostly to hang a series of sight gags and jokes on, but when they're this funny I can certainly accept it.
Again, the plot: Victor Ludwig(Riccardo Montalban) has an evil scheme to assassinate Queen Elizabeth while she's in LA. Frank begins to get to know Jane, Ludwig's assistant, better and the two soon are falling in love. The film buzzes by at a quick 84 minutes, but at least it does try and pack almost every scene with some sort of creative sight gag. Neilsen isn't quite as solid in the last film, but during this film where the concept was fresh, he shrines in many scenes. I could say "it's not art", but when you do comedy this well, it sort of is.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount has done a very good job with this first film of the series. The only problem is generally some wear on the film, but other than that, this is a clear and clean picture that will please many. Sharpness and detail are both quite good, and clarity is never lacking, even in a few of the darker sequences.
The print flaws are the main problem, although they really aren't that much of a distraction. They consist of some minor-to-mild marks on the print used and some slight speckles. Nothing major, and generally what I would expect from a film that's now twelve years old. Pixelation is visible in trace amounts a couple of times, but again, nothing too noticable. No shimmering is apparent.
Colors are solid, looking nicely saturated and clean. The film is never terribly colorful, but a few scenes look nicer than others. All-in-all though, this is a smooth presentation with only a couple of small bumps in the road.
SOUND: As one might expect, "The Naked Gun" isn't a movie that really takes much advantage of sound, but the new Dolby Digital 5.1 audio for the film actually sounds quite good. Surrounds aren't taken advantage of, getting some minor, subtle use here and there, although most comedies today still don't take much advantage of sound either, so...
Still, audio quality in general is pleasing, with good clarity and never do scenes sound thin or contain any sort of distortion. The score is generally fun as well, and is the main element of the sound that is at all active. The film is still mainly a dialogue-driven comedy, and that remains the focus here as well, with dialogue sounding clear and easily understood. Still nothing agressive, but it's very nice to have the new Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
MENUS:: With a film like "Naked Gun", the possibilities certainly exist to do something fun with the menus, but Paramount chooses to simply use the cover art for the main menu.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is an extremely funny commentary from producer Robert Weiss, director David Zucker and host Peter Tilden. The three of them frequently goof on the movie and each other; this isn't a technical commentary, but is practically entertaining enough to be considered its own movie. There are so many little comments here and there that cause great laughter, as one point early on, one of them talks about "dailies - where you look at the work that's been ruined the day before".
There is some talk about the production, but it mainly consists of the group talking about what was cut out of the film due to length, or due to a better version of that scene existing. Although it would have been nice to see some outtakes (they probably exist somewhere for a film like this), it's interesting enough to hear about the process of how they came up with the best possible version of some of the film's scenes. The three also are able to get a few good jokes out of OJ Simpson's scenes, as well.
It almost makes you wish the Farrelly Brothers("There's Something About Mary") would come up with better commentaries instead of spending two hours pointing out their friends who they hired for bit parts or as extras. Anyways, like the film itself, the commentary for "Naked Gun" is good for more than one listen - many will want to listen at least more than once to catch some of the little comments here and there they may have missed the first time around.
Trailer: The film's trailer is also included.
Final Thoughts: Paramount has done a fine job with "Naked Gun", offering good picture and audio quality. The extras section may look slightly thin at first, but the commentary is so funny that it definitely makes up for it. Recommended.
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