National Lampoon’s Animal House appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. Only the limitations of the source impacted this faithful reproduction.
For the most part, sharpness worked fine, as only modest instances of softness materialized, and as noted, these reflected the original product. Overall delineation seemed appropriate and accurate.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt natural, and I saw no print flaws.
Colors went with an appropriately subdued vibe, as they largely went with a somewhat rusty autumnal tone. The hues seemed well-represented for the movie’s design choices.
Blacks appeared deep and dense, while shadows worked fine. Low-light shots could be a bit thick, but again, that came from the source. This never became a demo product, but the Blu-ray gave us an accurate take on the source.
The Blu-ray included a DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that reworked the original monaural audio. This remix failed to reinvent any wheels.
The side speakers featured some mild stereo imaging for music, though only Elmer Bernstein’s score offered genuinely positive delineation; the pop songs heard on the track sounded more like semi-stereo to me, as they spread to the sides but failed to display clear separation.
Effects didn’t do much, either. They created a minor sense of ambience and that was about it. The surrounds remained quite passive, as they rarely made themselves known through the film.
Maybe they had something to do, but if so, they kept quiet about it. This was a decent soundfield given the film’s focus, but it didn’t do a lot to stretch beyond its monaural roots.
At least audio quality seemed pretty good. Speech came across as natural and warm, though some dubbed lines distracted.
Music was fairly robust and full, especially in terms of Bernstein’s score; those aspects fared the best. Effects tended to be more lackluster, but they remained perfectly acceptable given their vintage. At no point did this soundtrack excel, but I felt it sounded good enough for an age-adjusted “B-“.
Unfortunately, this remastered Blu-ray continued a trend that meant the original monaural audio remained absent. Prior DVDs included that track, but the 2011 Blu-ray dropped it and subsequent releases didn’t return it.
How did this 2023 “remastered” Blu-ray compare to the 2011 Blu-ray? Both came with apparently identical DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio.
Visuals became a different matter, as the 4K delivered obvious upgrades in terms of sharpness, colors and general accuracy. The Blu-ray came with overuse of noise reduction and felt oddly perky.
That meant the Blu-ray just “felt wrong”, as a flick like Animal House shouldn’t look peppy and shiny. The remastered BD corrects those mistakes.
Note that 2021 brought a 4K UHD version of Animal House. It offered a DTS X track absent here as well as the HDR and higher resolution of the format.
Unsurprisingly, the 4K offers the best version of the film. That said, this 2023 remaster also works well, and I strongly suspect the visuals come from the same scan used for the 4K.
As we head to extras, we find an Animal House edition of the Scene It? game. This offers a mix of questions about the flick.
We also get some minor trivia facts about the film as well. The game provides moderate fun, but its inclusion here almost feels more like an ad for the Scene It? series than an actual bonus feature. Don’t expect much from it.
Next we get the 23-minute, 22-second Where Are They Now? A Delta Alumni Update. Director John Landis tells us that he wants to update his “documentary” – ie Animal House - so we find out what happened to some of the movie’s characters.
I won’t tell more than that since I don’t want to ruin surprises. I will say that it’s amusing and a lot of fun.
Next we get a documentary called The Yearbook: An Animal House Reunion. This 45-minute, 18-second show includes notes frpm director John Landis, producers Ivan Reitman and Matty Simmons, writers Chris Miller and Harold Ramis, Executive in Charge of Production Sean Daniel, head of production Thom Mount, script supervisor Katherine Wooten-Beattie, casting director Michael Chinich, editor George Folsey, Jr., John Belushi’s widow Judith Belushi Pisano, costume designer Deborah Nadoolman, composer Elmer Bernstein, and actors Kevin Bacon, Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, Stephen Furst, James Widdoes, John Vernon, Tim Matheson, Mark Metcalf, Verna Bloom, and Bruce McGill.
“Yearbook” looks at the project’s origins and script development, getting backing for the flick and bringing Landis on board, cast, characters and performances, locations and anecdotes from the shoot, Landis’s work on the film, editing and score, and the movie’s reception/legacy.
“Yearbook” provides a pretty good look at the flick. I like the inclusion of most significant participants, and it moves at a brisk pace. The show covers most of the important areas and does so in an entertaining and informative manner. This is a very good little documentary.
Unfortunately, this 2023 Blu-ray lacks some extras from the earlier BD and the prior DVDs. I don’t know why the 2023 release fails to bring back these existing features but their absence disappoints.
One of cinema’s enduring comedy classics, I think National Lampoon’s Animal House holds up pretty well after 45 years. While I don’t believe it’s quite as good as its legend indicates, it does amuse. The Blu-ray offers solid visuals along with decent audio and a few supplements. The absence of the original mono audio and some pre-existing bonus materials mean this release comes with flaws, but in terms of the reproduction of the film, it turns into the best Blu-ray version.
To rate this film visit the DVD review of ANIMAL HOUSE
