Clueless appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. A lot of the film looked good, but some problems cropped up along the way.
Sharpness usually came across well. Softness crept into a few shots, but those remained fairly minor, so the majority of the flick looked pretty good.
No shimmering or jaggies showed up, but some edge haloes became apparent. As for source flaws, I noticed occasional examples of specks and marks, but these weren’t too prominent.
Colors worked well. Though a little “90s blandness” occurred, the hues usually came across as pretty peppy and full.
Black levels appeared deep and rich, while shadow detail was fine. While I liked a lot of the image, the handful of soft spots, edge haloes and source flaws turned this into an erratic presentation.
As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Clueless, it seemed fine but it didn’t excel because of a lack of ambition. Like most comedies, the movie featured a limited soundfield that strongly favored the forward channels. It showed very nice stereo spread to the music as well as some general ambience from the sides.
Panning was decent, and the surrounds usually kicked in basic reinforcement. A few scenes opened up better, though, especially in the parties.
Heck, a couple of sequences even offered some pretty solid split surround material, such as when a helicopter floated around one outdoor sequence. These were the exceptions to the rule, however, as most of the movie stayed with limited imaging.
Audio quality appeared good. Speech was natural and distinct, with no issues related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects sounded clean and accurate, with good fidelity and no signs of distortion.
Music was perfectly fine, as the score and songs showed decent dimensionality. This track was good enough for a “B-“ but didn’t particularly impress.
How did this Steelbook Blu-ray compare to the 25th Anniversary release? Both are identical except this one comes in a snazzy steelbook. The Blu-rays themselves remained the same.
How did the 2020 Blu-ray compare to the original Blu-ray from 2012? I never saw that one – and I don’t need to view it to know that the 2020 disc simply reissues it. This is literally the same release – it even still says “2012” on the Blu-ray’s face!
When we head to extras, The Class of ‘95 goes for 18 minutes, 31 seconds. We hear from writer/director Amy Heckerling, associate producer Twink Caplan, casting director Marcia Ross, director of photography Bill Pope, and actors Breckin Meyer, Alicia Silverstone (in 1995), Brittany Murphy, Stacey Dash, Donald Faison, Paul Rudd, Dan Hedaya, Justin Walker and Wallace Shawn.
“Class” looks at casting, characters and performances. We get a very nice overview of the different personalities and learn a lot of fun notes in this useful little piece.
For the nine-minute, 39-second Creative Writing, we find remarks from Heckerling, Caplan, and Pope. We learn about the flick’s development and story ideas, the film’s take on Beverly Hills and high school, various influences, issues getting a studio to back the flick, visual design, and a few other production elements.
“Writing” becomes a bit scattered, as its focus flits around in different ways. Nonetheless, it includes more interesting information and keeps us occupied.
Fashion 101 goes for 10 minutes, 46 seconds and includes Faison, Caplan, Heckerling, Dash, Murphy, Meyer, Walker, makeup artist Alan Friedman, actor Elisa Donovan and costume designer Mona May.
As implied by the title, “Fashion” looks at the movie’s clothes. We learn how the outfits were adapted for the different outfits and get info about what May hoped to achieve with her designs. It’s another fun and fact-packed show.
During the eight-minute, nine-second Language Arts, we get comments from Silverstone (1995), Heckerling, Faison, Murphy, Caplan, Walker, Meyer, Donovan, and Dash. The featurette looks at the movie’s slang.
We find a good overview of how the flick’s distinctive dialogue emerged and also get a glossary of what some of the terms mean. It’s an entertaining segment.
For Suck ‘N Blow – A Tutorial, we get a two-minute, 47-second piece. It takes us to the set for the “suck ‘n blow” scene and we see aspects of its creation. A few decent snippets appear, but it’s fluffier and less substantial than the other programs.
Driver’s Ed lasts three minutes, 49 seconds and features Faison, Heckerling, Pope, and Dash. We see the filming of the clip where Dionne ends up on the freeway. Some raw footage adds to the piece, and we find some good details about this sequence.
Finally, We’re History fills eight minutes, 52 seconds with notes from Heckerling, Pope, Shawn, Faison, Caplan, Donovan, Walker, Meyer, Murphy, Hedaya, and Dash. We hear about working with Heckerling as well as reactions to the film and its reception. A few decent notes pop up here, but it feels a little more self-congratulatory than I’d like.
Inside the Trailers area, we find the flick’s teaser and theatrical promos.
We finish with a Blu-ray exclusive: Clue or False Trivia Game
. It runs alongside the film and quizzes the viewer on aspects of the film.
That makes this a little more fun than the usual text commentary. We learn a bit about the movie during this moderately enjoyable bonus.