Review by Leonard Norwitz
Production:
Theatrical: Crossbow Productions
Blu-ray: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Disc:
Region: FREE!
Runtime: 1:34:05.640
Disc Size: 34,506,496,679 bytes
Feature Size: 26,186,889,216 bytes
Video Bitrate: 26.99 Mbps
Chapters: 32
Case: Standard U.S Blu-ray Case
Release date: May/11th, 2010
Video:
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080P / 23.976 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio:
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3430 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3430
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2563 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2563
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio French 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448
kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Subtitles:
English, Chinese, Korean, French, Portuguese & Spanish
Extras:
• Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the Master of Suspense (29:20)
• The Am I Very Very Nervous? Test.
• Don't Get Anxious! The Trivia of Hitchcock
• Isolated Score Track in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Theatrical Trailer
Description: Fox’s Mel Brooks Collection, released in
December 2009, included nine of Mel Brooks' ten films -
absent only The Producers. At that time three of his movies
were already available on Blu-ray (Blazing Saddles, Young
Frankenstein and Spaceballs) and it seemed only a matter of
time before the other six would find their way to becoming
available outside the collection. Fox is releasing three of
them separately on May 11: Robin Hood: Men in Tights,
History of the World: Part 1, and High Anxiety. Presumably
the remaining three will come out on their own at some later
date.
The Film:
6 NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were obtained directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
Roger Ebert
HERE liked this movie less than I did: But then
Ebert saw it as more of a satire. I think it plays quite
well, maybe better, if you don't know the references. I
agree with Ebert that its best moments are not Hitchcock
derived (the film is dedicated to the master of suspense),
like the casting of Cloris Leachman as the sado-Nazi Nurse
Diesel (some would argue this is not satire, but
uncomfortably close to the truth), and Harvey Korman's
conniving Dr. Montague.
Brooks plays Dr. Richard Thorndyke, a psychiatrist with a
serious case of acrophobia, who arrives at the
Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous as its
new director. Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn) is the
daughter of one of its inmates locked away in the hospital’s
roach motel. Victoria believes that her father is not insane
and tries to convince Thorndyke that the hospital is holding
him there for some clandestine purpose. Dr. Montague (Harvey
Korman), who has a penchant for whips and chains, is
wonderfully transparent as the villain of the piece. Look
for director Barry Levinson standing in for Norman Bates.
Image:
5/6
High Anxiety gets the weakest transfer in the collection:
its 1.85:1 image is dull, flat, snowy, soft and grainy,
though it improves some in the later reels. Perhaps the real
mystery here is: why so weak? On the other hand, I found no
digital manipulations in the transfer.
Audio & Music:7/8
The uncompressed audio mix, which is engaging and varied as
called for, is largely front-directed as expected. The music
is good enough to get its own Isolated Track if you're so
disposed.
Extras:
5
If I counted correctly, Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the
Master of Suspense is new for the Blu-ray. The "Am I Very
Very Nervous?" Test and "Don't Get Anxious! The Trivia of
Hitchcock" (which tends to duplicate pointing out the
Hitchcock references that are documented in "Hitchcock and
Mel") come from the DVD.
Bottom line:
7
High Anxiety has the weakest image of the nine Mel Brooks
films in Fox's Blur-ay collection, and it remains so in this
edition, since it is identical. All the same the movie has a
certain charm and new Bonus Feature makes this an attractive
purchase.
Leonard Norwitz
May 15th, 2010
|
Also part of the Mel Brooks
Collection on Blu-ray
 |
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