Customer Reviews

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

5 star:		(174)
4 star:		(91)
3 star:		(54)
2 star:		(42)
1 star:		(89)

 

 

I LOVED this movie when I saw it in the theatre over the past summer- so I was pumped to see an "unrated" version come out on DVD.

Whomever was in charge of putting this DVD together yanked a huge chain on this release. I had expected the "unrated" version to be funnier than the theatrical version which I thought was one of the year's funniest movies, because in general, "unrated" cuts have been better than the "regular" release.

This "unrated" version skips a couple really great monents from the theatrical version, one instance is when Carell's character "Brick" utters "I ate a big red candle" during the party hangover sequence and they replace it with a joke that's nowhere near that great non-sequitor. Near the end of the film they edited out Ferrell's lines just before he picks up the phone in the bar (something about "once being an anchorman")which was more in line with the film's plot/angle than the new scene of Burgundy eating cat poop. A TERRIBLY UNFUNNY ADDITION.

The crapper of it is, the unrated DVD has different and admittedly better extras than the theatrical DVD release, so to actually get the theatrical cut(which is a better cut than the unrated version) the customer gets screwed if they want the better extra features. lame.

in all actuality this review would be 4 for the movie, and 1 for the way this fiasco was put out on DVD.

Commenting strictly on the Bonus DVD, "Wake Up Ron Burgundy", I must say that my expectations were far surpassed. I was expecting a bonus disc of deleted and extended scenes, cast notes, etc... I had no idea they had filmed enough footage to cut another movie together. I loved the original Anchorman movie, so I was pretty excited to see this "bonus movie".

"Wake Up Ron Burgundy" contains some scenes that could easily have been used in the original movie. There is some hilarious material to be discovered on this disc. The DVD also contains Rehearsal footage, Ron Burgundy's award acceptance speeches, MTV Movie Award interviews and even some skits they seemed to film for no other reason than their own amusement. This is great material to have if you like the "Channel 4 News Team", as they are truly permitted to run wild in these bonus features. I have not been able to find this DVD offered on its own and I'm assuming it is of limited quantity, so get it while you can...

As far as I know, the only way to get it is to purchase it in the bundle with the original. I actually had to buy the movie again when I found out there was another DVD to be seen. The original had left me with countless lines to quote and so many scenes I found myself rewinding over and over again that I decided to splurge and get the bonus disc along with another original copy.

If you enjoyed Ron, Champ, Brian & Brick in Anchorman, you will definitely enjoy this movie.

"If we encounter any hostiles, silent throat cuts only" - Brick Tambland.

I for one, unlike many reviewers here, thought this was one of the funniest movies that was made in 2004. People may pass this off as "stupid" slapstick humor, which is true in for the most part, but the basis for this comedy is genius.

The 70s anchor man is funny to begin with. Not to mention they poke fun at all the ignorance that was displayed by most people in the 70s. Such as littering, acceptance of sexual harassment, style of clothing, hair and a number of other corny things that we remember from the 70s, even if you weren't alive then.

This is filled with an incredible cast, and pushes satirical humor to the limits. Don't listen to all your idiot friends who says it sucks, just because they didn't get the satire. If the basis of the movie sounds funny to you, you will probably like it. It's a smart comedy. I know it had me tears.

This movie's comedy is not everyone's cup of tea because it's very unique. This is a very random film and it takes a real lover of Will Ferrell (and a person with unique sense of humor) to laugh it "ow now brown cow" and "the human torch was denied a bank loan." But if you like that sort of thing, then you will absolutely love this film. I did.

Pairing David Koechner, Steve Carell and Will Ferrell made a great cast, plus the addition of many other fine actors, although I myself don't really care for Fred Armisen. Later on, Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins appear in the Battle of the Newsteams, which is one of the high points of the film. Brick Tamland (Carell) and his absolute stupidity are hilarious, like the times when he is, out of no where, just holding a grenade, when he says the most idiotic things like "I love lamp" and "I'm Brian Fantana", and when he kills the "guy with a trident."

I personally believe that the dialogue and the "Afternoon Delight" song are what made this film. To hear Will Ferrell's take on what "San Diego" means is highly amusing. I love everything about this film, honestly. Ferrell's rendition of "Aqualung" by J-Tull was also pretty nice.

If you don't like random dialogue and you prefer a more intelligent comedy, don't buy or watch this film. If you like Ferrell's work in Talladega Nights (directed by the same man, Adam McKay) and his brand of comedy, then you will love this movie.

Alright first I'll start off by saying I went to see this movie on July 9th (opening day) and I laughed my [...] off. I definitly think it's the funniest movie of the year. With that said I was eagerly awaiting the Dvd release, and when I found about this new Unrated version, I was even more excited. But when I got it and took it home and watched it, the unrated part fell flat. It's a joke. The reason it's unrated is because Burgundy says the f word fives times now instead of the 1 time in the orginal cut. There's also a scene where he must eat cat poop. The other few minimal new scenes don't add to the movie at all. I think the unrated part was a joke to get higher sales. There's no nudity in this version either, all though at the beginning of the movie it says there is. Very weird. Anyway, don't let this joke stop you from buying the funniest movie of the year.

This movie is a must buy. The HD DVD quality is excellent, the transfer is beautiful and the audio is equally impressive. The movie earns 4 stars based on those merits. However there is one thing about this movie that utterly drives me crazy and this bothers me enough to not give this one a perfect 5 star rating.

The menu design is lazy and a complete step back to the bare bone DVD days.

I expect basic HD DVD functionality with my menu. I want to be able to access the special features from the pop up menu (the menu that appears while the movie is playing) and not have to stop the movie and then go back to the main menu because the pop up menu has omitted this feature (when every other HD DVD has not). Not acceptable.

I do expect a visually pleasing main menu with video clips playing under the menu, accompanied by a soundtrack - Like every other HD DVD. A static image with no music does not cut it.

This no frills, user not friendly menu is a huge negative. I hope Dreamworks does not tread this water any further. I wrongly assumed a quality standard had been set by the other studios. This is a step in the wrong direction for menu design.

This movie is great. Will Ferrell is one of the funniest actors out there. I don't know what some of these people are talking about saying it's so bad. I think that rather than being aimed at people with low intelligence levels, (being a 4.0 student myself) that it is aimed at people with a sense of humor. By the way Jeff Willis, it's spelled amoeba not "ameba." Oh and yes we can really see the intelligence in the review titled "AAAAAAAAAAWWWFFFFFFUUUUUUUULLLLL," Where we basically have the sentence "Will is not funny" repeated 5 times. Plus we see the well developed vocabulary when the self proclaimed "movie master" (Nerd alert!) says Ferrell is "so F*ckin lame." So to all of you out there, if you're looking for a good flick and a lot of laughs then check this one out. With one of the greatest Saturday Night Live veterans out there, plus cameos from an all-star lineup including Jack Black, Luke Wilson, and Ben Stiller, You won't be disappointed if you're looking for good old fashioned comedy . This one's a keeper. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to feed my pet amoeba.

Lets be real. This movie is good, and I mean really good. Don't act like your not impressed. Will Ferrell is a genius, honestly. If you disagree with me I will fight you. Simple as that. I will fight you. This movie is rich and compelling. Bottom line. You won't regret watching this movie. Bottom line. I mean who cares if he doesn't speak spanish? He looks really good in this movie. He makes Sinatra look like a Hobo. This movie is also very informative. It could be a documentry. You learn alot about things you probably wouldn't have known before you watched this movie. For instance, did you know diversity was a old old wooden ship that was used in the civil war era? I'll be the first one to say I did not know that. I also was unaware of the meaning behind the name San Diego. I also didn't know that the germans discovered San Diego. Suffice to say, I learned a lot while watching this movie. Go watch it now.

"It seems our youngest, Chris was on something called acid and was firing a bow and arrow into a crowd."

"No, Ron's coming, its the pancake breakfast, we do it every month."

"I woke up in some japanese family's rec room and they would NOT....stop...screaming."

"Brick, are you just looking around the office and saying you love things as you see them?"

I mention these lines to most people and a smile appears. That is what a comedy is supposed to do. People complain about Will Ferrell dropping in and out of the Ron Burgundy accent haven't considered that is Ron Burgundy's character. When trying to sound masculine, intellectual, intimidating the accent kicks in. This movie is funny, funny, funny with great performances all around. Who could have imagined a trident being used to kill another newsman who incidently was dragging a rival newsman away using a horse and a net?

I can never grow tired of this movie. "This burrito is delicious but it is filling."

You know you're heading for a good movie when you get the first giggle at the very start. Right at the very start. Before the movie starts.

I normally would go out of my way to avoid a movie that not only features Jack Black, Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell etc. The latest Hollywood Rat Pack. Sometimes they can be good in movies (Shallow Hal), but mostly, they think they're funny.

This has to be the first movie where they ARE funny. I was initially expecting a movie that was totally sexist. While it is totally sexist, it's cringeworthy (the outfits, the BAD hair, the facial hair), and funny (Baxter talking to Ron among others), and it's superior to all the other movies that feature the main stars. I can't really comment on Will Ferrell, I've only previously seen him in Old School (I think), and don't remember being that fussed about that film. It was something to pass the time.

Unfortunately, the Christina Applegate character is a role any actress could have played. How many actresses could have got away with it though? She manages to pull off a previously stupid sounding role, and make it her own, and make it work against Will Ferrell.

Anchorman is a story about the seventies. And I'm not just talking about bad hair, bad clothes, bad facial hair, bad music. It's a man's world. Women belong in the kitchen, tending to their husband's every need, making babies, while he goes out and earns the money, and eyes up the pretty girls, and regrets getting married. More specifically, it's about a woman, trying to break her way into being the first female anchorwoman on TV news. It was a very man's world apparently. But the lead male anchorman has some fatal flaws, apart from his looks - he falls for a pretty girl in a skirt, he reads ANYTHING on the teleprompter (heaven forbid, don't put a question mark at the end of a sentence that doesn't require one). The rest of his supporting anchorman include sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner), feature story guy Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), and weatherman Brick Tamland (Steven Carell). They yet again manage to hold their own against Will's character, Ron, and pull off memorable performances, especially Steve LOUD NOISES Carell.

Full of funny situations, hilarious lines, funny outfits, and deliberate OTT acting, Anchorman is a film I would have normally avoided, and I totally expected to do an entirely different review. Excellent movie.