Product Details

• Actors: John Belushi, Karen Allen, Tom Hulce, Stephen Furst, Mark Metcalf
• Directors: John Landis
• Writers: Douglas Kenney, Chris Miller, Harold Ramis
• Producers: Ivan Reitman, Matty Simmons
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original recording reissued, Special Edition, THX, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: October 13, 1998
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (389 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783226160
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,718 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is one of those movies that works for all the wrong reasons--disgusting, lowbrow, base humor that we are all far too sophisticated to find amusing. So, just don't tell anyone you still think it's a riot to watch John Belushi as the brutish Bluto slurp Jell-O or terrorize his less-aggressive fellow students. This crude parody of college life in the '60s spawned many imitations, but none could match the fresh-faced talent or bad taste of this huge box office success. (Remember all those toga parties in the '80s?) The first of the National Lampoon movies, this was originally released as National Lampoon's Animal House. Keep an eye out for a very young Kevin Bacon in his first credited screen appearance. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Take Note!, April 9, 2009

By 

Doug "The Movie Guru" (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Lampoon's Animal House (30th Anniversary Edition) (DVD)

Buyer Take Note! I've been a fan of this movie since its theatrical release in 1978 and give the movie five stars. However, National Lampoon's Animal House 30th Anniversary Edition (30AE) is simply a re-release, and the third dip on DVD, has nothing significantly new to offer from the previous release and my rating is for the 30AE release. The two documentary extras have been carried over from the 2003 Double Secret Probation Edition (DSPE). It does return the trailer from the 1998 Collector's Edition (CE). New to this release is a lame Scene It? game. Missing are two extras from the DSPE, the Shout music video and a text commentary of anecdotes. One improvement from the DSPE is that on the 30AE you are not forced to watch movie trailers before you get to the main menu. Universal appears to be repackaging this film every five years. The 30AE should have delivered all the previous extras and an audio commentary by the director, writers and cast. The trailer is amusing, but is it worth buying the 30AE if you already own the DSPE? The deciding factors appear to be whether you want the text commentary and everything on one disc or the trailer and the same contents spread over two discs. I would say skip the 30AE if you already own the DSPE. Maybe in five years we will get an ultimate edition of this movie on whatever video format is in use then. Here's a comparison of all three versions of Animal House on DVD:

1998 Collector's Edition:
The Yearbook: An Animal House Reunion
Theatrical Trailer
Cast & Filmmaker's Bios
Web Links

2003 Double Secret Probation Edition:
Digitally Remastered
Anamorphic Widescreen
Music Video "Shout" Remade By Hit Group MxPx!
Where Are They Now? A Delta Alumni Update
Did You Know That? Universal Animated Anecdotes About The Production Of The Film
The Yearbook: An Animal House Reunion

2008 30th Anniversary Edition:
Disc 1:
Digitally Remastered
Anamorphic Widescreen
Scene it? The DVD Game
Theatrical Trailer
Where Are They Now? A Delta Alumni Update
Disc 2:
The Yearbook: An Animal House Reunion

167 of 191 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie, but the forced ads are what kill it!, January 13, 2004

By 

Ivan K. Samuelson "Bolski" (OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: National Lampoon's Animal House (Widescreen Double Secret Probation Edition) (DVD)

First off, I love Animal House. There is no reason for me to even explain the movie. Animal House and the Blues Brothers are the best Landis/Belushi movies of all time. There are some special features such as a "Where are they now" featurette featuring many of the original cast (except Belushi of course). But, even those features and this excellent movie cannot save this DVD from a one-star rating.

As others have stated, not being able to skip the adds at the beginning of the DVD is a poor marketing decision. They did the same with American Wedding, but at least, I can hit stop on my DVD player to stop the DVD, whereas with Animal House, I have to turn off my DVD player. Very poor.

I have already written to Universal Studios about my displeasure with their decision for both Animal House and American Wedding and have informed them that unless they change their tactics, I refuse to purchase another Universal DVD release and that hundreds of other purchasers feel the same, based on reviews at Amazon.com.

Stay away from this if you absolutely feel that not being able to skip the adds is wrong. Otherwise, be prepared to sit through 5+ minutes of commercials for other Universal movies. Your best bet is to go make some popcorn and come back. At that point, it should be done and then you can enjoy this excellent, funny parody of life in a frat house in the late 60s.

Toga! Toga! Toga!

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Funniest Movies Ever!!, February 20, 2006

By 

Dispatch911 (Waco, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Lampoon's Animal House (Widescreen Double Secret Probation Edition) (DVD)

First of all I did not buy the Double Secret Probation Edition DVD of this film because #1 it had nothing more on it than my 1998 Collectors Edition had and #2 my 1998 version has the Original movie Soundtrack including the dont know much about history song when Bluto is having his Lunch, so i will keep my edition, if you are a purest and want the very best version (on dvd) then try to find the out of Production 1998 dvd, you will have to pay a higher price but it is worth it to get the original movie as it was meant to be, if you don't care about the originality of the music then buy the new version, it is cheap and easy to find.