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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The 80's film that all is required to hate, apparently, but still has a special edition dvd!, March 12, 2009
This is a review for the 2009 American dvd special edition release.
This is one of the most well known, whether you've seen it or not, films of all time. 23 Years ago George Lucas was one of the hottest producer/writer/directors in Hollywood thanks to his involvement with the original Star Wars trilogy and Indiana Jones. Everything he touched turned to gold. He started his own sound and effects companies that revolutionised the business and the method in which films are made, and he still does that today. Then came the infamous Howard The Duck. Even when it was announced some were unsure why Lucas would gravitate to such an offbeat concept(originally an equally offbeat and satirical Marvel comic). Then, the reports of the budget and reshoots(which thanks to this edition, you find out was due to the limitations of the original Howard puppet) had the skeptics reeling even more. Every writer would make sure to note the huge budget of the film, as if it was relevant to anyone at all. I notice some reviewers here on Amazon seem to use how much a film cost to deride it or how much it made to champion it, as if that says anything about the film itself. Independence Day was and is a terrible film but it made a tons of money when it was released. The true test of a good film or a film that trancends is time.
It's been over twenty years since Howard The Duck graced the silver screen and became one of the biggest and, apparently, most expenssive flops of all time. Everyone seems to know this movie. New generations who watched it on cable don't know a damn thing about the film's reviews or status back in the 80's and just take it for what it is: an extremely silly, farcical, goofy, sci-fi,fish out of water comedy, action adventure, horror movie. I saw this when I was really young and even at that young age I still knew something of what a flop this flick was, that's how hardcore the criticism was. Hell, there was an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures that had characters on the boxes in a video store coming to life, and one of them used the Howard The Duck video cassette as a bomb to stop an enemy(GET IT?!?!? HA!HA!)
Well, I still dont' get why this film was hated so much. I kind of get that it wasn't easily stuffed into convenient packaging. Was it a kids film? No, not really. It contains too much sexual humor, and innuendo to be. Was it a comedy? Yes, but it had some sincere and scary moments. Was it for an adult audience? Sort of. It was for anyone, but it seemed as though it would only appeal to those who feel like they're on the fringe of the norms in society. They can relate to its take no prisoners, anything goes approach to filmmaking and storytelling. That's the ticket. That's why it's a cult film now. An acquired taste produced to be a huge hit, but ended up only appealing to a small few.
The dvd itself is beautiful. The transfer is pristine. Surprisingly, the old-school effects hold up to the digital transfer. Phill Tippet's stop motion monsters at the end still look cool and the digital clean up doesn't make them look as arcane as one might expect. I've always thought John Barry's score was great. It still is. This film's score is one of the most memorable and creative, but due to the film's reputation it never got the kudos it deserves. In one scene there's broad comedy and puns, and then a sweet scene between Howard and Lea Thompson, followed by the awkwardness of a romance between a duck and a human, which is all scored appropriately and it works. There are two new featurettes on the disc. One is a retrospective doc, running about a half hour, about the making of the film and its development. We get the whole creative team of writer director Willard Huyck, writer/producer Gloria Katz(the writing team behind American Grafitti and Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom), actors Leah Thomson, Ed Gale(Howard), and Jeffrey Jones. I think it's sooo cool that they all participated in this and weren't afraid to openly say that they liked the film. There's a second featurette about the reaction to the film, it's reviews and box-office receipts. This one is fun too and it incorporates all those interview in previous featurette. Finally, we get the usual trailers and EPK materials from the film's original release.
I got this disc for 12 bucks. If you like or love this film then it's a must. If you're mildly interested or you love alternative cinema then it's a must as well. If you are still a hater from back in the day, then why the hell would you be reading this anyway?
PS: Rewatching the film yesterday, I really started missing the stop-motion effects that all but disappeared back in the mid 90's. The effects are so good, detailed, weighty, and other-worldly that I just smiled through the whole end sequence. Sure, CGI has it's place for a lot of things it does great or brilliantly(Benjamin Button, Gladiator etc.) but when it comes to creature or monsters or aliens does it look any more real in CGI? I don't know. I always know when I'm looking at something that's fully CGI and I know it's not really there. I felt the same way about old school effects. Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy came closest in that regard,but that's about it. Just something to ponder if you will....
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by Steve Gerber
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DVD ~ Lea Thompson
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