Customer Reviews

Police Academy (20th Anniversary Special Edition)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This was a great movie from a lost age of silly moviemaking. While the sequals were too trying, the original is a classic from the 80s. Porky's, Animal House, Stripes and Police Academy are all cut from the same mold. Silly, mindless fun. This was when movies were dumb and a whole lot more fun!

This is by far the best and most consistently funny of the 7 Police Academy films. They pretty much got worse as they went on. Some of the funniest gags take place in this one: Tackleberry going nuts during obstacle training, Harris driving the motorbike into the back of a horse, Hightower tearing the seats out of the car and also flipping one over with his hands, the infamous podium/hooker scene, and of course Mahoney and Jones(the sound effect guy) have several funny scenes. Fans of the series will want to have this. The DVD isn't bad for a cheap one. It includes only the full screen version(bummer), the languages/subtitles(of course), cast and crew bios, interactive menus where you can read facts about the film, a reel recommendations section which suggests another Steve Guttenburg film and other films that are also funny (such as Austin Powers), and a scene selection which is common but welcome. The best part of the DVD other than the film itself is the inclusion of all 7 theatrical trailers for each Police Academy film. Genuinely funny and contrary to other reviews, this is no where near the worst film ever made. See it for yourself many many many times on many many many different occasions (inside Police Academy joke).

On March 4 of this year, the newly elected mayor announced that she was changing the hiring practices of the city's police force. No longer would height, weight, sex, education, or physical strength be used to keep new recruits out of the Metropolitan Police Academy. Hundreds of people who never dreamed of becoming police officers signed up immediately. Naturally, the police completely freaked. -opening prologue of Police Academy.

OK, so this is dated in terms of style and the chauvinism rampant in 80's comedies, but seeing it again for the first time in nearly twenty years brought back some nostalgic memories. Granted, it's not an all-time classic, but hey, at least it's not as raunchy as American Pie.

Diehards of the old school like academy chief and Lieutenant Thaddeus Harris work on a plan to make things tough for the new recruits, not by throwing them out but to make their training so miserable, they'll quit on their own accord. Harris handpicks a Mutt-and-Jeff pair (both with crewcuts, no less) named Copeland and Blankes to help him weed out the scumbuckets, dirtbags, or whatever unpleasant name he has for the other recruits. Yes, they'll learn about firearms, local laws, police procedure, and many many other things. Well, it's mainly the first and last that happen in this classic 80's comedy.

Then again, they were up against the likes of Carey Mahoney, the Monsignor Larvelle Jones, the suave lounge lizard George Martine, Leslie Barbara, Doug Fackler, and Tackleberry. Mahoney is the main character and he's at the Academy as part of a deal with his friend Captain Reed, of a choice between the academy or the lockup for another minor offense. And he can't quit as part of the deal-hence he tries to get himself kicked out by his antics. For the most part, the main victim is Lieutenant Harris. The funniest moment involves Harris, a borrowed motorcycle, a parked car, and Harris flying into the air towards the rear end of a horse. To which Mahoney says, "Someone call a veterinarian!" Basically, some of the plot involves Mahoney pulling a prank on Harris, and either being called to Harris's office or being forced to do punitive exercises supervised by Harris or his handpicked student squad leaders, Copeland and Blankes. However, Mahoney plays a real nasty and funny trick on those two involving the innocuously named Blue Oyster Bar. And as for Commandant Lassard, that involves a funny moment at a podium.

Larvelle Jones has to be my favourite character here. He has an uncanny gift for sound effects, and when he and Mahoney first meet at the police station waiting room, he demonstrates his ability by imitating a machine gun. Another one has him imitating the squishing sounds shoes make as the inspecting officer walks past the row of recruits on the academy lawn.

Mahoney's roommate, Tackleberry, is a gung-ho type who wouldn't be out of place in Vietnam. Call him a more comic version of Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket. He has guns that blow the heads off the firing range targets and his funniest moment involves the firearms drill, where he goes nuts. When he says, "It's time this cop met the public," watch out!

But there are others. Laverne Hooks, a short gentle black with a shy, timid voice, Doug Fackler, whose specialty is slapstick, mainly being clumsy at someone else's expense, Lesley Barbara, a chubby white guy and another timid soul, and Hightower, a quiet, towering black man who seems most likely to succeed, except for one thing that he needs help. And this is one of Kim Cattrall's early films. She plays Karen Thompson, Mahoney's love interest, at least when he's not asking her to bare her thighs.

Steve Guttenberg (Mahoney), Michael Winslow (Jones), and David Graf (Tackleberry) boost this comedy, as does G.W. Bailey (Harris). But the others are good too. This is the best of the seven movie series. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there.

7 movies, a cartoon series, a comic book, a revival TV series, and now...20 years later...THEY'RE BAAACK! Those wacky cops we've all grown to know and love (admit it!) are back in an all new 20th Anniversary DVD! It's Police Academy like you've never seen it before! Digitally re-mastered and available for the first time in WIDESCREEN! This all new Edition will feature the following

Commentary by Steve Guttenberg, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, G.W. Bailey, director Hugh Wilson and producer Paul Maslansky

Behind Academy Doors: Secret Files Revealed - all-new reunion documentary

and the original Theatrical trailer

At the same time of the release, the Police Academy sequels will be available to own FOR THE FIRST TIME ON DVD! 2,3,6,and 7 will be available in Widescreen with 4 and 5 in Full Frame and each DVD will have a newly created Featurette and their original theatrical trailers!

So warn all your friends and family because the guys (and gals!) in blue are coming back!

"MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!"

A MALCONTENT [STEVE GUTTENBERG] GETS FORCED TO ENLIST IN THE POLICE ACADEMY. VERY FUNNY AND ENTERTAINING ON ALL LEVELS. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS FILM IS MICHAEL WINSLOW, THE MAN WHO PLAYS LARVELL JONES, WHOSE A HUMAN SOUND EFFECTS MACHINE. A CULT CALSSIC BY ALL MEANS. OF COURSE, THERE'S NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE SCRIPT OR ITS STORY, BUT IT'S JUST FUNNY. A MUST FOR ANYONE THAT LIKES TO LAUGH THEIR A.. OFF. FOLLOWED BY SIX SEQUELS, AN ANIMATED TV SERIES, AND INSPIRED A LIVE-ACTION TV SERIES.

This is a rarity among comedies in that it actually ages quite well and the jokes are still pretty amusing albeit not perhaps as side-splittingly funny as when you first heard them but then again that's the way with most jokes anyway. I particularly liked Harris' horse scene the best although there are "many, many" (ahem!)good scenes throughout the film. If you like your comedies ala "Animal House" or "Caddyshack" style, you'll still love this good comedy.

The only problem though is with this dvd version which comes in mono sound quality and picture quality that's not the best that I've ever seen plus no special features worth mentioning. I would like to see a Director's Cut version with at least Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound options and a vastly improved restored picture quality version with decent Special Features with anamorphic widescreen features released on either the Blu-ray or standard dvd format soon. I thought "Airplane" also aged pretty well but in my opinion, "Police Academy" has aged better as a comedy over the years.

Recommended and still good for a laugh.

There certainly isn't much light I can shed on Police Academy. Anybody who was old enough to watch a movie in the 80s is familiar with this film as well as it's many sequels(and lets not forget animated and live action TV series. Well, it's probably a good idea to forget the live action series). The story of a bunch of goofballs(let into the academy due to a new rule put forth by the mayor which allows anybody to join) and their shenanigans are stuff of legend. Characters like Hightower, Jones, Mahoney, Lassard, and Tackleberry are pretty much household names.
I've always liked this movie. Sure, it's all pretty juvenile and not every joke is a winner, but what can you do? Some of the stuff is still pretty damn funny, a lot of the best gags going to Michael Winslow. Winslow isn't featured in this one as much as he would be in the sequels. And lets not forget the podium scene and the infamous Blue Oyster Bar(which is personally my favorite part of the first four movies). A young and very tasty looking Kim Cattrall is here, but she really doesn't have much to do but look cute, and she doesn't really seem to generate much chemistry with Guttenberg. No big deal, this is slapstick not a romance.
Watching these films is always a nice trip down memory lane for me, so thanks for bearing with me. The 20th Anniversary edition DVD has a nice 30+ minute documentary that has interviews with director Hugh Wilson, producer Paul Maslansky, and a good number of the cast. Well worth the very reasonable asking price.

I like the Police Academy movies, I actully watched Police Academy 2 and 3 before I watched the first movie and I think this movie is good and has a great cast but especially Steve Guttenberg, G.W. Bailey and Bubba Smith and I recommend this movie. BTW: While the rest of the movies in The Police Academy series were Rated PG 13 I think it should be pointed out that the first movie is actually Rated R.

A film by Hugh Wilson

Those who are disgusted with the entire "Police Academy" series have to look no further than this first movie to find the root cause of their misery. Grossing 81 million dollars in 1984, "Police Academy" set the template for the future movies. The style of the series was set with this first one, though the next six movies never quite hit the level of quality (such as it is) that this first film did.

The new Mayor has relaxed the standards for new recruits to enter the Police Academy. Now, anyone can sign up, and people who would have never considered joining the police force are now attempting to do just that. Included in this group is Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg). Mahoney cannot seem to stay out of trouble with the law (petty stuff, really, nothing malicious), and he is given the choice to either join the Police Academy or go to jail. He is told that he cannot quit, but can be thrown out (little does he know that part of the deal is that the Academy cannot throw him out, either). Mahoney, the prankster that he is, does his best to get thrown out of the Academy.

Along with Mahoney, the Police Academy has several other zany new recruits, among them is the gun loving Tackleberry (David Graf), the soft voiced Hooks (Marion Ramsey), a man with a talent for imitating nearly any sound effect in Jones (Michael Winslow), and also Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall) who appears as Mahoney's love interest. Calling the cadets "screwball recruits" would be perfectly appropriate, and Lt Harris (G.W. Bailey), an instructor at the Academy, wants them all out and sets them up to fail.

"Police Academy" has something of a slapstick comedy. It is very lighthearted, and the characters (the good guys, anyway) are very likeable. I don't think I would want these recruits in an Academy near me, but it was always fun watching this movie. And that is what "Police Academy" is all about: fun. It seems like everyone in the movie is having fun making it, and it works. Granted, the movie is not nearly as funny as I originally found it ten years ago when I was 15, but I can still manage smiles of nostalgia while watching "Police Academy". The characters which the movie focuses on are those, with a couple of exceptions, who will return for sequel after sequel and they are fun characters to get to spend an hour and a half with.

"Police Academy" is the only one in the series to get an "R" rating, which is for female nudity and language. After this one, the series starts to get sanitized, which also seemed to tame the comedy as well. This first film sets up many of the running jokes that continue throughout the series, and perhaps for this reason it is the best of the bunch because it is the most original of the bunch. Still, it is an enjoyable movie.

-Joe Sherry

This movie is a must see for those who enjoy comedy. Anyone who gives this movie a bad review must lead a very serious and boring life. I recomend this movie to anyone who enjoys laughter therapy and living life to its fullest.