HD-DVD Review: Animal House

This is Animal House. It doesn't matter what's written here, what the comments say, or what type of analyzing goes on. This is Animal House, and it’s a piece of flawless comedy from 1978 will always be one of the greatest of all time, and forever burned into a movie goers consciousness.

It's impossible to find fault in this classic. It's pacing and timing is the key along with the writing to space out each laugh perfectly. By the time you're recovering from the previous jolt, the next one comes in. A wild, uncontrolled finale is a fitting finish, continuing the stream of humor even when discussing the whereabouts of each cast member.

There's an iconic performance from John Belushi here, setting up a stereotype of the typical college slacker that's still relevant today. His face along with classic “College” sweatshirt is a staple in any dorm room. It’s not a true college experience without a toga party and a poster Belushi in tow.

Even the attempts at drama between Boon and Katy end up as straight comedy. There's not a single flat joke in here, and the actors sell their characters every step of the way. The sheer amount of quotable content is exhausting whether sly, sharp, or insanely stupid. The full cast is able to pull off a true rarity. They simply click when on screen with a rare chemistry.

The AFI selected Animal House to their list of 100 greatest comedies at #36. That's not enough recognition. This is a film that nailed the full checklist of comedy requirements, and just shy of 30 years later, it doesn't feel dated in the least.

Coming in on the low end of the HD-DVD spectrum, this combo disc is barely a step above the SD side. While there’s an extra layer of clarity, the film lacks any pop or specific moments to present the film in its full glory. Colors feel muted, bland, and washed out. The same can be said for fine detail, or lack thereof. Black levels are sharp and given the age of source material, damage and dirt are minimal.

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Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

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  • 1 - samba

    Jun 15, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    any idea what soundtrack was on this HDDVD ?
    was it the original soundtrack or the double secret probation one ?

    the main difference is the original one has all the original songs on it whilst the DSP one has every song replaced by new music (due to copyright reasons) also the more modern dvd's use a different master and this leaves off all the subpictures (the end parts which show "where are they now" snippets). the original dvd release was just taken from the laserdisc master i assume as it hard the hardcoded cinematic subpictures.

    any info about these things ?

  • 2 - samba

    Jun 15, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    also i might add, the only reason the new dvd was 5.1 (and i assume the hd dvd uses the same soundtrack and this is why i asked) was because of the music tracks, they seemed to be in 5.1 whilst the rest of movie was just 2.0, maybe thats why the rear speakers dont get used.

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