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Slap Shot
Slap Shot out slaps... out swears... out laughs..
Anyone that has become familiar with my
reviews probably knows that I have watched
very few sports movies during my lifetime.
You can already guess where this is leading...
When I was sent a copy of Slap Shot,
I didn't get as excited as I am sure many sports
fans would be about having a newly released
copy of this film in their hands.
Still, realizing that this is one of the biggest
sports comedies of all time, I figured it was
time to give this film a look.
I ended up really enjoying this film. In fact,
it had me laughing throughout its 2-hour length.
Slap Shot is a no-holds-barred look at
the world of professional hockey. Reggie Dunlop
(Paul Newman) is the coach of the Charleston
Chiefs. They are a bunch of losers who are in
fifth place. Attendance is at an all-time low.
The fans hate 'em, and the team's Manager, Joe
McGrath (Strother Martin) wants out!
In order to build up attendance, the team's
manager signs up the Hanson Brothers, three of
the most memorable individuals you will ever see
on screen. When these brothers bring an aggressive
hard-edge approach to the game, Reggie goes with
the flow and turns his team into violent players
who will stop at nothing to bring up attendance
and promote a sale of the team.
Watching this film brought back great memories
of the 70's. This film represents the best of
that era from the bad clothes to the bad hair and
toupees to the disco music (notably Maxine
Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From")
that ruled the era. The movie also has all the
gratuitous nudity and language that 70's films
are so well known for.
One of the best things about this movie is
Strother Martin, one of my all-time favorite
character actors. This film became one of
his very last, following up with his role in
1978's "Up in Smoke".
How is the transfer?
Before I even put the disc in the player, I
truly expected this film to look like one of
those bad 70's films with faded colors and lots
of picture haze thanks to the film stock of
that era.
Instead, I was surprised to see that this new
25th Anniversary Special Edition looked pretty
damn good. Not owning the original DVD release
of this title, I can't comment on whether this
is a brand new transfer or not. However, I can
tell you that the anamorphic (1.85:1) transfer
looks surprisingly good, though not completely
flawless. While there is a constant hint of
graininess in the picture (most evident in dark
scenes), overall picture quality is terrific.
Colors look very good, most notably in the blues
and reds of the uniforms, and they tend to stand
out rather than being faded. Flesh tones look
generally natural. The outdoor scenes look fantastic,
with natural colors everywhere.
The sound is 2.0 mono, and sounded very strong
and clear until the music kicked in. Unfortunately,
this mono track makes the film's music sound more
muddied than robust.
Special Features
Even before I begin talking about the extras,
I must once again praise Universal for their
ever-changing and always entertaining promotional
segment that precedes all their films. They took
out Clooney lighting his lighter this time, but
this new promo cleverly hails in films like
K-Pax, The Musketeer and Spy Games.
Keep up the good work with these promos, Universal!
The menu is very plain. I was expecting an
Anniversary Edition like this to have something
more to it rather than a 1-sheet menu. Maybe
I'm being too nit picky this morning.
I don't normally have time to listen to DVD
commentaries, and perhaps I don't have a right
to complain, but this new Special Edition touts
a Feature Commentary with the Hanson Brothers.
This is one of the most lame commentaries I have
ever heard on a DVD. It sounds like a bunch of
unenergetic pot-heads sitting around a microphone
adding dribbling bits of commentary every 5
minutes that amount to nothing. Maybe I just
don't get it being I'm not a hockey fan. Maybe
this is part of their shtick. All I can say is
that it seems to be a waste of audio track.
The Hanson Brother's Classic Scenes are
nothing more than scene bookmarks where you can
go directly to your favorite Hanson scene. There
are 13 individual sequences you can select from.
In Puck Talk with the Hansons, we meet
the three actors, who I learned for the very first
time were real-life hockey players, not actors.
They talk about wanting to get into acting rather
than getting a job pumping gas. They also talk
about how the film affected fans and how their
recognition status amongst fans rose since the
film's premiere. It's a short 4-minute segment
that brings you up-and-close with three of the
most memorable characters in the film.
The film's original Theatrical Trailer
is included. This trailer is interesting as it
gives us an untreated look at how the film must
have originally looked before being restored for
DVD.
Included Production Notes add a little
more insight to the background of the film and
the careers of the Hanson Brothers. There is
also the standard Cast and Filmmakers bio
of all the major stars as well as Director Roy Hill.
Universal is happy to give you other recommended
titles to buy or rent, but offers no trailer
for any of them -- just cover art. There's also
a promotion for a DVD Newsletter included.
Final Thoughts
Slap Shot is the most exciting look at
violent sports that preceded the rise of the WWF.
It contains memorable characters and memorable
action that make this a movie worth watching.
I can't say the extra material on this disc
makes this worth purchasing if you already own
the original DVD release which appears to also
be anamorphic. However, it will be interesting
to find out if this release sports a brand new
transfer. It certainly looks very good, and if
this is the case, you should slap down $20 for
Slap Shot Special Edition on DVD.
Release Date: March 26, 2002
