David Galindo
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2003
- Messages
- 1,264
[c]SNL: The Best of Chris Farley (UMD)
Region 1 • NR • Dolby Digital • Available Now
[/c]
“Well, you’re gonna have plenty of time rollin’ dubies when your livin’ in a VAN...DOWN BY THE RIVER!” –Matt Foley, motivational speaker.
Thoughts on the TV Show
Poor Farley. He, like many other famous young celebrities before him, died because he couldn’t handle the huge influx of fame and fortune. But what a great print he left behind at Saturday Night Live.
While he had some great characters like Matt Foley and as himself in the Chris Farley Show, he was an all around great player in any SNL skit he did, and just oozed energy and excitement. As one SNL star said, if you were working on SNL, then you’ve seen Chris naked at least once.
This SNL roundup includes skits like “Chippendale’s” where Chris competes with Patrick Swayze to be the next Chippendale’s dancer, Matt Foley’s first motivational speech, the Chinese Game Show where Farley ends up with battery cables attached to his...well, its hilarious. There’s lots more including small clips of other sketches, but the running time is only 61 minutes...why? There are so many great sketches that could have been on here, and some on this disc that should have been passed on (like the Focus on Beauty 2 sketch. While it was funny, it was far from the best of Chris Farley).
By the way, the running time on the UMD is the exact same as the DVD, so my complaints go more towards the original DVD than the UMD. In fact, the UMD contains everything the DVD does...but it wasn’t all that much to begin with.
Video Quality
Presented in the original 1.33 (4:3) ratio that allows you to stretch, zoom, or put black bars on the sides of the PSP screen, the UMD looks good, but nothing amazing. The colors and black levels look fine, but some of the older sketches definitely show their age with the lack of sharpness and clarity. It’s a bit better than the original TV broadcasts, but not by much.
3/5
Audio Quality
The audio is loud and full, and there’s great separation for the audience’s laughter and responses. While it won’t blow you away, for a TV show like SNL, you can’t really ask for more. It complements the presentation very well.
4.5/5
Extras
I feel like Lion’s Gate rushed this UMD a bit with the questionable presentation. The menus do not take advantage of the PSP’s screen in that they are presented in a 4:3 ratio. This makes the scene selection a bit harder to see, as the chapter menu is presented with a bunch of pictures of assorted SNL character faces to choose which skit you want to jump to, and it’s difficult to distinguish which is which. And the third page of the chapter selection is actually glitched up in my copy. It’s bleached in white so I cannot see my selection...and after numerous tries of re-inserting the UMD, turning the PSP on and off, and even cleaning the UMD itself, the menu would still glitch. Huh. (Also note there are no subtitles on the disc).
Aside from the presentation, we get all of the DVD special features totaling nearly twenty minutes. There’s the Dress Rehearsal (2:03) that shows a deleted sketch, a Photo Gallery (:47) and Family Album (2:12) that is a montage of pictures of Farley, Outtakes (3:41) that are very hilarious, and two TV appearances: a Leno Clip (5:29) & Conan Clip (6:25) that frustratingly end halfway through the interview.
All in all, it’s everything from the DVD, but still feels lacking...especially the presentation. And rejoice, rejoice-- Lion’s Gate actually added some music to their menus for the first time ever.
2.5/5
Overall…
You can find this UMD for a nice price ($15 and below), so in that regards it’s worth picking up, though the Ferrell UMD that was also released has much more bang for your buck. If you can find a great deal on this UMD, go for it.
3/5
IGN CONVERSION:
The Movie: 7/10
The Video: 6/10
The Audio: 9/10
The Extras: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
Region 1 • NR • Dolby Digital • Available Now
[/c]“Well, you’re gonna have plenty of time rollin’ dubies when your livin’ in a VAN...DOWN BY THE RIVER!” –Matt Foley, motivational speaker.
Thoughts on the TV Show
Poor Farley. He, like many other famous young celebrities before him, died because he couldn’t handle the huge influx of fame and fortune. But what a great print he left behind at Saturday Night Live.
While he had some great characters like Matt Foley and as himself in the Chris Farley Show, he was an all around great player in any SNL skit he did, and just oozed energy and excitement. As one SNL star said, if you were working on SNL, then you’ve seen Chris naked at least once.
This SNL roundup includes skits like “Chippendale’s” where Chris competes with Patrick Swayze to be the next Chippendale’s dancer, Matt Foley’s first motivational speech, the Chinese Game Show where Farley ends up with battery cables attached to his...well, its hilarious. There’s lots more including small clips of other sketches, but the running time is only 61 minutes...why? There are so many great sketches that could have been on here, and some on this disc that should have been passed on (like the Focus on Beauty 2 sketch. While it was funny, it was far from the best of Chris Farley).
By the way, the running time on the UMD is the exact same as the DVD, so my complaints go more towards the original DVD than the UMD. In fact, the UMD contains everything the DVD does...but it wasn’t all that much to begin with.
Video Quality
Presented in the original 1.33 (4:3) ratio that allows you to stretch, zoom, or put black bars on the sides of the PSP screen, the UMD looks good, but nothing amazing. The colors and black levels look fine, but some of the older sketches definitely show their age with the lack of sharpness and clarity. It’s a bit better than the original TV broadcasts, but not by much.
3/5
Audio Quality
The audio is loud and full, and there’s great separation for the audience’s laughter and responses. While it won’t blow you away, for a TV show like SNL, you can’t really ask for more. It complements the presentation very well.
4.5/5
Extras
I feel like Lion’s Gate rushed this UMD a bit with the questionable presentation. The menus do not take advantage of the PSP’s screen in that they are presented in a 4:3 ratio. This makes the scene selection a bit harder to see, as the chapter menu is presented with a bunch of pictures of assorted SNL character faces to choose which skit you want to jump to, and it’s difficult to distinguish which is which. And the third page of the chapter selection is actually glitched up in my copy. It’s bleached in white so I cannot see my selection...and after numerous tries of re-inserting the UMD, turning the PSP on and off, and even cleaning the UMD itself, the menu would still glitch. Huh. (Also note there are no subtitles on the disc).
Aside from the presentation, we get all of the DVD special features totaling nearly twenty minutes. There’s the Dress Rehearsal (2:03) that shows a deleted sketch, a Photo Gallery (:47) and Family Album (2:12) that is a montage of pictures of Farley, Outtakes (3:41) that are very hilarious, and two TV appearances: a Leno Clip (5:29) & Conan Clip (6:25) that frustratingly end halfway through the interview.
All in all, it’s everything from the DVD, but still feels lacking...especially the presentation. And rejoice, rejoice-- Lion’s Gate actually added some music to their menus for the first time ever.
2.5/5
Overall…
You can find this UMD for a nice price ($15 and below), so in that regards it’s worth picking up, though the Ferrell UMD that was also released has much more bang for your buck. If you can find a great deal on this UMD, go for it.
3/5
IGN CONVERSION:
The Movie: 7/10
The Video: 6/10
The Audio: 9/10
The Extras: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
