Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – The Bueller… Bueller… Edition
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C
Another John Hughes airhead teen film that made money in
its time, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) is a time capsule of its time
and reminds us that such films that intended to be fun actually signaled the
continuous decline of the U.S. educational system all the way to the
suburbs. It was among the films that
made Matthew Broderick a star, and looking back now, there is no doubt the film
would have bombed without him. He
carries the very simple screenplay all on his shoulders and continues a career
today that far outlasts this work.
It also made Ben Stein, former game show host and
conservative egghead, a star as his teacher who had that funny way of
pronouncing his name. Jennifer Grey is
here as his sister just before Dirty Dancing and the plastic surgery
that killed her career until recently, Charlie Sheen is here and character
actor Jeffery Jones also stars. This is
simply a film that wants to be a “bandwagon” movie and try to get the audience
to enjoy and jump in. Like many 1980s
films, crowds in the film cheer as the filmmakers try in the most infantile
ways to get the paying audience to do the same. This was fun to some in its time, but killed the moviegoing
audience in the long run, though many such films were shallower in trying to
evoke such a reaction. Even the
subtitle of this new DVD edition reminds us of that. For fans and nostalgia only.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is color poor
and detail week, was an early Super 35 production and shows it. Tak Fujimoto (Silence Of The Lambs)
actually shot this and his work helped sell the film. The films from Universal’s John Hughes’ Brat Pack set
(reviewed elsewhere on the site) were 1.85 X 1, but this looks
seriocomic-documentary with its text as Bueller explains how to defy
responsibility. The Dolby Digital 5.1
mix shows the films age as the film was issued in Dolby’s A-type analog system
at the time. This is no worse than the
DTS or Dolby mixes from the Universal set.
Extras include stills, previews for other Paramount DVDs and five
featurettes, but no trailer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
