Heathers – 20th
Anniversary Edition (Anchor Bay DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B-
Extras: A- Film: B+
There are
very few films that act as true commentary to the 1980’s, one of the more
superior films that came from that era was Martha Coolidge’s Real Genius (1985). That film could not have been any more direct
in it’s feelings towards the Reagan Administration in general, but disguised
itself brilliantly as a teen comedy. To
this day it remains one of the smartest films of the 1980’s. Similarly in the later part of the decade
another film arrived that few people ‘got’ because of it’s over-the-top
approach to not only making fun of High School nuances, but Heathers remains a cult film that over
the course of time has only appreciated in value.
The real
value in Michael Lehmann’s film though is its guts! Over the past 20+ years Hollywood has become
less gutsy and attempting to me more artsy, yet apologetic too. This film never eases up and to a fault goes
a little too far with it’s scathing analysis of High School life, but it’s not
just a film about school, it’s only a microcosm of the world in general and the
film remains playful even with it’s exaggerated moments. The front of the package makes the claim that
without this film there wouldn’t be Jawbreakers,
Mean Girls, or Juno, which personally I don’t know if that is such a bad
thing. The problem with this comparison
is that this film is smarter than those three films combined and more
importantly is never too smart for its own good. It also helped launch the careers of Winona
Ryder and Christian Slater, but it’s easy to see how this new edition is an
attempt to find a new audience among the younger crowd.
Years ago
Anchor Bay issued the film in a limited edition tin, which also included a few
other perks like a yearbook filled with photos and such, but also featured with
the film with loads of extras, which are all present on this new edition of the
film, but here we also get a new featurette/documentary that adds to the fun.
Those other extras include commentary by the director, producer, and writer
plus 2 featurettes, which are really well-done and the DVD-ROM includes the
original screen play, which is worth a look.
The 1.85
X 1 anamorphically-enhanced image looks like it’s recycled from the previous
release and the same goes for the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which both
are adequate, but won’t get confused for reference quality anytime soon, but
get the job done for now until the HD release comes via Blu-ray.
- Nate Goss
