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Ranking:
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Release Date: March 28th, 2023 Movie Release Year: 2022

Who Done It? The Clue Documentary

Overview -

Fans of murder mysteries and an infamous board game that spawned a hilarious flop of a feature film, Who Done It? The Clue Documentary is here! Mega-fan filmmaker Jeff C. Smith takes an earnest stab at creating the definitive documentary about the hilarious feature film. A little uneven in places, but the cast and crew interviews offer up some welcome insight into the making and release of the fan-favorite comedy. On Blu-ray from ETR Media and OCN Distribution, Who Done It? Is an entertaining venture worth your time. Worth A Look

Solve the mystery of how "Clue", a film based on a board game, was murdered at the box office but, in a shocking twist, found a fanbase with a passionate appreciation for the movie’s hilarious dialogue and incredible cast.

directed by: Jeff C. Smith
starring: Colleen Camp, Jeffrey Kramer, Jonathan Lynn, Michael McKean, Lee Ving, Lesley Ann Warren
2022 / 108 min / 1.78:1 / English DTS-HD MA 2.0

Additional info:

  • Region Free Blu-ray
  • The evidence found in clue's soundtrack featurette
  • Additional interview footage not included in the film
  • Podcast interview with director Jeff Smith about the film
  • English SDH subtitles

OVERALL:
Worth a Look
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Blu-ray Disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p AVC/MPEG-4
Length:
108
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.78:1
Audio Formats:
English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH
Release Date:
March 28th, 2023

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Like many folks out there, I’m a huge fan of 1985’s box office misfire Clue. I loved the film the first time I saw it. I played the game ravenously growing up. And I’ve developed into a voracious reader of whodunit murder mysteries and it stands as one of my favorite film genres. And as a huge fan of the 1985 film, I’ve always been irked that for how many times it’s been issued and reissued on disc media that there aren’t any genuine bonus features beyond showing each alternate ending.

Well, here comes mega-fan filmmaker Jeff C. Smith to offer us Clue fans Who Done It? The Clue Documentary. From the get-go, Smith dives right into the material with new interviews with the likes of writer/director Jonathan Lynn, Michael McKean, and Lesley Ann Warren among numerous other behind-the-camera movers and shakers. The film details the early production period where Jonathan Lynn was a writer-for-hire on the film as John Landis was set to make it his next big comedy - that is until Spies Like Us popped up. 

From the film’s script to the allowing of improvised lines and gags to the film’s infamous alternate endings, Who Done It? aims to cover the full breadth of the production. Given a lot of the trivia that has already existed for years, I found a lot of the interviews to be quite insightful. I didn’t know a lot about the pre-production behind-the-scenes machinations of the film so this documentary feels like the first real genuine bonus feature for Clue. Should Paramount ever get around to issuing a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release - they seriously should - I’d hope they’d license this documentary!

This doc is a welcome and endearing little love letter from a fan to his favorite movie. Jeff Smith does an amiable job assembling footage and stitching together a flowing narrative. The conceit of introducing the film and some of the subjects while driving to an interview may seem like an odd choice, but it does work. It might not be polished but for a passion project years in the making, it’s earnest. Given some of the logistics of locations, meeting with various personalities, and then COVID, some of the footage isn’t sparkling pristine, but hey, we’ve endured a couple of years of Zoom call extra features I’ve got nothing to knock a filmmaker making do with what he had to work with. 

It might have benefited from a little more spit, a little more polish, and it’d been great if Paramount could have given Smith some backing, but Who Done It? The Clue Documentary is a fun piece for fans. If anything it made me appreciate the film more and also remind me I was overdue for a viewing. 

 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Who Done It? The Clue Documentary
suspects it will be on your home video shelf next to your Clue Blu-ray. A single-disc release from ETR Media and OCN Distribution, if you were lucky and ordered fast from Vinegar Syndrome’s website, you got to score a slick exclusive slipcover. The disc is housed in a standard sturdy clear case. The insert artwork is reversible so you at least still have options for the standard edition. The disc loads to a standard menu with basic navigation options. 

Video Review

Ranking:

Given that it took years to assemble a variety of cameras were used and given certain pandemic situations, not all interviews in Who Done It? The Clue Documentary were able to be recorded in person. As such, this 1.82:1 transfer is a bit all over the place. Some shots are crystal clear others can look like they were shot on a mid-generation phone camera, and then others are simply internet video recordings. Not perfect but not the worst considering all things. There’s also a bit of handheld camera footage of various players like Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd at various convention appearances that doesn’t look great, but honestly, it’s better than not having them at all. Overall this is pretty good considering all factors of making a documentary for the long haul and then having to work through a pandemic - you do what you gotta do to get it done.

Audio Review

Ranking:

Like the video, the DTS- HD MA 2.0 audio is a bit all over the place, but not too much of a struggle to hear - at least for the key interviews. Those convention appearances of Curry and Lloyd were a little tough but unless participants are specifically mic’d with a lav, those handheld microphones in large open rooms don’t help much. Curry was doing pretty good considering the appearance was post-stroke. I didn’t have much difficulty hearing him, but I could see the need to pop the volume a bit. Other participants that were able to record live in person sound terrific. Those Zoom call interviews can be a bit tinny and thin, but again, we’ve been seeing those kinds of bonus features on major disc releases for a couple of years so not altogether an issue but keep a thumb on the volume just in case. 

Special Features

Ranking:

On the bonus features side, we see an extra documentary focused on the film’s soundtrack. Weirdly, the packaging indicates that there would be additional interview footage and a podcast interview featuring director Jeff Smith, but evidently, those didn’t make the final authoring. On its own, the extra 20 minutes focused on composer John Morris’ efforts is a fine little coda to the documentary. I’d be curious what extra interview footage we didn’t get to see, but as is, this is still a worthwhile bonus.

Jigowatts - The Evidence Found in Clue’s Soundtrack (HD 20:03)

Considering 1985’s Clue has only had middling releases on DVD and Blu-ray without any genuine bonus content, Who Done It: The Clue Documentary is a welcome void-filling piece. I found the doc to be very interesting and informative filling in a lot of the trivia and behind-the-scenes gaps I never knew about one of my favorite comedies. Filmmaker Jeff C. Smith certainly has a lot of love for the film himself having dedicated years of his life to stitching this piece together. The A/V might not blow your hair back, but it’s appreciable for a D.I.Y. project like this. Bonus features are apparently missing a couple of extras listed in the artwork, but a nice little bonus doc dedicated to Clue’s musical score is another welcome piece of work. While we await the upcoming remake film apparently starring Ryan Reynolds, Who Done It: The Clue Documentary is a nice big bonus feature of its own for one of the funniest comedies to come out of the 1980s. Worth A Look