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Blu-Ray : Must Own
Ranking:
Release Date: August 31st, 2010 Movie Release Year: 2004

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - The Rich Mahogany Edition

Overview -

Will Ferrell (Old School, Elf) is Ron Burgundy, a top-rated 1970's San Diego anchorman who believes women have a place in the newsroom - as long as they stick to covering fashion shows or late-breaking cooking news. So when Ron is told he'll be working with a bright young newswoman (Christina Applegate) who's beautiful, ambitious and smart enough to be more than eye candy, it's not just a clash of two TV people with really great hair - it's war! Filled with wicked wit and slapstick humor, Anchorman is the year's most wildly irreverent, must see comedy hit!

OVERALL:
Must Own
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
The Many Months of Burgundy Journal and 12 Trading Cards
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/MPEG-4 AVC
Length:
104
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
French
Special Features:
Commercial Break
Release Date:
August 31st, 2010

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Director Adam McKay is a comedy genius. He's about the only comedy director, besides Woody Allen (yes, still), whose movies I still get excited about. While the press was busy spilling tons of ink (and more misplaced raves than I can count) on Judd Apatow (who has produced three of McKay's films, it should be noted), McKay was busy making movies that were sublime and surreal. Instead of being confined to the rigid constrains of mainstream comedies, he took bold leaps into the absurd. And unlike Apatow, his movies actually looked like real movies, with visual depth and an uncanny sense of action and editorial nimbleness (the race scenes in 'Talladega Nights' almost trump the great 'Days of Thunder'… almost).

After McKay left as head writer on 'Saturday Night Live' (he oversaw the halcyon days with frequent partner Will Ferrell), he embarked on his first film: 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.' The movie, while not a runaway success (its $90 million gross looks like a pittance compared to 'The Hangover's $467 million) it has since earned its status as a certifiable cult classic, endlessly quoted and lovingly remembered and talked about.

'Anchorman' takes place in the 1970s (it's never really defined what year, not that it matters), and narration courtesy of Bill Kurtis lets us know that this is a golden era for newsmen. And chief amongst those newsmen is San Diego's own Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) and his team of newscasters – field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner) and meteorologist Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). They're all, more or less, good natured idiots and misogynists. All of this gets challenged when Veronica Corningston (Christina Applegate) shows up and takes the station by storm. Not only is she gorgeous (there's a great montage where each member of the team tries to woo her) but she's a hell of a news anchor. Their world goes topsy-turvy. Soon Ron and Veronica start a romantic relationship, which never trumps his outrage that she is seen as his equal.

Of course that all sounds very straight and if you know the movie you know that it gets a whole lot weirder than that, mostly because Ferrell and McKay are such demented madmen. There are little things that still reveal themselves after multiple viewings, stuff like the fact that every news report we see from the Channel 4 broadcast involves animals (there is never any attempt at national news) or spotting Seth Rogen in a tiny role as Veronica's field cameraman.

But this is Ferrell and McKay's show. McKay brings his gentle surrealism (Ron Burgundy has whole conversations with his dog), pointed social commentary (chauvinism vs. feminism being the movie's chief conflict) and dense visual style (this is a real period movie, not some goofy nonsense) to the scene and has enough care with his wonderful stable of actors to make the movie really unforgettable. Instead of relying solely on Judd Apatow-style riffs (although there is plenty of that, too), McKay has built an entire world from the ground-up, housed with weird and wild characters.

It may have just been a tad too bizarre for the mainstream, but now it's gladly found the cult following it deserves. And McKay and Ferrell have gone on to a wonderful career, with 'Talladega Nights,' the brassy, brilliant 'Step Brothers,' this summer's 'The Other Guys,' and their Broadway show 'You're Welcome, America.' Clearly McKay and Ferrell have followed Ron Burgundy's advice: they've stayed classy.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Anchorman' makes its way to high definition as an exclusive from electronic giant Best Buy. The movie comes packaged in an oversized box (it's a "Rich Mahogany Edition") that comes with a booklet ("The Many Months of Ron Burgundy") and a pack of collectible playing cards (12 in total). The movie itself is on one 50GB disc, with two different cuts: the original theatrical cut (PG-13) and a longer, unrated cut. The only difference, as far as I can tell, between the two versions, is an extended bit with the word "fuck" and a boner gag that goes on for a little longer. The second 50GB disc houses a spin-off movie called 'Wake Up, Ron Burgundy' and a whole boatload of special features.

Video Review

Ranking:

'Anchorman' comes equipped with a sturdy 1080p, AVC-MPEG-4 transfer (1.85:1) that borders on dazzling.

McKay wisely avoids the traps that most comedies fall into: over-lighting, flat compositions, and other cues of visual obviousness. 'Anchorman' is a period comedy, first and foremost, and while it's not exactly 'Boogie Nights,' it does have a wonderfully detailed and lush visual style, which is beautifully captured here.

Colors (and there are a lot of them – this was the 70s, after all) pop, skin tones look good and natural, black levels are deep and dark, and sequences with lots of extras or visual flourishes (like a nighttime, poolside party at the beginning of the movie) show amazing depth and dimensionality.

There isn't anything to complain about, either. The image never softens, there aren't any buggy technical issues, there is a fine layer of grain that lends the movie an authentically filmic quality without ever overwhelming things. Overall I was completely impressed.

(The same assessment can be applied to the supplemental movie 'Wake Up, Ron Burgundy,' although to a lesser degree, because it's really a collection of deleted scenes instead of a fully mastered, ready for the cineplex movie. But still, it looks damn good for what it is.)

Audio Review

Ranking:

This isn't a particularly action-heavy movie (obviously), but the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix handles things nicely regardless.

'Anchorman' is a talky movie, so the emphasis of this mix is on dialogue, which means that most everything is front-and-center in the mix. But when the dialogue sounds so crisp and clear, that's fine by me. It's easier to make out some of the more subtle jokes (yes – there is subtlety – in the movie and the mix) and keep everything straight.

As far as surround sound support, there's not a whole lot of it, but when it is required, things sound bold and full. You can hear it in sequences like the aforementioned party sequence, and a large, full-scale rumble with competing news teams (a sequence which features cameos from Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins and Luke Wilson among others). These sequences maintain a solid level of immersion and atmosphere.

Additionally, both Alex Wurman's slinky score, and the fine collection of period-specific pop songs sound really great.

There are also French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks available, and subtitles in English SDH, French, and Spanish.

Special Features

Ranking:

Okay. Deep breath. The Blu-ray of 'Anchorman' has all of the voluminous extras that were on the original DVD, the bonus disc with 'Wake Up Ron Burgundy' (an entirely separate feature in and of itself, more on that in a minute) as well as some new extras that are exclusive to this "Rich Mahogany" edition. We're going to be here a while, you might want to pour yourself a cup of coffee.

  • Feature Commentary This commentary features McKay, Ferrell, Andy Ritcher (who isn't in the movie but who did appear in 'Talladega Nights'), Kyle Gass (again: not in the movie), Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, and, most baffling of all, American jazz legend Lou Rawls. It's Rawls who makes the best entrance saying, simply, "I'm Lou Rawls and I'm still wondering what I'm doing here." Still, that velveteen voice classes up the whole operation which while not reaching the batshit genius levels of Ferrell and McKay's musical commentary track for 'Step Brothers' (still probably the best non-Steven Soderbergh commentary track ever) is still pretty nuts. Ferrell and McKay, right out of the gate, are on fire. If there was ever such a thing as a commentary track-as-performance art, then this is it. A must listen.
  • Deleted & Extended Scenes (SD, 53:56) THERE ARE SO MANY! And what's amazing is that these scenes are entirely separate from the 'Wake Up Ron Burgundy,' a movie that is made up of deleted scenes and abandoned subplots. 'Anchorman' might set some kind of world record for the sheer number of deleted scenes. I wouldn't be surprised. Some of these are pretty hilarious, others not. But if you're a super fan, they're worth slogging through.
  • Bloopers (SD, 7:46) These are more straight-up outtakes than anything else and are reasonably funny.
  • "Afternoon Delight" Music Video (SD, 3:50) There's a funny scene in the movie proper where Ron Burgundy and the boys have an impromptu musical moment set to Starland Vocal Band oddity "Afternoon Delight." (The one about getting busy, midday.) Well, this is a full-blown music video for the same song which, it turns out, is just as weird.
  • ESPN Audition (SD, 1:55) This is a funny little bit with Ron Burgundy auditioning to be an anchor for upstart sports channel ESPN (which is actually chronologically accurate - the network began in 1979). This is only halfway amusing but he lets some good zingers fly, stuff like "Who would want to watch a 24-hour sports channel?" Yuk yuk yuk…
  • 'Wake Up, Ron Burgundy' (HD, 1:32:53) The most special of all special features is the full-length 'Wake Up, Ron Burgundy,' a movie comprised of outtakes and abandoned subplots that they couldn't fit into the actual movie. This is a startling piece, not only for how well it works, in that distinctly oddball Ferrell-McKay way, but in the amount of big time actors that were cut, entirely from the feature film (people like Maya Rudolph, Chuck D, and Justin Long). It's really amazing that this film, a curio that was packaged with the original film for a limited time and has since been relegated to eBay and other secondhand locations, has been given a new life with the "Rich Mahogany" Blu-ray. You're not an 'Anchorman' diehard if you haven't seen 'Wake Up, Ron Burgundy.'
  • Intro-Commentary This is so weird! It's a small, maybe twenty minute "intro-commentary" for 'Wake Up, Ron Burgundy' by Will Ferrell and "third listed executive producer" Aaron Zimmerman (aka Adam McKay doing a crazy character). You will giggle extensively; well worth a listen.
  • PSAs (SD, 3:41) These are brief, hilarious public service announcements addressing the concerns of the time (chiefly: hippies). Very funny stuff.
  • Awards Speech (SD, 3:12) I'm not even sure what this was for, either part of the movie or some other throwaway bit, but anyway, it's Ron Burgundy picking up some kind of basic news award several years in a row and, predictably, making an ass out of himself.
  • MTV Movie Award Interviews (SD, 10:14) For the MTV Movie Awards one year, they had Ron Burgundy interviewing famous people: Burt Reynolds, Rebecca Romijin and Jim Caviezel. The Burt Reynolds interview is the funniest, but the Jim Caviezel segment is worth watching just for his weird hair. This might be proof that you can just drop the Ron Burgundy character into any situation and it'll be funny.
  • Specials Included in this section are three, electronic press kit-style bits. "Cinemax: The Making of Anchorman" (SD, 9:29) and "Comedy Central Reel Comedy - Anchorman" (SD, 8:31) both cover similar ground and are both so indistinguishable that I can't really distinguish between them, and I just watched them both. Somewhat more interesting is "A Conversation with Ron Burgundy" (SD, 16:41), which is done as a kind of informal interview/lecture, hosted by 'Anchorman' narrator Bill Kurtis.
  • Rehearsals (SD, 9:09) Are more bits of the very talented cast improvising. I believe this is the section where you watch David Koechner fumble the famous "I shit a squirrel" speech, over and over again, which is sort of a delight.
  • Playback Video (SD, 5:10) These are videos made for the "remote" news stories. Watch, as David Wain, director of 'Role Models' and member of hilarious comedy troupe Stella, walks behind Paul Rudd and makes a disparaging remark about his smell! Damn that musky Sex Panther!
  • Commercial Break (SD, 2:04) More funny nonsense. If you are going through all of the special features, you might be a little exhausted at this point, and if so, it wouldn't be a crime to skip this.

How strange that a merchant-specific (for now, at least) release would end up being one of the year's strongest overall Blu-ray packages. But that's the case with 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.' With no fewer than three high definition versions of the movie, two Blu-ray discs full of supplemental goodies (including almost an hour of exclusive material) and wonderful picture and sound quality. It's just really solid and wonderful, and you know what? The movie deserves it. It's a certifiable cult classic by a couple of guys who know how to mix the silly and the surreal in bold and inventive ways. This, as far as I'm concerned, is a must own.