THE
GOONIES ($25) is probably one of the best "kid’s movies"
ever produced, which is why it has a strong following of fans that had
been vocally clamoring for it to be released on DVD. Actually, I had never
seen THE GOONIES until the DVD had shown up on my doorstep. However,
after viewing the film I could understand why so many people wanted to
see this Richard Donner / Steven Spielberg collaboration released on DVD.
In a nutshell, THE GOONIES is a whole heck of a lot of fun- it’s
filled with thrills and chills, plus a good deal of slapstick humor that
will appeal to the kids of every age.
The
plot of THE GOONIES revolves around a group of young friends, dubbed
The Goonies, that are being forced to move out of their Oceanside
neighborhood by a money grubbing developer that wants to use the land
to cater to an upscale clientele. However, before The Goonies leave
their homes for good, they set off on one final adventure. After finding
a map that they believe shows the location of a hidden pirate treasure,
The Goonies go in search of the gold in an effort to save their
homes. Unfortunately, not only do our young heroes have to deal with deadly
booby traps left by the pirates in the caves beneath the town, The
Goonies also have to square off against a family of desperate bank
robbers, who also want to get their hands on the treasure. The engaging
cast of THE GOONIES features Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen,
Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan, John Matuszak,
Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano and Anne Ramsey.
Warner
Home Video has made THE GOONIES available on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. Overall, the transfer is very good, although one can still tell
that THE GOONIES is a product of the mid 1980s. The motion picture
film stock used back then has a somewhat different look than newer stocks,
which are more sensitive in low light situations and produce more vivid
colors. Don’t get me wrong the image on the DVD is very appealing, it
just doesn’t "snap" the way that newer movies do. In fact, the
picture is quite crisp and there is always more than a respectable amount
of detail. Depending upon the lighting, the colors can be quite vividly
saturated, although they never "pop off the screen" as they
sometimes do in newer movies. Flesh tones are usually very appealing,
although in some of the overcast outdoor scenes they come across as a
little pale. There are no problems with chroma noise or smearing during
the presentation. Blacks are solidly rendered, although shadow detail
is a bit reserved in places. The print element used for the transfer is
pretty much free from blemishes and apparent film grain. Clean dual layer
authoring keeps digital compression artifacts from becoming noticeable.
For
this release, THE GOONIES is offered with a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack. Bearing in mind the action/adventure elements of the story,
THE GOONIES has a rock ‘em sock ‘em sound mix that can be pretty
aggressive. There is very clean channel separation across the forward
soundstage and there is plenty of activity in the rear channels, although
I couldn’t detect any split surround deployment. The sound itself has
a very clean and open quality, which keeps the track from sound as old
as it is. Obviously a lot of care went into the original sound recordings
for THE GOONIES. Dialogue is always completely understandable and
the actors’ voices sound natural. The bass channel is fairly potent, which
will give one’s subwoofer the opportunity to shake up the listening environment
from time to time. English and French surround, plus a Spanish monaural
soundtrack have also been encoded onto the DVD. Subtitles are provided
in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Clever
animation and sound serve to enhanced the DVD’s interactive menus. Through
the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a few nice supplements. Topping things off is an audio commentary
featuring director Richard Donner along with the seven actors that portrayed
The Goonies. The commentary is video enhanced and during the course
of the track, the video feed for the film drops down into a small window,
giving the viewer a chance to see the actors and the director talk about
the film. While the commentary is highly entertaining and will appeal
to fans of the film, it is very light on technical details of how the
movie was made. Also included on the DVD is a short, but entertaining,
making of documentary produced for the film’s release back
in 1985. Cyndi Lauper’s music videos for the song Goonies ‘R’ Good
Enough is also present on the DVD. This two-part video is a hoot
to watch because it is so absolutely goofy and utterly cheesy- see if
you can name all the old wrestlers that make appearances in the video.
Closing out the supplements are the three deleted scenes, plus a theatrical
trailer.
THE
GOONIES is a delightful comic adventure that will appeal to the kids
and everyone who is young at heart. Warner has produced great looking
and sounding DVD that does complete justice to enjoyable film. Fans will
definitely want to own a copy of THE GOONIES on DVD.
THE
GOONIES ($25) is probably one of the best "kid’s movies"
ever produced, which is why it has a strong following of fans that had
been vocally clamoring for it to be released on DVD. Actually, I had never
seen THE GOONIES until the DVD had shown up on my doorstep. However,
after viewing the film I could understand why so many people wanted to
see this Richard Donner / Steven Spielberg collaboration released on DVD.
In a nutshell, THE GOONIES is a whole heck of a lot of fun- it’s
filled with thrills and chills, plus a good deal of slapstick humor that
will appeal to the kids of every age.
The
plot of THE GOONIES revolves around a group of young friends, dubbed
The Goonies, that are being forced to move out of their Oceanside
neighborhood by a money grubbing developer that wants to use the land
to cater to an upscale clientele. However, before The Goonies leave
their homes for good, they set off on one final adventure. After finding
a map that they believe shows the location of a hidden pirate treasure,
The Goonies go in search of the gold in an effort to save their
homes. Unfortunately, not only do our young heroes have to deal with deadly
booby traps left by the pirates in the caves beneath the town, The
Goonies also have to square off against a family of desperate bank
robbers, who also want to get their hands on the treasure. The engaging
cast of THE GOONIES features Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen,
Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan, John Matuszak,
Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano and Anne Ramsey.
Warner
Home Video has made THE GOONIES available on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. Overall, the transfer is very good, although one can still tell
that THE GOONIES is a product of the mid 1980s. The motion picture
film stock used back then has a somewhat different look than newer stocks,
which are more sensitive in low light situations and produce more vivid
colors. Don’t get me wrong the image on the DVD is very appealing, it
just doesn’t "snap" the way that newer movies do. In fact, the
picture is quite crisp and there is always more than a respectable amount
of detail. Depending upon the lighting, the colors can be quite vividly
saturated, although they never "pop off the screen" as they
sometimes do in newer movies. Flesh tones are usually very appealing,
although in some of the overcast outdoor scenes they come across as a
little pale. There are no problems with chroma noise or smearing during
the presentation. Blacks are solidly rendered, although shadow detail
is a bit reserved in places. The print element used for the transfer is
pretty much free from blemishes and apparent film grain. Clean dual layer
authoring keeps digital compression artifacts from becoming noticeable.
For
this release, THE GOONIES is offered with a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack. Bearing in mind the action/adventure elements of the story,
THE GOONIES has a rock ‘em sock ‘em sound mix that can be pretty
aggressive. There is very clean channel separation across the forward
soundstage and there is plenty of activity in the rear channels, although
I couldn’t detect any split surround deployment. The sound itself has
a very clean and open quality, which keeps the track from sound as old
as it is. Obviously a lot of care went into the original sound recordings
for THE GOONIES. Dialogue is always completely understandable and
the actors’ voices sound natural. The bass channel is fairly potent, which
will give one’s subwoofer the opportunity to shake up the listening environment
from time to time. English and French surround, plus a Spanish monaural
soundtrack have also been encoded onto the DVD. Subtitles are provided
in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Clever
animation and sound serve to enhanced the DVD’s interactive menus. Through
the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a few nice supplements. Topping things off is an audio commentary
featuring director Richard Donner along with the seven actors that portrayed
The Goonies. The commentary is video enhanced and during the course
of the track, the video feed for the film drops down into a small window,
giving the viewer a chance to see the actors and the director talk about
the film. While the commentary is highly entertaining and will appeal
to fans of the film, it is very light on technical details of how the
movie was made. Also included on the DVD is a short, but entertaining,
making of documentary produced for the film’s release back
in 1985. Cyndi Lauper’s music videos for the song Goonies ‘R’ Good
Enough is also present on the DVD. This two-part video is a hoot
to watch because it is so absolutely goofy and utterly cheesy- see if
you can name all the old wrestlers that make appearances in the video.
Closing out the supplements are the three deleted scenes, plus a theatrical
trailer.
THE
GOONIES is a delightful comic adventure that will appeal to the kids
and everyone who is young at heart. Warner has produced great looking
and sounding DVD that does complete justice to enjoyable film. Fans will
definitely want to own a copy of THE GOONIES on DVD.
