Although I have not fully grasped the cultural influence The Goonies has had over the past 25 years, I still found the movie to be a fun, adventurous romp with one of the better ensemble gathered who had such great chemistry with one another. The Blu-ray is good enough both in terms of the video and audio transfers while the features, albeit light in the featurettes department, more than makes up for it with the cast and director commentary/reunion.
The Goonies: 25th Anniversary Edition (1985)
Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy
Warner Bros. | PG – 114 min. – $49.99 | November 2, 2010
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Richard Donner
Writer(s): Steven Spielberg (story), Chris Columbus (screenplay)
Cast: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano
Theatrical Release Date: June 7, 1985
DISC INFO:
Features: Video Commentary, Featurette, Outtakes, Music Video, Theatrical Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (TrueHD 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.40
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Dutch, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese,
Codec: VC-1
Region(s): Region Free
THE MOVIE – 3.75/5
Plot: Following a mysterious treasure map into a spectacular underground realm of twisting passages, outrageous booby traps and a long-lost pirate ship full of golden doublooms, the kids race to stay one step ahead of a family of bumbling bad guys… and a mild-mannered monster with a face only a mother could love.
Amazingly, despite the fact the movie was filmed in my home state of Oregon and is the best known of any Hollywood production in the state (Brainsmasher: A Love Story always takes second), I had failed to see The Goonies after all these years. I was only 4 when it came out in 1985 so seeing it theatrically was out and it just wasn’t something I had much interest in seeing over the years… until now.
My initial impressions of The Goonies is it’s an all around fun adventure that doesn’t ask anything of its viewers but to follow several young characters winding through passageways with three dimwitted crooks in hot pursuit. Of course, I would be lying if I didn’t say the movie was slightly disappointing (I know much of the love is due to nostalgia) but over the 110-minute running time, I still had a fun time.
I think there are a couple reasons that the movie has stood the test of time. One, as I already mentioned, is childhood nostalgia (it’s why Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull did as well as it did) another is the people involved both behind and in front of the camera. You have Richard Donner (Superman) directing, Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Indiana Jones) involving as a producer and story writer, Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) writing the screenplay and a well rounded cast that includes Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) and Corey Feldman (it wouldn’t be an 80s flick without him).
Overall, while I was slightly disappointed with The Goonies given all I have heard about the film over the years, it still holds up very well after all these years and is an all-around fun adventure, something I would expect nothing less from Spielberg and company.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.75/5
The Goonies 25th Anniversary Edition set comes inside an oversized box and contains a board game, replica EMPIRE Magazine issue, a booklet, storyboard cards and the Blu-ray itself in its own case, which is what I will be covering the most as I find these trinkets to be a waste of space (and the box itself will be sitting on a shelf to gather dust), although the booklet is well done.
Video Commentary – This “Hidden Treasure” (I guess was an Easter Egg on the DVD version?) is a video commentary track with the cast and crew that randomly pops up throughout the film (though it is truly random). The cast includes Sean Astin (Mikey), Josh Brolin (Brand), Jeff Cohen (Chunk), Corey Feldman (Mouth), Kerri Green (Andy), Martha Plimpton (Stef), Jonathan Ke Quan (Data) and Producer/Director Richard Donner. Yes, it’s a packed house and sometimes more than one conversation would be going on, but overall this is one of the best tracks I’ve listened to in a long time.
Audio Commentary – This is the same track as the video commentary, just no, well, video with it.
The Making of The Goonies (6:49; SD) featurette was filmed on-location in 1985 and features some comments from the cast and crew. Although I normally don’t find a whole lot of value in older featurettes like these, it’s actually somewhat interesting.
Deleted Scenes (6:53; SD) – Here we get a minor collection of scenes – including the octopus one – excised most likely for pacing purposes.
Last up is the Music Video (12:04; SD) for Cyndi Lauper’s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough and the Theatrical Trailer (2:41; SD).
VIDEO – 3.5/5
The Goonies is presented with a 2.40 aspect ratio and in 1080p high-definition. I suspect this VC-1 encoded disc might’ve been mastered some time ago based on a couple reasons: 1) the movie starts automatically rather than on a menu and 2) the default audio is the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 rather than the TrueHD track, something first-gen Warner titles did. In any case, the video itself looks alright especially considering it is now 25 years old. It’s not an especially vibrant looking picture but has decent amount detail throughout.
AUDIO – 4/5
As I said, the Dolby Digital 5.1 is the default audio mix so be sure before you get too far into the movie to change it to the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. Both are fine audio mixes though as one would imagine, the TrueHD track is the best. The score and audio effects make the most use out of the front and rear channels while most dialogue comes through the center speaker. I didn’t notice a whole lot from the low-frequency channel, though.
OVERALL – 3.75/5
Overall, although I have not fully grasped the cultural influence The Goonies has had over the past 25 years, I still found the movie to be a fun, adventurous romp with one of the better ensemble gathered who had such great chemistry with one another. The Blu-ray is good enough both in terms of the video and audio transfers while the features, albeit light in the featurettes department, more than makes up for it with the cast and director commentary/reunion.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 12/11/2010