Shout Factory’s Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection lives up to its name with a healthy collection of bonus material bringing a fair number of those involved back together to reminisce and also presenting good video and audio transfers.
Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure/Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
(1989/1991)
Genre(s): Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
Shout Factory | PG – 91 min. / 94 min. – $49.97 | September 27, 2016
Date Published: 09/27/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIES — 3.25/5 |
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“Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.”
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure — 4.0/5 A classic in its own right, the movie is smartly written and features two wonderfully fun, and in many ways, charming performances from Winter and Reeves (the latter perhaps his best performance in his career). Seeing this again, the last time maybe 10-15 years ago, I couldn’t help to smile from beginning to end and laugh at some of the dumber jokes. It also serves as a surprisingly well done history lesson.
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey — 2.5/5 I understand Bogus Journey has its fervent fans and I get that. I also appreciate that this isn’t a paint-by-numbers or cut-and-paste sequel and yet for myself, it’s a bit too out there for my enjoyment. That said, I did like some of the references and seeing Winter and Reeves reprise their roles was still a lot of fun, even if I didn’t laugh (or smile) quite as much. Although William Sadler was a treat as the Grim Reaper, I did miss having George Carlin who basically makes a cameo, appearing for maybe 10 minutes. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5 |
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This 3-disc set is housed in an HD Keep Case which side-slides into a matted slip cover. Inside is a guitar pick and two bumper stickers. Discs 1 & 2: And both films have their respective Theatrical Trailers. Disc 3: Bill and Ted Go to Hell: Revisiting a Bogus Journey (52:04; HD) looks back on the sequel with many of the same participants (Reeves, Winter, etc) and others (like William Sadler) who were involved in the project and how it came together. The Most Triumphant Making Of Documentary (30:53; SD) is an older featurette from 2005 and includes archival interviews. The Original Bill & Ted: In Conversation with Chris and Ed (20:15; SD) is an old interview with writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson. Score!: An Interview with Guitarist Steve Vai (12:46; SD) has the musician talking about his career. The Hysterical Personages of Bill & Ted (15:27; SD) – This is a mock documentary on the evolution of our two favorite time travelers (not named Marty and Doc Brown, of course). Air Guitar Tutorial (13:15; SD) teaches us the finer touches of playing the air guitar. Vintage EPK (6:39; SD) is for the sequel and provides some very old interviews and some behind-the-scenes footage. The Linguistic Stylings of Bill & Ted (3:41; SD) looks at the film’s unique dialogue and what they mean (excellent = good, bogus = bad, etc.) |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is shown in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and a new 1080p high-definition transfer. It’s actually not a half bad job by Shout Factory which offers good detail throughout and colors appear to be well balanced. It also seems to be clean, free of dust, dirt marks, specs and other flaws. — 4.0/5
Meanwhile, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey isn’t as good looking yet still the 1080p HD transfer, and presented in its original 1.85 aspect ratio, at least has some nice detail and colors look fairly vibrant. It’s nothing amazing nor does it really pop off the screen or anything, yet still looks fine and no doubt is a nice upgrade over its DVD counterpart. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| Both movies come with solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. There’s actually quite a bit to digest as there’s several action set pieces in both films from the time traveling wormhole in Excellent and when the two dudes enter the seventh circle of hell in Bogus. In both, there’s some nice depth while also offering clear dialogue levels. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, Shout Factory’s Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection lives up to its name with a healthy collection of bonus material bringing a fair number of those involved back together to reminisce and also presenting good video and audio transfers. While I wasn’t a fan of Bogus Journey, it at least attempts to buck the trend of copying the first film. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.