Get Shorty is a fun, frilly crime-comedy thanks to some snappy dialogue and enjoyable performances from the entire cast including Travolta, Hackman, Russo, DeVito and the late Denis Farina.
Get Shorty
— Collector’s Edition: Shout Select —
(1995)
Genre(s): Comedy, Crime
Shout Factory | R – 105 min. – $34.93 | October 23, 2018
Date Published: 10/18/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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“Rough business, this movie business. I’m gonna have to go back to loan-sharking just to take a rest.” Plot Synopsis: Loan shark Chili Palmer (JOHN TRAVOLTA) has done his time as a gangster So when “business” takes him to L.A. to collect a debt from down-and-out filmmaker Harry Zimm (GENE HACKMAN), Chili jumps headfirst into the Hollywood scene: He schmoozes a film star (DANNY DE VITO), romances a B-movie actress (RENE RUSSO) All would be cool for this smooth new producer if it weren’t for drug smugglers, led way by Bo Catlett (DELROY LINDO), and an angry mobster (DENNIS FARINA) who won’t leave him alone.
Quick Hit Review: 1995’s Get Shorty, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, is a great inside Hollywood crime-comedy, one that was a continuation for John Travolta’s comeback following Pulp Fiction in ’94. I’ve probably seen this movie 5-6 times over the years from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray and likely even stopping to watch if I notice it on the grid on cable. And while it’s not to me in the upper echelon of the genres, I’d place the likes of The Player and Ocean’s Eleven above this, yet this is still a lot of fun. More so than the direction from the aforementioned Sonnenfeld, in what I’d say is his best film, even more so than Men in Black (which I did enjoy), the cast is really what makes this film shine. Travolta is pitch perfect as a shylock with equal parts charm and danger; Rene Russo is absolutely gorgeous and holds her own opposite Travolta; the illustrious Gene Hackman is believable balancing conman with Hollywood producer (and sometimes they’re on in the same in real life!); and Danny DeVito embodies the self-absorbed Hollywood celebrity.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and the inner cover is reversible revealing the film’s original poster artwork. All of the features from the previous DVD and Blu-ray releases have been ported over. Best I can tell, there is nothing new. Audio Commentary with Director Barry Sonnenfeld. Even though I generally prefer commentaries to have more than one participant, the director does provide information about the production from working with the actors to the story itself. Look at Me (26:56) is a behind-the-scenes featurette with on-set interviews by the cast and crew, including Travolta, Hackman, DeVito and others, discussing the characters and plot. Wise Guys and Dolls (20:30) takes a closer look at the supporting colorful characters as well as director Sonnenfeld. Going Again (5:35) refers to what DeVito would say at the end of a take. Get Shorty Party Reel (5:50) is just some additional behind-the-scenes footage. Page-to-Screen of Get Shorty (29:35) is an episode of the old TV series hosted by Peter Gallagher looking at how the novel compared with the movie. Under Vignettes (6:05) we get “Silent Schmucks”, “Cappuccino”, “Radio Show” and “I Bought It”. The Graveyard Scene (7:47) was a scene, featuring Ben Stiller, deleted from the film with an introduction by Sonnenfeld explaining why it was removed. Theatrical Trailer (2:38) |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Get Shorty is presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer that was restored from a new 4K transfer. This might not look fantastic but still detail was decent and colors natural in appearance without seemingly boosted. There were no noticeable instances of dust marks or scratches so do look fairly clean. All told, it’s not a great picture but ever so moderately better than its Blu-ray counterpart. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The movie comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is likely the same as the original Blu-ray release. Even so, dialogue levels do come through with good clarity and depth is at least decent enough with the gunplay in addition to John Lurie’s catchy score. |
OVERALL – 3.75/5 |
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Overall, Get Shorty is a fun, frilly crime-comedy thanks to some snappy dialogue and enjoyable performances from the entire cast including Travolta, Hackman, Russo, DeVito and the late Denis Farina. This Blu-ray release from Shout under their “Collector’s Edition” and “Shout Select” line offers moderately improved video transfer, fine audio and an okay selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.