Gremlins is a very good mid-80s film that I might not have loved but still an enjoyable viewing experience every time I’ve seen it over the years, and has excellent special effects with the Mogwais.
Gremlins
(1984)
Genre(s): Fantasy, Comedy
Warner Bros. | PG – 106 min. – $41.99 | October 1, 2019
Date Published: 10/04/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and do not represent the 4K Ultra HD transfer.
THE MOVIE — 4.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: When Billy (ZACH GALLIGAN) receives an adorable, mysterious pet named Gizmo (voiced by HOWIE MANDEL) for Christmas from his gadget-creating father (HOYT AXTON), he’s given three rules for its care: Don’t get them Wet. Don’t expose them to bright light. Don’t feed them after midnight. In advertently he breaks the rules, and a resulting army of duplicate furballs wreaks havoc throughout the town.
Quick Hit Review: The 1984 hit fantasy-comedy Gremlins that I really didn’t grow up watching all that much (mid-to-late 80s were spent on Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) but I did see it somewhere in the 90s and always found it to be a cute and fun little film, but it’s never been a favorite of mine (and actually think Gremlins 2: The New Batch to be better). That being said, it’s perfectly entertaining and the technical, special effects work was pretty top-notch and of course Gizmo himself is a cute furry creature, its near-undetectable speaking voiced by Howie Mandel. The human cast led by Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates were fine, of course, but the Gremlins (a.k.a. Mogwai) are the stars of this Joe Dante (Innerspace) helmed film.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5 |
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This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. All of the features have been ported over from the original Blu-ray release: Audio Commentaries:
Both of these tracks offer different perspectives. The first with Dante and the cast is a little more light-hearted and provides some behind-the-scenes stories while the second is fine in its own right, giving a more technical viewpoint of the production. Making-of Featurette (6:21) is a short promotional featurette from 1984 with behind-the-scenes footage. Additional Footage (10:26) for a few scenes that were cut down and includes an optional commentary with Joe Dante. Also available is a Photo Gallery, two Theatrical Trailers (2:08/1:04) and another Trailer (1:30) for Gremlins 2: The New Batch. |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Warner releases Gremlins onto 4K Ultra HD presented in the film’s original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p high-definition transfer (HEVC/H.265 codec). The transfer here does look quite good, though hardly the best within the format even taking into account the age of the film going on 35 years now. Still, detail is relatively sharp for the most part, especially on close-up shots, and colors that are aided by the HDR giving them some vibrancy. Black levels are okay, though more on the grayer scale in some spots. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which likely is the same one on the Blu-ray disc. Even so, although the depth is on the limited side, dialogue does come through with fine clarity via the center channel while the front and rear speakers are utilized for the ambient noises such as the nefarious Mogwais’ tow destruction or Jerry Goldsmith’s lovely score and theme. |
OVERALL – 4.25/5 |
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Gremlins is a very good mid-80s film that I might not have loved but still an enjoyable viewing experience every time I’ve seen it over the years, and has excellent special effects with the Mogwais. This 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo pack offers up respectable video and audio transfers to go alongside some okay bonus material. |
The screen captures came from the Blu-ray copy and are here to add visuals to the review and do not represent the 4K video.