City Slickers is a fun and best yet, timeless, movie that resonates just as well today as it did back then. What especially works is the core cast of Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby who work so well off one another.
City Slickers
— Collector’s Edition: Shout Select —
(1991)
Genre(s): Comedy, Adventure
Shout Factory | PG13 – 114 min. – $29.99 | October 16, 2018
Date Published: 10/17/2018 | 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 — 4.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Every year, three friends take a vacation away from their wives. This year, henpecked Phil (DANIEL STERN), newly married Ed (BRUNO KIRBY), and Mitch (BILLY CRYSTAL) — terrified of his midlife crisis — decide to reignite their masculinity by taking a supervised cattle drive across the Southwest. Under the supervision of gruff cowboy Curly (JACK PALANCE), the men set out on a journey that turns unexpectedly dangerous. The three men bond along the way to conquering their fear of aging. Quick Hit Review: City Slickers is a movie I believe I saw back in 1991/1992 either in theaters (as my father was a big Billy Crystal fan IIRC) or at home on the good old VHS format. So seeing this again decades later and I not only enjoyed the hell out of the movie, which consistently kept me chuckling from beginning to end, but really didn’t remember much about the plot. What worked so well is the combination of heartfelt and genuine sounding dialogue with the amazing chemistry between its leads with Crystal, Stern and Kirby. Add in the gruff and intense Jack Palance, who took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and you’ve got one memorable adventure-comedy that, despite some dated references (one being Phil’s inability to understand how to set up a VCR recording), still resonates well today, perhaps even more so with the takeover of technology in our everyday lives (wouldn’t surprise me if we see a remake along those lines). Directed by Ron Underwood, City Slickers is just a fun and heartfelt flick that still is incredibly humorous 20+ years later. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.75/5 |
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This release, from Shout’s Collector’s Edition and Select line (#47 for those curious) comes with a matted slip cover and the inner cover is reversible revealing the film’s original poster artwork. No new features from the MGM Blu-ray and DVD releases, but still decent material. Audio Commentary by Director Ron Underwood and Actors Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern Back in the Saddle: City Slickers Revisited (28:59; HD) retrospective featurette with interviews with cast and crew members. Bringing in the Script: Writing City Slickers (20:59; HD) with the screenwriters discussing their influences and what drew the cast to the screenplay. A Star is Born: An ode to Norman (6:14; HD) featurette on the cute calf. The Real City Slickers (8:55; HD) featurette on real-life slickers who spend their vacations on a ranch. Lastly are some rough Deleted Scenes (2:48; HD) with comments by Underwood, and the Theatrical Trailer (2:54; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Shout Factory releases City Slickers and the only info is that this is a “New 4K Transfer” which could mean anything. That said, this 1080p presentation of the film in its original 1.85 aspect ratio does look excellent with sharp and nicely defined detail throughout and colors are bright and vibrant without seeming over saturated. I also really didn’t notice much in the way of scratches, dust marks or other flaws. |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is likely the same one included on the MGM/Fox Blu-ray released some years ago. Even so, the audio mix sounds quite good providing crisp and clear dialogue via the center channel and some modest depth, particularly during the cattle herding as well as the rapids rescue sequence. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, City Slickers is a fun and best yet, timeless, movie that resonates just as well today as it did back then, even more so considering today’s society and the addiction to technology. What especially works is the core cast of Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby who work so well off one another, not to mention Jack Palance’s short but bittersweet, Oscar-winning, performance. The Blu-ray, part of Shout’s Collector’s Edition and Select series, offers great, and updated, video and solid audio transfers along with some nice, if not old, bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.