{"id":3993,"date":"2012-03-14T00:22:01","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T07:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=3993"},"modified":"2021-05-28T16:26:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T23:26:56","slug":"review-americanpie-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2012\/03\/review-americanpie-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"American Pie Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2012\/03\/review-americanpie-bd\/#more-3993\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"American Pie Blu-ray Review\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/logos\/universal-sm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><strong><em>American Pie<\/em><\/strong> is still a fun movie that might not have any sense of reality given most of these characters only exist on celluloid, but even so, it\u2019s a movie that even with its age still manages to make me laugh be it for the gross-out, raunchy jokes or sex humor.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/B006WXHJVC\/moviemsguidet-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Buy American Pie on Blu-ray from Amazon.com\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/reviews\/2012\/americanpie1-bd.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"376\" \/><\/a><strong><br \/>\nAmerican Pie (1999)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><br \/>\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span><strong><a href=\"#movie\"><br \/>\nThe Movie<\/a> | <a href=\"#features\">Special Features<\/a> | <a href=\"#video\">Video Quality<\/a> | <a href=\"#audio\">Audio Quality<\/a> | <a href=\"#overall\">Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Genre(s): <\/strong>Comedy<br \/>\nUniversal | Unrated\/R \u2013 96 min. \u2013 $19.98 | March 13, 2012<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">MOVIE INFO:<\/span><br \/>\nDirected by: <\/strong>Paul Weitz<strong><br \/>\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Adam Herz (written by)<strong><br \/>\nCast: <\/strong>Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Shannon Elizabeth<\/p>\n<p><strong>Theatrical Release Date: <\/strong>July 9, 1999<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">DISC INFO:<\/span><br \/>\nFeatures: <\/strong>Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, BD-Live, DVD Copy, Digital Copy<strong><br \/>\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/p>\n<p><strong>Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (DTS 2.0)<strong><br \/>\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85<strong><br \/>\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Spanish<strong><br \/>\nDisc Size: <\/strong>40.2 GB<strong><br \/>\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC<strong><br \/>\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"movie\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>THE MOVIE<\/strong><strong> \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>As their senior year of high school draws to a close, four friends \u2013 Jim (JASON BIGGS), Oz (CHRIS KLEIN), Kevin (THOMAS IAN NICHOLAS) and Finch (EDDIE KAYE THOMAS) \u2013 make a pact to lose their virginity on prom night, back one another up to encourage and help in the process. Oz attempts to change his jock persona by pursuing choir girl Heather (MENA SUVARI); Kevin struggles with the \u201cL\u201d word and trying to have sex with long time girlfriend Vicky (TARA REID); Finch uses the gossip mill to raise his stock; and our main character, Jim, has much, shall we say, love but not luck especially with sexy exchange student Nadia (SHANNON ELIZABETH). Through their escapades, they also must deal with their obnoxious and outrageous \u201cfriend\u201d, Stifler (SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT) while Jim receives advice from his all too straight forward father (EUGENE LEVY).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>The first <strong><em>American Pie<\/em><\/strong> has always had a special place in my movie heart as it was released in my senior year of high school. After not seeing it in several years, I wasn\u2019t sure how it would hold up and although it\u2019s not as great as I once remembered, it\u2019s still a funny, heart-felt comedy which even with some gross-out humor, didn\u2019t make it the central comedic point.<\/p>\n<p>Casting wise, although none of them have really gone on to bigger and better things (Alyson Hannigan has found some success on \u201cHow I Met Your Mother\u201d, plus \u201cBuffy\u201d before that), once in a while a script and group of characters come along that just makes it perfect starting with Jason Biggs, he\u2019s great as the hapless, clueless high school cool nerd (which doesn\u2019t exist). Seann William Scott, even if he is obnoxious (though the sequels he\u2019s taken to the extreme), also stands out amongst the ensemble.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the first entry in the <strong><em>Pie<\/em><\/strong> series might not hold up compared to my own memories dating back 13 years now but it\u2019s still provides plenty of laughs and makes me long for comedies that don\u2019t solely rely on gross-out sex humor (see the numerous direct-to-video <em>American Pie<\/em> flicks) and has a heart behind it all.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"features\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This release comes with a semi-glossy, embossed slip cover. As far as I can tell, all of the features from the \u201cUltimate Edition\u201d have been ported over, including, from what I can surmise, the content on \u201cBeneath the Crust\u201d Volumes 1 &amp; 2.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">American Pie<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Revealed: The Complete Story of All Three Comedies (3:33:29; SD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 I can\u2019t be sure, but I believe at least part of this is the compilation of the features on the \u201cBeneath the Crust\u201d DVD releases all wrapped into one. The intro by Eugene Levy doesn\u2019t make a whole lot of sense since he explains a menu system not on this Blu-ray, but even so, it\u2019s nice to have it all here.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, the feature includes behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with members of the crew and cast, audition footage, outtakes and more deleted scenes. It\u2019s not a well polished making-of documentary but nice to watch and get a better sense on how the franchise was born. <strong>** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Audio Commentary<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This group commentary includes Director Paul Weitz, Producer Chris Weitz, Writer Adam Herz and Cast Members Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott and Eddie Kaye Thomas. The track isn&#8217;t bad and offers a wide array of info from different perspectives.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Deleted Scenes (5:52; SD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 Here we get a few scenes that for whatever reason, most likely pacing or they\u2019re not very funny, were cut from the final product.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Outtakes (2:46; SD)<\/span><\/strong> include line flubs and general on-set antics leading to laughter.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">American Reunion<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">: A Look Inside (3:58; HD)<\/span><\/strong> isn\u2019t anything special but you get some behind-the-scenes footage with comments by the cast as they talk about reuniting one more time.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Casting Tapes (7:40; SD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 You can check out the audition tapes for Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas and Eddie Kaye Thomas.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Spotlight on Location (10:30; SD)<\/span><\/strong> is your really basic and lame EPK featurette where you learn absolutely nothing and was made only to advertise the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">From the Set: Photographic Montage (7:10; SD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This montage is kind of neat and includes interview excerpts with Paul and Chris Weitz.<\/p>\n<p>Rounding out the disc is a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Music Video (5:16; SD)<\/span><\/strong> for Tonic \u201cYou Wanted More\u201d, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Tonic Live Performance (10:52; SD)<\/span><\/strong>, <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Poster Concepts<\/span><\/strong>, the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Theatrical Trailer (2:31; SD)<\/span><\/strong> and a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">BD-Live<\/span><\/strong> portal.<\/p>\n<p>Also included is a standard <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">DVD Copy<\/span><\/strong> that has been previously released before and includes all the features (save for <em>AP <\/em>Revealed) and a <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Digital Copy<\/span><\/strong> download code.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"video\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Universal releases <strong><em>American Pie<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray, presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio. The 1080p high-def transfer mostly looks good with a discernible amount of natural film grain and noise. However, it doesn\u2019t quite get a full stamp of approval mainly because at times it doesn\u2019t look fantastic even by comparison with other movies from around the same time. Even so, it\u2019s probably a good improvement over its DVD counterpart.<br \/>\n<a name=\"audio\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>AUDIO \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the audio. The disc comes with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which is OK for most home theaters but I immediately noticed that it was far too quiet. The dialogue levels are especially low while even the musical elements (like the score and songs) didn\u2019t provide much, if any, depth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><br \/>\n<a name=\"overall\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>OVERALL \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Overall, <strong><em>American Pie<\/em><\/strong> is still a fun movie that might not have any sense of reality given most of these characters only exist on celluloid, but even so, it\u2019s a movie that even with its age still manages to make me laugh be it for the gross-out, raunchy jokes or sex humor. As far as the Blu-ray is concerned, I was disappointed with the lossless audio that\u2019s not much better than a standard Dolby Digital track while the video, albeit nothing noteworthy, is a marginal improvement over the DVD version. I am glad that all of the features from the \u201cUltimate Edition\u201d were ported over which isn\u2019t always the case when it comes to Universal\u2019s Blu-ray catalogue titles.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The Movieman<\/em><strong><br \/>\nPublished: <\/strong>03\/14\/2012<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Pie is still a fun movie that might not have any sense of reality given most of these characters only exist on celluloid, but even so, it\u2019s a movie that even with its age still manages to make me laugh be it for the gross-out, raunchy jokes or sex humor. &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,970],"tags":[1419,1417,1422,992,1418,1420,1183,461,1421],"class_list":["post-3993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","category-quick-hit-reviews","tag-alyson-hannigan","tag-american-pie","tag-chris-klein","tag-eugene-levy","tag-jason-biggs","tag-mena-suvari","tag-seann-william-scott","tag-shannon-elizabeth","tag-thomas-ian-nicholas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3993"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26118,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3993\/revisions\/26118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}