Caddyshack: 20th Anniversary Edition
review by James S.
Rated R
Running Time: 99 minutes
Starring Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield,
Ted Knight, Michael
O'Keefe
Studio: Warner Brothers
Directed by Harold Ramis
Retail Price: $19.99
Features: Behind-the-Scenes Documentary, Theatrical
Trailer, Production Notes
Specs: Anamorphic Widescreen, Dolby Digital Mono
English, Dolby Digital Mono French, English and French
Captions, Chapter Search
Caddyshack is a movie of many stories. First there is
Carl Spackler, played by Bill Murray. Carl is a lowly golf
course greenskeeper who must search out and destroy a gopher
wreaking havoc on the course. Then there's Danny (Michael
O'Keefe), who is a caddy at the course. Danny is trying to
figure out his future. You have Judge Smails (Ted Knight),
the reining head honcho at the country club, trying to rid
the course of an equally annoying pest, Al Czervik (Rodney
Dangerfield). Al's obnoxious behavior annoys the Judge to no
end. Finally, Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) just wants to play golf.
The story has no real depth. It's simply a pointless
comedy in the vain of Animal House or Meatballs. The movie
is a medium to carry one-liners. While there is a defined
ending involving a golf tournament, Caddyshack is a movie to
give you a few laughs rather than a thought provoking
moment.
Considering this DVD is billed as the 20th Anniversary
edition, Warner failed to give the movie an anniversary
makeover. While the movie is presented in full widescreen,
it has moments of tape damage. In addition, some scenes have
a gritty look to them. The DVD has budget title written all
over it.
The dialogue and music are clear. However, the movie has
only two sound tracks. The English and French sound tracks
are presented in Dolby Digital Mono. That's right. Mono.
Caddyshack includes the original theatrical trailer,
which is a laugh to watch. Hollywood has come a long way,
and nothing shows it more than the amateurish trailer. An
additional feature, Caddyshack: The 19th Hole, is a
documentary that takes up just over 30 minutes. It contains
outtakes from the movie and comments from some of the cast
and crew.
A landmark film that's been preserved on DVD, The
Graduate is a fine addition to the movie lover's library.
While the DVD lacks an anamorphic transfer, the quality of
the film is excellent. The audio is loaded with classic
songs from Simon and Garfunkel. The extra features are
interesting in their own right and are icing on the cake.
 (3/5, NOT included in
final score)
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(2/5)
 (2.5/5, NOT an average)
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