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Top Secret
(I Love The 80s)

review by Zach B.

 

 

MPAA Rating: PG

Running Time: 90 minutes

Starring: Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge

Written by: Jim Abrahamas, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Marty Burke

Directed by: Jim Abrahamas, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker

 

Studio: Paramount

Retail Price: $12.99

Features: Audio Commentary with Writers/Directors Jim Abrahamas, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker; Producers Jon Davison and Hunt Lowry; and Moderator Fred Rubin, Four Alternate Scenes, Storyboards, Theatrical Trailer

Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Surround, French Mono, English Subtitles, English Closed Captions, Scene Selections (28 Scenes)

Released: February 3rd, 2009

 

 

"Top Secret" is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and it looks pretty good for the most part. It's a bit grainy, but it often looks pretty soft. Detail isn't so great in it, while color saturation is a bit underwhelming. Fleshtones are pretty decent, but it's plagued with pieces of dirt, blemishes, nicks, scratches and a lot of other marks on the print. It doesn't pop out at you, isn't too sharp and looks pretty flat. Still, despite the flaws and plainess, it could be worse.

 

"Top Secret" features a rather strong 5.1 Dolby Digital surround remix, and I was pretty amazed how great it sounded. Comedies don't often make great mixes, let alone, some remixes can be hard to pull off. Still, "Top Secret!" in 5.1 sounds pretty fresh, and it certainly got me into the movie more. It's pretty loud, and the track certainly booms with flavor. Be it the slapstick gags, train rustlings, the excellent Maurice Jarre score, punches, fighting... there is great mixing all around and nice seperational effects. Dynamic range and fidelity is pretty excellent, while dialogue is crisp and clear. Everything is nicely seperated and doesn't overpower the other elements. It sounds a bit artificial, but it works fine for what it is and is pretty impressive overall.

Also included are English subtitles, English closed captions, a French Mono track and an English Dolby Surround track.

 




The main thing here is the Audio Commentary with Writers/Directors Jim Abrahamas, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker; Producers Jon Davison and Hunt Lowry; and Moderator Fred Rubin. This is a very solid track, despite the dead air here and there. I do like it when multiple participants get together for a group track, especially when they're all together and not edited. There are fun stories here about the movie, as they point out the film's references, joke around and have an overall good time. They have a lot of interesting stuff to say on many different topics. You can tell they all like their work and had fun making it.

There are Four Alternate Scenes: "One Little Apple," "Fetch," "Thirsty" and "Burning Passion." These are actually more like deleted scenes, and are presented in anamorphic widescreen and are in pretty good quality. The scenes are pretty fun, and are short. We also have three Storyboards to view (actually more like storyboard sequences): "Skeet Surfing," "The Nightclub" and "Nick In Prison." Finally, we have the Theatrical Trailer in anamorphic widescreen.


 
 

"Top Secret!" certainly is funny and will always have its many fans among moviegoers. The presentation of the movie is good while the supplements are ultimately satisfying. This re-release of the DVD is the same DVD that came out nearly 7 years ago - except it now has a "I Love The 80s" banner, and a 4-track CD with some classic 80s tunes. Most of you can probably live without the soundtrack, but if this was a title you wanted before, it's a small addition that comes with the price reduction.