City Slickers: Collector's Edition Blu-ray

[Michael Scott]

City Slickers: Collector's Edition

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie

Shout Factory has been doing a solid job on rescuing a lot of older MGM discs that have previously been released on Blu-ray, and then upgrading them to their infamous collector’s editions (both in and out of their Shout Select premium lineup). City Slickers is a bit of an odd choice for them, because not only is the film not within a 25th or 30th anniversary year (it’s the film’s 27th anniversary if we’re getting technical) BUT it was also released on Blu-ray barely 4 years ago from MGM as of their rare catalog titles in recent history. Strangely enough the film’s extras haven’t been upgraded from the previous release as well, although Shout Factory is advertising a brand new 4K remaster from the source elements (a remaster which DOES look excellent I might add).

City Slickers is one of those bits of my childhood that I will always remember fondly. I would sit up late nights with my older brothers watching the old VHS with them as a 12 year old kid (back when they recorded it off of TV), and then would watch the film with my girlfriend (now wife) back in college because she had never seen it. For some reason I got a little burnt out with watching the comedy flick at least a dozen or so times, and took a break with it in around 2008 or so, and haven’t watched it all for the last 10 years. I picked up the 2014 MGM Blu-ray back when it was released in 2014, but for some reason never got around to watching it (and subsequently lost the disc it appears). So while I’ve always been a fan of the movie and have watched it many times, this collector’s edition is the first time I’ve seen the movie in the better part of a decade, and still laughed so hard my sides ached for a good hour after the movie ended.

Mitch (Billy Crystal) and his buddies Ed (Bruno Kirby) and Phil (Daniel Stern) go on a “guys vacation” every year without their wives, but this year is a bit different. Mitch has been getting depressed that his career isn’t going the way that he planned, Ed is newly married and getting nervous about settling down, and Phil is getting a divorce after his controlling wife finds out he schtooped the checkout girl at the grocery store that he runs for her father. The three men are down and out and they figure it’s time to do something completely different and give their time together some new pep. So they decide to chip in and go on a masculinity enhancing cattle drive vacation for city slickers to get their red blood pumping.

Though their lives are a mess, the cattle drive turns out to be an unmitigated nightmare. Mitch can barely throw a lasso without hanging himself with it, the group gets stuck with a slightly crazed old cowboy to lead the drive (played by Jack Palance, who actually won an award for best supporting actor that year), and a pair of leering cowboys who are hitting on the one lone girl in the bunch (played by Supergirl actress Helen Slater). As tempers rise and a few mistakes happen, the city slickers find themselves without any supervision on a cattle drive that is now THEIR responsibility to get home.

City Slickers was a big deal back in 1991, garnering $200 million worldwide, and getting a few awards that year. It even spawned a sequel 3 years later (which I would love to see get upgraded to Blu-ray or 4K UHD), but it has kind of fallen off the radar in comparison to other 90s flicks like Home Alone and it’s sequels. It’s still a hilariously funny film though, and that is achieved mainly due to Jack Palance as Curly, and Billy Crystal hitting every high point perfectly (his “helloooooo” has been mimicked many times over the years in my household). There’s some nice dramatic points in the film to keep it grounded, and I really do find that it’s worth a lot more than history has deemed it worthy on home video.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 By the MPAA




Video:

I’m embarrassed to say that I bought the City Slickers Blu-ray in 2014 (the MGM disc that is) and never got around to watching it. I somehow lost it as well, as I tried to pull it out and use it to A/B the new disc but it wasn’t anywhere in my collection (grrr, lost discs always annoy me), however I did hear great results about the transfer. This new Shout Factory “Shout Select” title has been given a new 4K remaster by Shout and the results speak for themselves. The disc is exquisitely detailed and one of the better looking 90s transfers I’ve seen in a while. The film is intrinsically grainy (with some of the grainier shots being at night time campfires), but it’s a very natural look that just exudes detail and clarity despite some thicker moments of grain. Faces are burnished a bit in the color department, and the whole thing has hints of auburn throughout the film, but the rest of the colors really do pop, such as Curly’s bright right bandana, or the deep blue of Mitch’s baseball cap. Blacks are well defined and show off plenty of shadow details, with the only “issue” being a slight uptick of grain levels during the darker shots.







Audio:

Like most of the Shout/Scream factory titles, there’s a 5.1 DTS-HD MA track in English, as well as a down mixed 2.0 DTS-HD MA track as well for night listening. Naturally the 5.1 is the one I’m going to give my nod to, and the mix is more than appropriate for a comedy track. From what I’ve gleaned from a few reviewer friends who HAVE A/B’d against the old disc, this is the exact same 5.1 mix that was on the older 2014 MGM disc, and does just as well as it did then. The track is a bit front heavy (as most older comedies are), with the dialog being the main focus throughout the film. There’s a few moments of boisterous activity, such as when the cattle stampede, or when the old fashioned country score comes through, but those are limited in nature with the majority of the time spent in the 3 main speakers at the front of the room. It’s a very capable 5.1 mix and does everything asked of it without question or hiccup, despite being a light on the subs and surround channels.







Extras:

• BRAND NEW 4K REMASTER OF THE FILM
• Audio Commentary By Director Ron Underwood And Stars Billy Crystal And Daniel Stern
• Featurettes:
- "Back In The Saddle: City Slickers" Revisited
- "Bringing In The Script: Writing City Slickers"
- "A Star Is Born: An Ode To Norman"
- "The Real City Slickers"
• Deleted Scenes

Final Score: ​

City Slickers is a hilarious bit of early 90s comedy, back when Billy Crystal was on top of his game and rather popular. I grew up thinking the film insanely funny and the film still is able to stand on it’s feet some 27 years later. Shout Factory’s collector’s edition transfers over the 5.1 mix from the 2014 MGM Blu-ray, as well as the same special feature (a move which actually surprised me, as Shout Factory collector’s editions are legendary for having TONS of new special features) and a new 4K transfer that seems to be a little bit better than the old one, which actually already got some great scores back in 2014. As such this is a bit of a harder sell to the collector’s, as most facets of the release are the same as the old one, just with a slightly better video transfer and a new cover art and slipcover. Still, if you don’t have it, the Shout Select release seems to be the best of it’s class, and the movie itself is well worth watching.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jack Palance, Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern
Directed by: Ron Underwood
Written by: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 112 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 16th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. A great movie to watch over and over again.

 

[jdubs75]

Agreed tripplej. Good classic fun that never gets old.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I need to re-visit this one. A classic for sure!

 

[Michael Scott]

little tidbit. Picture #3 is Jake Gyllenhaal, and this was actually his very first motion picture role ever (even though he only has 11 minutes of screen time)

 

[Todd Anderson]

Whoa.

I feel old

 

[jdubs75]

LOL. We all do Todd!!!

 

[Michael Scott]

with as many sports injuries as I have (and a weightlifting one that nearly destroyed my back completely) I FEEL it every year lol. I don't have to see movie anniversary dates anymore to feel old

 

[Todd Anderson]

Man, Mike, you and I are like two peas in a pod!