Why So Blu?

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (20th Anniversary 4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy celebrates it’s 20^th anniversary this year.  It’s quite hard to believe considering how fresh and ever-referenced it is now.  We even have a sequel that somehow managed to continue the good times almost ten years after the original.  Now, realistically, today, this movie could not be made the same.  For that, I’m grateful it came out in 2004. We live in a time where comedies like this just don’t exist anymore, and now, we have these 2000s classics to revel in, just before the film industry seemingly lost its sense of humor. Read on about Anchorman below, including a link to my colleague Brian White’s 2013 review, and my retrospective thoughts, along with the usual tech review! As always, you can get your copy of Anchorman by clicking the cover art at the end of the review!

Film:

Please see Brian’s thorough review of the “Rich Mahogany Edition” of Anchorman HERE.

So, since my very well written colleague delivered an excellent critical analysis of the film, I get the pleasure of tributing the film. I love to recall a good memory!

I remember when this film was first being released.  I was anti about the whole thing.  I thought the film looked stupid, unfunny and poorly planned.  I kept my stance as the film gained traction and praise, sticking to my guns.  It was one unavoidable evening where I sat in my old Toyota pickup with a friend, engaging in teenaged stoner activities, when we parked somewhere and put a copy of Anchorman into a laptop and watched.  I was dying laughing almost from the start. Ron Burgundy prepping for camera, chatting to assistants and makeup artists and chugging scotch.  The random things Will Farrell was saying really took me out.  Mind you, this is just the opening of the movie.  As things open up further, we get the treat of an equally game supporting cast.  Christina Applegate is never brought up in the running of funniest female actresses and unfortunately this is a huge disservice.  Here, she is every bit an equal to Will Ferrell, showing him up in a few moments such as their fight scene, or the Gun Show scene.  We also get Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Kathryn Hahn, Fred Armisen, Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, and Jack Black all show up and give another layer of comedic energy to the whole thing.  The cast is stacked, and they’re all firing on all cylinders.

This is also a great showcase for director Adam McKay, who had a fruitful collaboration with many of these actors after Anchorman. His films always have a warm glow, almost like great classic TV or films of the past.  There’s love and care taken with how things look or how scenes play out.  Nothing is paced too slow or seems awkward and you know a lot of what we see is improvised, but it’s all edited in a way that it breezes through.  There is such a rhythm to the film that by the time you reach the end, you’ll wonder where the time went.

It’s a shame that movies like Anchorman don’t get made anymore.  In a time where box office receipts are low for some of the biggest or most hyped films, a movie that will do well and bring in some laughs feels so needed.  It’s unfortunate that there’s this small bitter note to close my critical part of the review, but it’s my time to make a plea! We as a moviegoing, film loving community need comedies.  We all need to laugh and, in that laughter, we could find an escape. That same escape studios believe we get from superhero films or dystopian fantasies can be just as effective in a movie filled with moments to laugh at.  I know it to be true and am waiting for this generation’s Anchorman. In 2004, this film was unknowingly groundbreaking, and the laughter remains, hearty and heady, to this day!

Video:

NOTE: Images are provided for promotional use only and are not from the 4K Blu-ray

• Encoding: HEVC/H.265
• Resolution: 4K
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• HDR: Dolby Vision
• Clarity/Detail: Already having a nice looking Blu-ray, even 10+ years after its release, Anchormansparkles in 4K. Dolby Vision HDR aides a colorful film with a nice filmic sheen, and surprising detail on everything from facial features and clothing textures to woodgrain patterns (rich mahogany no doubt). Grain remains intact. Clarity is excellent as well.
• Depth: There are a few moments of softness that are inherent to the source material, but nothing out of the ordinary. Foreground and background shots come into clear focus and the film looks fantastic in most every shot.
• Black Levels: Crush free blacks come through perfectly!
• Color Reproduction: Set in a very colorful 70’s San Diego, the film has lots of yellows, reds, blues and greens popping off the screen. Here this is only aided by the wider spectrum of Dolby Vision.
• Flesh Tones: Flesh tones look sun kissed and tan, but of course they would, and that’s exactly how they should look.
• Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio:

• Audio Format(s):  English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish
• Dynamics: Anchorman arrives for its 20^th anniversary with the same 5.1 mix as the Blu-ray. This is nothing to scoff at as dynamically the film still sounds perfectly rendered in the format.  Music, sound effects and dialogue all are in the right place with nothing sounding off or dated.
• Height: N/A
• Low Frequency Extension: Music is the main proponent of bass, and the source cues and score sound spot on. There is a fight scene with some moments of bass, and a helicopter in the opening to offer a little rumble also.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Surround sound is mostly for ambience whether it’s in the newsroom, at a party or outside in sunny San Diego.
• Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue sounds excellent throughout.

Extras:

The 20^th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray™ set includes the remastered theatrical version of the film in sparkling 4K Ultra HD, plus two Blu-ray Discs with more than two hours of legacy bonus content, including cast auditions, deleted scenes, bloopers, an “Afternoon Delight” music video, and much, much more.  In addition, fans can enjoy both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film on Blu-ray, as well as WAKE UP, RON BURGUNDY: THE LOST MOVIE, a 92-minute film featuring outtakes and unused storylines from the original movie.  Bonus content is detailed below:

Blu-ray Disc 1

• Theatrical and Extended versions of the film branched
• Commentary by Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Lou Rawls, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Bloopers
• “Afternoon Delight” Music Video
• ESPN SportsCenter Audition – Ron Burgundy

Blu-ray Disc 2

• Wake Up Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie
• Intro-Commentary with Will Ferrell and Aaron Zimmerman
• PSA
• Award Speech
• Raw Footage “Good Takes”
• “Afternoon Delight” Recording Session
• Interviews
• Specials
• Cast Auditions
• Table Read 6/2/03
• Rehearsals
• Playback Video
• Commercial Break
• Trailers

Summary:

Make no mistake – Anchorman is an excellent comedy. Watching the film 20 years later feels the same as it did the first viewing. There is a freshness to the film that hasn’t gotten stale. We have prime Will Ferrell and an excellent cast filled with comic geniuses and excellent direction from Adam McKay.  The resulting film is now a comedy icon and a reflection of a comedy film we just don’t get anymore.  Without hesitation this is a must buy for fans of the film.  It looks excellent in 4K and contains every bit of bonus you could want too! As always, you stay classy, San Diego.