BLU-RAY REVIEW

Jerk, The (40th Anniversary Edition)

Picture3.5
Sound3
WSR Score5
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(Studio/Distributor):
Shout Factory
(Catalog Number):
SF19168
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$34.93
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
(Running Time In Minutes):
94
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
12/18/2018
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
(Director):
Carl Reiner
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 2.0
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(Subtitles):

He may have been "born a poor black child," but "The Jerk "(Martin) soon amassed millions (by inventing the Opti-Grab eyeglass handle), gained power, and earned the love of a beautiful woman (Peters)...and then just as quickly, lost it all. (Danny Richelieu)

Special features include a conversation with Steve Martin and Carl Reiner, a conversation with Co-Writer Carl Gottlieb, the featurettes "Learn To Play 'You Belong To Me'" (HD 04:07) and "The Lost Film Strips Of Father Carlos Las Vegas De Cordova" (HD 04:20), the theatrical trailer, a teaser trailer, an exhibitor's trailer, and radio spots.

The 1.85:1 1080p AVC picture of this 40th anniversary edition, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed on film stock and sourced from a new 2K master Digital Intermediate format. While the previous Universal edition was lackluster and showed signs of its age, with poorly defined colors, this new remastered edition is clean with a significant reduction in film grain, though, there are still some rougher instances. Colors are vibrant and nicely saturated. Fleshtones are natural throughout. Contrast is good with deep blacks and brightly lit imagery. Shadow delineation is good, but darker scenes are few. There are times when details are well resolved, particularly during close-ups, but generally the imagery is soft. Still, this is the best this film has looked, with significantly diminished artifacts and dirt for a clean and colorful visual experience that will please fans of this comedy classic. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack also has benefited from the remastering, originally an optical monaural track. While age still shows signs of distortion, in both music and dialogue, fidelity has significantly been improved with wider dynamics and far better fidelity. Dialogue sounds generally natural throughout, but spatial integration is still wanting, The orchestral score sounds better-defined with a fuller presence and bass extension. The preferred version is the 5.1-channel remix, rather than the stereo, which sounds unnatural. While still compressed sounding, this is a serviceable soundtrack. (Gary Reber)