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A groundbreaking screwball caper, 1978's National Lampoon's Animal House was in its own way a rite of passage for Hollywood. Set in 1962 at Faber College, it follows the riotous carryings-on of the Delta Fraternity, into which are initiated freshmen Tom Hulce and Stephen Furst. Among the established house members are Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert and the late John Belushi as Bluto, a belching, lecherous, Jack Daniels guzzling maniac. A debauched house of pranksters (culminating in the famous Deathmobile sequence), Delta stands as a fun alternative to the more strait-laced, crew-cut, unpleasantly repressive norm personified by Omega House. As cowriter the late Doug Kenney puts it, "better to be an animal than a vegetable".
Animal House is deliberately set in the pre-JFK assassination, pre-Vietnam era, something not made much of here, but which would have been implicitly understood by its American audience. The film was an enormous success, a rude, liberating catharsis for the latter-day frathousers who watched it. However, decades on, a lot of the humour seems broad, predictable, boorish, oafishly sexist and less witty than Airplane!, made two years later in the same anarchic spirit. Indeed, although it launched the Hollywood careers of several of its players and makers, including Kevin Bacon, director John Landis, Harold Ramis and Tom Hulce, who went on to do fine things, it might well have been inadvertently responsible for the infantilisation of much subsequent Hollywood comedy. Still, there's an undeniable energy that gusts throughout the film and Belushi, whether eating garbage or trying to reinvoke the spirit of America "After the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour" is a joy.
On the DVD: Animal House comes to disc in a good transfer, presented in 1.85:1. The main extra is a featurette in which director John Landis, writer Chris Miller and some of the actors talk about the making of the movie. Interestingly, 23 years on, most of those interviewed look better than they did back in 1978, especially Stephen "Flounder" Furst. --David Stubbs
Product Description
John Landis' raucous college comedy, set in the early Sixties, now has semi-cult status. Delta House is the fraternity that will take anyone no other club wants as a member and makes sure nothing comes in the way of their partying. The college dean (John Vernon) is desperate to close Delta House down and enlists the help of another fraternity full of sanctimonious, white, rich boys. However, Delta House's affiliates are equally determined to continue their partying and high-jinks: culminating in a showdown during the homecoming parade. John Belushi's film career took off after playing the toga-loving John 'Bulto' Bultarsky, and Donald Sutherland puts in an appearance as a free-thinking, pot-smoking professor.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
Although the film is as good as it always was. This DVD has been ruined by the complete changing of some of the music in the film. I counted at least four songs that have been changed, including Money, and the Sam Cooke song Wonderful World.
I have given this DVD 2 stars not the film as the original was 5 stars.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
Just bought the new Animal House dvd. After all these years it's still a classic! Most people mention Belushi's performance but for me the underrated Tim Matheson as Otter steals the show. (Tim Matheson should've been a major star). However the big disappointment on this version is they've changed much of the music featured from the original film. No "Wonderful World", "Theme from a Summer Place", "Let's Dance" (from the foodfight scene). And what's worse they've replaced it with bland "modern" music and it's awful. This is the first time I've ever heard of this happening to film music. But at least they've kept Elmer Bernstein's classic original score. A superb film but one star deducted for the changes.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Most films in National Lampoon's canon are interesting, funny in a fairly juvenile way, and you sometimes feel they are for Americans only.
This little devil, however, was amongst the first they made, and bucks all those later trends. You can easily watch it once a month, the humour is broad and black at the same time, and it's got such universal appeal, I've always wished I'd still been at Grammar school when it came out, so I could've tried a few tricks from the movie here. Unfortunately, I'd have been a peculiar retard to still be there aged 27!!
One good reason for its' success is the excellent weaseally performance of John Vernon as Dean Wormer. His crypto-Fascist efforts to squash Delta fraternities fun and excesses have remained ursurpassed, even by Alan Rickman as Sheriff of Nottingham in Prince of Thieves-talk about the pantomime villian incarnate.
But, of course, it helps to have a hero to match and finally outwit that villian. Luckily, it isn't an anaemic and tree-hugging one-it's the one and only John Belushi. There's probably no point in anyone else being on screen in every scene he's in-he just dominates events quite wonderfully.
I'll leave it there & not spoil the ending-let's just say the final battle between the WASP's and the anarachic Delta frat is something to behold, and beats Star Wars or Lord of the Rings hands down!
This little devil, however, was amongst the first they made, and bucks all those later trends. You can easily watch it once a month, the humour is broad and black at the same time, and it's got such universal appeal, I've always wished I'd still been at Grammar school when it came out, so I could've tried a few tricks from the movie here. Unfortunately, I'd have been a peculiar retard to still be there aged 27!!
One good reason for its' success is the excellent weaseally performance of John Vernon as Dean Wormer. His crypto-Fascist efforts to squash Delta fraternities fun and excesses have remained ursurpassed, even by Alan Rickman as Sheriff of Nottingham in Prince of Thieves-talk about the pantomime villian incarnate.
But, of course, it helps to have a hero to match and finally outwit that villian. Luckily, it isn't an anaemic and tree-hugging one-it's the one and only John Belushi. There's probably no point in anyone else being on screen in every scene he's in-he just dominates events quite wonderfully.
I'll leave it there & not spoil the ending-let's just say the final battle between the WASP's and the anarachic Delta frat is something to behold, and beats Star Wars or Lord of the Rings hands down!
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bought for husband
A blast from the past which always makes my husband laugh - mostly because he relates some of the characters to colleagues at work!
Published 7 days ago by Tink24
4.0 out of 5 stars
Animal House
Bought as an update from my video collection. Still funny years later, with the great John Belushi and very nice, and young! Tim Matheson.
Published 27 days ago by Shirley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Belushi et al
This film seems to get better with age. Make sure you buy THIS version of the movie however, as more recent versions have a different sound track which in my opinion detracts from... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Instructor
5.0 out of 5 stars
A COMEDY CLASSIC.
The first and,in my opinion,the best National Lampoon movie.One of the many high points in the late John Belushi's tragically short life. Read more
Published 10 months ago by deadkat77
2.0 out of 5 stars
Over rated
Lots of friends recommended Animal House to me. They love it but I found it pretty poor with John Belushi the only strong cast member. So many better comedies out there.
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Richard Rosson
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my all time favourites
Must have watched this over 50 times. Always makes me laugh. Silly, smutty, very funny. Exactly what you need to brighten your day.
Published 23 months ago by Smiler
3.0 out of 5 stars
A great film ruined
Yes, they removed all the original, and classic, music from the film. When I looked it up on the internet - it happened for copyright reasons apparently. Read more
Published 23 months ago by ComedyGirl
4.0 out of 5 stars
Original music!
The English version from 2001 (or feb. 4 2002) has the original music (Let's Dance in the foodfight scene). Read more
Published on 16 May 2011 by Mirko Mihaljevic
1.0 out of 5 stars
VIOLATED BEYOND BELIEF
I should have known from reading one of the reviews warning me of changes in the music. I put this on for someone who had never seen it, hoping to enrich their lives a little, but... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2010 by K. Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic !!!
The film is basically about a bunch of frat boys in the early 60's, who attend Faber University and live in a fraternity. Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2009 by MOR :
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