Planes, Trains & Automobiles [Blu-ray] [1987] [Region Free]

Some John Hughes comedies are a bit lightweight, a bit frothy, a bit kiddy-friendly. They might make you smile, but they won't necessarily make you laugh out loud. This one's different. There are some real classic moments in it. The bit where Neal and Del wake up in bed together next morning ("Those aren't pillows!"). The bit where they are sharing the back of a truck with an alsatian dog, and it is so cold that their mouths have frozen in a permanent grin - including the dog. The bit where Neal is asleep in the car, and Del is singing/dancing/playing along to Mess Around on the radio instead of concentrating on driving. The bit where the traffic cop stops them, and Del tells him that even though his speedometer, his temperature and fuel gauge and all other instruments are knackered, his radio is as clear as a bell. And the bit where Neal vents his anger on the receptionist at the airport car rental place.
The last ten minutes of the movie, where Neal eventually gets home to his family, and we find out the truth about Del's wife (which the story has been leading up to all the way through), is really emotional. Much more emotional than you would expect from a John Hughes comedy anyway.
I love this film. I can watch it over and over again and not get tired of it. There's not many comedies where that is true - Spinal Tap, Life of Brian and Office Space are probably the only others. Del's witticisms (or lack of) get on Neal's nerves so much, that we laugh along with them, not because they are funny, but because they are so unfunny.
John Candy was a great comic talent who is sadly missed - some cruel people might say the same about Steve Martin after the crap stuff that he has done recently. This was made when both of them were at their peak.

Amazon have their review wrong in my opinion.

This classic piece of cinematic work charts more than just a disastrous journey across a snow-bound North America by two hopelessly mismatched travellors. The comedy comes thick and fast between on one hand an up-tight high-flying advertising executive, Martin and on the other a big-mouthed but big-hearted slob of a man, Candy.

Martin is at the pinnacle of his profession and has all the rewards that go with it, a lovely wife, healthy kids, a luxory home and a very nice watch. He is used to getting what he wants when he wants it.

Candy scrapes by as a shower curtain-ring salesman because his customers like him. His rewards are hinted at by the fact that he doesn't have a very nice watch.

The real journey, I hinted at, is where Martin eventually discovers enough humility to take a serious look at someone a lot less fortunate than himself and learns that "by the grace of God, goes he".

All the crazy comic situations that the hapless pair fall into during their challenging journey come to focus sharpened by a good helping of pathos in the final five minutes.

I regularly watch this film for a good laugh and the feel-good factor.

If you have seen this movie and agree with Amazon, then, "EX--CUSE--MEEEeee". If you haven't, then please make up your own mind.

If you were on a desert island with 2hrs battery life in your portable DVD player, this is the only film you would ever want to watch.

Hilarious, magical, briliently written and acted, you can watch it a thousand times and never get tired of it.

It has to be on everyone's shelf. No excuses.

This review is about the actual Blu-Ray, not the film:

Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
Catalogue Number: BSP 2291
Certificate: 15
Running time: 92 mins
Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic widescreen
Audio: English 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio, Portugese Mono, Spanish Mono
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portugese, Spanish

PICTURE QUALITY:
The hi-def transfer is surprisingly very good for a film of its age (1987), I must admit I was expecting a slight upgrade from the DVD print and was pleased to see a substantial improvement in picture quality.

BLU-RAY EXTRAS: (HD = Hi-Definition)
*"Getting There Is Half The Fun: The Story of Planes, Trains And Automobiles" (a post-film press conference with John Hughes, Steve Martin and John Candy talking about their involvement in the film with a crowd of reporters).

*John Hughes: Life Moves Pretty Fast featuring John Hughes: The Voice of a Generation (HD)

*Heartbreak And Triumph: The Legacy of John Hughes (HD)

*John Hughes For Adults

*A Tribute To John Candy

*Deleted Scene: "Airport Food" (HD)

Note: These are the same extras that appear on the Region 1 DVD "Those Are Not Pillows" Special Edition DVD.

I hope this helps viewers/potential customers.

I often get wary about Blu Ray releases which are just remasters these days - guess I have been hit with a few like Robocop, so I advanced cautiously with this classic, which is probably one of John Candy's finest moments.

You know the story, hapless guys trying to get home are lumbered with each other as they head home to Chicago. The usual gaffes and silly things happen on the way, and you know the rest. So I won't bore you with my opinion on the movie, it's a fine piece of work from John Hughes and is considered a cult classic. The important thing is whether the transfer is worth talking about? I would say yes, it is a slight improvement from the DVD, but it's only slight. It's a grainy film anyway - so don't expect miracles from this, but it's a nice mixdown, with the music soundtrack pumping away. You'll find yourself swaying to the rock music in the taxi, and enjoying the main theme from Yellow all over again. The image is rather good with a 35Mbit/s average AVC - which is ample for a move of this type. The scrolling is smooth and it makes it look good.

The audio is a steady 3Mbit/s, which is what we're accustomed to with Paramount. Sadly the English track is the only decent thing, the Spanish and Portuguese tracks are poor at only a mono mix, you would expect better - but as it's an English release, guess we can't really complain.

The extras are not bad either, a nice interview with Candy, Martin and Hughes, but it really isn't that insightful. It's a bit of nostalgia rather than anything else, and it's nice to see John Candy and John Hughes at their happiest.

There's a lot of tribute work for John too, but I did find some of it rather repetitive as it was in other features on the disk.... The 3 minute John Candy tribute was far too short and only really paid homage his work on this film. It felt like a filler rather than a main meal.

The biggest extra on here is the deleted scene from the flight part of the movie. It is in HD so that's one decent thing.

All in all this is as good as it's going to get for fans, sadly with no John Hughes we won't get any commentaries or any new insightful views - we have to rely on stuff from 1987. The extras felt more like filler, but at least the film looks fabulous, and if you're a big fan this is a big plus. I doubt they can do much better with this, but I bet I'll be proved wrong... Read more ›