The Goonies

Summary

“Goonies never say die.”

I am happy to say that I have only really ever known a world that existed after The Goonies. I was born just over a week before The Goonies appeared in theaters and lodged itself in the memories of everyone from Generation X and the millennials. As a child, this was one of my favorite movies, although I distinctly remember that I watched it on a VHS recording from Chicago’s WGN network if memory serves me correctly. The Spielberg produced, Richard Donner directed, Chris Columbus penned film inspired an entire young generation with its tale of treasure maps, counterfeiters, and young adults on the foggy coast of Astoria, Oregon. I was lucky enough to receive my new 4K UHD copy from Warner Bros. so I sat down with my two boys to show them a film that meant a lot to me as a child. The new transfer provided from Warner makes the film feel alive and new in a way that will appeal to everyone that grew up watching the film.

As the film begins, Jake Fratelli (Robert Davi) escapes from jail with the help of his mother Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) and brother Francis (Joe Pontoliano.) They are counterfeiters and dangerous. The escape leads to a car chase that passes by almost all the major characters in the film – cheerleader Andy (Kerri Green,) neurotic Stef (Martha Plimpton,) invention obsessed Data (Ke Huy Quan,) talkative Mouth (Corey Feldman) – before passing by the house of Mikey (Sean Aston) and his older brother Brand (Josh Brolin.) In the Goon Docks area of Astoria, Oregon, it’s the last week that Mikey and Brand will live in their house before it and numerous other homes are foreclosed so that some developers can make room for a golf course. Their father is a curator at a local museum and he has lots of antiquated items inside their home. Everything will need to be cleaned out that weekend before the house can be bulldozed. Mouth, Data, and Chunk (Jeff Cohen) gather at Mikey’s house to hang out since Mikey is not to leave the house. Mikey’s mother leaves Brand in charge of the boys to go to the store. When the boys go up to the attic they stumble upon a treasure map from 1632. The map may just be the key to the treasure of famous pirate One Eyed Willie. The boys also find a medallion that may help on their quest. They subdue Brand with some fitness equipment, let the air out of his bicycle tires, and ride off on their bikes in search of the treasure. Using the medallion and map, the boys locate an old restaurant that according to the map must have a secret entrance that can eventually lead to them closer to the treasure. What the boys don’t realize is that the restaurant is occupied by the villainous Fratellis. After a brief run-in with the Fratellis, where they are served water from the unused pipes as if the restaurant is still in business, the boys leave. Brand attempts to catch up to the boys and has an altercation with a jerk named Troy who is with Andy and Stef who are best friends. Upset with Troy, the girls join up with Brand right as he locates the other boys. The boys convince all of them to come into the old restaurant and try to locate the secret entrance to the next location before the Fratellis return. When they discover the entrance and also discover a federal agent’s frozen body, the Fratellis return. Chunk gets stuck behind and is asked by the others to get the police. Through a series of events, Chunk ends up spending time with the Fratellis, while the group continues their search for a way out of the caverns or a way to the treasure. Soon the Fratellis are in pursuit.

The Goonies is a fantastic film. The story was developed from the imagination of Spielberg but the script was written by Chris Columbus. Chris Columbus had just come off of the script for Gremlins, another one of my favorite movies. What I love about both of those scripts is the sense of adventure and great sense of humor. The kids in The Goonies actually talk like kids including using the occasional curse word. Every single time that one of the kids blurred out “Shit!” my ten year old son lost it with laughter. I am sure that this type of language raised a few eyebrows of parents, but it makes a big difference in how kids feel while watching the movie. When I was younger, I remember feeling the same sense of wonder and exhilaration from watching the film. The movie is helped along by the fantastic cinematography of Nick McLean that brings the foggy beautiful coastal scenery of Astoria to life. Visually, I have always found the film totally compelling and evocative, even if roughly half the film is spent in caverns built on sound stages. 

Richard Donner draws the best out of all the actors involved and in this case he is working with one of the greatest ensemble casts of child actors ever assembled. Sean Astin is the breakout star of the film as the asthmatic sweet natured dreamer Mikey. Corey Feldman is just as enjoyable as Mouth. Josh Brolin has become an incredible actor over the last thirty five years and this was his first film. The villainous Fratellis are wonderful onscreen with Robert Savi, Joe Pantoliano, and Anne Ramsey all perfect in their roles. The other cast members are all just as memorable. On top of the great cast, setting, and direction, the film benefits from an iconic score by the composer Dave Grusin. Grusin hits all the right notes and enhances every scene in the film.

For myself and many others who grew up watching the film, The Goonies is a timeless staple from the Eighties that is deserving of its classic status. In 2017, the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation for its significance. It holds up beautifully.

Video

Warner Bros. is known for their attention to detail when preserving and restoring films. I have been happy to see their commitment to making their releases look as good as technology will allow in their new releases and their catalog releases. The Goonies was given a 25th Anniversary release on Blu-ray ten years ago and the leap in technology since that time has been tremendous. The film looks fantastic in the new 2160p transfer. As fans of the film know, the first half of the film is along the foggy coast of Astoria and the second half tales place largely in underground caverns. In other reviews it seems like they hold this against the cinematography, but I thought that the cinematography of the film holds up perfectly for what it is. People can be upset that the HDR10 color enhancement does not make the film look like a totally different film, but fans of the film should rightfully be blown away by this new presentation. I can not imagine a single fan of the film walking away from viewing the film in this new presentation without feeling like they have experienced the film in a totally new way. Fine detail has improved so much and the colors have become so much more engrossing that the original disc has been turned into a paperweight or frisbee for lovers of the film. This is a truly beautiful presentation of this film.

Audio

Warner Bros. has also updated the True HD 5.1 track to a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. The 5.1 track sounds great if only marginally better than the prior track. Based on other reviews, I feel like it is safe to say that fans will be very pleased. The iconic score by Dave Grusin has never sounded better.

Supplements:

The supplements featured are only found on the Blu-Ray included in the set. They are identical to what came originally on the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray presentation. The fact that the audio commentary is not included on the UHD disk is an unfortunate oversight.

• Cast Audio Commentary

• Hidden Treasures Pop-Up Track

• “The Making of The Goonies” Vintage Featurette

• Deleted Scenes

• Cyndi Lauper Music Video – “The Goonies R Good Enough”

• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 5/5

The Goonies helped to shape the imaginations of an entire generation and remains one of the best family films of the Eighties. The cast of the film pull together under the capable direction of Richard Donner to deliver a wonderful film full of imagination and adventure. My sons and I loved revisiting it. Warner Bros. have done an incredible job on the new transfer in every way. It looks amazing. Unfortunately, the supplements can only be found on the included Blu-ray. This means that I can not watch this pristine new visual presentation with the commentary playing, which is definitely an oversight. Fans of the film will want to upgrade to the new presentation because it is a tremendous upgrade over the prior presentation. Overall, this release earns my highest recommendation due to the quality of the film and the beautiful new HDR10 enhanced 4K image.