The ‘Burbs – Collector’s Edition

Summary

“Let’s face it… these Klopecks are strange. I’ve been watching that house since they moved in. No one comes in. No one comes out. What do you think they’re eating in there? ”

In my household there are a few films we watch every year as a family. The kids love them as much as the adults. That list is pretty short but includes What About Bob?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Captain Ron, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and The ‘Burbs. Shout! Factory recently gave fans of The ‘Burbs a wonderful new collector’s edition of the film. I had previously owned the film in the Best Buy exclusive regular edition, but of course I pre-ordered the Shout!Factory release with the poster. I proceeded to have the poster framed for my home office. I happily sat down with the family recently for our annual viewing, and as can be expected, we loved it just as much as we loved it the year before.

In the suburbs, Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks) has a week off work. Instead of driving four hours to the lake, Ray just wants to stay home and relax. His wife Carol (Carrie Fisher) knows that it will be nearly impossible for him to find relaxation at the house, but she relents and allows him to have his staycation. Next door, Ray has some very strange neighbors named the Klopecks that have recently moved in. Ray’s other neighbor Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun) is very suspicious of them. He suspects the Klopecks of foul play. Ray has his own worries that something is not right over there aside from the dead grass in their front lawn. While outside one evening, Ray and Art hear a machine in the Klopeck’s basement that builds up to an explosion of light and smoke. It drains the power of the neighborhood. Afterward, the garage opens up and the youngest Klopeck drives out of the garage to drop a large trash bag into the trash can. The bag looks about the size of a man and the Klopeck beats the hell out of the trash bag. That night Ray sees them digging in the back yard while it rains. The next day, their elderly neighbor Walter disappears without his dog or his toupee. Ray enlists the help of Art and their military veteran neighbor Mark Rumsfeld (Bruce Dern) to investigate the Klopecks and find out what exactly it is that they are doing over there.

It is hard to believe but upon the release of The ‘Burbs, critics slammed the film. They gave it some of the worst reviews imaginable. I have discussed this fact with numerous people and it always inspires anger. How? Why? What were they thinking? This is one time where the critics were simply wrong. I would say that this film receiving a bad critical reception is almost as big a mistake as when Apocalypse Now lost the Best Picture Oscar to Kramer vs. Kramer. We can’t always count on the critics to be right, but we should at least expect better of them than their treatment of this masterpiece.

The film features Tom Hanks at the height of his comedic powers. He is absolutely hilarious in the film. I can’t think of another role by Hanks where he inspired the same amount of laughter as in this film. Rick Docommun is perfectly cast as his neighbor Art. I was surprised to learn in the special features that they were not close with one another on the set. Whatever the energy was between the two in the film, it works exceedingly well onscreen. Bruce Dern is magic as Mark Rumsfeld. I can’t think of anything better than listening to him say lines like “that kid next door’s a meatball!” These actors all worked well off of each other and because the film was shot in sequence on the backlot they had room to improvise a good amount. I would love to see some of the alternate lines that Bruce Dern came up with. Wendy Schaal, who had a small role in Innerspace, plays Mrs. Rumsfield. She is lovely to look at and good in her role. Corey Feldman is at the pinnacle of his career in the film – sporting the definitive Feldman 1989 look. Carrie Fisher is a great straight man to Hanks. She keeps the film grounded in all of her scenes. Henry Gibson is wonderful in the role of Dr. Werner Klopeck. Gibson was a unique looking guy. It is hard to think of anyone else playing his role. Robert Picardo and Dick Miller have a great cameo as trash collectors.

The film relied on an inventive script by Dana Olson. The writer and director were faced with a difficult issue when Tom Hanks signed onto the film. They had to scrap their original ending where Ray would have been carted away by the Klopecks in an ambulance without having their earlier actions explained. With Hanks signed onto the film they were forced to explain the Klopecks’ actions. I think they did an admirable job considering that was never their intent. The script is consistently funny and memorable. I wish there were more suburban mysteries like this one.

The direction by Joe Dante is some of his very best work. He draws great performances from every cast member and uses the right takes in the film. The film is full of Dante’s humor and is all the better for it. The film benefits from some really well thought out cinematography by Robert M. Stephens. The film is visually appealing and has feels surreal in a positive way thanks to being filmed on the backlot of Universal Studios.

Overall – The ‘Burbs remains one of my favorite comedies of all time. I absolutely love this movie.

Video

Shout!Factory have done a good job on the transfer of the film using an MPEG-4 AVC codec of a 2K restoration performed in 2017. I never owned the Arrow Video UK Blu-ray, but the new transfer is significantly better than on the Universal Blu-ray. The film still has some soft moments and some fairly grainy ones, but the overall image quality is leagues better than the prior release. Watching the film on my UHD television, I personally thought it looked pretty great. Until we get a 4K transfer, this is the release to purchase. 

Audio

The ‘Burbs features a DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track that gets the job done. Honestly, listening to the film through my surround system, I did not notice the lack of surround activity. That must be because the film is pretty boisterous at times and the score by Jerry Goldsmith is consistently engaging and active. For a stereo track, it sounds great.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary with Writer Dana Olsen, Moderated by Author Calum Waddell
• New Interviews with Director Joe Dante, Editor Marshall Harvey, and Director of Photography John Hora 
• There Goes The Neighborhood: The Making of The ‘Burbs – This fantastic featurette includes interviews with Director Joe Dante, Actors Corey Feldman, Courtney Gaines, and Wendy Schaal, Director of Photography Robert M. Stevens, and Production Designer James H. Spencer 
• Alternate Ending 
• Original Workprint from Joe Dante’s Archive – this is a workprint and the video quality is basically VHS quality, but it is awesome to have for comparison’s sake.
• Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery 
• Stills and Posters Gallery 
• Theatrical Trailer 

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

Depending on the day of the week, The ‘Burbs is either my favorite Joe Dante directed film or second favorite. I vacillate between The ‘Burbs and Matinee, because they both bring me a tremendous amount of joy. It is not only one of the best cult films, but also one of my favorite comedies. The Shout!Factory release of The ‘Burbs features the best looking transfer of the film to date and strong audio. The supplemental features are really impressive, featuring a great retrospective piece, new interviews, and the entire workprint version of the film. I watch this film every year with my family and if you have never seen it before, you are certainly in for a treat. If you are trying to figure out which edition to purchase, Shout!Factory’s release is currently the definitive release.