This film was once designated the greatest romance film by "Entertainment Weekly." It does earn that honor as it is the quinsessential romance about teenage love. It will appeal to audiences of all ages, and definitely falls under my "favorites"
Say Anything: 20th Anniversary Edition (1989, Blu-ray)
Directors: Cameron Crowe
Producers: Various
Writers: Cameron Crowe
Features: * Commentary * Featurettes * Trivia Track * Deleted Material * Promo Materials
Characters:
John Cusack ... Lloyd Dobler
Ione Skye ... Diane Court
John Mahoney ... James Court
Lili Taylor ... Corey Flood
Amy Brooks ... D.C.
Genre: Drama
Review:
Available on Blu-ray and DVD November 3, 2009.
Portions of this film review were taken from the theatrical review "Say Anything" written by DVDFuture writer, George
There will be a list of greatest teen romance films, and "Say Anything" will be at or near the top. In fact, "EW" conducted a survey and found out that "Say Anything" beat out more traditional romances for the top spot, like "Annie Hall," and "When Harry Met Sally." Once you see the movie you will find out why.
"Say Anything" is a love story about a nobody named Lloyd (Cusack - "High Fidelity") and the object of his affection, Diane (Skye - "Wayne's World"). Lloyd is popular amongst his friends, and no one hates him, but everyone seems to think that him taking out Diane is a non-starter. Diane is the class valedictorian, and virtual success-in-the-making. She is heading off to great things, and well Lloyd, he is into kickboxing. After a terrific valedictory speech, Lloyd asks Diane out. His humor and resolve win her over, and she goes out with him.
What starts out as a friendship, turns into a "frienship with potential." Love is sure to come from their relationship, which is viewed negatively by Diane's dad, Jim. Jim is a protective father that wants the best for Diane, and he doesn't see Lloyd as the best. After Diane wins a fellowship that will take her overseas, Jim warns against love interest entanglements, and cautions her on getting too close to Lloyd. Meanwhile, he is entangled in his own web of trouble with the IRS. Diane is at a crossroads, as she is forced to choose between the will of her father and the love of her heart.
"Say Anything" culminates in the now famous scene of Lloyd holding up his boom box, with the Peter Gabriel tune "In Your Eyes" playing loudly. It is a serenade for Diane, and a song that is magnified by his love for her. There really is no way to describe the movie, you just have to see the film. There is your usual teenage awkwardness, but there seems to be an adult look at how growing up from high school is scary, as is the future that looms ahead. Diane seems predestined for greatness. Lloyd seems himself predestined to be with Diane. This really is an excellent movie to watch!
This film is definitely on my favorites list. I would rate it with five stars out of five. I can be a sap for romantic comedies and this film is what I base others on. Regardless of how you feel about my take, "EW"'s poll gives a clear indication of how a majority of people view this film.
Film Report Card:
Entertainment Value: A+
Film Value: A+
Final Grade:
A+
HD REVIEW:
Video:
Click on the image above to see a full-res 1920x1080 screengrab!
"Say Anything" is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen using the AVC codec on a BD50 disc consuming 33.2 gigs of disc space. The film itself consumes 22.3 gigs.
The film never really looked all that great. Clogged by grain and noise, the print is a bit flat at times (but free of dust and dirt specks). Depth, shadows and details are mostly lost under a haze of soft focus likely used to hide teen actors "blemishes" and makeup. Color is also a tad off, with fleshtones favoring a slight greenish undertone.
That said, this transfer is eons better than the original DVD, boasting a much cleaner, livelier palette and better depth and clarity. This isn’t the finest film to show off your hi-def system, but this is easily the best this film has looked on home video and I suspect if probably looks a little better than it did in theaters.
Audio:
Audio choices are English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with English Surround and French/Spanish Mono tracks. Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin subtitles as well as English captions are also provided. To be honest, I didn't spot many differences between this hi-res DTS-HD encode over the previous Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. Surrounds are mostly used for the film's ubiquitous '80s music with a sparse smattering of discrete elements popping up from time to time. Center dialogue is mostly clean, but I detected a slight hint of noise in the center, mostly noticeable during quieter dialogue sequences -- the dinner scene (seen above), for example. Overall, this is a decently enveloping track, but it's not much of an improvement, if any, over the DVD.
Extras and Packaging:
The screener copy of the film, provided by Fox, came packed in a blue elite single-disc BD case featuring the film's reworked artwork. Extras have been ported over from previous releases. A few new extras are also included.
• Commentary -- Director Cameron Crowe and actors John Cusack and Ione Skye command this informative trivia-rich track.
• An Iconic Film Revisited: Say Anything…20 years Later (22 minutes, HD) -- A great retrospective featurette examining the film and it's cultural impact.
• A Conversation with Cameron Crowe (9 minutes, HD) -- The venerable romantic comedy director discusses his experiences as a first-time director.
• I Love Say Anything (7 minutes, HD) -- Various fans and comedians discuss the subtle comedy of "Say Anything."
• To Know Say Anything… is to Love it! Trivia Track -- A great pop-up track loaded with insight.
• Deleted Material (SD) -- With 5 alternate sequences, 10 deleted bits and 13 extended scenes, there's plenty of excess "Say Anything" for fans to chew on.
• Promo Material (SD) -- Topping off the disc is a vintage featurette, a still gallery as well as trailers and TV spots for the film.
BD-Exclusive Content:
Nothing.
Final Thoughts:
"Say Anything" is a film worth buying. Don't even bother renting it. Just go to your favorite video retailer and get this film!
Blu-ray Report Card:
Video: B+
Audio: B
Extras: A
HD Content: N/A
Packaging: A
Recommendation: Worth owning.
***
________
* Follow DVDFuture on TWITTER for the latest in Blu-ray and DVD news and reviews!
* Email Me with Comments, Concerns, Questions and Complaints regarding this review, but please, be nice.
...792...
----R. L. Shaffer