- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 108op/24
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1,English Dolby 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region: A
- Rating: PG
- Discs: 1
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Release Date: May 11, 2010
- List Price: $20.49
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase High Anxiety on Blu-ray at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
High Anxiety is Mel Brooks’ homage to Hitchcock. With strong allusions to Psycho, Vertigo, and just about every other Hitchcock classic one can think of in the mix, Brooks plays a psychiatrist who takes over a psychiatric facility where the previous head doctor (no pun intended) has disappeared. He must solve the case of the missing doctor whilst dealing with the facility’s resident psychiatrist (Harvey Korman), sadomasochistic nurse (Cloris Leachman) and his own anxieties — namely the fear of heights! Along the way, he hooks up with the previous doctor’s sexy daughter (Madeline Kahn) to help solve the disappearance and more craziness ensues.
High Anxiety is not one of Brooks’ most obvious comedic spoofs, but, rather, a more subtle approach to his usually brash form of comedy. Rather than the in-your-face rudeness of Blazing Saddles or the downright lunacy of Spaceballs, High Anxiety is more a thinking man’s parody that is no less amusing for it. It doesn’t hurt to be familiar with the work of Hitchcock while watching, but it’s not an absolute prerequisite either.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Due to High Anxiety’s production, it doesn’t offers much “pop” in high definition. Its purposely-soft detail and pale color palette don’t offer much bang, but the transfer looks organic with a natural level of grain and no evidence of compression artifacts.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
High Anxiety is given a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, but there’s not much discrete information going on in the surround channels. It is mostly low-level ambient effects sent to the surrounds with a decent if average stereo spread across the front channels.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
The supplements on High Anxiety are all identical to those that appear on the title in The Mel Brooks Collection. It is a little light on the supplements, but the trivia track is a wonderful way to catch all the Hitchcock references in the film.
The supplements offered with this release are:
- Isolated Score Track (DTS-HD Master Audio)
- Don’t Get Anxious! The Trivia of Hitchcock
- Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the Master of Suspense (1.85:1; 1080p/24; 0:29.20) — Mel Brooks and the filmmaking team from High Anxiety tell of their respect of Hitchcock as they reminisce on producing the film.
- The “Am I Very, Very Nervous?” Test
- Theatrical Trailer (1.85:1; 1080p/24)
- Mel Brooks Trailers
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3/5]
High Anxiety is classic Brooks and worth owning on Blu-ray despite the lackluster video transfer.
Additional Screen Captures:
BestBuy.com:
Purchase High Anxiety on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
