Say Anything… 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review

• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
  
• Resolution: 1080p/24
  
• Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1;  English Dolby Digital 5.1; French Mono (Dolby Digital 2.0); Spanish Mono (Dolby Digital 2.0)
  
• Subtitles: English SDH, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish
  
• Region: A
• Rating: PG-13
  
• Discs: 1
  
• Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
  
• Release Date: November 3, 2009
  
• List Price: $34.99 [amazon-product align=”center”]B0029XFN9Y[/amazon-product]

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Overall

The Film

Video Quality

Audio Quality

Supplemental Materials


Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
 More Screen Captures (25 Total)
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG and thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film

By the end of the 1980’s after dozens of sugary sweet teen romance films by the likes of John Hughes, Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut Say Anything… arrived as a pleasant surprise. A real story of teens falling in love and going through the travails and pitfalls that come with all of that, Crowe’s character driven drama gave us people we could actually connect with.
The film follows two teens after high school graduation; the aimless Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) who has an incurable crush on the high school valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye). Lloyd builds up the courage to ask Diane out and the two become “friends with potential” who eventually fall in love. Of course, complications arise when Diane’s overprotective father (John Mahoney) sees the kids’ relationship as a hindrance to his daughter’s plans to attend school in England on a fellowship at summer’s end, and doubts begin to creep into Diane’s mind as well.
The film is marvelously acted with genuine chemistry between Cusack and Skye and the right amount of authority is added to the film by veteran Mahoney. Unlike other films’ of its ilk from the era, Say Anything… is not reliant on one-dimensional teen clichés, clueless parents used as comic relief, and love without consequences. It’s the quiet, awkward moments of first love that make writer-director Crowe’s film a real heart-tugger, such as when Lloyd is in the rain on the phone to his sister (Cusack’s real-life sister Joan in an uncredited role) after the inevitable breakup between he and Diane saying, “I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen” and of course the iconic scene of Llyod holding his boombox over his head outside Diane’s window blasting Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” in his attempt to win her back. Priceless.
Video Quality

Compared to some catalogue releases I have seen from the same era, like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, for example, Say Anything… looks sublime. The source looks clean in this 1.85:1 AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 encoding with hardly any noticeable specks of dust, dirt, or scratches, yet there is no noticeable destructive influence from HD-DVNR. Grain is also retained and rather consistent, only jumping a tad in some darker scenes. Detail is particularly sharp in the various brightly lit daytime and outdoor scenes. Flesh tones occasionally show some red push, looking a bit too pinkish, but other than that colors are quite natural. This is a very strong 20-year-old catalog release from Twentieth Century Fox.
Audio Quality

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is also quite pleasant. The surrounds are nicely filled with various atmospheric sounds. Check out the party scene with Lloyd and Diane at the party; music and chatter fill the entire soundstage. Dialogue is clean and intelligible and the film has a nice dynamic range. Low frequencies kick in the big party scene and when Lloyd’s car stereo blasts, but other than that, there isn’t much bass to speak of in the mix.
Supplemental Materials

Say Anything… has been provided with supplements worthy of the moniker “20th Anniversary Edition.” John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, and Cameron Crowe have all been brought back for featurettes as well as an audio commentary and enough deleted, extended and alternate scenes have been included that an “Extended Director’s Cut” could have been made.
The supplements provided on this release are:

Audio Commentary By Cameron Crowe, John Cusack, and Ione Skye
An Iconic Film Revisited: Say Anything…20 years Later (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 0:21.57) — The cast and crew are brought back for this featurette and they reminisce on their work on the film.
A Conversation with Cameron Crowe (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 0:09.31) — Cameron Crowe discusses working on his directorial debut.
I Love Say Anything (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 0:07.31) — Various comedians talk about their appreciation for the more comedic elements of Say Anything….
To Know Say Anything… is to Love it! Trivia Track
Alternate Scenes (1.85:1; 480i/60):

Scene 106: Lloyd at the phone booth
Scene 128x: Lloyd & Diane Outside Karate Studio
Scene 108: Diane in Bedroom (with commentary by Cameron Crowe)
Scene 109: Lloyd with Boom Box (with commentary by Cameron Crowe)
Scene 109R: Lloyd with Boom Box (with commentary by Cameron Crowe)


Deleted Scenes (1.85:1; 480i/60):

Scene 46: Mr. Deegan at Party
Scene 56J/K: Lloyd Giving Advice to Girl
Scene 57: Corey Sings “He Hurts Me”
Scene 70: Court in front of City Council Meeting
Scene 80: “Cool English Road Tape”
Scene 87: Montage of Love Clips
Scene 107: Sims Questions Court at the Home
Scene 128: Diane Looks for Lloyd
Scene 132J: Love Birds in Bed (MOS)
Scene 137: Agent Sims in Eva’s Room


Extended Scenes (1.85:1; 480i/60):

Scene 15: Graduation
Scene 59: Joe and Corey in Garage
Scene 62: Mike in Toilet
Scene 63: Taking Mike Home
Scene 65: Talk About England in Car Ride Home
Scene 74: Diane Takes Lloyd on Tour of Her Work
Scene 81/84: Dinner party and Smoke on Front Porch
Scene 86: Seafood Restaurant
Scene 103A: Diane Breaks up With Lloyd in Car
Scene 113: Gas N Sip
Scene 110: Lloyd’s Driving Scene
Scene 112: IRS Office
Scene 135/136: Attorney’s Office


Vintage Featurette (1.33:1; 480i/60; 0:06.58)
Trailers:

Trailer A (1.85:1; 480i/60)
Trailer B (1.85:1; 480i/60)


TV Spots:

I Love You (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Phone Call (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Boom Box (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Scam Review (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Pretty Great Review (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Coffee Shop (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Chili Peppers (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Fishbone (1.33:1; 480i/60)
Photo Gallery (1080p/24)



The Definitive Word

Overall:


If you were ever a teenager in love, especially in the 1980’s, then Say Anything… will bring back a flood of memories. This is Cameron Crowe in one of his finest moments. Sure, it’s sentimental, but it is one of the realest teen romances ever put to film, and that should be applauded.


BestBuy.com:


Purchase Say Anything...
on Blu-ray from CD Universe

Shop with us for more Blu-ray 
titles at Amazon.com

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