barbeegurl00

You're welcome.

The actors did a great job. I like Rick Moranis and, of course, Mel Brooks is, as Maxi said, a genius.

modulo

I like Daphne Zuniga. She's great. I love her movies (the sure thing, spaceballs, gross anatomy, last rites). And MELROSE PLACE of course. Now, she plays Shelly pierce on "American Dreams".

This summer, she will play Lynn Kerr on BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (ABC Family).

I am a fan!

LadyZ

That's cool to hear.

I totally agree that Mel Brooks is a genius. They don't make movies like his movies anymore.

*Maxi*

Several of Mel's movies are super!

groovyk1

So who here has Spaceballs on dvd?

modulo

I have the DVD. And coming soon, The DVD Special Edition! I can't wait!!!!!

Scuse me for my bad english, I speak french!

Martin

groovyk1

Your English is fine Martin

I don't have any version of it

barbeegurl00

I really liked Young Frankenstein, too.

A special edition DVD is coming out? I should buy it.

groovyk1

I think I'm gonna buy the SE version too.

*Coconut Custard*

isn't mel brooks in robin hood: men in tights?

groovyk1

Yes he is...I loved him in that too.

modulo

Hi!

Here the cover (SPACEBALLS (SPECIAL COLLECTION)



And here a GREAT review about this GREAT DVD!

Spaceballs: Collector's Edition
May the schwartz be with you!

April 12, 2005 - Did Mel Brooks take a bad career path? Think about it: his most successful and enduring creation was his first, The Producers. Since then, he's done predominantly spoofs of other genres. Sure, they were brilliant spoofs - no one will say there's no value in Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein or Robin Hood Men In Tights -- but he is dependent on someone else's work to poke fun at. Food for thought, and the mailbag.


Spaceballs was one of his great parodies, but the timing was sure off. It came out in 1987, well after Star Wars mania had run its course and before Star Trek: The Next Generation had gotten off the ground.

The new special edition from MGM is perfectly timed, with Revenge of the Sith due in just weeks. And this special edition has something special about it.

Planet Spaceball is the heart of an evil empire controlled by President Skroob (Brooks) and his right-hand man Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis in an oversized Vader helmet). However, the planet is running out of breathable air and needs to find a new planet with an atmosphere it can plunder.

Yes, that alone is ridiculous. It gets better. They find the peaceful planet Druidia, which has plenty of air but a solid defense system. Dark Helmet and his first officer Colonel Sandurz (George Wyner) prepare to attack the planet, which is distracted with the wedding of Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga).



However, Vespa is reluctant to marry, since she's not in love with the groom, Prince Valium (JM J. Bullock) and runs off with her female C3PO robot Dot Matrix (voice of Joan Rivers). Dark Helmet plans to kidnap the runaway Druish Princess (yes, that's what they call her) for extortion to get Druidia's air, but she is saved by the rogue Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his sidekick man/dog Barf (John Candy), who fly around in a camper with wings.

Star Wars gets the lion's share of the lampooning, but Star Trek, Alien, Dune, Space 1999, Planet of the Apes and even Lawrence of Arabia. The whole thing is just so ridiculous, which is the point. It's not built on mean-spirited comedy, just sheer goofiness.


Occasionally gags fall flag (ludicrous speed, faster than even light speed), but the acting and casting is totally inspired. Pullman and Candy are a great comic team and there couldn't have been a better choice for Dark Helmet than the diminutive Moranis. He switches between his thin, reedy voice and a near-perfect imitation of James Earl Jones with total ease.

The downside, if there is one, is that the film really shows its age. The cheesy effects, Pullman's haircut, the source material for parody… it's all locked firmly in 1986. I wonder how many people under the age of 20 will get the joke behind calling an android "Dot Matrix." But that's not the fault of the movie, after all. All parodies are like that.

Score: 8 out of 10


The Video

The original Spaceballs DVD was pretty sad: non-anamorphic and dirty as hell. For this release, I'm very happy to say that MGM did a great job of restoring the video, giving the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen video a near-new appearance. I'm not sure if this was a Lowry job or not, but it's beautiful.

The print looks brand new, without a hint of dust, flicker or fade. There are no signs of imperfections on the print. The transfer is bright, vivid and colorful. Dark Helmet's uniform is a solid, slightly glossy black, Dot Matrix has a nice golden shine and the white ball helmets of the Spaceball crewmen are solid, without noise.

There is one problem, and that was some macroblocking on pans. More than a few times, during camera wipes, the video went blocky in a noticeable way. But this is marginal. There was no notable edge enhancement or other glaring flaws.

Score: 8 out of 10


Languages and Audio

Spaceballs comes in English DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Stereo and Spanish mono, with subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Things aren't as impressive here. Even the DTS fails to give the old, pre-multichannel audio any richness. The audio is thin, lacking any richness in sound effects, soundtrack or voices. It's thin and lacking in any timbre or strength.

At least there's no hiss or distortion. So it's clean and clear, even if it isn't particularly strong.

Score: 6 out of 10


Packaging and Extras

The DVD comes in an Amaray case with a cardboard slipcase reproducing the cover, which is a spoof of recent Star Wars posters and cover art. There is no insert.

Mel Brooks' original commentary track is reproduced here. He really could use some company on his commentaries, because he's not particularly energetic, tends to just laugh at his own jokes or fall silent. He doesn't have a whole hell of a lot to offer, but then again, we didn't need a lot.

Also on disc one is the option to watch the movie at Ludicrous speed. And yes, the whole movie does fly by in the space of 24 seconds.


On to disc two, there are three featurettes. The first, Spaceballs: A Documentary, features current day interviews with all of the cast, save John Candy of course. Daphne Zuniga still looks great. They all reminisce about the shoot, with their own stories to tell.

Also interviewed is Peter Donen, visual effects supervisor, make-up designer Ben Nye Jr. and Nick McLean, director of photography. This may have been a goofy comedy but it had a lot of effects shots for its time. They also discuss the costumes for the film, which were pretty nice.

In Conversation: Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan features two of the three co-authors of the film talking back and forth about the genesis of the script. The third writer, Ronny Graham, died in 1999. Finally, there's a very nice tribute to John Candy in John Candy: Comedy Spirit, featuring old interviews and Second City TV footage.


Under the Galleries menu are three sets of photo galleries - one behind-the-scenes, one of the costumes and one featuring artwork based on the film, such as the actors in costume.

Fun & Games is a great segment. Film Flubs actually points out where they goofed in the film, such as visible camera tracks and a mirror under a "floating" space ship.

Space Quotes is a clunky segment featuring memorable quotes from all the actors. It would be a lot more fun if the interface wasn't so clumsy. It's difficult to navigate and has no Play All option. Finally, there's a trivia game. I quit after 12 answers because I was tired of the same Correct clip over and over.


Last, there are storyboard comparisons, with storyboard art side-by-side with the final footage, trailers for the film and a trailer for The Pink Panther (the Steve Martin remake).

Score: 8 out of 10
-- Andy Patrizio

The Movie
More Brooks silliness, poking fun at the sci fi genre. 8

The Video
Beautiful restoration is a vast improvement over the last release. 8

The Audio
Even DTS can't give this thing some audio richness. 6

The Extras
Meandering commentary by Brooks but the featurettes are nice. 8

Overall Score (not an average) 8



http://dvd.ign.com/articles/603/603738p1.html

Release Date:

May 3th 2005

groovyk1

Wow! Sounds great...thanks for posting that info

barbeegurl00

Thanks for posting that!

My boyfriend has the regular DVD, but maybe I should get the SE...

groovyk1

Yeah..it seems totally worth it. I will eventually get it.