A.J.'s DVD Rating: 3 Stars - Eddie at his best! |
Review published February 5, 2002 |
The Not-So-Cool Stuff A.K.A. The Complaints Department: Okay, a short rant about the Menu Screens... Why did they go with the 'security cameras' theme, when it doesn't really give any feeling for what the movie is about? As stated earlier, it's very generic. Because they are supposed to be Maitland's security cameras, the only scenes on the monitors are those that take place while Axel, Taggart, and Rosewood are sneaking around on his estate. Sure, that's logical for the theme, but none of the signature images associated with the film, such as Eddie on the Mercedes hood or giving the 'OK' sign, are used, and even the Beverly Hills Cop logo only appears briefly in the opening sequence which precedes the final Main Menu. As it is, this could be the DVD Main Menu screen design for any movie which has a scene with security cameras in it. My only other complaint is that the featurettes seem to all include a small amount of redundant information about the film. Where's an editor when you need one! Final Thought: Paramount Home Video still seems to be in the learning stages when it comes to providing valuable DVD content, but Beverly Hills Cop is a solid beginning. I sure hope they become experts at providing DVD special features by the time the Indiana Jones Trilogy is released! |
BEVERLY HILLS COP The Technical Stuff Format: Region 1 (US and Canada) - Single Sided Dual Layer Disc Theatrical Film Version - Widescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Surround - English Stereo - French Language Tracks - English / French |
The Really Cool Stuff Best Feature: Best Feature? The best feature of this Paramount Home Video DVD is that it actually has features! Paramount has become infamous for releasing bare-bones DVD's, which included only the movie in widescreen format, 'scene selection', and the ever popular 'interactive menus'. Nothing SPECIAL about those features, is there? And then they had the nerve to sell them for $29.99! Yes, there was seldom anything more lame than a Paramount DVD. Hopefully, beginning late last year with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and continuing now with Beverly Hills Cop, this shameful reputation will change for the better! Commentary by director Martin Brest: Martin Brest provides a very entertaining commentary track with tons of good information about Beverly Hills Cop. He includes behind-the-scenes stories, technical info on the making of the film, goofs and flubs, and much more. It's especially fun when a director shows genuine fondness for his own work, as some of this commentary track consists of Brest just laughing and enjoying the film. Featurette Documentaries: Cast and Crew Interviews - Beverly Hills Cop, The Phenomenon Begins: Actually, this is a fairly good 29 minute 'making of' documentary about the film. Interviews with each member of the principal cast, director Martin Brest, and co-producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Also includes scenes from the film. Casting Beverly Hills Cop - A Glimpse Inside the Casting Process: More from the cast and crew of Beverly Hills Cop, along with casting director Margery Simkin. 9 1/2 minutes of good information, especially about the stars who were originally considered for the role of Axel Foley. The Music of Beverly Hills Cop: A short segment on the making of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. Location Map: Now here's an original feature! An overhead map of the Hollywood / Los Angeles area, marking location spots used in the movie! Clicking a location plays a short 'making of' segment for that location, featuring production designer Angelo Graham. Neat stuff! |
The Usual Stuff Menu Screen Presentation: The Main Menu screen is themed to resemble the bank of camera monitors from villian Victor Maitland's Estate security system, with Harold Faltermeyer's 'Axel's Theme' looped to provide background music. Features motion images from the movie, and buttons for Play, Set Up, Special Features, and Scene Selection. Sub-menus feature stills from the movie, but no music. The Scene Selection menu also features still images from the movie. A decent presentation, but the 'security camera' theme seems oddly generic. (See Complaints Dept.) Theatrical Trailer: The original 'Coming Soon' trailer for the movie is included. Not a great quality transfer, but at least it's in widescreen format. Photo Gallery: 32 production and behind-the-scenes stills are included. Pressing the right or left arrow on the DVD remote flips through the gallery. Subtitles: English captions are provided for the hearing impaired. Language Tracks: Language tracks are provided in English and French. |
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