Planes, Trains and Automobiles - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I actually sat down and wondered when I reviewed the Steelbook release for this film (this is like the 4th edition of the movie I've reviewed over the years) a year ago (almost to the day) whether we'd FINALLY get a 4K upgrade to this seminal John Hughes film. It's been the same recycled transfer for the last decade plus, and it's sorely in need of some sprucing up. Lo and behold my wishe comes true as barely a year later Paramount pulls out a new 4K UHD disc with a new master, an extra hour of special features (WHILE keeping all of the original extras, something Paramount is known to drop on subsequent relelases) and a new cover art. Only thing is, this is going to be a give and take release, as I'll explain further down in the video section of the review.

I actually never saw Planes, Trains and Automobiles back during the 80s and 90s. Even though I grew up with Steve Martin and John Candy, I was never allowed to see it as a child due to the R rating. As such, I was only able to view the film much later in life. The 2012 Blu-ray was actually my first viewing of the film and I ended up not appreciating it like I thought I would. The movie has been labeled as a John Hughes classic, but unlike Sixteen Candles or The Breakfast Club, it’s not a teen comedy. Instead the movie focuses on two men trying to get home to their families when EVERYTHING is going on around them. My initial discomfort and dislike stemmed from the fact that I was expecting a slapstick comedy, and what unfolded was a dark comedy with hints of slapstick mired in pounds of darkness and bitter sadness. This expectations disappointment made me think of it as a HUGE failure, but over the last 5 years I have come to appreciate the 80s film more than I ever expected I would once I actually understood what the film was about.

Neal Page (Steve Martin) is desperate to get home for Thanksgiving dinner with his family in Chicago, but is sadly stuck in a business meeting in New York City. After barely getting out of the meeting he attempts to flag down a cab in this busy holiday season, and ends up having it stolen right out from under him. Sitting at the airport with a delayed flight, Neal comes face to face with the man who stole his cab. One Del Griffith (John Candy), a shower curtain hanger salesman who lugs around a giant over sized luggage container. His only fault is that he talks to much, has an annoying personality, and just ends up sticking to Neal like glue. Neal think his day is about to get better, but it’s about to get SOOOOOO much worse, as his first class ticket is downgraded to coach, and fate would have it that he be seated RIGHT NEXT TO Del for the duration of the flight.

To make matters worse, their flight is re-routed from Chicago to Wichita, Kansas, leaving Del and Neal stranded in the Midwest while their families wait for them back home in Chicago. Well, that’s not about to stop Del, who does his best to get the pair a room, snag a train back to Chicago, AND gab Neal’s ear off in the process. Neal, on the other hand, is about to beat his newfound traveling companion about the head and shoulders with a lead pipe, but along the way the two mean slowly begin to form a friendship due to the hardships they face together. Neither one of them is in any way remotely compatible, but the trials and tribulations of a wasted Holiday vacation slowly form pain and suffering into reluctant kinship and camaraderie.

Planes is not a movie that you’re going to laugh hysterically at, at least not at first. There are some humorous scenes throughout the movie that inspire laughter, but they are born out of pain suffering. Something that allows a melancholy ribbon to weave its way through the film and create a bittersweet smile across your face. Sure, there are hijinks along the way. Things burn down, Neal wipes his face with dirty underwear, mishaps create even more frustration, but the real joy and enjoyment of the movie comes from the fantastic sense of friendship and true love that is formed when two men are stripped of their facades and forced to deal with each other on a raw and primal level. The anger and frustration from Neal is palpable and makes you start to loathe the insensitive man, especially when you see how much it huts poor Del. However, its these vicious moments that set the movie up for the second half, when the men are stripped bear of their anger due to the sheer exhaustion of dealing with each other for a couple of days. It’s here where the true spirit and meaning of holiday love and friendship start to bond the two men together through their dark times.

While Planes, Trains and Automobiles is not a laugh a minute slapstick comedy, it is a film that is infused with a near perfect amount of heart and soul to it. The movie can be funny, it can be be sad, and it can be depressing at the same time. A flurry of emotions come and go throughout the 93 minute run time, but by the end you’re wiping away a tear of joy and happiness as the culmination of pain and suffering bring together two men who wouldn’t have even given each other the time of day otherwise (at least Neal wouldn’t have). Martin and Candy are in full form, both playing their roles equally well, and elliciting a whole range of emotions from the viewers. Martin is both hilarious and despicable, while Candy makes you want to both laugh and cry at the same time. But no matter the sensation, they both work together to create an amazing on screen experience that has become one of John Hughes most well loved films over the last 30 years.




Rating:

Rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, pervasive language, brief graphic nudity, and drug material




4K Video: Video:

Now for the part that we’ve all been waiting for. How good of an upgrade is it over the mediocre DNR and edge enhanced Blu-ray transfer that has been recycled year after year after well. Well, the results are decidedly better in a few aspects, and actually worse in others. It’s not been since Forrest Gump that I’ve been this let down by a Paramount 4K UHD transfer. It’s pretty obvious that the film has under went some serious digital manipulation, as the grain seems to have been completely smoothed away, processed and filtered, and then artificial grain re-introduced into the master. The result is a film that suffers from a very flat and smooth look, yet weirdly noisy with clumping grain and strange moments of swarming backgrounds. The colors are reasonable, but even they seem a bit flat and dulled as well. Facial details are overly smooth and lacking fine detail levels, yet at the same time there are bright lit scenes which blow away the old DNR’d Blu-ray transfer for brief moments. In many ways the 4K UHD is a step above with a more stable look, and no edge enhancement and ringing that literally made the old Blu-ray a fairly frustrating watch. But the obviously filtered and manipulated look is a huge step back too, draining all of the life out of the 35mm film source and turning it dull and flat. Is it a total travesty like Forrest Gump where it’s no better than the Blu-ray? No, but it’s also not something I would go out and look for to replace my Blu-ray either.








Audio:

The same thing goes for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, as it is the same recycled audio mix from the previous Paramount and Warner brothers releases. This isn’t a bad thing though, as the track is quite impressive to say the least. The film is extensively dealing with dialog and vocals, so we’re not dealing with a wild and kinetic surround experience, but the track does well enough to please just about everyone. Surrounds get some decent workout with the crashes and rush through airports and train stations, but the dialog is really the crown jewel of the equation. Vocals are crisp and clean, while the balance is even among the channels. There’s some mild LFE in the mix, but this is really a front heavy experience that does well as a comedy track.








Extras:

• NEW Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Getting There is Half the Fun: The Story of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
• John Hughes: Life Moves Pretty Fast featuring John Hughes: The Voice of a Generation
• Heartbreak and Triumph: The Legacy of John Hughes
• John Hughes for Adults
• A Tribute to John Candy
• Deleted Scene: “Airplane Food”

Final Score: ​

As I said above, this is sort of a give and take release. I’ve waited for YEARS for a remastered disc, and the end result is rather problematic. The disc isn’t WORSE than the Blu-ray in most aspects, but it does regress in some ways, and doesn’t add a ton either. It’s going to be one of those scenarios where if you don’t have it, just get whichever version you can find cheaper, the 4K UHD or the Blu-ray. I really really wanted to give this new edition a flying thumbs up, but the release is more akin to Forest Gump than it is to Blue Hawaii in terms of visual improvements. Ah well.


Technical Specifications:


Starring: John Candy, Steve Martin, Kevin Bacon
Directed by: John Hughes
Written by: Erica Rivinoja, Kenya Barris
Aspect Ratio: 1.78.1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish, Portuguese DD Mono
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 93 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 22nd, 2022

Recommendation: GREAT Watch, Frustrating release

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I see this movie during the holiday season. Too bad this release is not top notch but the movie is good to see.