The Jerk | | Cast : | Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters | | Director : | Carl Reiner | | Studio : | Universal Studios Ho | | Format : | Color, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | December 14, 1979 | | DVD Released Date : | July 26, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 05, 2005 | | Summary | Movie deserves 5 stars while "Anniversary" edition 2 | Content
 | Surrealistic to the point of silliness, "The Jerk" captured the atmosphere of comedy perfectly in the 70's. Before Robin Williams broke through to a larger audience on the big and little screen, Steve Martin was THE JERK. As dense as a brick, Martin doesn't so much as act like a jerk as become one. Opening like a variation on all those Hollywood tales where the hero of our story is down on his luck but soon to be redeemed (of course, this IS a comedy so it's unlikely he'll get the redemption we expect because, well, that wouldn't be funny), Navin Johnson (Martin) mentions at the beginning that he was "born a poor black child". Adopted by a poor African-American family living in poverty, Navin is horrified to discover that not only is he adopted but he's always going to be Caucasian and have absolutely no rhythm. Navin discovers he does have rhythm after all ("praise the Lord!") when he listens to a radio playing dance music from the time. Navin eats his Twinkies, learns the difference between shit and Shinola and hits the road hoping to be rich. Armed with the advice his family gives him ("God bless the working man...and remember never trust whitey!"). He hitchhikes getting his first ride which takes him to the end of a fence getting about twenty feet away from home. Needless to say, life is more than an adventure for Nathan and his dog Shithead; it's a vocation.
Receiving a very nice transfer, "The Jerk" looks typical of a film from the late 70's with noticeable film grain and while the colors aren't quite as vivid as I would have thought, they're acceptable. This is the first widescreen presentation for the film so that's something to be thankful for. There's quite a bit of analog debris in the form of dirt (in fact it looks as if this is exactly the same transfer as the previous edition). The 5.1 remastered Dolby Digital Surround Sound mix has nice presence but (not surprisingly) it doesn't use the format particularly well.
In addition to the original production notes from the previous edition and theatrical trailer we also get 1 extra and 1 featuring footage cut from the film. "The Lost Filmstrips of Father Carlos Las Vegas De Cordova" is a "continuation" of the film within a film where we see Martin play various characters doing things like verbally abusing a plant, dressing a bulldog in a clown suit as the audience cheers and takes pets in a bizarre parody of cock fighting. It's really footage that was cut from that sequence. "Learn to Play `Tonight You Belong to Me'" includes sections where you can learn to tune a ukulele (something I've been dying to learn), play it, play along with the Ukulele Gal and, finally, play along with the jerk himself. It's bizarre to say the least. The last bit is just a scene from "The Jerk" where Navin serenades his sweetheart at the beach.
No commentary track from Martin or Reiner. Honestly, you'd think they were embarrassed by this film! Or, maybe they weren't asked to do it or wanted too much money. While an improvement on the original edition of the film, that improved is slight at best. The featurettes are pleasant diversions but the real reason to get "The Jerk" is that this is the first time it's been presented in widescreen. The image quality could have been cleaned up quite a bitas there's quite a bit of analog debris that appears early on in the film. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this unless you're dying to have the widescreen version of this classic comedy.
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| Rating | | | Date | August 04, 2005 | | Summary | Funny movie, lame extras! | Content
| For such a classic, highly regarded comedy the lack of and inferior quality of the extras is a crime.
First up is a step-by-step instructional video on how to play "Tonight You Belong to Me" on the ukulele. While it is kinda cool to be able to follow all the notes and spots on the guitar that you need to know, this extra feels inconsequential even for The Jerk.
Perhaps the most disappointing extra is "The Lost Film Strips of Father Carlos Las Vegas de Cordova," which attempts (badly) to recreate the grainy bootleg film that appears in the movie but continues on with someone who doesn't even resemble Martin!
Things improve slightly with a vintage (and very funny) theatrical trailer.
In lieu of a Making Of featurette there are production notes that include lots of interesting factoids and quotes from Martin and director Carl Reiner who recount anecdotes of filming The Jerk.
What the...?! Were these extras put together by Navin himself? Nah, they would've been funnier. You know the extras stink when the best thing is the trailer. Simply dreadful. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 30, 2005 | | Summary | Great Movie!!! LAME Extras!!!! | Content
| Carl Reiner and Stever Martin created one of the funniest movies of all time in The Jerk. Universal has created one of the worst "anniversay editions" ever released on DVD. While the movie does get the widescreen treatment and the packaging claims that the sound has been remastered, the "extras" on this DVD are so LAME I don't even know where to begin. Why is there no featurette, no commentary track, no deleted scenes, no cast interviews????? Instead we get NOTHING!!! While I haven't seen the original DVD release of this movie, the picture and sound on this 26th Anniversary edition are average at best. The only extras of any merit are the trailer and some production notes.....that's it. The other two are the most ignorant things I've ever seen to pass for DVD extra features. The movie itself scores a 5 with me, but if you already own a copy of this on DVD, the only reason you have to upgrade is the widescreen treatment. Other than that just stick with the original copy. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | STEVE MARTIN BEFORE HE BECAME FRED MAC MURRAY | Content
| Once upon a time Steve Martin was a funny and gifted comedian. This movie proves that and then some. This is probably the best Steve Martin movie if you want to see Steve in his natural element. Here we see Steve dim witted, dead paned, removed, full of comedic pathos and most importantly....lovable! But then everybody else is lovable too. Especially the delicious Bernadette Peters who steals every scene she's in. Then there's Caitlin Adams in a fantastic bit role as the hard biker chick. And to top it off Jackie Mason is an added treat as the gas station owner who gives Naman little else but a very heavy NY accent. And did I mention Mabel King? Just great as Naman's foster mother. The scene where she is consoling Naman for not being like "the rest of us" is just a joy to watch. She is a very gifted actress. And where does Carl Reiner leave off and Steve Martin take over? I guess we'll never know. One thing is for sure.....Carl definitely left his finger prints all over this masterful comedy. I'll go as far to say it's 60% to 40% that Carl is responsible for this collaberation. Yes Steve Martin used to be a very funny man till he decided to become Ward Cleaver, Ozzie Nelson, Fred Mac Murray, and Robert Young rolled into one. I guess you can't stay goofy in your late fifties and still pull it off. It's just great we have this movie to see how funny Steve Martin once was. A classic! Get it today. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | Widescreen Here Is Not Wider Than Full Screen. It's Not As Tall. | Content
| This is a classic comedy film, well worth having around. But you should be aware the older DVD edition is full frame 1:33:1. That means it shows almost the whole picture that was originally shot by the cameras. The newer, widescreen edition shows just a little more of the frame on the left and right, but you can see much more of the top and bottom on the previous, full frame DVD. This new edition does have better picture and sound, and the size of the picture should match the theatrical presentation more closely than the full frame DVD. So whichever framing you think is more authentic is up to you. |
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