National Lampoon's Vacation (20th Anniversary Special Edition)

National Lampoon's Vacation (20th Anniversary Special Edition)

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DVD details

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Anamorphic; Closed-captioned; Color; Dubbed; DVD; Special Edition; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC

DVD Reviews of National Lampoon's Vacation (20th Anniversary Special Edition)

DVD Review: Not Nearly What It Should Be...
Summary: 3 Stars

Although this time the film IS presented in widescreen, it is the type of 1.85:1 ratio that actually crops off some of the picture from top and bottom that the old standard VHS version had. That is always annoying to be sure, but since the DVD shows the movie the way it truly appeared in theaters we can't really complain about that. You have to look at it this way: VHS was just showing MORE than was seen in the theater.

The special features leave much to be desired. The group commentary track with Director Harold Ramis, Producer Matty Simmons, Chevy Chase, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron and Randy Quaid was ok, but I've heard much better commentary on other films. With few exceptions, they really didn't say much that was very interesting or insightful, and there were several gaps during the film where no one seemed to say anything! And where was Beverly D'Angelo? I can't believe that she wouldn't have wanted to take part, especially since she appeared a few years ago on the TBS "Dinner & A Movie" with Paul and Annabelle to talk about the movie during commercial breaks with them!

The "Interactive Truckster Gallery" was pretty much a bore, with the exception of the section where stunt co-ordinator Dick Ziker talked about his jump in the desert for the crash scene. Dana Barron also offered an explanation why she only appeared in the first film in the gallery as well. The rest of it was not anything really noteworthy.

The new introduction to the film by Simmons, Chase and Quaid was just a short, silly little piece of nothing. The trailer is here, but I think the original DVD had it too so that isn't anything special. The other languages for audio are a nice touch. Try playing the scene where Clark had a temper tantrum in the car in French, Spanish or Portuguese for a laugh or two.

My big complaint is about the special features that were NOT present, such as deleted scenes. In the shooting script, there are several scenes that could have been presented here, including an alternate ending. The fact that Aunt Edna didn't really die, the Kamp Komfort clerk dressing up as a moose for the "wildlife fun" (see the photo during the end credits of him in the moose outfit), Clark fearing the police are chasing him after he "robbed the hotel" and stopped for gas (where he got the sandwiches he mentioned shortly before discovering Aunt Edna's "death") and the alternate ending would have been good to see, but no dice. No true "special edition" should be without a deleted scenes gallery!

My final complaint is the fact that the original soundtrack was not restored. Unlike the theater and original VHS versions, The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited" was not present during the highway Ferrari scenes. Similar to the version now shown on cable and the first DVD, "Little Boy Sweet" replaces it. What makes that even more annoying is the fact that the end credits were NEVER changed. "I'm So Excited" is still listed as appearing in ALL cable and home video releases. That is almost like adding insult to injury. Why not restore the original soundtrack for the 20th anniversary?

In summary, I give this DVD 3 stars, just middle ground. It's an improvement over the first one, but definitely not all that it could be. Die-hard fans of the movie might want to pick it up, since there might not be any better releases for the 25th or any other anniversary. If your opinion is that you can take it or leave it, I would advise you to just pay a couple of bucks to rent it and save the rest of your money for something better.

Description of National Lampoon's Vacation (20th Anniversary Special Edition)