Real Genius reviews?
06-20-02, 05:56 AM
#3
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My copy finally arrived a day or so ago and I finally got to watch it tonight. 
Watching this again, I think this movie's got pacing problems that make it seem to drag at times. As a result, it seems like a series of great one liners, rather than a coherent movie.
But what great one liners they are! I still love this movie and am glad to finally have it on DVD and in widescreen. The Chris Knight character is what every nerd or "nerdish" kid might want to be.
And while some may find the ending too cheerful, the ending song and the mention of the survivalist camp and just the over all tone seemed to me a little foreboding. The film starts with images of man's genius applied to war, and for me, the ending evokes more of a feeling of the inevitability of this progression.
The video looked decent on my 50" non anamorphic RPTV. I was surprised at how good the video looks for such an old film. I also happenned to have my laptop at home and checked out the disc on that too. On the laptop, the picture became noticeably more grainy. And since I was just looking at the video quality, I noticed a few scratches and dirt too. The colors seemed pretty ok, if maybe a little plain. I'm afraid I'm not really qualified to get much more technical than this. Nothing that really kept me from enjoying the movie, though.
The pan and scan version is also available on side 2 of the DVD, but I didn't look at that.
The audio, however, seemed to be a little off in terms of levels. I felt the dialogue was sometimes at too low a level. The soundtrack sounded good though.
Sadly, no extras except for a couple of trailers for a couple movies. This doesn't even include the trailer for this movie.
At the very least a director commentary or a good half hour documentary would have been great. How did they do the ice in the hallway stuff? How much of the laser stuff was real and how much fiction (you can see credits for laser experts in the end credits)? They had a military consultant, did they work with the military at all...and given the general anti-weapons of war bent of the movie, how did this match up with their experiences with the military, if any? It would have been great to listen to Val Kilmer talk about one of his earlier film roles with 17 years of perspective behind him. What the heck ever happenned to Mitch? And there was graffiti and odd things stuck in all over this film...would have been nice to have them pointed out and explained too.
Given the lack of features, this really should have been priced at 14.95, not 19.95. And it's not being discounted much online either, nor widely available at brick and mortor stores (not available at Costco or Circuit City (at least, not on the release day) here in Hawaii).
If you're a big fan, you've probably already bought this, and if not, there's no apparent reason to wait unless you think the price will drop in a few months.
If you love 80's comedies, then this is a decent buy, but otherwise, I'd suggest a rental if only to see all the one liners in context.
-David
Watching this again, I think this movie's got pacing problems that make it seem to drag at times. As a result, it seems like a series of great one liners, rather than a coherent movie.
But what great one liners they are!
I still love this movie and am glad to finally have it on DVD and in widescreen. The Chris Knight character is what every nerd or "nerdish" kid might want to be.And while some may find the ending too cheerful, the ending song and the mention of the survivalist camp and just the over all tone seemed to me a little foreboding. The film starts with images of man's genius applied to war, and for me, the ending evokes more of a feeling of the inevitability of this progression.
The video looked decent on my 50" non anamorphic RPTV. I was surprised at how good the video looks for such an old film. I also happenned to have my laptop at home and checked out the disc on that too. On the laptop, the picture became noticeably more grainy. And since I was just looking at the video quality, I noticed a few scratches and dirt too. The colors seemed pretty ok, if maybe a little plain. I'm afraid I'm not really qualified to get much more technical than this. Nothing that really kept me from enjoying the movie, though.
The pan and scan version is also available on side 2 of the DVD, but I didn't look at that.
The audio, however, seemed to be a little off in terms of levels. I felt the dialogue was sometimes at too low a level. The soundtrack sounded good though.
Sadly, no extras except for a couple of trailers for a couple movies. This doesn't even include the trailer for this movie.
At the very least a director commentary or a good half hour documentary would have been great. How did they do the ice in the hallway stuff? How much of the laser stuff was real and how much fiction (you can see credits for laser experts in the end credits)? They had a military consultant, did they work with the military at all...and given the general anti-weapons of war bent of the movie, how did this match up with their experiences with the military, if any? It would have been great to listen to Val Kilmer talk about one of his earlier film roles with 17 years of perspective behind him. What the heck ever happenned to Mitch? And there was graffiti and odd things stuck in all over this film...would have been nice to have them pointed out and explained too.
Given the lack of features, this really should have been priced at 14.95, not 19.95. And it's not being discounted much online either, nor widely available at brick and mortor stores (not available at Costco or Circuit City (at least, not on the release day) here in Hawaii).
If you're a big fan, you've probably already bought this, and if not, there's no apparent reason to wait unless you think the price will drop in a few months.
If you love 80's comedies, then this is a decent buy, but otherwise, I'd suggest a rental if only to see all the one liners in context.
-David
06-20-02, 02:06 PM
#5
Moderator
My copy should be arriving any day now. I too was disappointed that this release is bare-bones, but I'm happy that it was released in the first place.
If anything, they could have at least included a filmography of Gabe Jarrett.
If anything, they could have at least included a filmography of Gabe Jarrett.
06-24-02, 05:38 PM
#6
DVD Talk Special Edition
Real Genius takes place at 'PACIFIC TECH' and has some distinct similarities to life at Caltech in Pasadena.
Here is a link with some background.
http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~erich...nius_refs.html
Dr. Hathaway: Bodie, I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie: I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Dr. Hathaway: Up the voltage.
Here is a link with some background.
http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~erich...nius_refs.html
Dr. Hathaway: Bodie, I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie: I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Dr. Hathaway: Up the voltage.
