The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Comedy |
Featurette-On-Set Home Video Theatrical Trailer Trailer-The Secret Policeman's Ball; What's Up Tiger Lily? Trailer-The Secret Policeman's Other Ball DVD Credits |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1977 | ||
Running Time | 83:23 (Case: 85) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | John Landis |
Studio
Distributor |
Ned Topham Umbrella Entertainment |
Starring | None Given |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | None Given |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Kentucky Fried Movie is a classic sketch-comedy spoof from the makers of Flying High, Hot Shots and more recently, the Naked Gun movies.
Written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and directed by John Landis, KFM is a bit like Flying High meets Saturday Night Live. A variety of comedy styles are employed, ranging from crude slapstick to obscure satire. There are no stars and no narrative, and while many of the jokes miss their mark, some hit their target. A lot of the humour is now very dated, such as the spoofs of US television commercials, game shows, or news programs, which often have references to 'current events', such as Watergate. The highlight, for me, is the brilliant spoof of Enter The Dragon entitled A Fistful of Yen.
I first saw KFM when I was in school, and I absolutely loved it (even though it was already quite dated back then). I recall renting, and re-renting it on video. Now, years later, it is a little disappointing to watch it again, as I remember it being much funnier. It is interesting, however, to consider the various careers of those involved with this low-budget shocker. For example, a much younger Rick Baker did the makeup effects, and for (what I assume to be) budgetary reasons, he also plays the gorilla that appears in the movie!
The transfer is limited by the dated source material. A variety of sources are used, including 1970s video tape. The transfer often appears aged and grainy.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced.
The sharpness, and the shadow detail are both severely lacking.
The colour has suffered with age, and skin tones often have an orange tint.
MPEG artefacts appear in the form of slight pixelization throughout. Film-to-video artefacts are evident in the slight telecine wobble, most noticeably during the opening credits. Small film artefacts appear throughout, but they are never distracting.
There are no subtitles present on the disc.
This is a single-layered, single-sided disc.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio sounds flat, mono, and worn throughout.
Originally released theatrically in mono, the only audio option on the disc is English Dolby Digital Stereo surround encoded (192Kb/s), which focuses on the centre channel.
The dialogue quality and audio sync are acceptable.
There is no traditional score, but a variety of music appears throughout. No individual is credited with having composed a musical score for the movie.
The surround sound mix is completely front-heavy. I didn't hear anything of any value out of the rear speakers, nor the subwoofer.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
Surprisingly, there are a few extras, all presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
A simple menu.
Theatrical Trailer (2:22)
Standard trailer with Dolby Digital stereo surround audio.
On Set Home Videos (18:43)
Behind-the-scenes 8mm 'Home Movies' by David and Jerry Zucker.
Umbrella Propaganda
Three trailers for other Umbrella DVD releases: The Secret Policeman's Ball, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, and What's Up Tigerlily?
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
KFM was released on DVD in Region 1 almost three years ago.
The Region 4 DVD misses out on:
The Region 1 DVD misses out on:
I would favour the R1 release.
If you're a fan of the genre, then Kentucky Fried Movie won't disappoint.
The video quality is disappointing, but watchable.
The audio quality is acceptable, albeit very front-heavy.
The extras are limited.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
Display | Grundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Sony STR DE-545 |
Speakers | Sony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer |