Movie Reviews

When the evil Dark Helmet attempts to steal all the air from planet Druidia, a determined Druish Princess, a clueless rogue and a half-man/half-dog creature who's his own best friend set out to stop him! But with the forces of darkness closing in on them at ludicrous speed, they'll need the help of a wise imp named Yogurt and the mystical power of "The Schwartz" to bring peace and merchandising rights to the entire galaxy.

Leave it to Mel Brooks to construct a near perfect parody of the 70’s and 80’s sci-fi craze. This film hasn’t lost any of its side splitting humor. Sure it is stupid as all get out, but it’s still a lot of fun if you can switch the brain off and just sit back and enjoy.

MGM delivers a solid HD presentation that was better than I was expecting given the age. The effects shots look as cheesy as ever and certainly don’t benefit from the HD presentation but the principal photography holds up well. The print shows minor damage here and there and the image does look like it’s been cleaned up a tad, but fine detail isn’t lacking. Dimensionality is pretty strong overall.

The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is better than it deserves to be. Dynamic range is actually pretty good and there is a nice level of low end presence. The score can be a bit overwhelming at times and the overall level of the soundtrack does seem a bit high but the mix maintains a nice sense of spatial design with a wide front soundstage. Dialogue sounds natural enough and I didn’t notice any signs of strain.

MGM delivers quite the extras package for this one. The Blu-ray contains a fast forward version for kicks but there are also some interesting featurettes on the film and characters. There is also a look at comic legend John Candy. The second disc is the special edition DVD complete with its extras and a widescreen and full screen presentation of the film.

Still a camp classic and shown in outstanding form here on Blu-ray. With a extra DVD copy and plenty of special features, this is an easy recommendation for fans of the film.