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Nutty Professor (The)
R2 - United Kingdom - Fabulous Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (15th February 2016). |
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The Film
 ***This is an A/V and Extras review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Get ready to exercise your funny bone as Eddie Murphy, playing no less than seven roles, gives the “performances” of his career in this uproarious, Jekyll-and-Hyde comedy from Imagine Entertainment. Murphy stars as shy Dr. Sherman, a kind, brilliant, “calorifically challenged” genetics professor. When beautiful Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett) joins the university faculty, Sherman grows desperate to whittle his 400-pound frame down to size to win her heart. So, with one swig of his experimental fat-reducing serum, Sherman becomes "Buddy Love", a fast-talking, pumped-up, plumped-down Don Juan. But both the potion and Buddy prove to be uncontrollable, and Sherman discovers he has created a monster! Can Sherman stop his buff alter ego before it's too late? or will Buddy have the last laugh? Boasting incredible special effects, a super soundtrack and co-starring James Coburn, Larry Miller, Dave Chappelle and John Ales, this hilarious hit is worth it's weight in fun!
Video
Fabulous Films have released a direct port of the old Universal disc with "The Nutty Professor" and overall it is of similar quality to a lot of their other recent Universal licensed releases. The feature is presented here in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is anamorphic. Like with many of these older transfers, there is some minor damage to be seen throughout. This is of course minimal, but is noticeable with little flecks of dirt and the occasional larger blemish. I did notice one particular problem that occurred at least twice, and that is some slight judder between shots. The first time is at 15:21 during the scene where the family are farting around the dinner table. This happens again in the next scene (blink and you miss it). The transfer does feel very natural, though with colours quite mediocre. Brighter colours don't quite pop as much as they should, and blacks aren't as deep as they could be yet are decent enough to not be a cause for concern. Shadow details are good, though mainly due to the lightness of the darker colours. General details are fine, and perhaps a little above average for a mid-nineties catalogue title. There is no overly obvious signs of edge enhancement or aliasing, and no major defects to worry about. Whilst this disc would have been in the top 20% fifteen years ago, times and standards have changed since the release was originally put together by Universal. It is still above average, but there is room for improvement. The film is uncut and runs 91:14 PAL.
Audio
This release features a whole host of audio options: - English Dolby Digital 5.1 - Czech Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - German Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - Polish Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono For my viewing, I obviously opted for the original English track which is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Dialogue is clear at all times, but can sound a little flat, especially in more eventful scenes with crowd noise. Channel separation is good, especially during the opening hamster attack scene, and David Newman's score utilises the surrounds well. Directionality is competent but run-of-the-mill. I found the LFE to be slightly underwhelming, with bass lacking force. It should come as no surprise for a film produced by a major studio, that there is no damage to the audio track. I noticed no drop outs, scratches, crackles, pops, or background hiss. Subtitles are available in Danish, Dutch, English HoH, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish.
Extras
A basic selection of self-explanatory extras is included. Production Notes (18 pages in English) Cast & Filmmakers (English text) - Eddie Murphy [Sherman Klump] (6 pages) - Jada Pinkett [Carla Purty] (7 pages) - James Coburn [Harlan Hartley] (10 pages) - Dave Chapelle [Reggie Warrington] (6 pages) - Tom Shadyak [Sherman Klump] (4 pages) Theatrical Trailer (1:45)
Overall
This isn't Eddie Murphy at the top of his game, but it certainly isn't "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" either. There are some amusing scenes, but also some rather heartfelt segments (the comedy club) which gives the film some soul. The A/V holds up well considering it is a port of a rather old Universal release, and to be honest, I can't believe this movie is twenty years old already.
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