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Super Mario Bros.
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Umbrella Entertainment Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (7th April 2024). |
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The Film
 "Super Mario Bros." (1993) Mario (played by Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (played by John Leguizamo) are New York City plumbers who suddenly find themselves transported to an alternate dimension in which evolved dinosaurs and reptiles are in control, led by the almighty and evil King Koopa (played by Dennis Hopper). Koopa is looking to merge the dinosaur and human worlds together, and the key that is necessary is a piece of a meteorite that is held by Daisy (played by Samantha Mathis). She gets kidnapped by Koopa's cousin goons Iggy and Spike (played by Fisher Stevens and Richard Edson), but unbeknownst to them, Daisy gave the Mario Brothers the meteorite piece beforehand, who are looking to save her and make sure that the rock doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Producers Roland Joffé and Jake Eberts approached Nintendo to bring their flagship mascot Mario into the live-action cinematic realm after the company's massive success with video games as well as the animated works. There was the "Super Mario Bros. Supershow!" which had some live action skits starring former wrestler Lou Albano in the title role plus some animated story segments that followed the games lore to an extent, but the producers were looking for a bigger and better adaptation. Nintendo gave them the permission based on their initial pitch ideas, and that led to the hiring of a director to take on the ambitious project, as it would be the first time a video game would be adapted into a feature lengthy live action film. The husband and wife duo Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, who had a lengthy resume in the music video and commercial world as well as developing the cult hit TV series "Max Headroom" were hired for the project, who looked at developing the film into something closer to the 1989 "Batman" reinventing the iconic character for cinema, and their original script featured a much darker and adult tone. The production would pull together a number of production teams to create the visual effects using new digital technology with computer animation as well as employing traditional filmmaking techniques with puppeteering and a massively constructed set within an abandoned cenemt factory as the alternate New York. But with the independent production, there were issues with financing, and that meant bringing in distributors to contribute, including Hollywood Pictures, the live-action arm of Walt Disney Pictures, and that meant demands and changes to the story to make things more kid friendly. But with production already underway and changes being difficult, frequent quarrels between the directors, the producers, and distributors meant updated rewrites continuing in pre-production as well as during production. Actors who signed on to the initial script were baffled by sudden changes, other staff were uncoordinated due to the last minute additions and subtractions, leading to a mess of a production that went highly overbudget, had constant tonal changes, and numerous plotholes due to excised ideas or changed situations. Comparing the "Super Mario Bros." movie to the games, there are numerous references but story-wise there is little to be connected. The plumber Mario Bros. trying to resue a princess is possibly the only thing that is identical, but to be fair the plot of the Mario games are extremely thin. Are there people that played Mario games for the plot? Definitely not, as the gameplay was always the main draw. Adapting that to a movie meant a lot of liberties had to be taken and more ideas had to be fleshed out. The main characters of Mario and Luigi are obviously at the center, though their relationship has been changed to the two of them not being actual brothers but Luigi being adopted and Mario basically raising him. As to how this happened, such as if Mario was the one that adopted Luigi or if Mario's parents adopted Luigi... none of this is explained. Princess Peach (or Toadstood, which she was known at the time in the English speaking world) is not in the film but Princess Daisy, who debuted in "Super Mario Land" plays Luigi's love interest in the film version, which was interstingly the relationship that became cannon in the later Mario games. In the Japanese version of the games, the final boss Bowser was named King Koopa, and for the film version is called by his Japanese name. Characters such as Iggy, Spike, Toad (played by Mojo Nixon), and Big Bertha (played by Francesca P. Roberts) are all named after characters in the Mario universe, with some liberties taken. Production design does look closer to "Blade Runner" which should be no surprise since designer David L. Snyder worked on both productions, though there are numerous Mario references made. Signs reading "Hammer Bros.", "Thwomp", and "Boom Boom" are references to enemy characters, wall tiles, hairstyles, and other background details have nods to the various Mario games that were released up to that point. Most impressive is the puppeteering of the baby dinosaur Yoshi, which was done practically. While his scene is incredibly short and basically has little purpose except to showcase the effects, it is a worthwhile scene though it could have been much more. Goombas as the guards are an odd touch, having tiny heads on giant bodies, rather than how they were depicted in the game as giant heads on tiny bodies. The production was able to pay homage to the original games in many ways, but for fans of the games, they wouldn't see these as homages but wrong depictions of beloved characters. While there was a lot of creativity and innovation on set, these darkness and cyberpunk inspired works didn't quite fit in with the comical tone of the film's characters. There is a lot of humor in the dialogue, from the banter between Mario and Luigi, the straightfaced seriousness of main villain Koopa and his one liners, the constant stupidity of Iggy and Spike, and much more. They may give a few chuckles here and there, but the humor is a bit on the juvenile side that won't give a huge amount of laughs. As also mentioned, the plot points make little sense. How do Iggy and Spike know that the Mario Bros. have the meteorite piece when they tell Koopa? Why did Koopa wait so long to try and search for Daisy? Why doesn't Koopa just kill the devolved fungus king? There are much more to list but much of it must have to do with the constant rewriting not being able to piece things together properly. There were constant fights on set between the directors, the actors, and other staff, with Hoskins and Hopper being the most outspoken in the terrible nature of the uncontrolled environment. The directors had only one feature film to their credit and they weren't in complete control due to various outer factors. Yet somehow, some of the performances were quite good. Hopper is always an excellent villain and he made sure to make Koopa memorable as a sly and coniving political figure. Hoskins changed his English accent to a perfect Italian New Yorker with heft and fun. Leguizamo gave the awkward Luigi charm and was a great counterpart to the older Mario. Due to the production going overschedule and overbudget, directors were essentially replaced with the producers finishing the necessary work, and the editing was done without their involvement. Test audiences who save a preview cut were initially confused by the two worlds so an animated prologue was created with narration by Dan Castellaneta and some scenes were trimmed down. The film opened on May 28th 1993 for Memorial Day Weekend in the United States with a lot of hype and support from gaming magazines and television advertisements. The reception was lackluster, grossing $8.5 million and opening in fourth place that weekend, eventually grossing only $20 million theatrically in America. Internationally it grossed an additional $17 million, but it was not enough to cover its $40+ million production costs. In addition, two weeks later another dinosaur themed film titled "Jurassic Park" came and crushed the competition, grossing a staggering $47 million on its opening weekend alone, eventually grossing $978 million worldwide. The "Super Mario Bros." movie was a massive bomb and was quickly brushed off by critics who were unkind to it and audiences that didn't care for it. There was some love for the film, and a cult audience continued to support it for its fun as well as its flaws, but home video releases were lackluster at best, with no significant extras. Fans were desperate to see deleted scenes or behind the scenes stories, but that would not come until the 2010s. A videotape of a workprint edit of film featuring deleted scenes was finally uncovered in 2019. There were unfinished scenes, no introduction, missing music and effects, and most importantly scenes that were later deleted. One of the biggest mysteries of the film was the "devolution" scene in which the Mario brothers push Koopa into the machine, and were able to do that easily because the floor was slippery with green goo. But it was a mystery as to where that green goo came from since it wasn't on the floor in the earlier portion of the scene. The workprint cut had the uncut sequence which explained the mystery, and also explains the final slime demise scene better. There were others such as Iggy and Spike rapping and more interaction with the Mario brothers' rivals the Scapellis and more. There has been an effort to use the videotape source to reinstate the deleted scenes into the theatrical cut, which has been blogged on the Super Mario Bos. The Movie Archive site. This Umbrella Entertainment previously released the film on Blu-ray in 2021 which included the theatrical version as well as for the first time in the world, the extended workprint cut on the disc as a bonus. In 2024, Umbrella Entertainment has revisited the cult film by upgrading it on the 4K UltraHD format for another world first, as well as including new extensive additional bonus materials produced with support from the Super Mario Bos. The Movie Archive. Note this is a region ALL 4K UHD / Blu-ray set
Video
Umbrella Entertainment presents the theatrical version in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 2160p on the 4K UHD and in 1080p AVC MPEG-4 on the standard Blu-ray. The theatrical cut comes from an 4K restoration and includes the Pathe! Pictures logo at the start. 4K adopters may be slightly irked that the restoration was mastered in standard dynamic range rather than high, not utilizing the full color spectrum that the format can display. But on the positive side it is a wonderful looking image from start to finish, with no instances of damage such as speckles or dust for a clean image. Colors are bold and skin tones look natural, while the darker sets of Dinohattan look great with excellent detail to be seen in the transfer. Colors may not pop with vibrancy, though they look stable without any shimmering or inconsistency. While the 2021 Blu-ray had an excellent image as well, the 4K release is a pleasing one as well and should delight all fans with the presentation. The extended workprint cut, dubbed "The Lasagna Workprint" is in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The transfer comes from a standard definition videotape source and upscaled. The video quality is fairly poor to say the least, with very washed out colors, and blurry detail. This is a new transfer compared to previous Blu-ray release, which had the extended cut in 1.33:1 open matte which showed more picture as well as the timecode being visible and tape errors at the bottom of the frame. It was also in 1080i while this new transfer is in 1080p. The source material is the same - the lone surviving workprint on videotape which was shot from a Steinbeck monitor directly with a camcorder focused on the monitor. When digitizing the videotape source for archival purposes, there were multiple tests conducted, with restoration techniques to balance the colors and the audio but there was only so much that could be done. For this newer transfer, it was matted to the theatrical aspect ratio, which was the preferred framing of the directors and transferred to 24fp. It's not recommended for audiences to sit through this version first, but should be more of a curiosity piece for fans available in its entirety. In addition, the previous Blu-ray started with a 46 second text screen displaying where exactly the deleted scenes are, but in this new release it immediately starts with "The Lasagna Workprint" logo and into the first scene. The previous Blu-ray also included chapter stops for all eight of the deleted scenes, though in this new release those chapter stops have been changed. It sounds like some inconveniences have been removed for the 4K release, though the deleted scenes are available to watch separately in the bonus materials. The runtime for the theatrical cut is 104:44 and the extended workprint cut is 111:20.
Audio
Theatrical Cut: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo Extended Workprint Cut: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo The theatrical cut has both a 5.1 remix and the original 2.0 stereo track in lossless form. They are very active tracks with great use of the surround channels for the various music cues from Roxette, Divinyls, George Clinton and others sounding excellent, along with the various sound effects in the car chases and weapons coming to life. Dialogue is always centered and well balanced against the music and effects. The 5.1 track sounds more spread out in comparison to the stereo track, though both sound excellent throughout with no issues of hiss, pops, crackle, dropout or other problems with the audio. The workprint cut's audio is a bit on the muffled side, as it comes from a standard definition tape source. In addition it is not a finished audio track so there are some missing sound effects, missing music cues, as well as some lines that are looped by temp staff. It's as expected considering the source. On the previous Blu-ray release it was presented in LPCM rather than DTS-HD MA, but there seems to be no major difference between them in terms of how they sound. There are optional English HoH subtitles for the theatrical cut in a white font, which are easy to read and well timed. The extended cut is without subtitles.
Extras
The "Trust the Fungus Collector's Edition" is a 3-disc set with the theatrical cut on DISC ONE and DISC TWO and the extended cut on DISC THREE, as well as the following extras on each disc: DISC ONE (Blu-ray 4K) (1) Audio commentary with screenwriter Parker Bennett (2024) This new commentary by Bennett has him discussing how he came on board to the project, the various differences between the script he first co-wrote with Terry Runte and the finished feature, including game references while also having to accommodate to the directors’ re-envisions, the flaws within the film and the troubled production, as well as praise and fond memories. Although it is a solo commentary, Bennett does a good job talking throughout, though the latter half is mostly Bennett pointing out what is on screen rather than going in depth with the subject. It is still an enjoyable commentary with a lot of great insights. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles (2) Audio commentary with co-producer Fred Caruso and production designer David L. Snyder (2024) This new commentary with Caruso and Snyder has the two discussing mostly the production and visual aspects. There are behind the scenes information including filming in North Carolina, the production going over budget, the problems having two directors in charge and the two sometimes not agreeing, the creation of the fungus and other Dinohattan visuals, the film’s reception and much more. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles (3) Audio commentary with key makeup artist Jeff Goodwin, special effects crew member Mark McCoy and production assistant Craig Edwards (2024) This new group commentary has the three crew members discussing the film, from their work and how they were hired for the production, pointing out some behind the scenes secrets, the various production issues, the practical and digital effects, information on other crew and cast members and much more. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles (4) Audio commentary with Super Mario Bros. movie archivists Steven Applebaum & Ryan Hoss (2024) This new commentary has the archivists from the SMBMovie website providing behind the scenes information, differences between the workprint and the theatrical versions, pointing out easter eggs to the Mario games, insights as fans of the film, the life the film had after its release and more. Hoss sounds fine in the commentary, though Applebaum sounds like he is a bit too close to the microphone so his voice sounds a little distorted. It is a good commentary track, though there are a number of dead spots in the latter half. Although they have a lot of information to share, some additional notes or editing could have been used for a smoother and fuller commentary. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Deleted Scenes (20:19) Presented here are a collection of scenes that were only available in the workprint version. The shots are intercut with the 4K restored version so it is easy to tell which portions were cut as the deleted footage comes from a VHS source. Strangely this is color timed with HDR instead of SDR, though it doesn't seem to make much difference in color vibrancy, The sound was newly mixed in 5.1 using existing audio elements. in 2160p HEVC HDR, in 1.85:1, in English Dolby Digital 5.1 without subtitles Trailer 1 "Ain't No Game" (1:08) Trailer 2 "I've Got the Power" (1:45) Two original trailers included here, with the first being a teaser giving away little of the plot while the second has the Snap song “I’ve Got the Power” with narration explaining the basic plot. Both are remastered in 4K so damage marks are removed, though colors are quite different compared to the 4K version of the feature. The second trailer was on the previous Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray, while the first was not. The second trailer has been embedded below. in 2160p HEVC SDR, in 1.85:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles DISC TWO (Blu-ray Copy) (1) Audio commentary with screenwriter Parker Bennett (2024) (2) Audio commentary with co-producer Fred Caruso and production designer David L. Snyder (2024) (3) Audio commentary with key makeup artist Jeff Goodwin, special effects crew member Mark McCoy and production assistant Craig Edwards (2024) (4) Audio commentary with Super Mario Bros. movie archivists Steven Applebaum & Ryan Hoss (2024) Deleted Scenes (20:19) Trailer 1 "Ain't No Game" (1:08) Trailer 2 "I've Got the Power" (1:45) The extras from the 4K disc are repeated on the standard Blu-ray copy in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. DISC THREE (Blu-ray) Featurettes This section has the following selection of featurettes, interviews, storyboards, and a documentary: - "This Ain't No Video Game" 2013 documentary (55:50) This 2014 documentary produced by Severin Films is an all encompassing retrospective look at the film's production with no holds barred. Featuring newly recorded interviews with Joffe, Morton, Jankel, Bennet, Leguizamo, Edson, plus many more staff and cast members, they are able to discuss all the positives as well as the frustrations of the troubled production. Discussed are the initial pitch to Nintendo, hiring the directors, the constantly changing vision for the film due to various interference, the innovative special effects both practical and digital, the trouble the cast had with the constant rewrites on set, the reshoots, the release, the reception, the cult following and more. An absolutely essential documentary that answers a lot of the questions that fans had asked over the years. Note this was originally released on the UK Second Sight Blu-ray release and was also on the previous Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray release. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "Making of Super Mario Bros." vintage featurette (18:17) This vintage featurette features a good amount of interviews with the cast and crew members on set and behind the scenes, along with clips from the film, B-roll footage and more to promote the then upcoming film. Note this was also available on the UK Second Sight Blu-ray release and was also on the previous Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray release. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "Katabasis of the Lost Girl" 2024 featurette (23:05) This new featurette includes interviews with a number of scholars and professors with Dr. Lori A. Norton-Meier (the writer of the article "Trust the Fungus" which referenced the film), Dr. Ashley Shelton,, Dr. Pauline Greenhill, Dr. Amy M. Davis, Dr. Emily Zuccaro plus actress Samantha Mathis on the female empowerment seen in the film, the portrayal of the Daisy character, references to classic stories such as "Sleeping Beauty" and "Alice in Wonderland", as well as the positive power of video games. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "Anarcho-Dino-Sado Chic: The Fashion of Dinohattan" 2024 featurette (20:11) This new featurette has interviews with Rebecca Pahle of Box Office Pro, the film's costume designer Joseph Porro, costume manufacturing foreman Salvador Pérez, Jr., and actress Francesca P. Roberts taking a look at the costume designs for the film. From the inspirations from "Blade Runner", bondage gear, reptile skin, dinosaurs, and lizard themes, the designers look back fondly on the creative freedom, the issues with dressing the giant goombas, as well as the chaos it was in the making of the film. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "The Hero Moment: Super Mario, Superhero" 2024 featurette (13:51) This new featurette is an interview with Dr. Travis Langley, as he looks at the traits and tropes of the superhero genre prevalent in the 20th century and how Mario fits into the equation as the seemingly ordinary man that turns into a superhero character over the circumstances. He also looks at the popularity of 80s action hero films and how Mario continues in the same vein, though he does make a factual error saying that the "Duck Hunt" game was on the Super Nintendo, even though it was on the original 8-bit NES. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - "(D)evolution, Dystopia, and Trusting the Fungus" 2024 featurette (21:25) This new featurette is an interview with Dr. Anthony J. Knowles, as he looks at the film's setting in the science fiction genre, breaking down the dystopian nature of Dinohattan and mirroring the real world, the exaggerations the film has made which has similarities with the real world in terms of automation. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - 25th Anniversary Raleigh Reunion Panel (2018) (38:55) This reunion panel after a screening of the film on December 7th, 2018 at the North Carolina Museum of History has SMBMovie's Ryan Ross moderating a Q&A with four of the cast and crew, with Fred Allen who was Hopper’s double, Andrea Powell credited as one of the Brooklyn girls, Tom Corbitt who played one of the towering Goombas, Karen Brigman who performed stunts and played one of the nuns in the first scene, Alan McCoy who played a devo technician and whose death scene was ultimately cut from the film, and special effects crewmember Mark McCoy. Discussed are the Goomba acting, some dangerous moments and accidents on set, making the fungus effects, memories of working with Hoskins and Leguizamo, their individual involvement and memories of the film's reception, and more. Even if the members are not at the top in terms of credits listings, they each have some great stories to share about the production itself. It is mostly a single camera setup, though there are some scenes from the film, deleted scenes, and photos intercut to illustrate their conversations. This was also before the discovery of the workprint cut, so Alan McCoy notes that he had never seen the death scene of his character and hopes that it would be found someday. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.85:1, in English Dolby Digital 5.1 without subtitles - "LPGE Movie Props" 2018 featurette (5:05) Presented here is an interview with Blake Dumensnil, a memorabilia collector of the "Super Mario Bros." movie in 2018 at the National VideoGame Museum's Let’s Play Game Expo (LPGE), where he shows off an extensive collection of movie props that he had acquired over the years and was on display for the expo. The video has also been embedded below. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles LPGE 2018 Super Mario Bros. Movie Prop Exhibit at the National Video Game Museum from Christian A. Deitering on Vimeo. - Behind the Scenes Interviews (31:17) The above vintage "Making Of" was actually edited from the original press kit materials from Hollywood Pictures, the US distributor, which is presented here in its entirety and separated by chapters. First is a six minute short featurette that is a very basic overview of the film. Then there are about seven minutes of quick soundbites from the cast and crew. The next six minutes are dedicated to B-roll footage of a number of scenes. Finally there are "Promo Clips and Trailer", in which there are seven completed scenes from the film plus the original theatrical trailer. While the source is from an analog tape, it is in very good condition, with no issues of tape errors or sound issues. Note this was also available on the UK Second Sight Blu-ray release and was also on the previous Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray release. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - From Storyboard to Screen -- Ice Tunnel Chase (1:02) -- Inter-Dimensional Merging (0:29) -- Koopa's Demise (1:28) -- Lena's Demise (0:36) -- Brooklyn Bridge Climax (3:22) This section presents a series of storyboards with the film's audio to illustrate the above five scenes. Note that the Ice Tunnel Chase and Lena's Demise were not on the previous Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray. Also note Koopa's Demise was divided into two segments on the previous Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray while they are combined as one on this release. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Trailers, Videos, Commercials This section has the following selection of trailers, music videos, and TV spots: - Trailers -- Japanese Theatrical Trailer (1:36) -- Japanese TV Spot (0:15) -- Japanese Home Video Commercial (0:27) Three vintage Japanese promos are gathered here, coming from an analog video source so the image is not particularly on the clear side. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in various ratios, in English/Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 with burned-in Japanese subtitles for the English portions - Music Videos -- Spike & Iggy "Revolutionary Rap" Music Video (1:44) The rap song that was deleted from the film is presented here separately along with new music accompaniment composed by Richard Edson, with sing-along subtitles. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.85:1, in English Dolby Digital 5.1 with burned-in English karaoke subtitles -- Anti-Koopa Protest Music Video (3:21) While Toad was only able to sing a part of the song before being arrested, the full song performed by Mojo Nixon is presented here in audio form with scenes from the film played as background. There is a mysterious thank you note after the video from a “Tony Maurizio” though I can’t find information on who this person is. While some might find it odd that there is no acknowledgement of Nixon's passing on February 7th, 2024 from a cardiac arrest at the age of 66, note that this set was authored back in November of 2023 and released a mere few weeks after his death. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles - TV Commercials -- Character ID (0:31) -- Daisy Guard (0:30) -- Event (0:15) -- Koopa (0:31) -- Ultimate Level (0:13) -- Ultimate Level 2 (0:16) -- Jump Commercial (0:30) -- Power Commercial (0:31) -- Ertl Action Figure (0:30) -- Crash Action Police Car (0:30) A series of original American TV spots promoting the film as well as the action figures from Ertl. They all come from differing analog video sources so there are differences in audio and video quality between each. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Photo Gallery In the final section, over 300 stills are included in this automated stills gallery including storyboards for scenes including deleted segments, prop designs and concept art, special effects makeup tests, set designs, costume designs, and creature concepts. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4 "This Ain't No Game! A Collection of Behind-the-Scenes Experiences and Art" 482 page book This extensive hardcover book is quite packed. First is an introduction by Hoss and Applebaum. This is followed by "Pre-production" which has stills and information on designs of characters, sets, vehicles, logos, and costumes including many that were unused with text on some of the designers. This is concluded with some storyboards and some stills of the set location and blueprints. "Production" is next which includes some vintage text interviews originally for the SMBMovie website. This section starts with a reprinted text interview with designer David L. Snyder conducted by Ross. There is also a 2010 text interview with animatronic engineer Dave Nelson who worked on the character of Yoshi, conducted by Applebaum for the SMBMovie website on his work. The next text interview is from 2011 with makeup and effects crew members Allan Apone and Paul Elliot, conducted by Hoss and Applebaum. Next is a 2010 text interview with special effects puppeteer Guy Himber. Prosthetic makeup designer Rob Burman is interviewed next by Hoss and Applebaum, as well as Amy L. Taylor, daughter of David L. Snyder, who all share their memories of the production. There are also numerous still photos of set, vehicles, creatures, and much more from behind the scenes included in this section. "Release" is the next section, which includes stills of international theatrical poster art, lobby cards, press release materials, plus stills of the film's premiere, advice for theaters to promote the film, and international press tour photos. This is followed by the fascinating "Merchandise" section, with text by Ben Gourlay on the marketing of the film with stills of the action figures, toys, a coloring book, collector's cards, the soundtrack CD, and more. Next is "Restoration & Revival" by J.S. Wingfield of The Bigger Picture Film Restoration on his discovery of the workprint VHS in an auction in 2019 and the path he and the SMBMovie team took to digitizing it and remastering it, including this particular disc's newest HD transfer. Finally, there is "Interviews" which has some additional text interviews starting with musician and actor Mojo Nixon from 2010 by Hoss, an interview with Richard Edson from 2011 by Hoss and Applebaum for the SMBMovie website, alongside a number of production stills. There is an incredible amount of information within, and many of the stills found in this book are not included on the disc's photo gallery section. "Super Mario Bros. - The Scripts" 269 page book This softcover book is the scripts with an "s" for plural form as it includes two versions - the revised first draft by Parker Bennett and Terry Runte as well as the revised draft by Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais. A preface to the scripts is presented with a text interview by Bennett from 2010 by Hoss and Applebaum for the SMBMovie website. It's fascinating to read and compare the differing scripts as they showcase a number of deleted segments, character change, and even setting changes. As stated Umbrella Entertainment's release is a worldwide first for the film on the 4K UltraHD format. It carries over all the previous Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray's extras and adds a wealth of new and exclusive extras, easily making this the definitive release. Other notable clips: James Rolfe of Cinemassacre reviews the film. The Gaming Historian on the film's production and release. John Leguizamo's 20th Anniversary Message Exploring the Super Mario Bros. (1993) Extended Rough Cut Pt. 1: Nobody Touches My Tools Exploring the Super Mario Bros. (1993) Extended Rough Cut Pt. 2: It's More Than Just Death Exploring the Super Mario Bros. (1993) Extended Rough Cut Pt. 3: Koopa, The Party Poopa
Packaging
The discs are packaged in a standard 4K keep case with a hinged tray in the middle to hold two of the discs. Two double sided A4 sized posters with the USA, Australian, Thai and Japanese original poster art is housed in the keep case as well. The keep case also includes a slipcover with unique artwork. The keep case is housed in a thick rigid slipbox that measures 14x18x8.5cm, which also includes the two books, a genuine 35mm Super Mario Bros. film cell in collectable case, a replica A6 1993 34 page souvenir magazine, 8 replica lobby cards, and a sticker sheet. This "Trust the Fungus Collector's Edition" is limited to 2250 numbered copies and was exclusively available at the Umbrella Web Shop. Below is an unboxing, courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment. Umbrella also released DISC ONE and DISC THREE in a 4K 2-disc 30th anniversary standard edition, packaged in a standard keep case and without the collectibles. The slipcase was also included for limited quantities from the Umbrella Webshop. They also released DISC TWO and DISC THREE in a 2-disc 30th anniversary standard edition, and like the above is packaged in a standard keep case and without the collectibles. The slipcase was also included for limited quantities from the Umbrella Webshop. There is also the 3-disc 30th anniversary edition which has all three discs, plus an 250 page hardcover book (a condensed version of the book found in the "Trust the Fungus" ediition), 8 replica lobby cards, one A3 reversible poster with the USA poster designs, the slipcase for the keep case and a rigid slipbox. This is also a numbered release. Due to the overwhelming demand for the "Trust the Fungus" edition and being sold out almost immediately, Umbrella announced the "The 1UP 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition", which has the 482 page book in a softcover form, the 282 page scripts book, the replica A6 1993 34 page souvenir magazine, the 8 replica lobby cards, the two double sided A4 posters, the slipcover, as well as a rigid slipbox that is differing in design. It is missing the sticker sheet and the film frame from the "Trust the Fungus" release. They are offering a choice of the set with the 3 discs or without any discs - for fans who bought the standard edition and would like to upgrade with just the collectibles.
Overall
"Super Mario Bros." was an ambitious project that turned into an absolute mess, yet somehow retains rewatchability. Umbrella Entertainment's upgrade for the film to the 4K UltraHD format is everything a film fan would want with the extensive new and vintage extras that are brutally honest with its production troubles as well as its praises to be found, offers a solid upgrade in image and sound as well as an incredible looking physical package for the limited "Trust the Fungus Collector's Edition". This is easily already the best release of the year and it will be hard for anything else to top it. The highest recommendation possible.
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