During the spring of 1977, sci-fi obsessed teenager Pat Johnson (John Francis Daley, Game Night, “Freaks and Geeks”) finds himself torn between making 8mm sequels to his favorite movies and pursuing the girl of his dreams, Linda (Emmi Chen, Normal). Desperate to help her son escape his likely future in Wadsworth, Illinois, (population 750), his mother Janet (Colleen Camp, Wayne’s World) cold-calls the editor of ‘American Cinematographer’ magazine and Pat soon finds himself on “the ultimate trip” to Hollywood, becoming the very first outsider to see the film that would change him (and movies) forever… Star Wars. But when Pat returns to his hometown existence, he struggles to choose between chasing a seemingly impossible dream and accepting the comforting familiarity of home.
Produced by Gary Kurtz (Star Wars: A New Hope, American Graffiti), Fred Roos (The Godfather Part II, St. Vincent) and Leigh Jones (Here Alone) and written & directed by Patrick Read Johnson (Dragonheart, Angus), this heartfelt true story features an incredible supporting cast that includes Austin Pendleton (My Cousin Vinny) and Neil Flynn (Mean Girls) along with an original score by David E. Russo (“Gotham”, Sin City) with additional themes and songs by legendary rock musician Alan Parsons (“The Alan Parsons Project”).
For thoughts on 5-25-77, please check out our discussions on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
5-25-77 comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that features some truly beautiful moments along with some rocky ones. This is a visually rich film with gorgeous shots of both rural life and movie sets where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The vivid colors really leap off the screen from the greens of the foliage to some of the colors in the clothing and production design. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with the pretty deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. There are no instances of intrusive digital noise in the presentation. Some of the interior footage can look a bit murky, and some of the special effects shot look a bit wonky. This film was shot with a variety of different aesthetic intentions in mind which this mostly translates well. This presentation is a grand effort from MVD Entertainment
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that brings this environment to life perfectly. The music is showcased well here with an enveloping use of the surround speakers. The dialogue comes through clearly without ever being overpowered by the sound effects or the score. The sound design is precisely executed with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really involved soundscape which enhances the experience. This is not an action-heavy film, so the activity in the low end is primarily saved for a few key moments. This is a lovely sounding release that brings the movie to life exactly how you might want it to.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Writer/director Patrick Read Johnson provides a very illuminating commentary track moderated by Seth Gaven, founder of the A.V. Squad and editor of the film Spaced Invaders. In this track the two really dig into the rocky road this film had to what we have today including numerous additions and tweaks since the initial festival debut many years ago. There are discussions about the personal nature of the narrative and what it was like trying to recreate his life on screen, the collaborative nature of the production and so much more that makes for a compelling listening experience.
- 2013 Fantasia Film Festival Q&A: A 53-minute piece from a Canadian screening of the film in which Johnson shows a rough cut of the film and discusses it in a fair amount of depth including the inspiration for telling his story, updates about the cast and creative figures, fun tidbits about the feature, the obstacles that he faced in getting this made and more.
- Photo Galleries: This disc provides a Cast and Crew Photo Gallery, Locations Photo Gallery and Miniatures Photo Gallery.
- Trailers: There are three trailers provided for 5-25-77 (3:01, 2:47 & 2:57). There are also trailers provided for Zeroville, The Go-Go Boys and Delirious.
Final Thoughts
5-25-77 is a slightly flawed love letter to the power of cinema and the importance of Star Wars to an entire generation of creatives. Much of the movie is really entertaining, but it occasionally struggles with being a singular creative vision. The major drawback of this one is the mammoth runtime which includes so many scenes you easily could have shortened or omitted completely. The film needed to dial in what it wanted to show to the world so that there was not such a feeling that you were watching two movies in one. Even with its shortcomings, it has a lot of humor and heart, and it never becomes boring. MVD Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray that has a strong A/V presentation and some great special features. If you are someone who loves “cinema” in all of its form and artistry, it is worth supporting. Recommended
5-25-77 is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: MVD Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.