A documentary film crew headed by anthropologist Steve Cale (Eric Stoltz) and director Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) travel down the Amazon River in search of a mysterious Indian tribe. On their journey, they save a man, Paul Sarone (Jon Voight), from a sinking boat. He offers to help in their search for the tribe, but he is actually a snake hunter looking for the legendary Anaconda snake. When an accident leaves Cale unconscious, Sarone takes charge of the boat, leaving the rest of the crew in grave danger.

For thoughts on Anaconda, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/aPEnqs3FnYU?si=Px7nMK0C1B-4S5Il&t=4250]

Video Quality

Anaconda comes to Blu-Ray again courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment, but with a title that has been released so many times on the format, it feels like a slap in the face that we are not getting a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release. This especially hurts considering the title originates from Sony, the major studio doing the best work in the 4K UHD space without fail. This latest Blu-Ray release recycles the same DVD-era master that has been floating around for 15 years. The film was previously released by Mill Creek in both 2014 and 2019 from this dated master provided by Sony following an earlier release by Sony themselves in 2009. This film is not high art, but it deserves a fresh look that will allow it to reach the level of visual splendor we know it could.

We do not have the previous Mill Creek releases, so we cannot speak to whether or not this is any sort of improvement on the video side of things, but the disc does differ in some areas, so it is not out of the realm of possibility things have been enhanced slightly. Compared to other releases from the company, this release does not falter quite as much in terms of compression artifacts and macroblocking. These issues are certainly present, just not quite as obvious as other discs. The image retains some film grain which reveals texture in small aspects of the photography such as the jungle foliage. The CGI can look a bit off, but that is not an issue with the disc.

The colors are one of the low points of the disc, as what should be spectacular, lush environments stay relatively muted with no “wow” factor to be seen. pop. Skin tones appear to be a bit sickly and unnatural, and the presentation offers up some fairly unimpressive black levels. The disc experiences a notable amount of black crush, but once again it is not as overwhelming as some of the discs from the company. Mill Creek Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray disc that is technically a step up from DVD, but, considering we have had such releases for 15 years, it is high time to get a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release.

Audio Quality

The film gives you a bit of whiplash when it comes to the audio presentation. Compared to the previous releases from Mill Creek, this is a major improvement as you get a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track instead of a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Yet, when you judge it against the first Blu-Ray release from Sony in 2009, it pales in comparison to its lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track thanks to being both lossless and fully immersive. This track may not be particularly poor, but there is no doubt that the activity is notably restrained throughout. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without being drowned out by any of the other sounds. Environmental effects play a substantial role in the viewing experience, and this track cannot quite come alive as it needs to with the lack of surround channels. This is an action-packed movie that cannot hit as hard without the dedicated subwoofer. Mill Creek Entertainment has underwhelmed when it comes to the audio. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

Mill Creek Entertainment has provided Anaconda with an optional sleek new SteelBook available exclusively at Wal-Mart that is truly lovely in person. The front artwork is a look at the anaconda in shadow with the title and tagline, and the rear features a picture of the previous cover art with Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Jon Voight. The interior sports a glowing orange still of the boat on the river. Video of the SteelBook can be found above.

There’s A Devil Inside Everyone – Directing Anaconda: A new 17-minute interview with director Luis Llosa in which he discusses why he wanted to tackle this project, spending most of the money on special effects, working with the ensemble, disagreements he had with his DP, convincing certain actors to perform their own stunts, and more.

Final Thoughts

Anaconda is a dumb yet fairly entertaining creature feature that boasts more positive elements than negative. The performances get the job done without really leaving much of an impression. This is not helped by the relatively elementary script that hits the highlights of the plot and not much else. Where the film stands apart is in the fun thriller elements that are shlocky because of the combination of digital and practical snake effects. It’s fine popcorn horror, and sometimes that is what you want. Mill Creek has released a value-priced Blu-Ray sporting a lackluster A/V presentation and a fine new supplemental feature to go along with the new SteelBook packaging. This needs a fresh master, but if you are desperate to own this one you should likely get this one.

Anaconda is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray SteelBook exclusively at Wal-Mart.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Mill Creek 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.