‘Hail Caesar’ (1994) Blu-Ray Review – Anthony Michael Hall Pulls Double Duty In Directorial Debut

Julius Caesar MacGruder (Anthony Michael Hall, Sixteen Candles), the outrageous lead singer of ”Hail Caesar”, a rock ‘n’ roll band, wants it all… fame, fortune, beautiful girls, and a recording contract from Easy Street Records (fronted by Robert Downey Jr., The Avengers). There’s only one problem, Julius isn’t a rock star but a worker at a pencil eraser factory run by the notorious Mr. Bidwell (Nicholas Pryor, Risky Business). And with his dreams seemingly out of his grasp, he falls in love with the boss’s daughter Buffer (Bobbie Phillips, Showgirls) against her father’s wishes. In order to curry favor with him Julius makes a bet with the old man… if he comes up with $100,000 in six months, Mr. Bidwell must let them be together. Can Julius make the money, make it big AND get the girl?

”The Brat Pack” meets ”The Avengers” in Anthony Michael Hall’s directorial debut that features an all-star supporting cast including Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Samuel L. Jackson (Captain Marvel), and Frank Gorshin (Twelve Monkeys) in this hilarious comedy!

For thoughts on Hail Caesar, please check out our discussions on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/S1McjAZp5Gs?si=WGXSLF3y5uojayvm&t=4147]

Video Quality

Hail Caesar debuts on Blu-Ray via the MVD Rewind Collection with a 1080p transfer of unknown origins. This transfer is as basic as you can get, and there does not appear to have been much care put into restoring this one in any meaningful way. The results are mostly passable with a naturally filmic presentation that shows major signs of better days. This transfer suffers from pretty consistent blemishes and scratches in the print, and shots look very soft and fuzzy more than they do not. There are fleeting moments in the transfer that are detailed, but numerous shots experience fluctuations in density. The presentation does feature some detail in the production design and texture of clothing. The colors are the strongest element at play with a fairly vibrant and bright image. Black levels are very weak as they struggle with depth. We may be lucky to have gotten this in HD at all, but we wish the transfer was stronger. 

Audio Quality

MVD Entertainment brings us this new Blu-Ray with an LPCM 2.0 track that offers a better experience than the video side of things. The dialogue can sound slightly fuzzy, but it mostly holds up without being stepped on by the music or sound effects. Environmental effects are prominent and well defined including the chatter from the workers at the factory. While a large portion of the track holds up well enough, there is an underlying hiss that plagues some of the film which begins to become metaphorical white noise after a while. This track holds up as well as the source allows. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are provided on this disc.

Special Features

• Trailers: A two-minute trailer is provided for Hail Caesar. There are also trailers provided for Men At Work, Joysticks, and Delirious. 

• Poster: A fold-out poster of the cover art is included in the case. 

Final Thoughts

Hail Caesar is the type of throwback movie that we should love even if only for nostalgic reasons, but this does not really achieve that standard. There are fleeting moments that are amusing, but the comedy and filmmaking here are pretty tepid overall. MVD Entertainment has unearthed another forgotten film with a new Blu-Ray which sports a disappointing A/V presentation and virtually no supplements in some cool packaging. If you love Anthony Michael Hall, it may be worth it to you to check this out but don’t expect much. 

Hail Caesar 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.