‘Meatballs’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Summer Camp Comedy Shows Early Star Power Of Bill Murray

Wisecracking its way to a 4K debut, the laugh-riot classic Meatballs proves once and for all that freaks, weirdos, and underdogs will always have their day! When the motley crew of counselors-in-training at Camp North Star meet head counselor Tripper Harrison (Bill Murray, in his first starring role in a feature film), they’re in for a crash course in practical jokes, summertime romance, and the joy of sticking it to a rival camp’s rich kids. But after those rich kids use dirty tricks to wallop Camp North Star on the first day of the annual Olympiad games, Tripper rouses his underlings with a speech infamous in the annals of comedy, reminding them that it just doesn’t matter…but Meatballs sure does!

For thoughts on Meatballs, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Meatballs has been given a 2160p Dolby Vision/HDR upgrade sourced from a newly approved 4K master that is an absolute knockout. We have never viewed the previous 2012 Blu-Ray from Lionsgate, but this new package contains a Blu-Ray sourced from the new 4K master. This transfer undoubtedly allows the film to look the best it ever has on home entertainment, and it should be considered the ultimate way to enjoy it at home. 

The new 4K master maintains a lovely amount of natural film grain that allows the movie to flourish and gives a lot of pleasing texture and detail to the transfer. For the first time on home entertainment, you can clearly see specific elements of the production design in the cabins. Grain is organic and mostly holds to a tight grain structure outside of a few fleeting moments where it gets extra dense in low light. You really do get a fabulous amount of depth that makes the rustic landscape feel more three-dimensional than ever. The upgrade in contrast and overall clarity are outstanding, especially when you look at various settings around the camp. 

The UHD disc contains very deep, nuanced colors throughout with saturation veering more natural than artificially boosted, as it shows off the earthy locales. The most impressive moments of Dolby Vision implementation are in the film’s environmental elements including the green of the foliage, the blue of the skies, and other pops of color in clothes. Black levels are extremely deep and allow the picture to maintain an excellent amount of depth and detail in darker spaces. Highlights are brighter and offer a greater stability without veering into blooming. Skin tones look natural, and the clarity of the transfer gives you a striking amount of facial detail including perspiration from activity outside. The transfer brings a rich vitality to this feature which fans will appreciate. 

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray comes with a lovely new DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio stereo mix, plus the theatrical mono track newly restored, which both present this story with great care.  One of the most memorable aspects of the film is the soundtrack, and the room really comes alive with the catchy recurring tune, along with a few other numbers. The stereo presentation provides a bit of worthwhile expansion, but it is not tremendously different from the mono experience. Speakers remain engaged appropriately throughout the film, even during the quieter, interpersonal exchanges. Placement of sound is never an issue, and dialogue is reproduced with the expected clarity. All of the sounds are balanced well throughout. This audio presentation reaches the level of quality for which one would hope. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are provided. 

Special Features

This release comes with a sleek new SteelBook exclusively at Lionsgate Limited that is quite fetching in person. The SteelBook features a removable lenticular slipcase displaying an artistic rendering of counselors with some of the kids. The interior sports a drawing of the inside of a cabin. Video of the SteelBook can be found at the top of this review.

• Ivan Reitman – Head Counselor: A new 12-minute piece with filmmaker Jason Reitman in which he discusses the life and career of his father, Ivan Reitman. There are great insights into the personal connection Ivan had with summer camps, the balance of humor and heart, the subversive nature of the picture, the work of Bill Murray, and more. 

• The Sound of Summer: A new eight-minute featurette with Peter Bernstein, son of composer Elmer Bernstein, and Jason Reitman in which they discuss the vital score of the picture, the collaborations between Elmer and Ivan, the tone of the feature, and more. 

• Establishing Shot with Jason Reitman: A new 11-minute discussion with Jason Reitman in which he discusses his approach to the new 4K remaster of the film, trying to honor what he believes his father would have wanted in terms of the color, the disastrous 5.1 sound mix they discovered during the process with altered sound effects, the creation of the new stereo mix, and more that is a treat for cinephiles. 

• Casting Camp: A 16-minute archival look at the improvisational casting session from 1978. 

• Legacy Special Features

• • Audio Commentary: Director Ivan Reitman and Writer/Producer Dan Goldberg

• • Summer Camp – The Making of Meatballs: A substantial 48-minute making-of documentary in which the cast and creative team discuss the journey to creating the film from the development through the production and release. 

• • Theatrical Trailer (3:10)

• • Trailer Gallery (1:48)

Final Thoughts

Meatballs may not be the pinnacle of collaborations between Ivan Reitman and Bill Murray, but it provided a solid launch point for the pair that still holds up today. The humor is not quite as edgy as they would come to be known for, but there are a lot of gags that hold up well within the camp hijinks, not to mention the heart at the core of the story. Murray displays a lot of what would eventually make him a star in this film, and fans of his will have a good time revisiting this one. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a marvelous assortment of special features. Recommended 

Meatballs is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray SteelBook exclusively through Lionsgate Limited.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home 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.