‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Candy & Martin Remain The Perfect Comedic Pairing

In New York the marketing executive Neal Page wants to travel home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. He has difficulties getting a taxi and his flight is cancelled. He meets in the airport the clumsy and talkative shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith who has taken his cab and they travel side-by-side to Chicago. However the bad weather shuts down O’Hare Airport and they land at Wichita, Kansas. They both want to go to Chicago and they decide to travel together. Along their journey Neal changes his viewpoint about Del Griffith and his own behavior.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles was reviewed previously in the John Hughes 5-Movie Collection which you can read about here. 

Video Quality

Planes, Trains & Automobiles debuts on 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a mostly disappointing 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer that remains an upgrade only in comparison to how poor previous releases were. This release does not come with a Blu-Ray disc of the feature film, but thanks to having the previous unsightly Blu-Ray we can see where there are slight improvements. Skin tones look fine, but the clarity of the transfer has been hampered by some unsightly digital tinkering. Where this should give you a rich amount of facial detail, you are instead provided a processed, almost wax-like face in some moments. The exact degree to which this is applied varies from scene to scene, as some moments look more natural than others. When the transfer is allowed to be natural, you get some nuanced texture and detail to the transfer which we would have loved to have seen throughout. 

The transfer remains very soft throughout without the crispness you expect from the format. Dolby Vision does help bring out more nuance in the colors and contrast. White levels are brighter and provide more stability without veering into blooming. Black levels are passable and allow the picture to maintain a fair amount of depth and detail in darker environments. The improvements in contrast and overall clarity is readily apparent, especially in unique details within the production design and the landscapes. The UHD disc contains very natural, deep colors throughout including the striking hues of certain pieces of clothing and lighting choice. This disc is an improvement over the previous Blu-Ray, but it does not come anywhere near the level of perfection we would hope for any film, let alone a classic such as this. Maybe one day it will actually be treated with respect. 

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc contains the same DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track featured on the previously-released Blu-Ray. The assessment of the audio quality can be found here. 

Special Features

4K UHD Blu-Ray

• Getting There Is Half The Fun – The Story of Planes, Trains and Automobiles: A 17-minute featurette in which John Hughes, Steve Martin, and John Candy speak to the press about the idea for the story, the casting of the film, the writing process of Hughes, the colorful language in the film, shooting the infamous bed scene and more. This is intercut with other interviews with talent such as Kevin Bacon and various crew members. Hughes has a very dry sense of humor that can be hilarious but quite awkward. 

• John Hughes – Life Moves Pretty Fast

• • John Hughes – The Voice Of A Generation: A 28-minute piece in which a cadre of celebrities come together to speak on the one and only John Hughes. The participants discuss Hughes as a person, his writing style, his talent for creating memorable characters, the way in which he captures the truth of life and so much more that pays proper tribute to the man. 

• • Heartbreak and Triumph – The Legacy of John Hughes:  A 26-minute piece that further explores Hughes and his connection with his actors and the way in which they give life to them. This piece pays more attention to his talents as a director, the use of music in his films, difficulties that he weathered in the industry, his untimely death and more. These two pieces together create a piece that is essential for fans of these films. 

• John Hughes For Adults: A four-minute piece that focuses more on Hughes’ work on more adult-oriented fare. This piece is culled from the interview session featured in the first supplement. 

• A Tribute To John Candy: A three-minute featurette in which the cast and crew pay tribute to the late actor, his immense talent and his big heart. 

Special Features Blu-Ray

• Deleted and Extended Scenes: This disc provides 75 minutes of (mostly) previously unreleased footage recently discovered  in the archives of John Hughes. Outside of the previously-released deleted scene “Airplane Food,” all of these scenes are in rough A/V quality due to being sourced from old VHS tapes. This is a huge draw for fans who have been wanting to see the treasure chest of footage that was cut from the film. Even with the lesser quality of the presentation, there are some truly hilarious moments you will not want to miss. 

• • Waiting To Board (Extended) (4:35)

• • Seatmates (Extended) (12:07)

• • Airplane Food (Deleted) (3:30)

• • Doobby’s Taxiola (Extended) (7:18)

• • Edelen’s Braidwood Inn – Part 1 (Extended) (12:05)

• • Edelen’s Braidwood Inn – Part 2 (Extended) (14:58)

• • Broke At Breakfast (Extended) (8:50)

• • 99 Bottles Of Beer  On The Bus (Deleted) (1:26)

• • The El Rancho Motel (Extended) (8:20)

• • The Oshkonoggin Cheese Truck (Extended) (2:14)

• Audition – Dylan Baker “Owen”: An amusing three-minute look at Baker’s audition for this memorable character. 

Final Thoughts

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is one of the high points in the career of the great John Hughes which is saying something for such a comedic icon. The pairing of Steve Martin and John Candy is irresistible and results in some of the funniest moments either has ever delivered. Not only is the film an amazing comedy, it proves to be one of the better holidays films to watch around Thanksgiving with family. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray that is nowhere near as good as it should be. The A/V presentation leaves a lot to be desired, but the newly-unearthed deleted footage almost makes up for it. If you have a deep love for the film, you will want to see the exclusive new footage, but be prepared to be underwhelmed by the jump to 4K UHD. Please let your films retain their natural look, Paramount! 

Planes, Trains & Automobiles will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on November 22, 2022. 

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

Disclaimer: Paramount 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.