Screen legend John Travolta (Face-Off) and Arye Gross (The Couch Trip) star as two hip but down-on-their-luck New Yorkers who think they’re relocating to a small town in Nebraska to open a nightclub. What they don’t know is that they’ve been abducted by a KGB operative (Charles Martin Smith, The Hot Spot) to the Soviet Union, where they’ll unwittingly serve as “experts” on all things cool in America. The town, created expressly for KGB spies-in-training, includes seductive agent Kelly Preston (SpaceCamp), who gets into a real undercover situation with Travolta. Eventually, the two Yanks realize they’ve been duped and devise a spectacular escape. Directed by comedy great Dave Thomas (Strange Brew), this red-hot Cold War farce also features Deborah Foreman (Valley Girl), James Keach (Moving Violations) and Brian Doyle-Murray (Cabin Boy).

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

[youtube https://youtu.be/7HBwkgADakk?t=85]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents The Experts with a major upgrade in the form of a new 1080p master transfer in 1.85:1 sourced from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative conducted by Paramount Pictures that looks stunning. The transfer retains the nice, natural film grain absent of any compression artifacts or other such damage. The grain always resolves favorably without becoming loose or clumpy. The film features some dynamic colors within the costumes and locations that pop off the screen with a great vibrancy.

The film is practically immaculate with no noticeable instances of damage or dirt detected here. Skin tones look natural, and the presentation offers up deep black levels that stay strong even in shadow. There is a tremendous uptick in fine detail compared to the trailer that should please longtime fans. Subtle details in the environments and throwback production design stand out more than ever before, often revealing new aspects you may have previously would have missed. Kino Classics has made many John Travolta fans really happy with this one.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a terrific DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this film really well. One of the main things you will notice is the vibrancy and clarity of the soundtrack. This disc maintains an impeccable sense of fidelity that is appreciated when music is such an important aspect of the narrative. Despite the strength of this element, nothing ever overshadows the dialogue or other important information. Dialogue and background noises are balanced in perfect harmony with all competing elements. This track shows no discernible age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of the creative team at the time. You really could not ask for better from Kino Classics. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included.

Special Features

Comrades In Film – The Making Of The Experts with Director Dave Thomas: A 13-minute self-filmed interview with the legendary comedian and director who discusses how he became involved with the project, the joy of working with John Travolta, memorable moments on set, the dance choreography, the minor disappointment that the film is not more well known and more that is well worth a watch.

Trailer: The minute-and-a-half trailer is provided for The Experts. There are also trailers provided for Moment By Moment, Staying Alive, Secret Admirer, Running Scared, Gotcha!, Crackers and The Nude Bomb.

Final Thoughts

The Experts is the type of throwback high concept comedy that sounds patently ridiculous but succeeds in making you laugh. This film is pure comfort food for ‘80s fans as you have John Travolta goofing around on screen in his prime with a very capable sparring partner in the form of Arye Gross. The jokes are mostly silly or outlandish, but the steady stream of chuckles cannot be denied. With its spry runtime, you never feel as if you are wasting any time on extraneous moments. Director Dave Thomas does a good job of keeping this one moving and the laughs flowing. Kino Classics has provided a new Blu-Ray featuring a top notch A/V presentation and a fun new interview. If you are a fan of the film, this is the type of release you have been waiting for. Recommended

The Experts 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: Kino Classics 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.