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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
  • French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • 2 Audio commentary - Only one is ull length
  • Featurette
  • Awards/Nominations

What's Up Doc?

Warner Bros./Warner Home Video . R4 . COLOR . 90 mins . PG . PAL

  Feature
Contract

By the time Barbara Streisand signed on for What's Up, Doc? her career as a singer/actor was pretty much established. There was plenty of success still to come her way on both sides of the camera, but by 1971 her movies had all been hits. Funny Girl, Hello, Dolly!, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever and, of course, The Owl and the Pussycat were all completed in the few years leading up to What's Up, Doc?, so there was every chance another Babs film was going to have a decent-sized, ready-made audience.

Judy Maxwell (Streisand) is a bit of a drifter and an opportunist. She knows how to scam, but in a cute fashion. She is obviously quite classy, and well educated, but just what she 'does' isn't that clear. She crosses paths with the cute, but geeky, Howard Bannister (Ryan O'Neal) in a chemist, and proceeds to be even cuter by 'playing' with the geeky scientist.

Howard is in San Francisco to hopefully win a grant to further his studies, and is there with his fiancé Eunice Burns (Madeline Kahn), who is impossibly whiny and annoying.

Most of the action takes place in the hotel where Howard and Eunice are staying. Also staying at the hotel are several guests that become entangled in the storyline. There is the rich guest who has far too many sparkly jewels for her own good, an agent carrying some secret papers and several crooks, thieves and vagabonds who are trying to relieve said guests of their burdens. Everything is complicated by the fact that the four travel bags owned by Howard, Judy, the rich woman (Mabel Albertson) and the secret agent are identical. It shouldn't be too hard to guess that there are going to be more than a few sequences centred on these identical bags frequently changing hands.

As the confusion mounts, and the characters flit in an out of the action, the whole thing culminates into one big slapstick-athon in the best Hollywood tradition. There are numerous references to films such as Bringing Up Baby, as well as some of the great comedy directors and teams such as Mel Brooks, Martin and Lewis, the Marx Bros., The Pink Panther and all those mistaken identity, bag-swapping, door slamming, screwball comedies.

If people flitting in and out of doors, across hallways, car chases, slapstick, guns in the hands of idiots, people getting hit on the head by pies, chairs or crashing through plate-glass is your idea of a good laugh, then you'll love it. Babs is her cute, and close to manic, best. O'Neal makes a great fist of his first comedic role, Kahn's debut is one of her best performances and the supporting cast play their parts with gusto. The dialogue flows thick and fast, the visual comedy is just as rapid, and the farce levels finally end up through the roof, but, thankfully, most of it works. The final twist is rather quirky, but it does fit the theme of the film. There are laughs for most in What's Up, Doc?.

  Video
Contract

For a film that is 30 years old, What's Up, Doc? looks great. It is quite sharp and colours are a lot bolder and more solid than most films of that era. Skin tones are slightly on the bronze-red side, but black levels look great and shadow detail is excellent. There are no marks or signs of dirt and minimal evidence of grain.

The aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is not 16:9 enhanced, however, so those with wide screens may feel a bit cheated. The only minor quibble is that whites tend to glow a little in the outdoor scenes, almost fluorescently. Thankfully, these are few and far between. There are no compression problems such as shimmer and there is no edge-enhancement. There is not even a layer change to contend with.

  Audio
Contract

This basic Dolby Digital mono is quite good, for mono. Dialogue is clear, audible and well synchronised. There is no action from anything but the centre speaker (or two front speakers if you pump it that way), but there is no separation or panning either way.

There is some very minor background hiss in some of the quieter scenes, but it is far from intrusive. There is not a huge sound range, but all the car crashes, gunshots, sparking televisions, slamming doors, fire alarms and screams are loud and clear. There is minimal music apart from Babs' opening number over the credits, but it too all sounds loud and clear. This audio is best described as good, but basic.

  Extras
Contract

There are a few worthy little extras here that most will enjoy. There is a full audio commentary from director Peter Bogdanovich that flows nicely, although it has a few gaps. He discusses all the expected things such as casting, various ideas that were tried and ditched, the impromptu bits, the homage to the various Hollywood comedy eras, the choice of opening number, the various stunt scenes, locations and, of course, the writing and inspiration for the story.

Interestingly, Barbara Streisand gives a 12-minute scene-specific commentary. Just why Babs only rabbits on for 12 minutes is an unknown, but it is interesting enough to listen to. She discusses various cast members, crew, her character, her stunts and the fact that as an actress she had little idea most of the time just what was happening in the story. I am not sure why it is, but Babs seems to very quickly run out of things to say.

The short featurette, Screwball Comedies... Remember Them? is an interesting little 'behind-the-scenes' look at the making of the film. At eight and a half minutes it offers an interesting look at the shooting of several scenes and serves as a bit of an advert for the film.

The theatrical trailer is just that, but it is a lengthy one at 3:39. It throws in some of the footage from the aforementioned featurette and is somewhat grainy and dirty.

Lastly, awards is a screen shot with a list of awards for the fi.... hang on, there's only one award listed. What the...?

  Overall  
Contract

What’s Up, Doc? is funny enough to be recommended, especially if farce and slapstick is your thing. The duo of Babs and Ryan works well (they would work together again), Madelaine Kahn is a scene-stealer, and while some of the laughs are a bit dated, there is enough good stuff still to be enjoyed. Unfortunately this title is only currently available as a part of Warner’s Barbara Streisand Collection.


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      And I quote...
    "Babs is back, this time with Ryan O’Neal, in a slapstick homage to the comedic golden era of Hollywood…"
    - Terry Kemp
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai
    • TV:
          TEAC CT-F803 80cm Super Flat Screen
    • Receiver:
          Pioneer VSX-D409
    • Speakers:
          Wellings
    • Centre Speaker:
          Wellings
    • Surrounds:
          Wellings
    • Subwoofer:
          Sherwood SP 210W
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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