Starsky & Hutch (2004) (Warner Archive Collection) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn

Release Date: February 12, 2019

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

Here comes the fuzz! Starsky takes the wheel, Hutch rides shotgun, and comedy runs wild in this hilarious twist on the landmark buddy-cop TV show.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson bring a playful chemistry to the roles of undercover detectives Starsky and Hutch. Todd Phillips (The Hangover trilogy) directs this ’70s groove in which our guys are stripped of their badges, duped by a drug kingpin (Vince Vaughn) and totally ripped off in a disco contest. So, yeah, they’ve got some scores to settle. Snoop Dogg is in fly funkadelic mode as urban coolster Huggy Bear. And Juliette Lewis and others make for nonstop fun. If inducing laughter is a crime, they’re all guilty as charged!

Get ready for a fun, over the top and hilarious good time with ‘Starsky & Hutch’. The film adaption of the popular television series accompanies new partners and polar opposites David Starsky and Ken Hutchinson who must find a way to work together in order to break their first big case together as detectives against a criminal mastermind and business tycoon who isn’t afraid to hide in plain sight. Directed by Todd Phillips and featuring a powerhouse comedic cast that includes Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Snoop Dogg and more, this goofy film adaption of the popular television series ‘Starsky & Hutch’ which was initially released back in 2004 still holds up splendidly fifteen years later and fellow fans of the movie will surely be thrilled to see it finally making its Blu-ray debut in the states courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection.

The Todd Phillips directed ‘Starsky & Hutch’ film has definitely been met with some drastically opposite opinions with as many seeming to despise the movie as love it. I’ve always had a soft spot for the film personally, the over the top style and tone combined with some actual heart and even some fun action scenes for good measure manage to merge into something stylish, silly and just plain enjoyable. It definitely doesn’t try to hide what it intends to be or pretend to be anything other than the goofy good time that it is. As a result it ends up being a surprisingly fun and hilarious ride if you just roll with it, not to mention one that never seems to get old with repeat viewings (as I can personally attest to having seen it countless times over the fifteen years since its release). For those who enjoy the style of humor typical in many Todd Phillips directed comedies (Road Trip, Old School, The Hangover) or that the likes of Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn often shine at but haven’t ever had the pleasure of ‘Starsky & Hutch’ I would definitely recommend giving it a whirl whenever you can find the chance.

Fellow fans of the movie who have been awaiting its arrival on Blu-ray here in the U.S. will almost surely want to make a point of purchasing a copy of this Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray release to add to your collection at some point. Finally bringing the film home on Blu-ray for the first time here in the states and with a gorgeous high definition video presentation from a new 2019 master and an immersive multichannel DTS-HD soundtrack that should both truly thrill the fans and let you feel comfortable finally getting rid of that DVD copy still lingering on your shelf.

Overall, Warner Archive’s ‘Starsky & Hutch’ Blu-ray release brings the 2004 comedy directed by Todd Phillips to Blu-ray for the first time ever here in the states at long last. Sporting a top notch high definition video presentation of the feature film from a brand new 2019 HD Master and accompanied by a solid lossless multichannel soundtrack, this modern comedy classic makes it U.S. Blu-ray debut looking and sounding better than ever. The release may not offer any new supplements, although it does at least port over the bonus content from the film’s DVD release. Altogether it’ll surely be a must own for any fellow fans of the movie that have been awaiting its debut on Blu-ray and most should find themselves quite satisfied with this great Blu-ray release from the Warner Archive Collection.

VIDEO:

Warner Archive Collection’s Blu-ray release of ‘Starsky & Hutch’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation from a new 2019 HD Master of the film which utilizes its original 2.40:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks magnificent as a whole and delivers a sharp, clean and richly detailed presentation from start to finish, with no noticeable faults or issues to found along the way. It holds up impressively even during the fast moving and heavily populated moments, never causing anything occurring onscreen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a wonderful high definition video presentation from Warner Archive Collection that’s further complimented by a substantial bitrate and it should easily thrill the fans.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack serves up a crisp, smooth and fairly active audio presentation throughout. It frequently takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send the soundtrack booming throughout the various speakers, along with action elements, vehicle activity, bits of crowd chatter and more; all while never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible in the process. Overall, this is a great 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers from start to finish and does a great job of complimenting all of the onscreen fun.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Warner Archive Collection’s Blu-ray release of ‘Starsky & Hutch’ doesn’t include any new extras, although it does fortunately port over the bonus content from the film’s initial DVD release. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Todd Phillips’, in addition to ‘Fashion Fa Shizzle Wit Huggy Bizzle’ (running approximately 3 minutes in length) and a ‘Last Look Special’ Featurette (running approximately 9 minutes). Also included are some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (approximately 6 minutes altogether), a ‘Gag Reel’ (5 minutes) and the ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

‘Starsky & Hutch’ is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Starsky & Hutch’ by clicking on the Amazon Cart Icon immediately below or purchase it directly from the WBShop by clicking HERE!