UHF: 35th Anniversary Edition (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Jul 23, 2024
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Jay Levey

Release Date(s)

1989 (July 2, 2024)

Studio(s)

Cinecorp/Imaginary Entertainment/Orion Pictures (Shout! Studios)

Film/Program Grade: B+
Video Grade: A
Audio Grade: A
Extras Grade: A-

Review

“George Newman: he starts where the others stop.”

1989. Batman. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Ghostbusters II. Lethal Weapon II.

Needless to say, it was one of the biggest blockbuster movie seasons of all time, and we’ve barely even scratched the surface. Any chance that a small-time, B-grade film might have had at any kind of a box office life during that timeframe wasn’t very likely. Although it eventually made its budget back with a tiny bit to spare, “Weird” Al Yankovic’s zany spoof comedy UHF seemed destined to be a cult movie anyway, even if it hadn’t been released during that summer.

George Newman (Yankovic) is a directionless schlub filled with imagination. Unable to hold down a steady job, to the disappointment of his loving girlfriend (Victoria Jackson), he and his friend Bob (David Bowe) are suddenly gifted a rundown UHF TV station, Channel 62, by George’s uncle (Stanley Brock), who won the deed to the station in a poker game. When they show up at the rundown station, they find an eclectic staff that includes a secretary/wannabe journalist (Fran Drescher), a diminutive cameraman (Billy Barty), and a kooky engineer with a secret (Anthony Geary). A recently-fired janitor (Michael Richards) from a rival VHF network, Channel 8, is hired by George and later made host of a children’s show, which becomes a ratings smash, putting Channel 62 on top. Furious at this is the maniacal owner of Channel 8, R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy), who will stop at nothing to stay on top of the ratings by putting U-62 out of business forever. It’s now up to George, Bob, Stanley, and the rest of the station to save it.

UHF (known as The Vidiot from UHF elsewhere in the world) certainly isn’t a film to be taken seriously. The reviews for it weren’t all that favorable, particularly amid the absolute glut of material coming out at the time, but having seen it at a young age when it first hit home video, it made a lasting impression. It has all of the low budget charm of a Troma movie, spoofing the pop culture likes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Dire Straits, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and Geraldo Rivera, but with a broad sense of humor and likable characters, even the villains.

As evidenced by the deleted scenes, UHF was also a work in progress, with plot threads, characters, and extended moments coming and going on set and in the editing room. Spatula City, Gandhi II, Conan the Librarian, and Wheel of Fish are all shorthand references now, but among the many commercials, TV shows, and movies parodied, there were several that didn’t make the cut; including Druids on Parade, Fun with Dirt, The Lice is Right, and The Volcano Worshiper’s Hour (the latter being a nod to a fake club that “Weird” Al started in high school). Even the casting could have been much different. Crispin Glover, Ellen DeGeneres, and Joel Hodgson all auditioned or were offered roles, but eventually declined. In other words, just one film couldn’t hold all of “Weird” Al’s off-the-wall brand of humor... and it’s a shame there weren’t more.

UHF was shot by cinematographer David Lewis on 35 mm film using Arriflex cameras with spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Shout! Studios brings the film to Ultra HD for the first time with a 4K scan of the original camera negative, graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and presented on a double-layered BD-66 disc. This isn’t necessarily a film that requires more than two layers for its 97-minute running time, and the results are very satisfying. UHF has many lower resolution visuals built into it, including late-80s computer animation, but it’s nonetheless a sharp and organic picture with bitrates than rise above 80Mbps quite often, allowing for lovely depth and detail in the image, and a fine sheen of film grain. The new HDR grades really lift the film’s color palette, improving contrast dramatically and boosting the various hues, whether it’s the many sets of U-62, or the drab offices of Channel 8. Blacks are deep and the image is clean and stable from one end to the other. This 35th Anniversary Edition UHD upgrade is wonderful.

Audio is included in English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The previous Shout! Factory Blu-ray release offered a 2.0 LPCM track. Sonically, the difference is nil as the matrixed Dolby Stereo theatrical mix (which is likely the source for both tracks) holds up beautifully. Dialogue is clean and clear at all times, and all of the music cues and sound effects have plenty of life to them. Dynamic range across both channels is also impressive with some surprising immersion at times. A 5.1 or Atmos mix might’ve been overkill, and this multi-channel stereo mix decodes just fine.

UHF on 4K Ultra HD sits in a black Amaray case alongside a 1080p Blu-ray containing the film and the bulk of the extras. The insert and the slipcover both feature the original theatrical artwork. The following extras are included on each disc:

DISC ONE (UHD)

Audio Commentary with “Weird” Al Yankovic, Jay Levey, Victoria Jackson, Emo Philips, and Michael Richards

DISC TWO (BD)

Audio Commentary with “Weird” Al Yankovic, Jay Levey, Victoria Jackson, Emo Philips, and Michael Richards
The Wonderful World of “Weird” Al Yankovic Panel (HD – 51:07)
Behind the Scenes (SD – 3:41)
Deleted Scenes (SD – 19:14)
UHF Music Video (SD – 4:32)
Still Gallery (HD – 182 in all – 15:21)
Poster Gallery (HD – 24 in all – 2:07)
Trailers:
- Teaser (SD – :40)
- Theatrical (Upscaled SD – 1:27)

For this release, Shout! ports over all of the extras from their 2014 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release, including an audio commentary with “Weird” Al, director Jay Levey, and actors Victoria Jackson, Emo Philips, and Michael Richards; The Wonderful World of “Weird” Al Yankovic con panel, hosted by Jonah Ray; a vintage Behind the Scenes featurette; the various Deleted Scenes with “Weird” Al’s hilarious comments; the music video for UHF; a Still Gallery and a Poster Gallery containing a total of 206 production stills, behind the scenes photos, promotional materials, posters, and other ephemera; and both the teaser and theatrical trailers. Still missing in action from the 2003 MGM DVD release is an introduction by “Weird” Al, as well as the Easter Eggs (two additional deleted scenes, a snippet of Michael Richards from the UHF promo within the film, “Weird” Al walking along the bottom of the screen during the audio commentary MST3K-style, and “Weird” Al informing viewers that certain extras are on the opposite side of the disc). So if you have that DVD, you might want to hang onto it if you want everything.

UHF holds up as a simple, charming, and even at times subversive piece of sketch comedy insanity. By default, it’s an imperfect movie, but it’s a terrifically insane and wonderful “Weird” Al movie, and that’s more than enough. Shout! returning for its 35th Anniversary release on 4K UHD is a home run. As the song says, “Don’t change the channel, don’t touch that dial, we got it all on UHF.” Highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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