Although I was just about the perfect age to most appreciate it, I didn’t get to see The Naked Gun in a theater with an audience. I had to wait for a VHS rental from Blockbuster the following year, at which time my teenage self became obsessed with the movie and watched it over and over again. So did most of my friends. We all thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.
Of all film genres, comedies often suffer terribly with age. Rewatching it for the first time in many years, I don’t think The Naked Gun holds up nearly as well as Airplane! (from the same creative team) does, nor even as well as the Police Squad! show that this movie derived from, but it still has a lot of funny moments and is agreeably amusing in general. I still enjoy it, and Leslie Nielsen is a treasure.
This week, I took a risk by letting both of my 11-year-old sons watch this comedy that definitely pushes the limits of its PG-13 rating. They both had fairly muted reactions to it. I’m not sure if that’s because they’re too young and some of the risqué jokes made them uncomfortable, or if this style of slapstick humor just doesn’t appeal to their generation. We try to get to the bottom of that in our Film at 11 podcast.
| Title: | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! |
| Year of Release: | 1988 |
| Director: | David Zucker |
| Watched On: | 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray |
| Also Available On: | Blu-ray Paramount+ Fubo TV Hoopla Kanopy Various VOD rental and purchase platforms |
You may note that this episode runs quite short at just under nine minutes. After filming, I decided that a lengthy conversation where I tried to explain the O.J. Simpson scandal to my kids was weighing down the episode and didn’t need to happen on screen, so I cut a big chunk of it at the last minute. Trust me, I think that’s for the best.
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
The Naked Gun was first released onto Blu-ray in 2011, and saw numerous reissues over the years, both on its own or bundled with its two sequels. A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition followed in 2023, released initially only in a supposedly “limited edition” SteelBook that’s still widely available two years later. In 2024, the disc was repackaged into a ZAZ Collection box set along with 4K editions of Airplane! and Top Secret! Unfortunately, that set actually does seem to have been limited, and I couldn’t find it in stock anywhere.
The movie can also currently be found streaming on Paramount+, and my easiest (not to mention least expensive) course of action should have been to just watch it there. However, my obsessive side won out and I bought the 4K SteelBook, even though this isn’t the type of movie that calls out for needing a SteelBook collectible.
To be blunt about, nothing about The Naked Gun needs to be in 4K, either. The movie is rather blandly photographed in a utilitarian style with no particular flair. Even at its best, the 1.85:1 image is a little soft and never looks to have 4K worth of detail. If anything, the extra resolution just accentuates film grain. Colors and contrast are decent but hardly exceptional. Basic HD is perfectly serviceable for a film like this.
Admittedly, the standard Blu-ray disc that comes in the SteelBook is a copy of the 2011 release, sourced from an older video transfer. That’s immediately apparent by looking at the aspect ratio, which has been slightly opened-up to full-screen 16:9 rather than letterboxed to 1.85:1. Even so, it looks fine. Sometimes “good enough” really is good enough.
Given that I now own a copy of it, I’ll default to watching the 4K disc in the future, because it does offer at least some moderate degree of improvement. But I never really needed this. I could’ve been just fine streaming this movie.
Likewise, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is a very standard comedy mix that prioritizes dialogue above all else. Surround usage is mild. Gunshots and explosions are generally weak. Pee and fart noises are delivered in sufficient clarity.
The 4K disc has no bonus features at all. The Blu-ray is nearly as sparse with just an old (quite tedious, from what little of it I listened to) audio commentary and a trailer.
Related
- Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker
- Ricardo Montalban
Note: All screenshots on this page were taken from the standard Blu-ray edition of the film and are used for illustration purposes only.
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