History is about to be written by two guys who can't spell...
Time flies when you're having fun. Party on dudes!
Distributed by
Momentum Pictures
Cert:
Cat.no: MP060D
Running time: 86 minutes
Year: 1988
Pressing: 2001
Region(s): 2, PAL
Chapters: 24 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)
Languages: English, German, Spanish
Subtitles: 6 languages available
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Panavision)
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: DVD 5
Price: £15.99
Extras: Trailer, Photo Gallery
Director:
Stephen Herek
(101 Dalmatians, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Critters, Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead, Holy Man, Life or Something Like It, The Mighty Ducks, Mr Holland's Opus, Rock Star, Three Musketeers (1994))
Producer:
Scott Kroopf, Michael S. Murphey and Joel Soisson
Screenplay:
Chris Matheson
Music:
David Newman
Cast:
Ted "Theodore" Logan: Keanu Reeves
Bill S. Preston Esquire: Alex Winter
Rufus: George Carlin
Napoleon: Terry Camilleri
Billy the Kid: Dan Shor
Socrates: Tony Steedman
Sigmund Freud: Rod Loomis
Ghenghis Khan: Al Leong
Joan of Arc: Jane Wiedlin
Abraham Lincoln: Robert V. Barron
Beethoven: Clifford David
Capt. Logan: Hal Landon Jr.
Mr Ryan: Bernie Casey
Missy: Amy Stock-Poynton
Mr Preston: J. Patrick McNamara
Strange things are afoot at the Circle K...
Few films can capture the imagination or create catchphrases like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
did and the blend of comedy and time-travel, with its insightful, clever
paradoxes, came at the right time when the world was still waiting for a
Back to the Future sequel.
In short, the two lead metalheads, Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves)
are set to flunk their history report in the year 1988. As a result, Ted will
be sent by his police Dad off to military school and the world as we know it
will collapse. Why? Because, as we're told by Rufus (George Carlin),
a man calling us from 700 years in the future, Bill and Ted must pass their
report because the universe's whole way of life is based around the music their
band Wyld Stallyns create and their 'excellent' and 'bodacious' attitude.
But they'll have to go some to get an A+ when they're bone idle and more
interested in trying to get Eddie Van Halen to perform for their band and
think that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife(!) So Rufus gives
them a time machine in the form of a phone box they set off to grab all the
big names from the past: Napoleon, Billy the Kid, Socrates (nicknamed 'So-crates'),
Sigmund Freud ('Frood Dood'), 'Bob' Ghenghis Khan, Joan of Arc, Beethoven
('Beeth-oven') and Abraham Lincoln. They each have their part to play,
especially Terry Camilleri as Napoleon, since they capture him first
and entrust Ted's little brother Deacon and his friends to look after him,
so they promptly lose him while down the shopping mall.
Bill might need the attention of Freud given that he has an oedipal complex
with his step-mom Missy (Amy Stock-Poynton), just two years older than
him at school, but now sadly married to his balding father.
... for Ted "Theodore" Logan and Bill S. Preston Esquire...
When I first saw this on the big screen, it cried out for a widescreen release
and I kicked myself after the one time I spotted a limited edition tape at
Our Price labelled "Most Excellent Letterbox Video" for £10.99 and
didn't buy it, because the fullscreen alternative is simply terrible and the
16:9-cropped version shown on Channel 4 doesn't go far to help matters.
It was released three years ago as a widescreen video, so I snapped it up
instantly and has also been shown in 2.35:1 widescreen on the Sci-Fi Channel,
but now we have the transfer we've deserved and been waiting for - an
anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, which delivers colour and realistic
flesh tones all over the shop. Free from artifacts or print defects, I'm very
well impressed.
The average bitrate is a steady 5.42Mb/s, briefly peaking over 9Mb/s.
With dialogue in English, German and Spanish only, it's a shame we don't get
a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, settling for Dolby Surround only which makes it sound
a little more flat than it should be in the days of multi-channel surround
sound.
The extras are rather lacking too, only presenting us with a 90-second
non-anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen Trailer and a 20-strong on-set
Photo Gallery.
The disc contains 24 chapters, subtitles in English, Spanish, Dutch,
German, Portuguese and Turkish and the main menu features a clip from the
film played on a short loop.
MGM were due to release the sequel, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey,
a week after this was put out, but it was cancelled. That's most non-triumphant.
Despite the lack of extras, if you're a fan of the film it's worth the asking
price to see it looking so good. It does have a few moments which are either
a bit slow or too daft, hence the score of four stars for the film and not
five.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
