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[tab title="Movie Review"]
Munster, Go Home! is finally available!
There’s something strange in the neighborhood and it’s NOT taking place at 1313 Mockingbird Lane this time. In fact, it’s happening far, far away from the macabre weirdness that is usually happening within the Mockingbird Heights suburb of California. It’s happening inside an English manor called Munster Hall located at Shroudshire, England and, you guessed it, that means that The Munsters are going on vacation!
Eddie, grab the swim trunks!
That’s right, The Munsters - Fred Gwynne as the Frankenstein-like Herman Munster; Yvonne De Carlo as his vampire wife, Lily Munster; Al Lewis as the potion-obsessed Grandpa; their beautiful (and, as a result, often outcast) teenage niece Marilyn Munster (played by Debbie Watson and not Pat Priest); and Butch Patrick as their half-vampire, half-werewolf son Eddie Munster - are leaving the burbs! They’ve hit the jackpot due to what’s been left to them in the will from their now-deceased relative. They have a manor and a title to inherit!
And it is much to the dismay of Cousins Grace (Jeanne Arnold) and Freddie (Terry-Thomas) and Lady Effigie (Hermione Gingold), who are all already conspiring on how to get the title and the manor away from their American counterparts. {googleads}
Munster, Go Home!, released upon completion of the original run of the series, is an often funny movie that - rich in pratfalls and horror humor - finally gives audiences a chance to see these beloved characters in bright and bold technicolor. It is a comedy that, while smart, is also a bit unnerving thanks to its cheery brightness. We are so used to the black and white strokes of the television show that, sometimes, the bright colors of the era - and the make-up effects - are distracting, but none of that takes from the comedic timing of its main cast and that rich, monster laugh of Gwynne's. It's a killer classic.
Wisely released to piggyback on the foreign distribution of the television series, Munster, Go Home! is directed by Earl Bellamy (who directed a number of the television series’ episodes) and features the same type of satire on the nuclear family that was a staple in the premise of the show. We’ve also got the new location overseas which adds to the monster-sized mishaps like Grandpa mixing up his potions and turning into a wolf and having hide hung around the shoulders of his daughter.
Adding to the mix is a juiced-up version of the family’s car, Dragula, as Herman must drive it in a sunny race around the countryside as he races an opponent who is trying to kill him. Oblivious to it all, Herman’s chances of winning are complicated by his own ineptitude, which makes for lots of laughs.
Co-starring John Carradine and Robert Pine, Munster, Go Home! is now available on blu-ray thanks to Scream Factory. Hopefully, the series is not too far behind in being released in HD.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - March 31, 2020
Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 1.33:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
From Scream Factory, America's Funniest Family in their first full-length feature film! Following the wildly popular Munsters TV series, original cast members Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster), Yvonne De Carlo (Lily Munster), Al Lewis (Grandpa) and Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster) are reunited in this hilarious movie as you’ve never seen them before ... in spooky color!
Video:
The new 2K scan from the original negative offers The Munsters as they’ve never been seen before! Colors are bright and bold! Black levels are thick and inky and everything looks like a brilliant palette of splashy colors. Depth in the print goes far, especially on board the ocean liner. The make-up effects on the characters are pretty cool, too. While greens are dominant, black levels are strong, but wait until you get a load of the details on Dragula!
Audio:
The sound is presented in a crisp DTS-HD Master Audio Mono.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- Rob Zombie and Butch Patrick offer an incredibly detailed commentary which is another star of this release.
Special Features:
There is a bonus to this film because it includes the television movie which appeared in 1981, The Munsters’ Revenge. It, too, has a brand-new scan. Add to this the awesome commentary and you have a pretty cool release.
- The Munsters’ Revenge (1981)
- Audio Commentary With Actor Butch Patrick And Musician/Filmmaker Rob Zombie
- Vintage Cast Radio Interviews
Blu-ray Rating:
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[tab title="Film Details"]
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 96 mins
Director: Earl Bellamy
Writer: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher
Cast: Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis
Genre: Comedy | Horror
Tagline: Herman races the world's fastest cars in his DRAG-ULA special!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Really children. Last night couldn't have been more badly bungled if I had given it to Parliament to do."
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: August 6, 1966
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: March 31, 2020.
Synopsis:
Herman inherits a mansion in England and moves the family into an estate full of ghosts and other surprises. Also starring Terry-Thomas (The Abominable Dr. Phibes), Hermione Gingold (Bell, Book And Candle), Richard Dawson (Hogan's Heroes), Bernard Fox (Arnold) and horror film legend John Carradine (The Howling), and directed by TV veteran Earl Bellamy who directed episodes of the original series, Munster, Go Home! is a spookily splendid return for the first family of fright!
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