UHF - 35th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

UHF brings Weird Al's unique style of comedy to the big screen and has stood the test of time in becoming a fan-favorite over the last 35 years. The film launched careers for Michael Richards, Fran Descher, and Victoria Jackson amongst others where Al and his friends run a television network with some of the funniest and oddest programming that would make anyone laugh. They don't make them like this anymore.

One thing of note that not a lot of people remember: The audio commentary track on this Disc is worth listening to the whole way through and it hasn't been reported much on. But besides Al himself and the director Jay Levey - Emo Phillips, Michael Richards, and Victoria Jackson come on the commentary track throughout the film too and it's a ball. This is probably the funniest audio commentary track ever to be recorded.

Our Previous Review Below:

For decades now, "Weird Al" Yankovic has been blessing us with the best parody songs out there. When it comes down to it, he's simply the best. My dad, being a fan of Dr. Demento and other audio comedy troupes, raised us kids on Al. For me, it began with his 1984 album "In 3D." After school, by brothers and I would race home from the bus stop to see who could fire up the record player first. We'd alternate between "Weird Al" and the Huey Lewis tracks from the 'Back to the Future' soundtrack. From then on, I bought my own "Weird Al" music. Not only does my old man still have his "In 3D" vinyl, but I've got my "Off the Deep End" cassette and many others on CD.

When 'UHF' hit theaters in 1989, we piled in the family car, hit up the dollar store for candy to smuggle, and trekked to the local theater for an unforgettable viewing experience. "Weird Al" proved to be just as amazing at parodying television and film as he was at parodying music and artists. His pop culture knowledge is astounding and his ability to pluck out the most relevant issues involving celebrities and news is unmatched. Satirical animated series 'South Park,' 'Family Guy' and 'Robot Chicken' are close, but "Weird Al" does it with such grace and without a hint of meanness that it's genuinely more enjoyable. As we watched 'UHF' for the first time, along with 'Hook,' 'Three Amigos' and many others, it instantly became a Hickman family classic.

Co-written by "Weird Al," he leads the cast of 'UHF' as George Newman, a unique guy who obliviously marches to the odd beat of his own wacky drum. His easily distracted mind often strays from reality into quirky daydreams, causing him to make many mistakes and miss many events. The movie opens with a great 'Indiana Jones' daydream sequence that causes him to slip up at work. When his buddy/co-worker, Bob (David Bowe), tells him to get his act together, George goes off on a rant about his boss, oblivious to the fact that she's standing right behind him. Of course, the two are fired on the spot and George's girlfriend Teri (Victoria Jackson) is not happy about it – but as fate would have it, George's greasy Uncle Harvey just won a UHF television channel in a poker match. With a nudge by his Aunt Esther, George is hired to manage the failing Channel 62.

With bland and overly serious programming, Channel 62 continues to tank – but when George hands a daytime kids show over the station's weirdo janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards), the ratings quickly start to pick up. George and Bob begin with more wacky and ambitious original programming, causing their ratings to climb even higher than the local network affiliated. Troubles only arise when Uncle Harvey gets into some gambling trouble and the head of the network affiliate decides to take matters into his own hands and sabotage Channel 62.

The comedy of 'UHF' comes in many forms: character, puns, slapstick, prop, parody, situational, cringe, observational, etc. Without a single swear word or sexual joke, it's absolutely clean. The only possibly offensive aspect may be the silly over-the-top quick shots of violence like Conan the Librarian using his massive broadsword to slice a guy in half for returning a book after its due date and "Rambo George" blowing people up with explosive arrows, machine guns and helicopter munitions. Those are the only bits that think parents may not like their kids to see - that and the usage of the term "lesbian Nazi hookers."

Re-watching 'UHF' 25 years later solidified my impression that nobody does it like "Weird Al." He's one of a kind and unmatched in every way. The comedy holds up and is only made more entertaining when you realize that no one does what he does. 'Saturday Night Live' attempts to make parodies, but they typically fall flat and run four or five minutes too long. Adam Sandler attempts to mix silly and slapstick humor, but it only comes across as desperate, forced, and un-fun. 'UHF' does more in one movie than what Sandler has collectively failed to do in dozens. If you've never seen it, now's your chance. If you're a lover like me, then it's time to applaud the release of 'UHF' on Blu-ray.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

UHF televises itself to 4K + Blu-ray via Shout! and MGM in a 2-Disc set. The discs are housed inside a hard, black plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. The artwork features Al's big face with the TV symbols in his eyes. The artwork on the discs will make everyone laugh as well. There is no insert for a digital code.

UHF broadcasts a new 2160p UHD 4K image with Dolby Vision that looks better than its previous Blu-ray counterpart from 10 years ago.

The color palette is slightly cooler with a darker image that looks more realistic than the super-warm 1080p version. The opening sequence has some great brown colors with amber and yellow backgrounds when Al plays Indiana Jones. This transitions into a brightly colored world where primary colors of greens, reds, purples, and blues are dazzling. The early party scene has wonderful wardrobe colors that run the rainbow gamut of color. Inside Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse set, the blues, greens, and reds pop with excellent colors that make all the kids scream for joy. The Dolby Vision allows for the nuanced colors in these brighter moments to look much better without the amber glow from the previous picture. Black levels are inky and the skin tones are more natural this time around, however, there is still a warm quality to the faces.

The detail is sharp and vivid with all of the '80s hair looking amazing and big with individual hairs sticking out. Facial pores, funny makeup applications, props on the set, spray cheese, and wardrobe textures all look wonderful. The curls in Weird Al's hair look better than ever. There are still some splotches, specks, and dirt that crop up here, however, it brings that nostalgic '80s low-budget feel to the image. This is the best the film has looked at yet, and while it's not a night-and-day upgrade, it does solve some of the issues from the Blu-ray.

Unfortunately, Shout! did NOT upgrade the audio options with a new 5.1 track or even a Dolby Atmos track. The same DTS-HD 2.0 stereo mix from the Blu-ray sounds good enough. The music video in the film and all of the silly sound effects could have been amplified with a modern audio design.

Our Previous Audio Review

The original stereo audio track of 'UHF' has been given the uncompressed treatment with a two-channel LPCM mix. The first third of the movie carries a mostly plain sound. It doesn't do much to utilize the stereo space, but the second and final thirds of the movie step it up. I first noticed the better usage during the faux "Spatula City" commercial. As the announcer repeats the store's name, it playfully bounces around from left to right. As Stanley's shows take root, the loud kid's program warrants nice full sound. My favorite usage comes in the climax when Stanley retrieves his mop from the mobsters that function as the network channel's "muscle." As he and his trusty mop are reunited, he waves it around like a sword while the classic 'Star Wars' lightsaber sound bounces around from side to side.

The voice track is pretty good, only a few times featuring slightly blown-out distortion from too-loud set audio. These moments typically occur when George or others have unexpected outbursts. The music is consistently full and clear. While it's not too dynamic, it at least fills the air.

Luckily, no pops, thumps, cracks, warping, or hissing can be heard.

There are no new bonus features for 2024 here, however, all of the previous extras have been imported over to the Blu-ray Disc in this set, including the BEST audio commentary track on a Disc from Weird Al, the director, and some wild cameos who call in.

• Commentary by Al Yankovic and Director Jay Levey - Al approaches this commentary as just another occasion for him to be able to perform. It's hilarious. From the opening Orion vanity reel (where Al proceeds to sing lyrics to the extinct company's vanity reel), he had me laughing the entire time. This commentary was recorded back in 2002.
• Behind the Scenes (HD, 3:39) – With interviews and clips, this featurette is more like the standard generic contemporary EPK videos that we see often. 
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 19:12) – The way that these scenes are presented is perfect. Instead of simply showing you the scenes, they are presented here in a feature that cuts back and forth to "Weird Al" introducing, recapping, making fun of, and sarcastically picking apart the scenes. Although the scenes are terrible, the way that they're presented is priceless.
• Music Video (HD, 4:30) – Watch Al's music video for the movie's titular original track, "UHF."
• Production Stills (HD) – Click your way through 183 pics from the film and its shoot. Note that, unlike lazy photo gallery features, this one isn't simply full of screenshots from the movie.
• Teaser Trailer (HD, :39)
• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:25) -
• Posters and Stuff (HD) – Flip through another 25 images of posters, art, props, and VHS/DVD/Laserdisc/soundtrack cover art.

UHF is still one of the funniest films from the '80s that is as zany as its comedy and references. Weird Al and Company are brilliant and nail down the comedic delivery in each scene. The new 4K image with Dolby Vision is a good upgrade from the previous 1080p HD version and the same DTS-HD 2.0 audio track sounds good. The wonderful vintage extras are all worth watching, especially the audio commentary from Al and friends. Highly Recommended!