Throw Momma from the Train - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Usually, in a movie, characters will find themselves in a plot borrowed from another movie without ever knowing it. In Throw Momma from the Train, Owen (Danny DeVito) intends precisely for his plan to mimic the plot of Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, only he doesn’t seem to have stuck around for the ending. He just gets the germ of an idea that he thinks is terrific and runs with it.

Owen wants his overbearing, monstrous mother dead. And so, he believes, does his writing teacher, Larry Donner (Billy Crystal), want a woman in his life to be rubbed out. During a discussion on plot and writing, Larry explains that if either of them ever acted on their desire to commit murder, they’d be caught right away. They have what’s called “motive,” which means the police would question them first, connect the dots, and the whole thing would fall apart right away. Eliminate the motive, and you get closer to getting away with it. “But how do I do that?” Owen asks. “I dunno, go see a Hitchcock movie!”

Upon seeing Hitchcock’s tale of two murderers swapping victims to eliminate motive, Owen takes this as Larry’s wink-and-nudge suggestion to move ahead on the plan. Owen flies to Hawaii and stalks down Larry’s ex-wife, who—according to Larry—stole his idea for a novel and got filthy rich from it. When the ex goes missing, the police immediately suspect Larry, and the only way he’s going to get out of this mess, Owen tells him, is if he fulfills his end of the bargain and kills Owen’s mother.

Did I mention that this movie is a comedy? It’s very dark and populated with repulsive, unlikeable characters, but somehow, despite itself, it’s light, breezy entertainment. Danny DeVito, who both co-stars in the film and directed, knows how to go just dark enough that the audience writhes in their seats a bit, then pulls it back. It’s a very delicate balancing act of combining those Hitchcockian thrills and twists without losing sight of itself.

Throw Momma from the Train isn’t a laugh-a-minute flick, and it does stumble a little bit here and there, but it belongs firmly in a specific camp of comedy pictures that floats by almost entirely on its charms. Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito have terrific chemistry together, to the point that it’s amazing they didn’t immediately become a duo and make several more films together. But the real star of the show is Anne Ramsey (in an Oscar-nominated performance) as “Momma,” the vile and crude object of Owen’s murderous impulse.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K UHD Blu-ray
Throw Momma from the Train comes chug-a-lugging along on a two-disc release (which each has something the other wants), seeing the film on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray in a combo set. Both discs are housed in a standard case with a removable slipcover, both adorning identical artwork.

Kino Lorber gives Momma the 4K treatment with one hell of a transfer, scanned from its original 35mm camera negative (approved by director Danny DeVito) and graded in Dolby Vision HDR. The film was shot by legendary cinematographer-turned-director Barry Sonnenfeld in his grand, showstopping style with exaggerated noirish shadows and elaborate camerawork. Simply, this is a gorgeous transfer, and it looks amazing all the way through. Kino Lorber has really homed in on their HDR grading, and gone are the days of some overcooked sequences here and there. Throw Momma from the Train is brilliantly detailed in all its soft, candy-colored pastels, with inky black shadows in its nighttime sequences.

As per KLSC’s usual offerings, viewers have the option between a 2.0 stereo mix and a 5.1 surround mix, both encoded in DTS-HD MA. I gave both tracks a listen, and the 5.1 mix is definitely fun, with David Newman’s playful score utilizing the entirety of the soundstage, but the 2.0 mix is a bit more consistent overall. The surround mix is leveled excellently, but the stereo mix is more appropriately confined to the front-end of the soundstage. The surround mix swells appropriately, but feels a bit inorganic in implementation, with some awkwardly placed effects being duped in the satellite speakers. Not that it’s bad, mind you! Both options are solid. I’m just choosing the stereo mix as my preferred option of the two, but you’re in for a winner either way.

Kino Lorber has assembled a pair of new features (a new commentary and a new interview with cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld) and has also ported over a few archival featurettes and deleted scenes. Overall, a pretty solid offering for an 80s comedy.

4K Disc

• Audio Commentary – Film historian Joe Ramoni

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary – Film historian Joe Ramoni
• Interview (HD 23:31 – Cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld
• Crafting a Dark Comedy (SD 17:11) – Featurette
• Why Do You Hate Your Mother? (SD 9:36) – Featurette
• The Night Was… (SD 3:56) - Featurette
• Deleted Scenes (SD 2:06)
• Trailer

Throw Momma from the Train is a cute comedy from an era that relished its buddy-comedy-duo dynamic. Crystal and DeVito riff off each other, and it helps balance the tone of the comedy, which knows just how close to veer into deeply unpleasant territory without derailing or going off the rails. Kino Lorber’s release looks amazing, has a pair of great audio options, and some awesome features to make your way through. Momma is Highly Recommended.