Pee-wee’s Big Adventure - The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

I’ve told this story a million times, but I’m about to tell it again. So, scooch closer, kids, grandpa has a tale. Back in the day, in my day, there were these places called “video stores,” and in these “video stores” they had things called “videos.” You’d rent these “videos” for a small fee and return them days later, where someone else could then rent them and enjoy them for a few days at a time. I lived in a small town, and the staple of every small town was its local video store. My mom managed ours, so I grew up there. She’d take me to work a couple of times a week, and I’d devour whatever videos I could get my hands on and watch them in the back office.

To make sure I was at least learning something and could help answer customer questions, she’d give me little trivia quizzes, like, “Who directed Batman?” Easy, Tim Burton. “What other movie did he make with Michael Keaton?” Duh, Beetlejuice! “And what did he make before that?” Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure!

Somehow, my parents didn’t hate Pee-Wee, which I’ll never understand. I watched Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure a lot growing up. And I grew up watching the show, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, too. It says a lot about the character that these shows and movies didn’t make my parents want to tear their hair out whenever they were on. Because, as loud and annoying as it could be, there was genuine wit and humor underneath.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is a classic hero’s journey. It’s also a road picture. It’s also a horror movie. And a classic mishmash of B-movies like biker pictures and revenge flicks. It’s a little bit of everything. In it, Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) loves his beloved bicycle—a red and white Schwinn—more than anything on Earth. And when it’s stolen from him, he’ll stop at nothing to get it. In any other movie, the lesson he would learn is that his unhealthy obsession is preventing him from living his life. Not Pee-Wee! He will not rest until he’s reunited with his bike. His journey takes him across the country, where he sings with hobos, hitches rides with ghosts, and fights giants at a rodeo. There’s something rewarding about seeing that determination, obsession, and single-mindedness pay off without finger-wagging didacticism scolding the viewer.

The secret to Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is in how fully it backs its main character. Lots of movies about quirky, weird characters exist in a world that either doesn’t understand them or, worse yet, hates them. Pee-Wee is a strange man who wears a suit that’s too small, with a red bow tie, and has the boundless energy of a child who’s eaten too much sugar. But the world around him is just as strange, cobbled together from the memories of old movies before it, existing in a land of outdated movie references. When he steals a rodeo star’s costume, he looks like a silent movie star. When he enters a biker bar to use the phone, it looks like he’s crashed a Roger Corman picture. Everyone Pee-Wee encounters understands his plight and wants to help. Well, almost everyone. Some people need convincing, but all Pee-Wee needs to do to win them over is to put “Tequila” on the jukebox and dance, and then voila, they’re the best of friends.

In 1985, Martin Scorsese was set to direct After Hours with Griffin Dunne, but had to leave when he finally got the go-ahead to make his dream project, The Last Temptation of Christ. After some searching, the production team decided Tim Burton would make a damn fine replacement for Scorsese. When production temporarily fell apart on The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese asked if he could return to After Hours, and Tim Burton stepped aside, then accepted the offer to direct Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Sometimes I wish I could visit the alternate reality where Burton’s freshman feature was After Hours instead of Scorsese's film. Still, I’m glad I live in this one and get to enjoy Pee-Wee’s biggest, best adventure. I own two bizarre, feverish masterpieces from two incredible directors from the Criterion Collection.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is a movie I’ve seen, gosh, nearly fifty times throughout my life, and I was thrilled to watch it again for this review. It plays out like a live-action cartoon (appropriate, given Burton’s experience as an animator with Disney), with every scene and every frame within each scene filled with so much imagination. Every time I watch it, I notice something new. Tim Burton couldn’t have had a better picture to help refine his techniques as a filmmaker.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure thumbs a ride and comes to 4K UHD courtesy of the Criterion Collection in a two-disc release, housed in a standard case. I love that story! The cover features new artwork, courtesy of Luigi Olivadoti, who also contributed to the booklet inside the case, a map of all the locations visited by Pee-Wee in his quest for his bike. There is also an essay from Jesse Thorn included.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure was scanned in 4K from the film’s original 35mm camera negatives in a restoration supervised by Tim Burton. It is presented in Dolby Vision HDR, which allows those exaggerated, cartoon-y colors that permeate every frame of the film to gloriously pop. Production designer David Snyder had a philosophy in assembling the sets that if something “wasn’t loud,” it “wasn’t allowed”. Victor J. Kemper’s cinematography is sharply rendered, true to its filmic roots, with a fine layer of film grain apparent throughout the presentation. This is the best the film has ever looked on home video.

Shh! I’m listening to reason! Viewers have the choice between two options: A 2.0 surround option and a 5.1 surround option, both encoded in DTS-HD MA and remastered from the original film negative’s magnetic print master. They’re both great options, with crystal-clear dialogue quality, and they both offer a unique experience, depending on what you want. Ironically enough, the 2.0 surround option is more immersive than the 5.1 option. The 5.1 option only sees rear speaker activity for Danny Elfman’s iconic musical score, which has a bit more fun in allowing it to build on the front-end of the soundstage before fully enveloping the listener. The 2.0 surround options matrixes just about every sound effect to the rear-end of the soundstage, whether it’s the sound of falling rain or thunder, or the smacking lips of a hobo eating raw sardines.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure comes equipped with legacy features like commentary tracks from Tim Burton/Paul Reubens and Danny Elfman, plus deleted scenes. New interviews have also been conducted for this film’s release, along with a 40^th anniversary panel discussion.

4K Disc

• Audio Commentary – Tim Burton and Paul Reubens
• Audio Commentary – Danny Elfman

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary – Tim Burton and Paul Reubens
• Audio Commentary – Danny Elfman
• Interview (HD 28:09) - With Burton and actor-filmmaker Richard Ayoade
• Interviews (HD 37:38) - With producer Richard Abramson, production designer David L. Snyder, cowriter Michael Varhol, and editor Billy Weber, conducted by critic Mark Olsen
• Interview (SD 36:10) – With Paul Reubens for Hollywood’s Master Storytellers from 2005
• Panel Discussion (HD 24:25) - Excerpts from the 40^th anniversary screening of the film presented by Nostalgic Nebula and hosted by comedian Dana Gould
• Deleted Scenes (SD 11:06)
• Trailer

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is a rare family film that actually has appeal for the whole family, whether you’re a kid or a grown-up. It’s wild and manic, bursting with energy from beginning to end, wildly imaginative and inventive. It’s also funny as hell. Criterion’s release allows the film to look and sound better than ever, backed by some great new special features. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is Highly Recommended, and make sure to tell ‘em Large Marge sent ya!