Despite the fact that I usually avoid "silly" movies and am not what one would call a big fan of Kelsey Grammer, I decided to give the new LD release of Fox's recent comedy, 'Down Periscope', a try. I was very pleasantly suprised. I found 'Down Periscope' reminicent of films like 'Operation Petticoat', 'Mr. Roberts' and 'McHale's Navy' (with a heavy leaning toward 'McHale's Navy'). Yes, there is plenty of juvenile humor and silly gags but it's all done with such style that I soon got into the spirit of things and found myself laughing out loud. There is some very funny stuff here.
The story (one that has been done dozens of times before) has maverick submarine officer Tom Dodge (Grammer) up for his final review for command. Either he is given a command or he is dropped from the command program, essentially ending his career. While he has his supporters, he has a powerful nemesis in one Admiral Graham (they never explain why Graham hates Dodge, but, no matter) who does everything he can to end Dodge's career. Instead, a senior Admiral (Rip Torn) comes up with a way to give Dodge his chance to prove himself. The Navy re-commissions a WWII vintage diesel sub for a special wargame to test the capabilities of the nuclear Navy against a lone renegade terrorist. The command is, of course, given to Dodge along with the standard crew of misfits. The outcome is never in doubt (but I'm still not going to tell you about how it comes about) but this film carries its tired plot along with a certain style and humor that will make for repeated enjoyable viewings.
If the humor in 'Down Periscope' is good enough for repeated viewings, the splendid transfer for this disc certainly makes it pretty to look at. Fox has become known for very high quality transfers in the past few years and this one is no exception. The color balance is nearly perfect, even in the smokey, poorly lit sub interiors. Outdoor shots border on spectacular. The image is extremely clear with excellent sharpness and detail. Brightness and contrast are also excellent. The transfer has been matted to about 1.85:1 and the framing looks well balanced.
The soundtrack is, as we have come to expect, very good. The mix is not as boisterous as most action films, but I find this more subdued tone more suitable to a comedy. The confines of a sub provide sound designers with plenty of opportunity to make use of a multi-channel soundtrack, and this mix does have a number of very good surround effects, but not as good as, say, 'The Abyss'.
'Down Periscope' runs 93 minutes and the disc contains 20 chapters. The side break is fairly well placed. Fox did not include a trailer, though there is a fairly interesting closing credit crawl. The text is placed on the right side of the screen and in a window on the left side is an updated music video of The Village People's 'In the Navy' with clips and cast members from the film. Cool. List price is $39.95.
Hey, it's a great transfer and I laughed my ass off. What more can I say.
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