Trading Places (Special Collector's Edition)
As the result of a bet made between two rich brothers the lifestyles of a street hustler & a broker are reversed. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 06/05/2007 Starring: Dan Aykroyd Don Ameche Run time: 116 minutes Rating: R
In this crowd-pleasing 1983 comedy of high finance about a homeless con artist who becomes a Wall Street robber baron, Eddie Murphy consolidated the success of his startling debut in the previous year's 48 Hours and polished his slick-winner persona. The turnabout begins with an argument between super-rich siblings, played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche: Are captains of industry, they wonder, born or made? To settle the issue, the meanies construct a cruel experiment in social Darwinism. Preppie commodities trader Dan Aykroyd (perfectly cast) is stripped of all his worldly goods and expelled from the firm, and Murphy's smelly derelict is appointed to take his place, graduating to tailored suits and a world-class harem in record time. Eventually the two men team up to teach the nasty old manipulators a lesson, cornering the market in frozen orange juice futures in the process. Director John Landis (The Blues Brothers) doesn't have the world's lightest touch, but he hits most of the jokes hard and quite a few of them pay off. Trading Places is also a landmark film for fans of Jamie Lee Curtis. --David Chute
Trading Places (Special Collector's Edition) Accessories
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Trading Places (Special Collector's Edition) Reviews
All this while skewering American classism. As far as the blu-ray specifics go the video, while not spectacular, features a substantial improvement over the standard DVD. I've always liked this movie and remember it as a pleasant surprise when I first saw it in theaters. Normally I'd suggest a rental unless you're an avid fan of the film. Trading Places still holds up as one of the better comedies from its time period.
It features a standout performance by Eddie Murphy (before he became a star in Beverly Hills Cop), a surprising career saver by Dan Aykroyd, and with a brief topless scene changed the public perception of Jamie Lee Curtis from scream queen to sex goddess. Thankfully there is no evidence of the rampant DNR or edge enhancement that detract from so many older catalog titles. On the audio front you get a Dolby Digital 5.1 remaster that sounds both dated and flat. Overall a solid hi-def upgrade. While the video is better than expected, the audio is really lacking.
All in all it is a fairly solid Blu-ray reissue. The print has really been cleaned up, removing all the scratches, dirt and hair that plagued my previous DVD. Its class battle is still relevant, its got a fun cast, and big laughs come regularly throughout the film. While this is a dialog heavy film, even the classic R&B tunes in the soundtrack sound both tinny and lacking in low-end. The real problem here appears to be the film itself which, frankly, looks more like it was shot as a TV movie-of-the-week.
As far as suppliments go, you get an upgrade from the previous DVD (which had almost nothing) to a set that is still pretty bare bones overall. Even though it's 5.1 it sounds just like stereo. But at $8.88 here on Amazon if you like the movie at all you should just pick it up.
With the help of these veterans, the young leads (Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis) are able to develop an already brilliant premise into a wealth of hilarious sequences. It's a cut above other perennial favourites such as "48 Hours" (1982), "Ghostbusters" (1984), "Fletch" (1985), "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (1987) and "Uncle Buck" (1989). PLOT. ELEPHANT STAMPS. Aside perhaps from the 1982 live recording of Eddie Murphy's incredible stand-up routine "Delirious", "Trading Places" is the premier comedy of the 1980s. Denholm Elliot for Acting. Dan Aykroyd for Acting. Jon Landis for Directing.
The experiment backfires as their subjects eventually undertake significant personal growth, befriend each other, and exact a fitting, calculated revenge. Two bored, ageing millionaires conduct a sadistic social experiment whereby they orchestrate the defrauding and humiliation of one of their company's top executives and replace him with a homeless man. While there is much to commend, the key to the film's success is the cast of seasoned character actors, including Denholm Elliot, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Paul Gleason and Frank Oz. REVIEW.
Other than the datedness of the time period the movie was made, the movie itself looks as clear as if it were filmed in HD itself. ~ YAH.However, the fact that this movie has been around since the 80's caused me to be wary about purchasing it on blu-ray. Unfortunately, the clarity of some blu-ray discs aren't a whole lot better than standard DVD, so I was hoping for a good transfer, but not expecting great quality. "LOOKING GOOD BILLY RAY." and I'm definitely "FEELING GOOD" about my purchase. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. What is there to say about this movie, except that its a CLASSIC.
The quality is truly incredible with a level of detail that simply blows me awaqy and none of the grain or softness that plagues the inferior DVD version. There is one deleted scene running over a minute with an introduction and optional commentary by Executive Producer George Folsey Jr. The same people are interviewed on camera as in the first docimentary however in this instance they are all from 1983 as they publicize the movies release. It details the theft of the crop report by Clarence Beeks and was essentially dropped for pacing reasons.
Perhaps the most quirky special feature is an improvised promo piece for the movie that apparently has spent the last 20+ years sitting in John Landis' garage. I already owned the bare bones DVD release, but did not hesitate to order the Blu-Ray release. This review is for the Blu-Ray release of the 1983 comedy classic "Trading Places." If you have not seen this movie yet then you really are missing out and what better way to experience this movie than in 1080p high definition. The main special feature is the retrospective featurette "Insider Trading: The Making of Trading Places" which runs at 18:28 and includes on-camera interviews with Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd and Director John Landis. She says that the outfit she is most proud of is the red hooded sweatshirt worn by Eddie Murphy in his first scene.
Since a large portion of the movie deals with the commodities trade the Blu-Ray also includes "The Trade in Trading Places" which includes discussion on the commodities exchange and how it works and runs at 5:25. All in all this is an extremely entertaining way to spend a couple of hours and this Blu-Ray release does the movie proud. The one feature this Blu-Ray release is missing is an commentary but the movie does have a Trivia Pop-Up feature. Tne featurette covers the genesis of the story and the preproduction details (Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were originally slated to star) and how the success of "48 Hrs" brought Murphy to the attention of the producing team.
Throughout the movie sometimes interesting, but ultimately useless trivia appears on panels on screen mocked up as (what else) $1 bills. It features Aykroyd and Murphy winging it for 4 minutes and it is a riot once they get going. Plus we are treated to a wealth of special features to help sweeten the deal. She had Murphy in the bright red outfit and everyone else in shades of gray so as to ensure that Murphy drew the focus of attention.
Next up is "Dressing the Part" which runs at 6:31 and has as its main contributor Costume Designer Deborah Nadoolman. Serving as a counterpoint is the second featurette "Trading Stories" which runs at 7:59.
This is one of those movies that you just have to watch every time it's on tv even though it is cut horribly for tv. This is THE BEST SNL ALUMNI MOVIE EVER. THAT'S how GREAT this movie is. In fact, it's become a 'Christmas' movie at out house. There is NO argument. DVD or Blu-ray is THE way to watch this movie in all of it's glory. I have literally watched this movie and then gone back and watched it again. Not only is it FUNNY, but it's also intelligent.
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