Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: The "Rich Mahogany" Edition Blu-ray Review
The first time I ever watched ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY, I thought it was mildly funny. Sure I laughed out loud at a couple of moments but mostly I just smiled throughout the picture thinking it was a bit overrated. Little did I know that every line and gesture seeped into my psyche. Soon enough, I discovered myself continually impersonating and quoting the picture as I laughed hysterically. I now consider it one of the all-time great comedies.
“I’m Ron Burgundy?” No, but that doesn’t stop anyone from quoting the fictitious, iconic 70’s news anchor character created by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Ferrell plays the glorious mustache wearing anchorman (“Not anchor ‘lady.’ And that’s a scientific fact.”) with hilarious irony. Joining Ron in the sexist channel 4 news team is the brain deficient weatherman Brick (Steve Carell), the always crass sportscaster Champ (David Koechner), and the self-proclaimed stylish man of the group, reporter on the field, Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd). The ragtag crew has a tough time adjusting to the new world of feminism when the beautiful and talented Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) disrupts the testosterone filled work places as the first anchorwoman in the San Diego Channel 4 news team.
The actors know their characters well as they relish in the absurdity of the superior and inferior mindsets toward diversity and equality in our history. Exemplified by Ron in his proclamation, “Well, I could be wrong, but I believe diversity is an old, old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War Era.” The film is full of recognizable comedic actors in every little role and a few big names show up as cameos in a particularly hysterical scene involving a bloody rumble between different news stations. Writer and director Adam McKay (STEP BROTHERS, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY) gave us his crowning comedic achievement in ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY. But his greatest accomplishment is allowing the incredibly funny Will Ferrell free reign in his comedic talents. Surrounding the film with amazing comedic actors allows for a pool of creativity and improvisation to run wild at its best.
Much like the scotchy, scotch, scotch Ron Burgundy so loves, ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY is perhaps a required taste. But it is a taste full of dry, non-sensical and dare I say classy humor definitely worth trying out. I’ll guarantee that 60 percent of the time, you’ll love it every time.
With ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES coming out around Christmas 2013, ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY: THE “RICH MAHOGANY” EDITION is being released on Blu-ray with the same features as the 2010 release, just packaged a little differently with a few collector’s items. It doesn’t matter which “Rich Mahogany” edition you choose, I cannot recommend this Blu-ray enough, as it has every possibly feature a fan could dream up.
ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (MPEG-4 AVC, 1080p, 1.85:1) A great looking picture.
Audio: (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) The sound is excellent optimizing every funny line.
DISC 1
Theatrical and Extended Unrated Cut
Commentary by Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Lou Rawls, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate. Two separate commentaries for both versions of the film. Ferrell and McKay lead up both commentaries consisting of the two mostly holding their own conversation separate from the film. If you like these guys and their humor you will love their commentaries. They don’t shy away from exercising their vulgarity during the unrated version. The other cast members are cut in throughout the film.
Deleted and Extended Scenes (53:56): 36 scenes total that are mostly pretty funny.
Blooper Reel (7:46): It’s actually a lot of fun seeing these guys messing up and making each other laugh.
Afternoon Delight Music Video (3:50): They made a separate music video inspired by the song used in the infamous scene from the film.
Ron Burgundy’s ESPN Sports Center Audition (1:55): Burgundy tries his hand at Sports to disastrous affect.
DISC 2
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy (1:32:55): This is an entire other film put together using unused footage and deleted scenes. If you love ANCHORMAN and love the shenanigans of Ron Burgundy and his news team, this is the greatest bonus feature ever. It’s like the sequel before the sequel.
Inro Commentary with Will Ferrell and Aaron Zimmerman (12:00): They spend most of the time trying to remember exactly who Zimmerman is and if he actually worked on the film as the third credited executive producer. It’s nonsensical but quite funny.
PSA (3:41): Five Public Service Announcements by Ron Burgundy.
Award Speech (3:12): Ron Burgundy’s 1970 and 1971 Emmy Awards speech.
Raw Footage ‘Good Takes’ (39:26): 27 different improvised takes throughout scenes in the film.
‘Afternoon Delight’ Recording Session (2:49): Yes! This is the guys trying to “lay down” the track.
Happy Birthday AMC Loews (3:15): Ron Burgundy wishes Loews Theater a Happy 100th Birthday.
Interviews (10:14): Ron Burgundy interviews actors Rebecca Romijn, Jim Caviezel, Burt Reynolds.
Cinemax: The Making of Anchorman (9:29): Your typical featurette discussing the movie with clips and interviews.
Comedy Central Reel Comedy: Anchorman (8:31): Bill Curtis looks at the man and team behind Ron Burgundy and the channel 4 news.
A Conversation with Ron Burgundy (10:41): Pretty much the same thing as the previous feature just in front of a live audience.
Cast Auditions (13:03) Christina Applegate, David Koechner, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, Kevin Corrigan, and Justin Long all auditioning for their parts.
Alternate Universe (4:38): Many actors auditioning for different characters in the film that they didn’t get.
Table Read 6/2/03 (18:37): The cast and a few stand-ins do a table read through six different scenes.
Rehearsals (9:09): The four main cast members rehearse scenes in an empty room and crack each other up as well as the viewer.
Playback Video (5:10): The news team on location at the beach doing a few interviews..
Commercial Break (2:04): Some behind the scenes footage of the actors goofing around.
Trailers & TV Spots
The Many Months of Burgundy: Ron’s personal 32-page diary that reads like the front of a Junior High student’s trapper keeper.
Trading Cards: Set of 12 character trading cards.
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