1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! Blu Ray Review (MVD Rewind Collection)

1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! is a 2022 documentary produced, edited, and directed by Roger Lay Jr. (Star Trek documentaries, The Kindred Chronicles, Toy Masters, and Out of the Ashes: The Making of Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future). It was written and produced by Mark A. Altman (Pandora, Femme Fatales, Room 6, The Darkroom, All Souls Day, and House of the Dead franchise). It originally premiered on The CW as a limited television event. It highlights the pop culture milestones of 1982 which includes movies, television, music, and video games of that seminal year. It features a variety of stars, directors, writers, producers, and historians sharing their their thoughts. Legendary films such as E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, Creepshow, Night Shift, The Dark Crystal, 48 Hours, First Blood, Tron, Conan The Barbarian, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, The Road Warrior, and many others are discussed in 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever!!!! 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever is a fantastic documentary focusing on 1982 which was loaded with so many great things when it came to cinema. It has exclusive interviews with Ron Howard, Paul Schrader, John Sayles, Amy Heckerling, Henry Winkler, William Shatner, Sean Young, Joanna Cassidy, Keith David, Cameron Crowe, Bruce Campbell, Dee Wallace, Roger Corman, Barry Bostwick, Marc Singer, Bryan Fuller, Leonard Maltin, Darin Scott, Brea Grant, Adrienne Barbeau, Don Coscarelli, Mick Garris, and many others. They break down various bigger productions like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, Night Shift, The Dark Crystal, 48 Hours, Tron, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and The Road Warrior. They go behind the scenes for these major hits of 1982. They share all kinds personal stories and inside information about the productions. They also dive into such films as Megaforce, Conan the Barbarian, The Sword and the Sorcerer, The Beastmaster, An Officer and a Gentleman, Rocky III, First Blood, Firefox, Slumber Party Massacre, Parasite, Cat People, Friday the 13th Part 3, Halloween III, Creepshow, Swamp Thing, Forbidden World, Last American Virgin, Zapped, Porky’s, 48 Hours, The Toy, Diner, My Favorite Year, Airplane II, Tootsie, Gahdi, The Verdict, Missing, and The Year of Living Dangerously. 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever takes you back to those days. You learn so much about this classic time and everything that was put together during it. So many different genres, directors, and actors are brought up in this. It deals with the Poltergeist controversy with who really directed it. Was it Tobe Hooper or Steven Spielberg? Spielberg legally couldn’t direct it because he was under contract working on E.T. around the same time. They bring up how E.T. changed everything during it’s release and how it should have won more awards. They show their appreciation for Tron which did stuff that no one dared to attempt at the time with it’s high risks. The wars on the set for Blade Runner. The changes and reasons why certain things were done for it during the making of it. Roger Lay Jr. has directed numerous Star Trek documentaries over the years so you know Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan gets some great screen time in this. They show the differences and what made this follow up stand out from the expensive original movie. They bring up that star Leonard Nimoy was desperately needed for this sequel and he used that power to get future directing gigs for the franchise for his work. Jim Henson believed in The Dark Crystal so much that he spent most of his money to get it back to give it a proper finish. It goes over the horror and slasher craze in 82 with all the quality projects from that year including Jason getting his iconic hockey mask in Friday the 13th Part 3 and No Michael Myers in Halloween III. There’s some additional home clips, behind the scenes footage, and rare stuff featured here. This documentary is damn near 3 hours but it honestly doesn’t feel like it. It has a nice pace and flow to it, there’s never really a dull moment in this. 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever just really makes you thankful for that amazing year when it came to entertainment. It was originally broken down into 4 different episodes but this is the full length unedited version of the documentary. It’s very fun, fascinating, and really entertaining. It will make you want to revisit all of these awesome features from 1982, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from the MVD Rewind Collection! This 1080p (1.84:1) unrated transfer looks fantastic on home video. All of the interviews actually line up great unlike a good amount of other documentaries. Usually, there’s so many different shots and quality differences but not here besides some older clips. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks on the disc. The audio has a nice balance considering all the different people and sources used for this 80’s documentary. All of the interviews are crystal clear, the stories are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Roger Lay Jr. and writer Mark A. Altman. It has an additional “Audio Commentary” with producers Scott Mantz, Thomas P. Vitale and writer Mark A. Altman. Plenty of detailed information and inside stories are shared for these two tracks. If you want to learn even more about 1982 then you will enjoy them. It has almost 41 minutes of “Deleted / Extended Scenes”. Considering the documentary is almost 3 hours long, I’m not really surprised some of these ended up on the cutting room floor. There’s some great stuff that could have easily been in the final cut. A few of the movies that got a quick mention get more attention in this and it has an interesting Rambo story. It has the almost 17 minute “The Fans Speak: Fans Favorite Films Featurette”. This one focuses on the general public and normal fanatics like us. It’s cool to see them geek out and show love to their favorites from the year. It has the little over 28 minute “2022 San Diego Comic-Con Panel”. Some of the creative minds behind this provide info, stories, and answer questions about the project at the convention that’s packed with people that would really appreciate this. It has the “Original Theatrical Trailer”. It comes with a slipcover, additional reverse artwork, and a mini poster. This is a must own for any 80’s fan. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!