Private Benjamin Blu Ray Review (Warner Archive Collection)

Private Benjamin is a 1980 comedy directed by Howard Zieff (My Girl franchise, The Dream Team, Slither, House Calls, and Unfaithfully Yours). It was written and produced by Nancy Meyers (Father of the Bride franchise, The Intern, Something’s Gotta Give, I Love Trouble, and It’s Complicated), Charles Shyer (Smokey and the Bandit, Father of the Bride franchise, Baby Boom, Once Upon a Crime, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash), and Harvey Miller (Cannonball Run II, Jekyll and Hyde… Together Again, Bad Medicine, The Odd Couple, and Protocol). It was followed up by the 1981 television series Private Benjamin. It had an estimated budget of $9,500,000 and it grossed $69,847,348 worldwide at the box office!!!! The pampered Judy Benjamin (played by: Goldie Hawn from Overboard, Death Becomes Her, Bird on a Wire, The Sugarland Express, Foul Play, and Wildcats) that unfortunately becomes a wedding night widow after Yale Goodman (played by: Albert Brooks from Broadcast News, Drive, Taxi Driver, A Most Violent Year, Out of Sight, and The Scout) unexpectedly passes away. She needs a distraction from reality so she takes a three-year, expense paid hitch in the US Army. What’s Judy doing in combat boots and fatigue? The recruiter Sgt. Jim Ballard (played by: Harry Dean Stanton from Alien, Wild at Heart, The Green Mile, Repo Man, Christine, Pretty in Pink, and Escape from New York) seductively describes today’s “New Army “, and the gullible Judy takes the bait. She’s in for a major surprise especially with Capt. Doreen Lewis (played by: Eileen Brennan from Murder by Death, Clue, Jeepers Creepers, Miss Congeniality 2, Tales from the Crypt, and TV’s Private Benjamin). She’s a fish out of water in this coming of age via the rigors of basic training and a European assignment!!!! Private Benjamin is a hilarious look at a spoiled girl giving a hard dose of the real world after suffering a tragedy. She’s done with her 2nd marriage already and she needs to give away from everything. She is conned by a recruiter that makes the army sound like a vacation. Veteran Howard Zieff is behind the camera for this fun comedy and army mashup. It was co-written and produced by the talented Nancy Meyers, she is a legend when it comes to the genre. The stunning Goldie Hawn is her prime as the naive Judy Benjamin that’s had a privileged life. She’s used to everything handed to her but it’s a tough reality check when she arrives at the army. She struggles at first but she’s determined to prove them all wrong. This is one of the highlights of Goldie Hawn’s career, she’s perfect as the woman that really needs a change. Eileen Brennan is the evil counterpart as the demanding Capt. Doreen Lewis. She loves punishing these new members of the army and she always pushes them to their limits. She’s excellent as the mean leader that no one likes. She takes her job very seriously and she can’t have much of a personal life because of it. Veteran character actors Albert Brooks and Harry Dean Stanton are top notch in their smaller roles in Private Benjamin but both of them are very important to the overall story. The rest of the supporting cast includes Armand Assante (Gotti), P.J. Soles (Halloween), Alan Oppenheimer (Westworld), Mary Kay Place (The Big Chill), Craig T. Nelson (Poltergeist), Sally Kirkland (Two Evil Eyes), Robert Webber (The Dirty Dozen), Sam Wanamaker (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace), Barbara Barrie (One Potato, Two Potato), Robert Hanley (L.A. Bounty), Lee Wallace (Batman), Gretchen Wyler (The Devil’s Brigade), Maxine Stuart (Like Father Like Son), Lillian Adams (The Jerk), Tim Haldeman (Police Academy 2), Toni Kalem (The Sopranos), Keone Young (Crank franchise), Damita Jo Freeman (Bad Dreams), Lilyan Chauvin (Silent Night, Deadly Night), and Hal Williams (Guess Who). Judy Benjamin is way over her head when she shows up to training and all of the odds are stacked against her. She’s one of the most unlikely soldiers that you would ever see on the screen but she never gives up. She’s still trying to find herself in this and it takes awhile to get there. She goes from joke to someone with that can keep up it. The basic training portion for Private Benjamin is where this really shines. The final half is still solid but it’s honestly not as good so it’s kinda a mixed bag. Regardless, it’s still really good despite being uneven at times. It’s influence is all over future female driven comedies where someone has to develop and grow up from their brat lifestyle, it’s still one of the top efforts when it comes to those after all these years. It has a quality mix of comedy, drama, romance, coming of age, and some action thrown in for good measure. I’m really shocked it took Private Benjamin this long to finally get some proper home video treatment after only having an older VHS and DVD, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from the Warner Archive Collection! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is from a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. It’s the highest quality it’s ever looked so far especially compared to it’s last 1997 DVD so it’s a sharp improvement over all of it’s past versions. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track on the disc. The audio has it’s moments but it’s nothing crazy when it comes to sounds but it mainly stands out for it’s score and soundtrack. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the struggle is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. The best addition is the TV episodes for Private Benjamin which includes the almost 23 minute pilot “Benjamin to the Rescue” directed by Bob Sweeney (Hawaii Five-O, Fantasy Island, Hogan’s Heroes, and The Dukes of Hazzard) and episode 4 from the first season “The Captain’s Helper” that’s almost 23 minutes directed by Bob Sweeney (MacGyver, Dynasty, Starman, and Matlock). Lorna Patterson (Airplane!, Goodtime Girls, Ultraman: The Adventure Begins, and The Impostor) takes over the Judy Benjamin role here and Eileen Brennan (Will and Grace, Comic Book Villains, ER, and Blossom) reprises her character from the film as Doreen Lewis. The other supporting cast includes Craig T. Nelson (Private Benjamin), Hal Williams (Private Benjamin), Joyce Little (Days of Our Lives), Charles Napier (The Silence of the Lambs), Lisa Raggio (G.I. Joe), Joan Roberts (Emergency!), and Ann Ryerson (Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives). This was a fun television adaptation, I’d love to see the complete series to get it’s own HD home video release someday. It has the “Theatrical Trailer” for Private Benjamin. It’s available everywhere right now including Moviezyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!