Tunnel Vision Blu Ray Review (MVD Rewind Collection)

Tunnel Vision is a 1976 sketch comedy film directed by Neal Israel (Americathon, Moving Violations, Clueless, Combat High, Surf Ninjas, The Brady Bunch in the White House, and Bachelor Party) and Bradley R. Smirnoff (The Hitchhiker and Prime Time). It was written by Neal Israel (Police Academy franchise, Look Who’s Talking Too, Bachelor Party 2, and Real Genius) and Michael Mislove (The Mac Davis Show and Americathon). It was produced by Joe Roth (The Gray Man, Hustle, F9: The Fast Saga, Anger Management, Young Guns, Major League, Dead Ringers, Nightbreed, The Exorcist III, and Tears of the Sun). It’s the year “1985” and the proprietors of new popular television channel called “Tunnel Vision” ran by Christian A. Broder (played by: Phil Proctor from Monsters Inc, Cracking Up, Toy Story franchise, Bio-Dome, Amazon Women on the Moon, and Doctor Dolittle franchise), which is notably free of censorship. They always have done whatever they wanted on TV. They are now under a harsh government investigation led by a Senator McMannus (played by: Howard Hesseman from WKRP in Cincinnati, Head of the Class, Jackson County Jail, Gridlock’d, Halloween II, Amazon Women on the Moon, Police Academy 2, and This is Spinal Tap) who wishes to shut down the network due to its widespread negative effects on the world. During the hearing, the committee examines a typical day or programming which includes shows, programs, commercials, news, and some really wild moments!!!! Tunnel Vision is a late 70’s sketch comedy feature that doesn’t shy away from anything. It’s definitely not politically correct and there’s no way it would be made today because everyone is way too sensitive these days. Tunnel Vision pushes the boundaries and it turns it all into a joke somehow. The future stars of SNL and SCTV teamed up for this hilarious parody. There’s a few skits from this that clearly inspired future projects. Kinda like you know “Junior” came from “The Pregnant Man”. “Get Head” reminded me a little bit of the classic “Basket case”. They even spoofed Manson with “Charlie’s Girls”. I wish that one was longer and shown more because it looked like a blast. “Celebrity Wrestling” basically became a reality with the later “Celebrity Boxing”. Chase’s PSA steals the show for this one. There’s lots of familiar faces in Tunnel Vision but most of them are really quick cameos. The talented cast includes Howard Hesseman, Phil Proctor, John Candy (Planes, Trains and Automobiles), Chevy Chase (Vacation franchise), Gerrit Graham (Used Cars), Laraine Newman (Coneheads), Ron Silver (Timecop), Al Franken (Saturday Night Live), Mary McCusker (Turner and Hooch), Joe Flaherty (SCTV Network), Betty Thomas (Troop Beverly Hills), Rick Hurst (The Dukes of Hazzard), Lynne Marie Stewart (American Graffiti), Roberta Kent (The Kentucky Fried Movie), Ernie Anderson (Stay Tuned), James Bacon (Planet of the Apes franchise), Pat Proft (Hot Shots!), Tom Davis (Saturday Night Live), and Murphy Dunne (The Blues Brothers franchise). This is all 70’s, you can tell when this was made and it’s dated but it’s a nice throwback to some funny uncensored humor. Tunnel Vision is very dark and unapologetic which is why I enjoyed it so much. I think it got a bad rep for the most part and it’s kinda been forgotten at this point. If you are easily offended or triggered, this is not for you. It has a more of a low budget or independent feel like Monty Python television. There’s so many short skits and sketches for Tunnel Vision so they are either hit or miss. I liked more of them than I disliked so it does have a solid balance to it. It’s entertaining and fun, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from the MVD Rewind Collection! These 1080p (1.33:1) and (1.66:1) transfers are from a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. This one has looked really rough in the past, this is a huge improvement compared to all of those older versions. I don’t see Tunnel Vision ever getting a 4K/UHD home video release. So many different shorts, sketches, and skits with a variety of styles so it makes this comedy a little more unique. It has an English: LPCM 2.0 Mono track on the disc. The audio is pretty damn good for a low budget 70’s comedy. All of the dialogue is very clean, the laughs are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has the brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with Matt Edward Heuck. It has a brand new exclusive little over 45 minute “Interview” with Neal Israel and Stuart Shapiro. They bring up that Tunnel Vision is 50 years old. They chat about it being ahead of it’s time. They said it predicted YouTube and future events. They talk about the modern world being P.C. these days. They mention inspirations and stuff that came after this production. They go over the origins and the process of putting together Tunnel Vision. It has the little over 8 minute “Tunnel Vision Continuity Script”. It has several different promotional pieces such as the almost 4 minute “Photo Gallery”, the almost 3 minute “Archival Photo Gallery”, little over 5 minute “Radio Spots”, and the “Theatrical Trailer”. It has various MVD Rewind related “Trailers”. It has a little edition retro slipcover, reversible artwork, and a mini poster. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!