For
those of you who don’t know the lineage of THE ADDAMS FAMILY ($30)
movie, one has to venture back further than the sixties television series
that so many of us have come to know and love. This journey takes all
the way back to the brilliant cartoons of artist Charles Addams, whose
work appeared originally appeared in the New Yorker magazine.
Some of Addams’ work is still available today in book form, which I highly
recommend acquiring for the uninitiated. One of the best gags in THE
ADDAMS FAMILY is the opening shot to the film; this shot succeeds
so marvelously because the ghoulish imagery was lifted directly from a
classic Addams’ comic drawing. If you have never seen the film, I won’t
spoil the effect of describing this wonderful little moment.
The plot of THE ADDAMS FAMILY revolves around Fester Addams, who
has been missing from the family for the last twenty-five years. Gomez
(Raul Julia) longs for the return of his missing brother Fester, who ran
off after a quarrel. Gomez and his wife Morticia (Anjelica Huston) even
try to contact Fester in the great hereafter, but with no success. Hoping
to take advantage of the situation, the unscrupulous family lawyer, Tully
Alford (Dan Hedaya), devises a plan to bilk the Addams’ out of the family
fortune with the help of a Fester look-alike (Christopher Lloyd).
The
most humorous moments in THE ADDAMS FAMILY are little throwaways
that don’t advance the plot, but create moments that are reminiscent of
Charles Addams’ macabre work on the printed page. Additionally, every
role in THE ADDAMS FAMILY has been cast to perfection. I don’t
think anyone could bring to life Morticia and Gomez (the way Charles Addams
drew them) as well as Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia; they are the perfect
embodiment of that sick, twisted love affair. Christopher Lloyd brings
a likable charm to the grotesque Fester and a very young Christina Ricci
launched her career with her perfectly deadpan (and scene stealing) performance
as Wednesday Addams. The cast of THE ADDAMS FAMILY also features
Elizabeth Wilson, Judith Malina, Carel Struycken, Paul Benedict, Christopher
Hart, Dana Ivey, Jimmy Workman and John Franklin.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has issued THE ADDAMS FAMILY on DVD in a terrific
looking wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for playback on 16:9 displays. THE ADDAMS FAMILY is properly framed
at 1.85:1 and the transfer really shows off the film’s purposefully dark
cinematography. The image is crisp and well defined; even within the shadowy
recesses of the picture there is a decent level of detail. Colors tend
to be somewhat muted by design, however there are certain instances where
hues that are more vividly rendered for effect. There are no problems
with chroma noise or bleeding of the better-saturated colors. Flesh tones
are decidedly unnatural, but that’s what one should expect from the clan
named Addams. Blacks are faithfully recreated and the contrast is especially
good at recreating the film’s skewed lighting design. This well authored
DVD displays no noticeable traces of digital compression artifacts.
THE
ADDAMS FAMILY features a re-mixed Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack
that proves to be a sonic delight. The new mix is big and lively, with
a spacious forward soundstage and very precise sound effect placement.
Additionally, there is good deal of activity in the rear channels, including
some nice split surround effects. The well-utilized surround channels
really add to the film’s delightfully ghoulish atmosphere, as well as
enhancing the film’s music. Speaking of the music, I was especially impressed
with how good composer Marc Shaiman’s music sounds in the new mix. The
fidelity is surprisingly good, rendering Shaiman’s score with a wonderfully
musical quality. Dialogue reproduction is very clean and the bass channel
gives the track a respectable bottom end. An English Dolby Surround soundtrack,
as well as English subtitles are also encoded onto the DVD. The interactive
menus are rather basic, providing the requisite scene selection and set
up features. Two theatrical trailers are included on the DVD as supplement
and are accessible through the interactive menus.
For
those of you who don’t know the lineage of THE ADDAMS FAMILY ($30)
movie, one has to venture back further than the sixties television series
that so many of us have come to know and love. This journey takes all
the way back to the brilliant cartoons of artist Charles Addams, whose
work appeared originally appeared in the New Yorker magazine.
Some of Addams’ work is still available today in book form, which I highly
recommend acquiring for the uninitiated. One of the best gags in THE
ADDAMS FAMILY is the opening shot to the film; this shot succeeds
so marvelously because the ghoulish imagery was lifted directly from a
classic Addams’ comic drawing. If you have never seen the film, I won’t
spoil the effect of describing this wonderful little moment. 
The plot of THE ADDAMS FAMILY revolves around Fester Addams, who
has been missing from the family for the last twenty-five years. Gomez
(Raul Julia) longs for the return of his missing brother Fester, who ran
off after a quarrel. Gomez and his wife Morticia (Anjelica Huston) even
try to contact Fester in the great hereafter, but with no success. Hoping
to take advantage of the situation, the unscrupulous family lawyer, Tully
Alford (Dan Hedaya), devises a plan to bilk the Addams’ out of the family
fortune with the help of a Fester look-alike (Christopher Lloyd).
The
most humorous moments in THE ADDAMS FAMILY are little throwaways
that don’t advance the plot, but create moments that are reminiscent of
Charles Addams’ macabre work on the printed page. Additionally, every
role in THE ADDAMS FAMILY has been cast to perfection. I don’t
think anyone could bring to life Morticia and Gomez (the way Charles Addams
drew them) as well as Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia; they are the perfect
embodiment of that sick, twisted love affair. Christopher Lloyd brings
a likable charm to the grotesque Fester and a very young Christina Ricci
launched her career with her perfectly deadpan (and scene stealing) performance
as Wednesday Addams. The cast of THE ADDAMS FAMILY also features
Elizabeth Wilson, Judith Malina, Carel Struycken, Paul Benedict, Christopher
Hart, Dana Ivey, Jimmy Workman and John Franklin.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has issued THE ADDAMS FAMILY on DVD in a terrific
looking wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for playback on 16:9 displays. THE ADDAMS FAMILY is properly framed
at 1.85:1 and the transfer really shows off the film’s purposefully dark
cinematography. The image is crisp and well defined; even within the shadowy
recesses of the picture there is a decent level of detail. Colors tend
to be somewhat muted by design, however there are certain instances where
hues that are more vividly rendered for effect. There are no problems
with chroma noise or bleeding of the better-saturated colors. Flesh tones
are decidedly unnatural, but that’s what one should expect from the clan
named Addams. Blacks are faithfully recreated and the contrast is especially
good at recreating the film’s skewed lighting design. This well authored
DVD displays no noticeable traces of digital compression artifacts. 
THE
ADDAMS FAMILY features a re-mixed Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack
that proves to be a sonic delight. The new mix is big and lively, with
a spacious forward soundstage and very precise sound effect placement.
Additionally, there is good deal of activity in the rear channels, including
some nice split surround effects. The well-utilized surround channels
really add to the film’s delightfully ghoulish atmosphere, as well as
enhancing the film’s music. Speaking of the music, I was especially impressed
with how good composer Marc Shaiman’s music sounds in the new mix. The
fidelity is surprisingly good, rendering Shaiman’s score with a wonderfully
musical quality. Dialogue reproduction is very clean and the bass channel
gives the track a respectable bottom end. An English Dolby Surround soundtrack,
as well as English subtitles are also encoded onto the DVD. The interactive
menus are rather basic, providing the requisite scene selection and set
up features. Two theatrical trailers are included on the DVD as supplement
and are accessible through the interactive menus.
