Plot: What’s it about?
It was bound to happen and it finally has. “The Dukes of Hazzard†has now become a major motion picture and you know what, I loved it! As I’ve stated in several of my past reviews, Hollywood is on a remake kick that has lasted about ten years now and it shows no sign of slowing down. Ok, I’m not that opposed to taking the small screen to the big one so long as it’s done right. I’m not sure if “The Dukes of Hazzard†was done right, but it contained some of the funniest scenes I’ve seen in the last few years. Granted the movie itself isn’t that great, it’s these scenes that have no place in the movie that make it funny and, yes, entertaining. For those familiar with the late 70’s/early 80’s show the plot will make absolute sense. And for those who aren’t familiar with it, it’ll take about 20 minutes and then the plot will make sense. The whole gang is here with Bo, Luke, Daisy Duke, Boss Hogg, Enos and Cooter. Dare I say it…â€Yee Hawâ€!
We meet Bo (Seann William Scott) and cousin Luke (Johnny Knoxville) as they’re once again on the run from the Hazzard county sheriff’s. A couple of jumps over streams later, they’ve escaped once again. They run moonshine, something that is evidently common even in 21st century rural Georgia. The plot, for lack of a better word, is pretty simple: The boys must save their farm from the evil Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) when they discover that he has plans to strip mine the town and benefit from the natural resources. Local celebrity Dil Driscoll (Michael Roof) will be doing a charity NASCAR-tupe event to distract the town while the strip mining matter is going through the appeals process in court. Long story short, there’s everything that made the show fun. Plenty of good-looking women (and in the movie, many are naked), fast car chases and the perpetually drunk Uncle Jessie (Willie Nelson).
“The Dukes of Hazzard†certainly won’t win any Academy Awards, but I actually had a great time watching it. Jessica Simpson’s physical appearance is to die for, but I don’t think this chick has more than a handful of functioning brain cells (word has it that most of her scenes ended up on the cutting-room floor). Seann William Scott and Knoxville play very well off each other but the real treat here is the supporting cast. Cooter (David Koechner), Uncle Jessie (Willie Nelson) and Sheev (Kevin Hefferman) provide some of the funniest moments. The movie was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar who also directed “Super Troopersâ€, a funny movie in its own right. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Duke boys are on DVD and for a good time, give this one a spin.
Video: How does it look?
The standard DVD version of “The Dukes of Hazzard†was very good to look at with very sharp and vibrant colors and a general overall filmlike look to it. I have to say that this HD-DVD version takes it up a notch and in true HD-DVD form, it improves on what we already thought couldn’t be improved upon. The same rich colors are there, with a great contrast to boot. However, the HD transfer excels in two things, the lack of any edge enhancement whatsoever as well as the improved level of detail. I did an A/B comparison between the standard DVD and the HD-DVD and while there wasn’t a night and day difference between the two, the HD version excelled on every level. If you have the option (and more importantly, if you like the movie), this HD-DVD transfer will knock your socks off.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack is very active and a tad bit better than the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack on the standard DVD. The uncompressed soundtrack leaves room for some more discrete effects and surround effects as well. As you can imagine, there are plenty of car chase scenes and the sounds associated with those are phenomenonal and the right mix of surrounds come into play at just the right time. In essence, everything that was right with the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack has improved a bit here, and that’s a good thing for sure.
Supplements: What are the extras?
If you own the “Unrated†standard DVD, you’ll be happy to know that all of the supplements have made the jump to this HD-DVD version. The supplements are plentiful, but ultimately lacking in substance; then again this is “The Dukes of Hazzard†we’re talking about here, so it kind of makes sense. First up, this is the “Unrated†version with additional footage not shown in theaters. Not having seen the movie in theaters, I can only guess what was added for this extended cut. There are two sets of additional scenes, a “PG-13†version and some “Unrated†versions as well. The unrated ones will let you take a peek at some topless sorority girls – I’d advise watching those. There are three featurettes: “Daisy Dukes: The Short Short Shorts†in which we see Jessica Simpson and how she got in shape for the part (evidently she had to work out to get her size down to get in the shorts) and even a tutorial on how to make your own. “The General Lee Lives†shows us a good portion of footage and how this 1969 Charger has become one of the most famous in the world. “How to Launch a Muscle Car 175 feet in 4 Seconds†shows us just that – how they pulled off those jumps. They must have gone through a lot of cars and shows us that the Dukes would have been dead several times over if the stunts were real. There are a couple of gag reels, Jessica Simpson’s “These Boots are Made for Walkin’†music video and the obiligatory “Making of…†featurette. While this movie might not enlighten you like others, break out the moonshine and give this disc a spin. Yee Haw.
