National Lampoon’s Vacation (Full Screen Edition)
Vacation paved the way for the John Hughes movie dynasty of the 1980s. Written by Hughes (who would go on to write, direct, and/or produce The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and so on) and directed by Harold Ramis (Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Stuart Saves His Family), the first Vacation movie introduces us to the all-American Griswold family: father Clark (Chevy Chase), mother Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), son Rusty (future Hughes staple Anthony Michael Hall), and daughter Audrey (Dana Barron). They all pile into the car for a cross-country road trip to Walley World, stopping along the way to view the world’s biggest ball of twine. John Candy, Imogene Coca, and Randy Quaid (as yokel Cousin Eddie) pop up along the way. The movie was a big hit, and was followed by several sequels–National Lampoon’s European Vacation, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation–but this one is still probably the freshest and funniest of t
Rating: 
(out of 144 reviews)
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Review by Dirk Diggler for National Lampoon’s Vacation (Full Screen Edition)
Rating:
Hands down, one of the best comedies of the 80’s. Chevy was at his best and director Harold Ramis was on a role. (Caddyshack and Stripes.)
Many cuts and versions are out there but the truest I’ve seen, so far, is the anniversary edition. It’s in widescreen (I’ve heard matted/cropped,not sure, but??), nice 5.1 mix, some decent special features but where are all those deleted scenes and the alternate ending?
Plus, a big [..] I have. “I’m so exited” was the song played when Christie Brinkley pulls along side Chevy(Clark Griswald) in the original. Why, still is “Little boy sweet” a song also by the Pointer Sisters used instead?? Both songs were used in the movie. The latter in the truckstop sceen where Chevy eats the pissed on sandwhich.
Is the copyright on that song that expensive to get it??
Dunno. Great movie. Lotta fun.
Best DVD of it yet. Agreed??
Review by BRADLEY R HUTSON for National Lampoon’s Vacation (Full Screen Edition)
Rating:
After all these years of waiting, I was very happy to see that Warner was finally going to give “National Lampoon’s Vacation” the Special Edition DVD treatment I always felt it deserved. Now that it’s finally here, I’m sorry to say that it isn’t as “special” as I’d always hoped it would be.Although this time the film IS presented in widescreen, it is the type of 1.85:1 ratio that actually crops off some of the picture from top and bottom that the old standard VHS version had. That is always annoying to be sure, but since the DVD shows the movie the way it truly appeared in theaters we can’t really complain about that. You have to look at it this way: VHS was just showing MORE than was seen in the theater.The special features leave much to be desired. The group commentary track with Director Harold Ramis, Producer Matty Simmons, Chevy Chase, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron and Randy Quaid was ok, but I’ve heard much better commentary on other films. With few exceptions, they really didn’t say much that was very interesting or insightful, and there were several gaps during the film where no one seemed to say anything! And where was Beverly D’Angelo? I can’t believe that she wouldn’t have wanted to take part, especially since she appeared a few years ago on the TBS “Dinner & A Movie” with Paul and Annabelle to talk about the movie during commercial breaks with them!The “Interactive Truckster Gallery” was pretty much a bore, with the exception of the section where stunt co-ordinator Dick Ziker talked about his jump in the desert for the crash scene. Dana Barron also offered an explanation why she only appeared in the first film in the gallery as well. The rest of it was not anything really noteworthy.The new introduction to the film by Simmons, Chase and Quaid was just a short, silly little piece of nothing. The trailer is here, but I think the original DVD had it too so that isn’t anything special. The other languages for audio are a nice touch. Try playing the scene where Clark had a temper tantrum in the car in French, Spanish or Portuguese for a laugh or two.My big complaint is about the special features that were NOT present, such as deleted scenes. In the shooting script, there are several scenes that could have been presented here, including an alternate ending. The fact that Aunt Edna didn’t really die, the Kamp Komfort clerk dressing up as a moose for the “wildlife fun” (see the photo during the end credits of him in the moose outfit), Clark fearing the police are chasing him after he “robbed the hotel” and stopped for gas (where he got the sandwiches he mentioned shortly before discovering Aunt Edna’s “death”) and the alternate ending would have been good to see, but no dice. No true “special edition” should be without a deleted scenes gallery!My final complaint is the fact that the original soundtrack was not restored. Unlike the theater and original VHS versions, The Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited” was not present during the highway Ferrari scenes. Similar to the version now shown on cable and the first DVD, “Little Boy Sweet” replaces it. What makes that even more annoying is the fact that the end credits were NEVER changed. “I’m So Excited” is still listed as appearing in ALL cable and home video releases. That is almost like adding insult to injury. Why not restore the original soundtrack for the 20th anniversary?In summary, I give this DVD 3 stars, just middle ground. It’s an improvement over the first one, but definitely not all that it could be. Die-hard fans of the movie might want to pick it up, since there might not be any better releases for the 25th or any other anniversary. If your opinion is that you can take it or leave it, I would advise you to just pay a couple of bucks to rent it and save the rest of your money for something better.
Review by Tuco for National Lampoon’s Vacation (Full Screen Edition)
Rating:
Great movie that still holds up today. Chevy Chase and Anthony Michael Hall make the film with superb performances. As far as the DVD, don’t buy this thinking you are ‘upgrading’ your collection to DVD because the quality is just not there. The disc picture quality is NO better than the VHS and is still pan-n-scan. I did a side by side and I think I almost prefer the VHS picture over the DVD, seems to be clearer. The sound is in MONO, which really takes away from the viewing enjoyment. The only reason to upgrade to DVD on thid one would be for the theatrical trailer or convience of chapter search. There also are a few cast bios but nothing more. I’m almost positive that Criterion or someone will re-release this as a special edition SOMEDAY, as this is a really disgraceful handling of an American Treasure.
Review by Ron for National Lampoon’s Vacation (Full Screen Edition)
Rating:
This is a fantastic comedy. Though it is over 20 years old, it still holds up remarkably well. It is one of those movies like Caddyshack in which you might not remember it line for line, but you can rattle off nearly a dozen or so parts that made you laugh. The special edition is not so special, but the movie itself is 5 stars.
Review by Special Features Specialist for National Lampoon’s Vacation (Full Screen Edition)
Rating:
(Instead of reviewing a film you probably already know, I stick to the DVD special features).Those Extras:Commentary: Was ok. Chase tries to be funny on every line, Quaid is only in the film for five minutes so he’s basically mute. DeAngelo is also missing. Producer Simmons and Director Ramis come off best with info, but is it just me, or does Ramis sound like he recorded his part seperate from every one else??New Interviews: Pathetic. They embody some really silly features in the body of the family truckster: Audrey 1, Dana Barron, is actually glimpsed for a second, but isn’t given much to do; some inane stuff involving singing moments from the film, accessed through the truckster radio; Producer Simmons is ok; lenghty talk with stunt coordinator Dick Ziker; and TONS of time spent talking to…..Brinkley??? Hall, Chase, DeAngelo, Quaid, et al are somewhere else.Introduction: Extremely weak. Chase, Simmons and Quaid sit on a couch for about thrity seconds, Chase cracking bad quips.Overall: No behind the scenes, and some particulary stupid choices for the things that come closest to it. Ramis and Simmons contributions make this barely worth a buy.