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Warner Home Video presents

Any Which Way You Can (1980)

Orville: They said he beat every one in the Marine Corps.
Philo: I ain't a Marine.- Geoffrey Lewis, Clint Eastwood

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith, Harry Guardino, Ruth Gordon
Other Stars: Fats Domino, Glen Campbell, Jim Stafford, John Quade
Director: Buddy Van Horn

Manufacturer: WAMO
MPAA Rating: PG for (language, violence, sexual themes)
Run Time: 01h:55m:34s
Release Date: 2002-05-07
Genre: action comedy

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
B- C+AA D+

 

DVD Review

The followup sequel to the surprise hit Every Which Way But Loose has all the pieces of the first movie, but they don't quite fit together as well the second time around. There's a sense of fun missing, probably driven away by the inclusion of high stakes betting and the Mafia, instead of the penny-ante stuff of the first picture.

Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) is back with his orangutan, Clyde, as well best buddy Orville Boggs (Geoffrey Lewis) and Orville's crotchety Ma (Ruth Gordon). A chance encounter with Lynn (creepy anorexic Sondra Locke) leads to a re-ignited romance. Meanwhile, Philo wants to retire from barefisted fighting, but some East Coast mobsters want him to take on Jack Wilson (William Smith). When he turns down their money, they kidnap Lynn to force him to fight.

The more serious tone and the added gunplay results in this installment being a lot less enjoyable. Ruth Gordon is even more wasted than in the first picture, and the orangutan gets most of the few laughs. Knowing this, the director and screenwriter set up a lengthy montage of ape antics that are tiresome at best. Eastwood is going through the motions here as well.

For those who are here for the fight scenes, there aren't quite as many, although the climactic one goes on for what seems like forever. Some dubious moments include the endorsement of using date rape drugs. The motorcycle gang is back again, although even more ineffectual than before; they do produce a couple of good sight gags, however. The leering sex jokes are laid on far too thickly, and they're generally not funny at all.

The C&W music is wall to wall again, with a main title song from Ray Charles and Eastwood himself. Fats Domino, Jim Stafford and Glen Campbell also put in cameo appearances with musical numbers.

Rating for Style: B-
Rating for Substance: C+

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicyes


Image Transfer Review: The 1.85:1 anamorphic picture looks fabulous. There's tons of detail, colors are spot on and black levels are good. I didn't notice any edge enhancement. This looks like it was shot yesterday, not 22 years ago.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
MonoFrenchyes
Dolby Digital
5.1
Englishyes


Audio Transfer Review: The English DD 5.1 track sounds extremely good as well. There's a very enveloping soundfield, with lots of barking dogs and the likes in the surrounds. The ambient sound is uniformly excellent. There's plenty of directionality throughout, and good use of the surrounds for an effective sound experience.

Audio Transfer Grade:

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 34 cues and remote access
Music/Song Access with 9 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French with remote access
Cast and Crew Filmographies
1 Original Trailer(s)
Production Notes
Packaging: Snapper
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: RSDL
Layers Switch: 00h:35m:14s

Extras Review: There's an anamorphic trailer that oversells the entertainment value of the film and a four-screen set of production notes as well as a brief filmography for Eastwood, but that's it. Again, pretty minimal.

Extras Grade: D+
 

Final Comments

A less joyful retread, with a few good moments. The transfer is first-rate, but little in the way of extras. For Eastwood devotees and 1970s country fans only.

Mark Zimmer 2002-05-06