ZAZ: The Collection! 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

The 4K UHD Blu Ray release of "ZAZ: The Collection!" presents a mixed yet largely favorable video presentation across its titles. Paramount debuts "Airplane!" and "Top Secret!" in 2160p Dolby Vision, while "The Naked Gun" remains unchanged from its prior release. In "Airplane!," the transition to disc resolves the previous streaming issues with an exceptional display of film grain throughout that avoids problematic bitrate modulation. Optical transitions exhibit minor digital smoothing, but the overall delivery is commendable with refined details, vibrant colors, and solid black levels, achieving a score of 4/5.

"Top Secret!" receives a noteworthy improvement with this 4K release. Despite occasional softness during optical effects or zoomed segments, the detail clarity is remarkable during straightforward shots. The Dolby Vision HDR adds robust vibrancy without compromising color accuracy or skin tones. This upgrade is significant over the subpar previous Blu-ray and parallels the overall quality seen in the "Airplane!" remaster, albeit with less aggressive transition smoothing. Again, this earns a 4/5 rating.

Conversely, "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" showcases a mostly laudable Dolby Vision HDR transfer, enhancing black levels and maintaining texture integrity, albeit hindered by sporadic motion blur. This blur is particularly evident during certain sequences like the opening credits, potentially influenced by different viewing setups. While maintaining a crisp presentation in standard scenes with well-preserved film grain, the presence of motion blur detracts from what could have been an almost perfect release, warranting a 3.5/5 score. Overall, while "ZAZ: The Collection!" exhibits varying degrees of enhancement, it stands as a substantial offering for fans of these iconic films.

The audio presentation of "ZAZ: The Collection!" on 4K UHD Blu-ray largely navigates familiar territory, porting over the existing DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtracks from the previous Blu-ray releases. In "Airplane!", the DTS-HD Master Audio track adeptly utilizes the original elements, providing an enjoyable experience without artificial enhancement. Rear speakers are activated sparingly, primarily delivering echoes, musical cues, and thunderstorms, while the front channels maintain an energetic and engaging soundstage. Dialogue is meticulously reproduced, enhancing the comedic impact and ensuring clarity in every punchline. Although the low-end is only modestly engaged, this lossless mix surpasses expectations, delivering an immersive and entertaining audio experience.

"Top Secret!" features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that remains mostly anchored to the front and center channels, with sporadic extensions to surround effects that lack cohesion and purpose. Despite these limitations, dialogue clarity is consistently high, and Val Kilmer’s vocal performances are communicated effectively. While not particularly memorable, integrating receiver enhancements such as DTS Neural:X can provide some spatial improvement to the sound field. However, it is important to note that the mix does not stand out as particularly dynamic or innovative within this collection.

"The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad" benefits from a reliable DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that retains its prior incarnation's strengths. This mix effectively manages front/center channel dialog reproduction, ensuring clean and uninterrupted lines throughout, particularly during action sequences and crowd scenes. Although surround channels receive limited activation beyond pivotal moments, the result is a stable but not overly ambitious surround mix capable of delivering solid entertainment value without excessive aggression or complexity.

The extras in "ZAZ: The Collection!" 4K UHD Blu Ray set provide a well-rounded exploration of the films, curated through carried-over content from previous Blu-ray releases. While there are no new features, the inclusion of commentaries, isolated scores, and Q&A sessions enhances the viewer's understanding of each film's creative process. Each title is packaged in a visually appealing trifold DigiPack with cloudy sky themes, accompanied by thoughtful physical extras such as movie posters and a glossy booklet featuring insights from the ZAZ creators. Despite lacking integration of commentaries on the 4K discs, this collection offers a nostalgic dive into the comedic brilliance of ZAZ films with a focus on the original madcap spirit.

Extras included in this disc:

• Audio Commentary: Engage with creators for each film.
• Isolated Score Track: Experience the music of Airplane!
• Filmmaker Focus: Insightful discussion by ZAZ on Airplane!
• Q&A with Directors: Interactive session with Airplane! creators.
• Alternate Scenes: Additional content from Top Secret!
• Bookstore Backwards: Novel revisiting of Top Secret!
• Theatrical Trailers: Original promotion for The Naked Gun and Top Secret!

Paramount's ZAZ: The Collection on 4K UHD Blu-ray showcases the comedic brilliance of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker through three iconic films: Airplane!, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, and Top Secret!. These films demonstrate their unparalleled ability to blend slapstick, satire, and deadpan humor into a seamless cinematic experience that has endured through generations. With Airplane! leading the charge, the trio effectively dissects disaster movie tropes, ingeniously repurposing the screenplay of Zero Hour! to create a timeless comedy classic. Its endless visual gags and witty dialogue maintain relevance, ensuring the film's status as a pillar in the spoof genre.

Top Secret! traverses a multitude of popular genres from the 1950s and 60s, fashioning an outrageous comedic narrative that aligns Elvis Presley with espionage musical escapades. While its humor may not resonate with everyone who favors the more straightforward spoofing style of Airplane!, it succeeds in crafting unforgettable comedic moments with absurdly clever setups and uproarious scenes that leave audiences in stitches. Meanwhile, The Naked Gun solidifies Leslie Nielsen's transformation into a comedy legend. As Detective Frank Drebin, Nielsen's mastery of deadpan combined with increasingly ludicrous plotlines offers some of cinema history's most quotable comedic lines. His performance enriches an already stellar cast, ensuring The Naked Gun stands as a quintessential parody of classic cop shows.

The 4K Ultra HD package does justice to these cinematic treasures. Each film is presented on a region-free BD66 for 4K viewing alongside previously released BD50 discs for 1080p quality and bonus content. Packaged in a tri-fold digipak, included are theatrical posters and a booklet with lyrics from Top Secret!, enhancing the collection's appeal. This set is designed to delight both new viewers and long-time fans, accommodating a marathon laughter session that risks indulgent hilarity.

"ZAZ: The Collection!" is a compelling offering for fans of classic 1980s comedy, providing a six-disc 4K UHD Blu-ray compilation from Paramount featuring "Airplane!", "Top Secret!", and "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad". While the video quality on the newly released UHDs isn't groundbreaking, each film benefits from notable enhancements in terms of clarity and color grading with Dolby Vision. Despite this, potential buyers should be aware that "The Naked Gun" was previously released on 4K, possibly introducing a redundancy for collectors.

Although Paramount has not supplemented these releases with new audio tracks or additional extras, they have included a few physical bonuses that add value to the collection. Some critics have mentioned the missed opportunity for fresh bonus features, yet the set is still a fun package that targets both nostalgia and new audiences. The films themselves remain timeless comedic masterpieces that redefine slapstick humor and visual gags — attributes that transfer well into the high-definition era.

In conclusion, while this collection may not entice every Blu-ray aficionado to switch to 4K due to lack of groundbreaking technical improvements, it represents a smart purchase for those who don't already own these films or seek an upgrade. The overall presentation is solid, though not exceptional, but at the current sale price, it presents great value for comedic enthusiasts. Thus, despite minor shortcomings, "ZAZ: The Collection!" holds its merit and is recommended for its iconic film list and improved visual fidelity.