There was a time in the 80s when filmmaking wizard Steven Spielberg’s magic seemed to know no bounds. From Back to the Future to Young Sherlock Holmes, he was everywhere in the producing department. For all his success, the most resonant of the Steven Spielberg produced flicks of this era had to be The Goonies—now out in a stunning looking and sonically succulent 4K.
The film, directed by Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon), comes from a script by Spielberg mentee Chris Columbus (Gremlins, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), and follows a group of kids who find a mysterious map that leads them not only to unforeseen treasures but the experience of a lifetime. It’s a swashbuckling journey featuring an underground world right out of a pirate escapade with booby-traps and a bevy of bad guys hot on their tail. Oh, and then there’s the “monster” they meet whose face would scare off most folks, but the Goonies are not most people.
The cast, led by our kiddos—Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Jeff Cohen, Ke Huy Quan—also featured a teenage Josh Brolin and Martha Plimpton, collectively carried the entire adventure, and truly defined the word “ensemble.” It even had Joey “Pants!” i.e. Joe Pantoliano. That right there is largely why The Goonies was such a hit and more importantly, has resonated with audiences for decades. There’s something about these kids together, bringing the words of Columbus to life with an adventure conceived by Spielberg and his team of storytellers—that time has shown was more prolific than anyone out there at the time (and perhaps since!)—whose cinematic journey has been often imitated, but never achieved the same power.
It’s interesting if The Goonies had been made a few years later, there is no doubt that Columbus would have directed. That guy was about to head behind the camera and eventually become the perfect choice to not only capture JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book and bring it to the silver screen—but also (most importantly) cast that world that proved to be prolific. Fate is a funny thing as Columbus was still learning the directorial ropes, Spielberg tapped an expert in the helming department, Donner. He definitely was not a perfect fit for every single Spielberg-produced flick of that era, but the universe knows what it knows, and it knew that Donner + Columbus + Spielberg = awesome movie escapism at its finest.
Donner brought mettle to the project that takes the entire thing seriously. It would have easily been a subject matter whose portrayal could have come off as flippant or cheesy. Instead, everyone on set took it seriously as if they were crafting a Raiders of the Lost Ark for kids. In fact, they were and there is one thing about children moviegoers that so many filmmakers do not take into consideration. The material may be youthful, but the presentation must always be as serious as if Stanley Kubrick were behind the camera. Kids notice when they’re being pandered to and do not take to it too kindly. Spielberg keenly understood that and that is just one reason why Donner could not have been a more impeccable person to tap to helm The Goonies.
Another ace in the hole from behind the camera was frequent Spielberg collaborators Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy (the Indiana Jones flicks, ET and Back to the Future). The latter would go on to head up a post-George Lucas Lucasfilm.
When it comes to the 4K upgrade, this is as good as it gets. The promise of a wider color spectrum could not be truer with this latest release from Warner Bros. From everything shot above ground to the landscape below ground, the visuals are richer, warmer, and pop off the screen, regardless of the size of your TV. The WB went with a 2160p transfer and it is like night and day over the previous Blu-Ray releases of this instant classic. Before this upgrade, it was safe to say that The Goonies wasn’t exactly filling film history books with being saluted for its visual spectacle. It was muddled, and that is putting it mildly. Sometimes the darks were too dark and that could not be further from what we have with the eye-popping 4K upgrade.
Having a seaside community certainly makes it easy on the eyes, but Donner never embraced that part of his cinematic equation. With the 4K upgrade, the sunshine shines brighter, those blue skies are piercingly blue and most importantly, the contrast with where the bulk of the adventuring lies is mesmerizingly moving, for those of us moved by such technical filmmaking. That HDR10 color enhancement raises the bar for scenes that require it and it never feels forced or “painted on” by someone behind a computer. For example, during that final stretch of action and adventure, one is so lost in the drama and swashbuckling nature of the whole thing, audiences probably never noticed the potential for color contrast. Now, it is one more spoke in the wheel of awesomeness that is the final act of The Goonies.
Audio-wise, the 25th anniversary used a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix and it was OK, not great. With this 4K upgrade, those charged with technically going through the movie and bringing it into a new century smartly used the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that puts your home theater speakers to work!
The bonus features are the same as that anniversary addition and for those of you who haven’t headed down the rabbit hole of The Goonies behind the scenes, we cannot recommend this group of featurettes more if we tried!
They includes:
A commentary track that involved everyone and is utterly delightful. Director Donner is joined by Feldman, Plimpton, Cohen, Brolin, Quan, Astin, and Green.
The Making of The Goonies: Yup, the one from 1985 that has Spielberg and Donner offering their brilliant insight into the making of an icon.
Hidden Treasures is a pop-up video that (if you choose to use it) finds the director and some of the cast “popping” up in various scenes to add their two cents. It’s pretty cool and if you (smartly) buy this upgrade, one of those times over the course of your life that you witness this flick, turn on those Hidden Treasures.
They smartly included the music video for The Goonies R Good Enough, from Cyndi Lauper, a bunch of deleted scenes, and the original theatrical trailer (those are always fun to revisit).
Film Grade: A-
Bonus Features: B+