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| Hairspray (Widescreen Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Adam Shankman
Actors: John Travolta, Michelle Pffeifer, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Christopher Walken
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $2.85
You Save: $17.13 (86%)
New (65) Used (81) Collectible (2) from $2.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  273 reviews
Sales Rank: 708
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 117
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: TRNDN11212D
UPC: 794043112126
EAN: 0794043112126
ASIN: B000W4KT6E
Theatrical Release Date: July 20, 2007
Release Date: November 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: dvd is a ex-library copy in a library case guaranteed to play great or your money back no shipping to APO FPO AK HI
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| Customer Reviews:
 Better than I remember March 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well if you saw this in the movies you know how wonderfully funny this is. Being from Baltimore just made it that more special. This version of the film could not be better, the cast exceptional. When I got the dvd and watched it, I couldn't believe I could have enjoyed the movie more from the first time. Great a real keeper.
This movie is so much fun! March 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Let me first say I'm a fan of the original John Waters' film. I didn't see the Broadway musical so I can't compare it to the film.
I thoroughly enjoy this movie every time I see it, and I watch it whenever I need a lift! I love the performers (yep, even Travolta), the music, the choreography, the humor, the joie de vive. It's just pure fun. Yet the message of tolerance doesn't get lost in all the exuberance. It doesn't have the edgy, underground vibe of the original film, but that's okay. Both films I believe can stand on their own merits.
When I first heard John Travolta had been cast as Edna Turnblad, I thought it was a smart casting choice. I was ingrigued to see his performance, which I'm sure was the point of casting him. However, it took me a while to warm up to it...the accent and the fat suit are kind of distracting at first. However, I've come to appreciate it and enjoy watching him. He doesn't "flop" around in the dance numbers as someone said. In fact, he's light on his feet.
I think there are lots of clever casting decisions in this movie, but it's the young performers who steal the show and are the truly triumphant choices. Nikki Blonsky is a great find! Zac Efron, Elijah Kelly, Britney Snow, James Marsden, Amanda Bynes are all terrific.
Walk Through the Hairspray March 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Some people don't like the long civil rights march that comes two thirds of the way through the movie, with Queen Latifah singing the powerful song about she knows where she's going and she knows where's been. I like it just fine, but its staging and arrangement sure reminds me of "Walk Through the Fire" from the "Once More with Feeling" episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. To my surprise I find the same choreographer responsible for both. In this case, the original had that little bit of unexpected edge, but here the subject of the civil rights struggle in Baltimore has the weight of gravitas and history behind it, so I guess it's a draw. If the same slow-moving, lurching camera and candlelight shows up in Adam Shankman's next picture, though, that will be the true test of the auteur theory and you read it here first.
It's true that none of the young people of HAIRSPRAY are as likeable as those in the original John Waters movie, here they all seem to be trying too hard, and just as mystifying is why they decided to cast two young actresses who look so much alike, as Tracy's best friend Penny and worst enemy Amber von Tussle. We decided it was because they were trying to ignite a Freudian interpretation in which Penny and Amber are revealed as two sides of the same coin: mother, whore, and crone all mixed together, so that Tracy would not know whom she was confiding in. She doesn't really seem to care anyhow, as placed by Nikki Blonsky she's as blithe and oblivious as though she were still slinging ice cream down at the Cold Stone Creamery in Great Neck. But she's great despite this peculiarity of interpretation, and even if her Tracy Turnblad never seems to feel bad about racism or segregation, at least she gets up and does something about it.
Awesome movie, great video transfer, big audio problem March 14, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I loved this movie. I loved the original John Waters movie, loved the Broadway musical, and loved almost all of this in the theaters, the only major exception being a miscast John Travolta. They should have gotten Harvey Fierstein - yes he is in general an acquired taste, but there is no better Edna.
The Blu-Ray transfer is excellent and the special features are extensive, entertaining and enlightening. My only issue is the audio. The *only* audio track is DTS 7.1 and, as someone mentioned previously, that doesn't always work.
I have a brand new mid- to high-range receiver (Denon), which is capable of DTS 7.1, but my living room can't handle that many speakers, as there is no room for the rear. Instead of converting it ot 5.1, apparently receivers (or at least mine) can only convert to fairly crappy stereo. As I am sure that there are many people in similar situations, especially considering 7.1 is a relatively new format, they really should have included a 5.1 mix as well.
This is the first Blu-Ray disc I have had that only had the 7.1 option, so I don't know how common this is, but I hope it is not a industry-wide trend that I am going to have to figure out a way around. Anyone else having the same problem?
 The Elephant in the Room March 11, 2008
4 out of 10 found this review helpful
This would probably be a bright and entertaining musical if one of the lead characters was not so horribly miscast. The director of the original and much, much better 1988 'Hairspray,' John Waters, has a 15-second cameo as a flasher. If John Travolta's part had been confined to this time-span, then this film would be bearable. But no, Travolta plays the part of Tracy's mother, grimacing and staggering in a fatsuit through about 50% of the scenes, and flopping about like a beached, dying Orca in a climactic musical number.
Just how bad is John Travolta here? Well, first I must certify that I am not a Travolta-hater. I have seen at least 4 John Travolta movies that I really liked, and I liked him back when he was a Sweathog as well.
But here is how bad he is in 'Hairspray': Pluck-out-my-eyeballs, cauterize-my-optic -nerve, give-me-an-icepick-lobotomy, pump-me-full-of-thorazine bad. His Baltimore accent alone, one small portion of this grotesque performance, is easily the worst fake accent in movie history, surpassing Kevin Costner's atrocious Boston accent from 'Thirteen Days.' The U.S. of A. has literally millions of excellent overweight female impersonators who could have taken this role and made it Oscar-worthy. Kirstie Alley comes to mind immediately. But there are millions of other female impersonators who'd have been just as good if not better.
By casting Travolta in this role, the implication is that female impersonation is not an art, but something any slob can just pick up in no time. You wouldn't even think of trying that with another art form, like Martial Arts for instance. Try replacing Jackie Chan with Nathan Lane, see how well that works. The casting of John Travolta has not only condemned this film to painful unwatchability, it is also an insult to every hard-working female impersonator in America.
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