Writer: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner
Rating: PG 13
Studio: DreamWorks Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 27, 2007
When it comes to Will Ferrell movies I am generally hard pressed to find one that does not appeal to me on some level. Granted these are not cinematic genius movies that leave you breathless and thinking for hours. In fact, Ferrell movies are quite the opposite. In most cases, they are movies that allow you to not have to think. They are movies so absurd that you cannot help but laugh.
I cannot say that Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy HD is my favorite Ferrell movie as that title has been awarded to another of his films. However, I can say that it was not the worst Farrell flick that I’ve watched in recent years. When the movie originally came out, I chose not to watch it, expecting the worst, though watching it now I realize that I have seen far worse than this. Obviously, this is not a glowing endorsement, but the film’s comically endearing moments make the Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy worthwhile.
Release Information:
When Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was released in theaters on July 9, 2004 I didn’t see it because I thought that I wouldn’t like it very much. If I recall, the movie did quite well at the box office and was released on DVD shortly after in late 2004 or early 2005. On November 27, 2007 the movie received a re-work through and new packaging as the HD version of Anchorman was released. Anchorman HD is a product of DreamWorks and Paramount Home Video.
The Anchorman HD Plot
In the 1970’s the news game was hugely competitive, but Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) had one thing on his side. The fact that he was male, in a largely male dominated profession worked out in his favor quite a bit. That was all true until Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) walked into Ron’s life. This is about the time when all hell breaks loose.
Things are good at work with Veronica, at first. The two seem to have an understanding and on the whole there are no complaints. These things never last long though and soon Veronica is becoming a little too power hungry for Ron’s liking. Her ambition threatens Ron’s comfort zone and his cushy life.
Before you know it, Ron is fighting for his life and his anchor chair with everything he’s got! While I am not one to give things away if I can help it, I will say that this film takes you to places that you are shocked to go. Of course, they are so funny you end up forgiving the creators in the end.
In Ron’s attempt to take down Veronica he has some help from fellow news friends Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), and Champ Kind (David Koechner). These three guys are the comedy relief of the movie that will knock your socks off. They literally made the movie. Carell was fabulous in his role as Brick. In fact, this is one of his best films to date.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy has a large number of cameos to make the movie even more interesting. You may recognize such faces as Tim Robbins, Jerry Stiller, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jack Black amongst others that have been included. The result is a movie that offers shocking and hilarious moments, including an Anchorman, Ron Burgundy, who forgets to wear his pants! Well, not all the time, but he has been known to forget them on occasion.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability: 
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The audio and video quality are not bad at all though I am not sure how good they are when it comes to HD quality. The aspect ratio of 1.85:1 offers a great picture quality that is sharp and crisp though it is not comparable to many HD movies I have seen. Regardless, the quality is good. Maybe not HD good, but it’s good. The audio is pretty standard with Dolby Digital 5.1. Language tracks for French and Spanish are also included. Overall, the audio is like the video. The presentation is flawless in a general sense, but lacks something in the HD world.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy HD has numerous special features though from the looks of it these were just transferred over from the original discs. Needless to say, you will receive numerous special features that will be new to you if you do not own the original DVD. Special features include a blooper reel, deleted scenes, and commentary tracks with Adam McKay, Kyle Gass, Christina Applegate, Lou Rawls, Andy Richter, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Will Ferrell.
Other special features include “The Making of Anchorman”, “A Conversation with Ron Burgundy”, “MTV Movie Awards”, “Afternoon Delight – the Music Video”, “Sportscenter Audition”, “Commercial Break”, “Comedy Central’s Ron Burgundy Exclusive”, and “Special Report”.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy HD does not appear to be your typical HD title in terms of movie quality. It ends up being somewhere between traditional standard discs and HD in terms of quality. If you like comedy, you will most likely love this movie. However, if you’re buying this specifically for the HD quality, you might want to rent it first and see if it’s up to snuff.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Anchorman, Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell, Comedy, High Definition, HD DVD Review, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell
loved this film it would be great to add to my collection