STRIPES, The comedy classic from Ivan Reitman, comes to 4k in both a theatrical and extended cut!
“Today’s army needs men of courage… honesty… integrity… ambition. Instead, they got John Winger”, and, today, you can get Stripes on 4k!
Released in 1981, Stripes follows two down-on-their-luck losers, John (Bill Murray) and Russell (Harold Ramis), who decide to enlist in the Army. What ensues is a classic ‘80s blue collar comedy, as the two privates slack their way through basic training, and then across the Soviet Union in an experimental tank.
Stripes is an interesting time capsule, in many different ways. It was Ivan Reitman’s 2nd comedic feature as a director. After spending most of the ‘70s directing exploitation films and producing David Cronenberg’s early films, Reitman turned his eye towards comedy. Stripes very much feels like a testing ground for Ghostbusters; following blue collar nitwits who joke their way through serious situations.
Stripes isn’t as tight as Ghostbusters, for sure. Its structure is real weird, feeling like two films stitched together in the center, with the 2nd half, when they go to Italy, feeling like a sequel to the first half (it’s also missing the coked-out paranoid conspiracy brain of Aykroyd that Ghostbusters had).
Stripes is also a pretty classic example of the comedy style of the era. Just like its contemporaries, like Animal House and Porky’s and about a hundred others, Stripes is built on two things; jokes and boobs. More than a few times the film dead stops to give us some full frontal nudity. Sometimes it makes sense in the context of the scene, like the guys going out to a bikini mud wrestling club. Other times, it’s just a cutaway to the captain watching a group of co-eds in the shower from a telescope. For those who grew up watching these, with friends and sometimes awkwardly with fathers, there is a weird type of nostalgia there. For others, it might be a bit jarring.
One of the most interesting things I find about Stripes, though, is the era it was made in in regards to the military. There was a real small amount of time there, from like ‘78 to ‘83, where the US military was fair game for mockery. Vietnam was an absolute quagmire, and by ‘78, the immediate painful memories had begun to fade, and a generation of new comedians (too young for the draft) had come up through, looking to give a good rib poking to Uncle Sam. Stripes is a perfect example; Bill Murray runs circles around his drill sergeant, Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates; really sucks he died in ‘82, feels like he was on the edge of being a recurring actor in this era of comedy), the upper command is presented as naive idiots, And the entire squadron are easily able to get away with everything and anything.
The army of Stripes is a joke that everyone is kind of embarrassed by, what with their rigid rules and expectations. Underneath it all, though, I think there is a bit of shame; shame at what we had done to ourselves in Vietnam, and a wanting to regain some pride, even if it is in mockery of the old ways. Murray illustrates it best in his speech: “We’re Americans, you know what that means? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We’re the underdog. We’re mutts! Here’s proof: his nose is cold! But there’s no animal that’s more faithful, that’s more loyal, more loveable than the mutt.”
Specs:
Stripes has never looked better, with this pristine 4k that still retains the grit of the original print, making sure that New York, Camp Arnold, and Europe all have that same look. The sound is also fantastic, thanks to the Dolby Atmos (I could very much feel it during “Rubberband Man” when they first walk in the mud wrestling club, the beats reverberating off my teeth!).
This release also includes the extended version, that restores 18 minutes of footage, also presented in 4k. It’s not just a few extended scenes here and there; there are whole scenes added back in, making for a totally different movie.
If you’re looking for even more features, the 4k disc also includes a two part on-camera reunion between Bill Murray and Ivan Reitman (“40 Years Of Stripes With Bill & Ivan”), as well as a theatrical trailer. On the Blu disc, you can also find a commentary with Ivan Reitman and Dan Goldberg, 11 additional deleted and extended scenes, a 1983 Cut-For-TV version of the film, and the Stars and Stripes Documentary.
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Stripes has kind of fallen between the cracks when it comes to popular comedies of the early ‘80s. Sandwiched between behemoths like Animal House, CaddyShack and Ghostbusters, Stripes has become viewed as a bit of comedic scratch pad, as some of the best from the era seem to be working out their comedic personas here. But, for those who look fondly back on this era of comedy, Stripes is an absolute trip worth the ride.
