January 15th, 1999 — Joey (Katie Holmes) and Dawson (James Van Der Beek) were still an item, Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) was not yet fast nor furious, and, though we knew not to trust Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), the world still felt full of promise. When director Brian Robbins’s Varsity Blues (1999) first released that day, the follow-up picture from Good Burger (1997), it’s likely fair to say that audiences didn’t expect something so funny, so moving, or so action-packed as it brought together several young up-and-comers and one Oscar winner in a Paramount Pictures/MTV Films co-produced football dramedy. It certainly made enough of an impression for “I don’t want your life.” to become widely repeated and for the premise of the film to be the center piece of 2001’s teen parody Not Another Teen Movie (led by another then up-and-comer Chris Evans). Now, though, Paramount Pictures honors Varsity Blues with a first-time 4K UHD edition that includes all previously available special features.
Standing: Jon Voight as Couch Bud Kilmer in VARSITY BLUES. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
In the town of West Cannan, Texas, there is one thing that drives the people of the town and it’s the football team helmed by Coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) and his quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker). But when a play on the field results in a major injury for Lance, Kilmer’s back-up quarterback, Jonathan “Mox” Moxon (James Van Der Beek), gets pulled off the bench and into the limelight. Except this athlete doesn’t dream of sports stardom, he dreams of escape to Brown University and a completely different life altogether. As his dreams and those of Coach Kilmer clash, only one can prove to be the hero of the story and one the villain.
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L-R: Amy Smart as Jules Harbor, James Van Der Beek as Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, and Ali Larter as Darcy Sears in VARSITY BLUES. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
L-R: James Van Der Beek as Jonathan “Mox” Moxon and Paul Walker as Lance Harbor in VARSITY BLUES. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
In terms of the remaster, the only thing we have to go on officially is that the remaster was made using the original camera negative. Nothing in the press release confirms the process for making the remaster or who supervised/approved it. All that we know is the visual component is treated with Dolby Vision and the audio with Dolby Audio, except it’s not Atmos, but TrueDigital 5.1. So even though the anniversary edition features a new look for the film, there’s no major improvement for the audio from the prior Blu-ray release. Thankfully, the video remaster makes up the difference, creating striking differences between the 4K UHD edition and the DVD that I owned prior to this review (yeah, it’s the same one I’ve had for nearly two decades after replacing my VHS copy). The 4K UHD shines in the nighttime sequences making the blue on the West Cannan Cougar jerseys really pop and the purple on one of the opposition teams far more noticeable. There’s also more vibrancy in the green on the field and much improved sharpness in costuming on the game-callers whom Robbins cuts to periodically for color-commentary. Most noticeably on the 4K edition, we can tell where the color’s more faded where the creases are, denoting a frequency of use and position for the outfit. Details like this help a world feel more real and grounded, something which Chuck Cohen’s (The Mighty Macs) cinematography more often feels like it’s going for over a hyperreal or sensationalized presentation. Mostly, this translates to more natural looking sequences during daytime practices (the fathers and their friends bathed more in shadow as they stand in the sidelines) and more darkness in the locker room due to antiqued lighting (Mox is shrouded in shadow when he first notices Lance’s pre-game medical treatment). The one odd bit about the remaster and the shifts in color, the trip for the away game that looks dusky on the DVD has more of a smokey/Silent Hill feel that’s likely not what was originally intended.
L-R: Eliel Swinton as Wendell Brown, Scott Caan as Charlie Tweeder, James Van Der Beek as Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, Paul Walker as Lance Harbor, and Ron Lester as Billy Bob in VARSITY BLUES. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Writing about anything released in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s is a tricky thing due to some complex personal dynamics. This gives everything a strange weight as it’s laced with adolescent hormones and (at the time) Earth-shattering uncertainty. But I could always count on movies, either for distraction or commiseration. At the time of its release, I found nothing but great joy in Varsity Blues, charmed by Ali Larter (Heroes) and Amy Smart (Justified), delighted by Caan and Lester, and, otherwise, finding myself believing in Mox’s ability to find a way through a troubling time where all options toward victory are spiked by defeated. Now, 25 years later, even when realizing that maybe the heroes of this story shouldn’t have their faults laughed off so much (Tweeder really should be in jail), there’s still a lot of good left. Even with the music coursing through the narrative and the language used anchoring it in both time and place, those who saw Varsity Blues then can enjoy it differently now, perhaps, like me, being more open to the message that Robbins and Ilif placed within, that we are not shackled to any specific destiny other than the one we give ourselves. Be your own hero.
Varsity Blues Legacy Features:
- Commentary with director Brian Robbins and producers Tova Laiter and Mike Tollin
- Football is a Way of Life: The Making of Varsity Blues
- Two-A-Days: The Ellis Way
- QB Game Analysis
- Billy Bob with No Bacon
- Theatrical Trailer
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray and digital January 9th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Paramount Pictures Varsity Blues webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
I have zero memory of this film. Watching the trailer makes it look interesting. I just hate watching anything with Paul Walker in it. Breaks me up. Want even a FFF fans but I hate the way he went out.