This week Shout! Factory brings together both Bill & Ted films in a deluxe Blu-ray collection that includes some, well, excellent new bonus features. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure had been released on Blu-ray a few years back by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment—which I had previously reviewed—but this is the first time the sequel, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, gets the HD treatment.
 

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure:

It’s the year 1988 in San Dimas, California, and aspiring musicians Bill S. Preston, Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) are failing History. They must score an A+ on their final oral presentation or they will flunk out of high school, and Ted’s dad will send him off to military school in Alaska. Bill’s dad, on the other hand, is a little more laid back—he recently got married to Missy, a girl only 3 years older than Bill. Bill and Ted are unaware of the major role their band Wyld Stallyns plays in the future, and all that depends on them passing their exam.

One day, while hanging outside the Circle K, a mysterious phone booth comes down from the sky. Out steps Rufus (George Carlin), who tells the guys he has come from the year 2088 to help them pass their History final. For their presentation, they must give a speech about how different historical figures would feel about the San Dimas of today. So Rufus gives them a phone book and tells them they can use the phone booth to travel to any time and place in history.

The guys’ first stop is France where they meet Napoleon, but accidentally bring him back to the present. This gives Bill the idea that they should bring back lots of different historical figures and take them around San Dimas to get their thoughts. And so starts a mad dash around time, kidnapping Billy the Kid, Socrates, Sigmund Freud, Beethoven, Joan of Arc, Geghas Khan and Abe Lincoln.
 

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey:

The sequel takes place a few years after the first film. Missy has divorced Bill’s dad, and is now married to Ted’s father. Bill & Ted now live in their own apartment, they’re focusing on their band, and things are getting serious with the princesses. The guys have the Battle of the Bands coming up, which is the second crucial moment in history for Wyld Stallyns.

The evil De Nomolos (Joss Ackland) wants to stop Bill & Ted from becoming the god-like people they are in the future. So he builds androids to send back into the past to change history by killing the real Bill and Ted, taking their places, and losing the Battle of the Bands.

Unfortunately, Evil Bill & Ted are immediately successful in the first part of their mission, and our heroes soon find themselves face to face with the Grim Reaper (William Sadler). In Hell, the guys are forced to confront and overcome their biggest fears. Bill & Ted must challenge and beat the Reaper at his own game in order to return to Earth and stop Evil Bill & Ted before it’s too late.

The first film really stands the test of time (pun intended)! It’s just as hilarious and fun now as it ever was, and other than Bill & Ted’s wardrobe, it doesn’t feel dated or irrelevant. Even the special effects hold up. I was a little surprised to learn from the bonus features that the seemingly-obvious Doctor Who reference of the time-traveling phone booth was pure coincidence.

You would think the constant surfer-speak and air-headedness of the main characters would grow old or get annoying. However, I found the innocence and stupidity of Bill & Ted to be so charming and funny. I also found the script and direction choices to be quite clever and multi-layered. While there are jokes in the forefront, there is also some other layer of comedy in the background. For example, there is a scene where Socrates and Billy the Kid are hitting on two young women when Freud comes up as a third wheel and starts analyzing the girls. While it is never mentioned, the whole time he is holding this corn dog on a stick out in front of him, which adds a whole new level of comedy to the psychoanalysis.

The time travel aspect is also well thought out—with Bill & Ted circling around to meet up with themselves, and placing things in the future to have access to them in the present/past. This is the type of time travel story I really enjoy—while it may seem complex at first, if you think about it, it really makes simple sense.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is also just a lot of fun—it is packed with jokes, humor and sight gags. Even something as simple as having Bill and Ted mispronounce all of the historical figures names leads to some wonderful humor. One of my favorite scenes is when Bill & Ted are introducing their guests to Missy and try to give everyone Americanized names, such as “So-crates Johnson”, so that she won’t suspect anything.

While the sequel does have some great moments, I didn’t find it quite as successful as the first. It has a very different, darker, more adult vibe than the first film. And—as the writers admit several times in the bonus features—the third act is a bit of a crazy mess. The highlight of Bogus Journey is definitely William Sadler’s performance as the Grim Reaper—he is absolutely hilarious and steals every scene he is in. I really enjoyed watching him compete against Bill & Ted, and seeing how the Reaper evolves over the course of the film. Evil Bill & Ted are also amusing to watch—they feel like two completely different characters who just happen to look the same. And there are also some fun (and creepy) moments involving Bill & Ted’s nightmares coming to life.

Some of the special effects in the second film didn’t hold up as well as others. A couple glaring examples are when Bill & Ted possess the bodies of Ted’s father and his partner, and when the guys first arrive in Hell. The HD quality of the rest of the picture makes the low quality effects really stick out instead of blending in, and for the latter, the picture is also way over-saturated in red.

Overall, the picture quality is quite remarkable, especially given the age of the films. Besides the Hell scene in Bogus Journey, I found the colors to be rich, and there was a normal level of grain that I never found to be too distracting or excessive. The audio tracks provide clear dialogue and effects, but the surround and bass channel felt underutilized.

The place where this Blu-ray release of Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection really excels is in the bonus features, which was an area that was lacking in the previous stand-alone Blu-ray release of Excellent Adventure. This new release ports over 90 minutes of bonus features from the 2005 “Most Excellent Collection” DVD release. The features that were dropped from that set include character video biographies, the pilot of the animated series, the original radio spots, and a writers featurette. However, don’t go screaming Bogus! just yet—Shout! Factory has added some excellent new bonus features that far outweigh these losses. First up are four new audio commentaries—for both films there are commentaries by star Alex Winter & producer Scott Kroopf, and writers Chris Matheson & Ed Solomon. There is also a brand new hour-long retrospective for each film—and they even got Keanu Reeves and many of the original cast members to participate! These retrospective bonus features alone make this set well-worth the purchase!

The 3-disc set comes packed in a slightly-thicker-than-normal Blu-ray keep case, which is placed in an outer sleeve. The case also contains two bumper stickers as well as a plastic Wyld Stallyns guitar pick.

What’s Included:
Films:

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1:29:53)
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Subtitles: English

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1:33:52)

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Subtitles: English

Extras:

Items marked with a * are brand new to this release. The rest of the bonus features have been ported from the 2005 “Most Excellent Collection” DVD release.

Disc 1: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure:

• Audio Commentary with Star Alex Winter and Producer Scott Kroopf* (1:29:53)
  This highly-entertaining commentary is moderated by Sean Clark of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds. You can tell Alex Winter is a fan of this work and is excited to talk about the films. Many of the topics raised are also what is covered later on in the retrospective interviews, such as the genesis of the story, casting the film, finding a director, “Ted Hair”, and how the popularity of the film changed Winter’s life. The moderator does a great job at keeping the conversation going.
• Audio Commentary with Writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon* (1:29:53)
  This commentary has less energy than the first. The writers mainly focus their discussion on the script and what was changed for the final film. They admit to not having seen the movie in a long time, and so there are some long pauses. I think they could have benefited from a moderator.
• Theatrical Trailer (1:57)

Disc 2: Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey:

• Audio Commentary with Star Alex Winter and Producer Scott Kroopf* (1:33:52)
  The participants treat this as a continuation of the commentary from the first film. They talk about the search for a new director, the casting of the Grim Reaper, recasting the princesses, ad-libbing lines, playing multiple versions of Bill & Ted, some of the subplots that went away, the sets, the music, and how certain scenes were filmed. They share a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes throughout.
• Audio Commentary with Writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon* (1:33:52)
  The participants treat this as a continuation of the commentary from the first film. The writers compare and contrast the two films, both in content/style as well as in the way they approached the writing. They also discuss the different potential story ideas they had for the sequel and how the script evolved over the course of making the film—they state their dislike of the final act of the film many times.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:03)

Disc 3: Special Features:

• Time Flies When You Are Having Fun! – A Look Back At A Most “Excellent Adventure”* (1:01:14)
  Highly-entertaining retrospective documentary for the first film. The cast and filmmakers discuss how the characters came about, the evolution of the story, finding the right actors to play Bill & Ted, casting Rufus, working with the director, shooting in Arizona and Italy, changing the final sequence, and trying to find a distributor. The participants also talk about their improvised scenes, squeezing into the phone booth, and recount many other fun anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories. Includes interviews with co-screenwriter Chris Matheson, producer Scott Kroopf, special make-up & creature creator Kevin Yagher, composer David Newman, and stars Keanu Reeves (“Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan”), Alex Winter (“Bill S. Preston, Esq.”), Jane Wiedlin (“Joan of Arc”), Amy Stock-Poynton (“Missy”), Hal Landon, Jr. (“Capt. Logan”), Rod Loomis (“Sigmund Freud”), Dan Shor (“Billy The Kid”), Terry Camilleri (“Napoleon”), Clifford David (“Beethoven”) and Al Leong (“Genghis Khan”).
• Bill And Ted Go To Hell – Revisiting A “Bogus Journey”* (52:04)
  Retrospective documentary for the second film. The cast and filmmakers discuss the various story options they went through for the sequel, finding the right director, designing the look of the film, evil Bill & Ted, William Sadler’s performance as The Grim Reaper, Joss Ackland as the villain, shooting the Captain Logan possessed by Ted scene, the seance scene, designing the Hell and Heaven sets, Granny Preston, the messy third act of the film, the controversy over Station, and some of the effects that were built and filmed and never made it into the film. Includes interviews with co-screenwriter Chris Matheson, producer Scott Kroopf, production designer David L. Snyder, production illustrator Simon Murton, special make-up & creature creator Kevin Yagher, composer David Newman, and stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, William Sadler (“The Grim Reaper”), Amy Stock-Poynton and Hal Landon, Jr.
• The Most Triumphant Making Of Documentary (30:53)
  2005 retrospective documentary about the two films. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with writers Chris Matheson & Ed Soloman, directors Stephen Herek & Pete Hewitt, producer Scott Kroopf, production designer Roy Forge Smith, and star Alex Winter. The topics covered are similar to the newer, more-expanded two-part feature created for this Blu-ray release. Presented in Full Frame format.
• The Original Bill & Ted: In Conversation with Chris & Ed (20:15)
  Discussion between writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. They talk about their friendship, the improv skit that led to the characters of Bill & Ted, and how the film came about. Presented in Full Frame format.
• Score! An Interview with Guitarist Steve Vai (12:46)
  Guitarist Steve Vai talks about playing the air guitar, working with Frank Zappa, how he initially got into film scoring, scoring Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, redoing the final performance of the film, and more. Presented in Full Frame format.
• The Hysterical Personages of Bill & Ted (15:27)
  Short documentary about the various historical figures that appear in the films. While it is mostly factual, the narration is juxtaposed with humorous production photos of the characters from the film. Presented in Full Frame format.
• Air Guitar Tutorial (13:15)
  2004 West Coast Air Guitar competition champs Bjorn Turoque and The Rockness Monster talk about how they got started, and demonstrate their “skills”.
• Vintage EPK (6:39)
  The original Electronic Press Kit used to promote Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey‘s theatrical release. Features behind-the-scenes footage, film clips, and interviews with the cast and filmmakers. Presented in Full Frame format.
• The Linguistic Stylings of Bill & Ted (3:41)
  Learn the meanings to the lingo used by Bill & Ted in both films. Presented in Full Frame format.

Swag:

• 2 Bumper Stickers
  Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey bumper stickers.
  (Each measures approximately 3.5″ x 5.75″)
• Guitar Pick
  Rock out with your very own Wyld Stallyns guitar pick!

Final Thoughts:

Shout! Factory’s new Blu-ray edition of Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection is totally bodacious. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is truly a most excellent film that really stands the test of time. Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, while not as good as the original, is far from bogus, and still provides some great laughs. This new Blu-ray box set of both films includes some fantastic new bonus features that alone make it well-worth the upgrade. This new release is a must own for fans of the franchise.