The iconic Police Academy films were a staple of 1980s cinema, following the wacky adventures of the recruits, instructors and graduates of the Metropolitan Police Academy. As the franchise opens, the newly-elected mayor has decided to open up the academy to anyone, regardless of their age, weight, sex, intelligence, or physical aptitude, which causes many people who previously never would have qualified to apply. While some see this as a great opportunity to make a change in their lives, others aren’t really there by choice. But what these misfits lack in ability, they more than make up for in heart and determination—and their quest to become police officers quickly leads to hilarity. Hoping to turn the recruits into graduates is the slightly senile man in charge, Commandant Eric Lassard (George Gaynes). Though, his second in command, Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey), sees this experiment more as a bastardization of their hallowed institution and profession, and is determined to make these illegitimate new recruits drop out. However, it’s often the cadets who get the last laugh against Harris.

Here’s a rundown of the seven films:

• Police Academy (1984)
  The Metropolitan Police Academy has been opened up to the general public, and people from all walks of life show up. Among the new recruits is Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), who’s always getting into trouble and has been forced to enroll in order to avoid jail. While he can’t quit, he’ll certainly try his hardest to get thrown out. However, he’s unaware that the Captain has ordered the staff not to expel anyone, so he’s engaged in a futile face-off with Lt. Harris, each uselessly trying to get the other to remove Mahoney from the program. The other new recruits include the heavyset Leslie Barbara (Donovan Scott) who still lives with his mother, the towering Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), gun nut and military aficionado Tackleberry (David Graf), the meek and extremely soft-spoken Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramsey), one man sound machine Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), Latin lover George Martín (Andrew Rubin), rich girl Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall). and nerdy, married businessman Doug Fackler (Bruce Mahler). Trying to whip the new recruits into shape are Lt. Harris and Sgt. Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook). But Harris is determined to get these unfit cadets to quit, and enlists the help of dimwitted new recruits Kyle Blankes (Brant von Hoffman) & Chad Copeland (Scott Thomson) to do his dirty work. The recruits surprise themselves just as much as the staff, and even Mahoney has a change of heart.
• Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)
  Captain Pete Lassard (Howard Hesseman) is in charge of the 16th Precinct. Crime is running rampant, and a gang called The Skulliions—led by the mentally off Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait)—is terrorizing the city. Lassard only has 30 days to turn things around, or he will be replaced. His older brother, Commandant Eric Lassard, sends 6 of his recent graduates to help—Tackleberry, Jones, Mahoney, Hightower, Hooks, and Fackler. Each of them is partnered up with a more seasoned officer, and sent into the field for the first time. While some of the partnerships lead to love—like Tackleberry and Kathleen Kirkland (Colleen Camp)—others, not-so-much, like Mahoney’s partner with questionable hygiene, Vinnie Schtulman (Peter Van Norden). Meanwhile, watch commander Lt. Mauser (Art Metrano) sees the situation as a major opportunity. If Lassard fails, he could become the new captain, and so he enlists the help of simpleton Proctor (Lance Kinsey) to try and sabotage the new recruits—though they’re doing a pretty decent job of that on their own.
• Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1985)
  The governor has decided to close one of the state’s two police academies, which are run by Commandant Lassard and Commandant Mauser. A committee will be evaluating both before making their decision on which to close. So Lassard calls in some of his past graduates—Sgt. Mahoney, Sgt. Hightower, Sgt. Tackleberry, Sgt. Jones & Sgt. Hooks—to join their former instructor Lt. Callahan to train the new recruits. Some of the new cadets include Sgt. Fackler’s wife (Debralee Scott), Mr. Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) who was a merchant terrorized by the gang in the second film, reformed gang leader Zed, Tackleberry’s brother-in-law Bud Kirkland (Andrew Paris), international exchange student Tomoko Nogata (Brian Tochi), the beautiful Karen Adams (Shawn Weatherly), and wealthy Hodges (David Huband). Meanwhile, Comdt. Mauser enlists the help of dimwitted Sgt. Blanks & Sgt. Copeland to help sabotage things at the other academy to improve his chances.
• Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
  Commandant Lassard introduces a new community action program, C-O-P (Citizens On Patrol), to help get the public back on the side of the cops, but Captain Harris (yes, he’s back!) is not a fan. While Lassard is away for 2 weeks, Harris is placed in charge of the academy. Helping to train those who signed up for the new program are Mahoney, Hightower, Jones, Tackleberry, Callahan, Hooks, Zed and Sweetchuck. The trainees include Mrs. Feldman (Billie Bird) who’s like a much older female version of Tackleberry, a heavyset boy named House (Tab Thacker), Tackleberry’s father in-law (Arthur Batanides), skateboard punks Arnie (Brian Backer) & Kyle (David Spade), their lawyer Mike Butterworth (Derek McGrath), and the beautiful Claire Mattson (Sharon Stone)—the latest new cadet to be the target of Mahoney’s affections. Meanwhile, Captain Harris and Proctor continue to try to sabotage things to prove the new program is a bad idea.
• Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988)
  Captain Harris discovers that Commandant Lassard is past the mandatory retirement age, and decides that this is his opening to become the new head of the academy. But first Lassard is heading to Miami Beach to accept an award for Police Chief of the Decade, and he wants some of his favorite graduates to join him—Hightower, Tackleberry, Jones, Callahan, Hooks & House. They are joined by Lessard’s nephew Nick (Matt McCoy), who works for the Miami Beach P.D.. Captain Harris and Proctor decide to tag along for the trip so they can schmooze the Commissioner, in order to get Lassard’s job. Meanwhile, jewel thief Tony (Rene Auberjonois) has stolen some valuable diamonds for a rich and powerful man, but accidentally swaps bags with Commandant Lassard at the airport. He is eager to get them back. The gang soon finds themselves the target of these criminals as they try to take down the jewel thieves.
• Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)
  Captain Harris’ Wilson Heights division is experiencing a crime wave, and the governor thinks there may be a leak inside the precinct. So he calls in Commandant Lassard and an external team to help investigate who is the mastermind behind the robberies. This team includes Hightower, Tackleberry, Jones, Callahan, Hooks, Fackler, and Lassard’s nephew Nick.
• Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994)
  Constantine Konali (Ron Perlman), the alleged head of Russian mafia, has returned to Russia, where he’s plotting to infiltrate the world’s computing systems. Six years ago Konali had narrowly escaped capture, but now there’s another chance to get him. Commandant Rakov (Christopher Lee) of the Moscow police has enlisted the help of Commandant Lassard and his team to apprehend Konali. Capt. Harris, Capt. Callahan, Sgt. Jones & Sgt. Tackleberry, along with Cadet Kyle Connors (Charlie Schlatter)—who hacked his way onto the guest list—head to Russia for their first international mission. There they meet with local officers Lt. Yuri Talinsky (Gregg Berger), head of the organized crime unit, and Katrina (Claire Forlani), who will serve as their guide and translator. As the gang looks for a way to stop Konali, Harris is eager to get the criminal first so that he can be the hero. Meanwhile, Lassard accidently ends up on his own separate wild adventure.

It had been decades since I last watched these films, but it was so much fun revisiting them on this new Blu-ray set. The movies can be a bit formulaic, all following a similar pattern, but if it works, why mess with it?! The films are filled with wacky sight gags and physical humor. A lot of the jokes usually involve Commandant Lessard doing something senile, or the cadets pranking Harris/Mauser and/or their simpleton lackeys causing them to end up in some really embarrassing situation—either naked, something done to their face/hair/eyebrows, or tricking them into going into the Blue Oyster gay bar. The violence in the films is often quite cartoony, like watching a live action episode of The Roadrunner. There’s even a scene that finds Harris literally running like Fred Flintstone as he falls through a hole in the bottom of a car. In each of the films where Mahoney appears, there’s a running gag with him hitting on one of the new female cadets. While there’s a lot of humor, each of the films usually builds to some big exciting, action-packed takedown, and closes out with some sort of award ceremony. The first film is Rated R, the second PG-13, and the rest PG. There is a lot of sexual innuendo and gratuitous nudity, with breasts and butts, in the earlier movies, before things get a bit more family-friendly in the later ones, really pushing the more cartoony aspect of these characters.

One thing that I really enjoyed is how this franchise really builds out its universe from movie to movie. It almost feels like each film is an episode of a TV show in the way that characters just pop in and out of the movies. We also get to see some of the characters grow over time, especially with Tackleberry and his family. There are a lot of fun running gags throughout the franchise, but one of my favorites is the way that Tackleberry’s brother- and father-in-law always get into boxing matches at the dinner table. The films also make some fun callbacks to the previous movies, such as the way that Mrs. Fackler’s car ride to the academy in the third film mirrors her husband’s trek in the first film.

While some of the later films may not be quite as good as the earlier ones (I definitely missed Mahoney when he was gone), they are all still enjoyable and a fun time with characters you’ve gotten to know and love over the years. The series does a nice job of mixing familiar faces with new characters to keep the franchise going. It was great to see Harris return in the fourth movie, though the Mauser character felt pretty much the same, just with a different actor and name. The introduction of Protcor in the the second movie was a brilliant move, as he becomes an iconic part of the franchise and such as fun presence and scene partner for the captain who’s scheming against the cadets. His naivety leads to so many hilarious moments.

Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray release features new 2K scans of the interpositives, and the result is often quite remarkable—you would never guess these films are almost 40 years old! While the picture often looks phenomenal, I noticed a couple minor aliasing issues in the first film, the second film showed a bit more grain, and the fourth film had some black crush in the darker opening credits sequence. For all the films, there is the occasional scene here and there that doesn’t quite look as clean as the rest—usually if there is some kind of text on the screen, or if it was some second unit establishing shot. However, the picture quality is generally quite clean and detailed, and probably the best these movies have ever looked. Some of the improvements in clarity have a bit of an unintentional effect—in one scene where Fackler gets distracted by butterflies while directing traffic, you can actually see the strings making the “butterflies” flap around.

The audio tracks are for the most part mono, with just the last film being presented in stereo. So there isn’t going to be that immersive surround sound like a more modern film, but the tracks never felt lacking. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the film’s catchy and addictive iconic score sounds excellent. (It’s still stuck in my head after binging these movies.)

Shout’s Blu-ray release is split across 5 discs, placed in trays in a slightly-thicker-than normal Blu-ray keepcase, which is placed in a cardboard slipcover. One disc is used for the first movie, and the 6 films are placed 2 per disc. The fifth disc contains the crux of the bonus material. Shout! Factory has created a lot of new bonus material for this release, including an audio commentary for the fourth film, and almost 2 hours of new interviews with the cast and crew. In addition there’s a lot of great material ported over from the 2004 DVD release, including a fun commentary on the first film with the cast and crew, an extensive retrospective look at all 7 films, and over 45 minutes of deleted scenes, plus theatrical trailers, TV and Video Spots, and an image gallery.

What’s Included:

Films:

• All 7 Films
  Disc 1: Police Academy (1:36:24)
  Disc 2: Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1:27:03) / Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1:23:45)
  Disc 3: Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1:27:16) / Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1:29:47)
  Disc 4: Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1:23:56) / Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1:22:38)
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Dual Mono (films 1-6), DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (film 7)
• Subtitles: English

Extras:

• Police Academy
  • Commentary (1:36:24)
    Originally created for the 2004 DVD release, this entertaining commentary includes stars Steve Gutenberg (“Carey Mahoney”), Michael Winslow (“Larvell Jones”), Leslie Easterbrook (“Sgt. Callahan”), G.W. Bailey (“Lt. Harris”), writer Hugh Wilson, and producer Paul Maslansky.
  • Trailer (2:14)
• Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
  • Trailer (1:24)
• Police Academy 3: Back in Training
  • Trailer (1:24)
• Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol
  • Commentary (1:27:16)
    Pop culture historian Russell Dyball gives an entertaining new commentary track for the film, providing lots of interesting factoids about the movie, the era in which it was made, and the franchise as a whole.
  • Trailer (1:23) — full frame format
• Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach
  • Trailer (1:24) — full frame format
• Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
  • Trailer (1:27)
• Police Academy: Mission to Moscow
  • Trailer (1:27)
• Bonus Disc
  • What They Don’t Know… Can’t Hurt Them: Inside the Police Academy Films (19:56)
    In this brand new interview, producer Paul Maslansky talks about how the idea for the film came about, casting the first film, filming in Toronto, Los Angeles and Russia, filming the riot scenes, altering the final scene based on preview audience reactions, and more.
  • Desperate Measure Were Taken: Writing Police Academy (11:49)
    In this brand new interview, co-writers Neal Israel and Pat Proft talk about how they got involved with the movie, researching real police academies, the real-life inspirations for the characters, the style of humor, and more. Israel appears on screen, while Proft’s comments appear over clips.
  • First Class Schmuck: Recruiting Lt. Proctor (11:45)
    In this brand new interview, actor Lance Kinsey talks about getting the role of Proctor (auditioning against Jerry Seinfeld), the character, the physical humor, working with the directors, filming his first scene with G.W. Bailey, and more.
  • Move It! Move It!: Recruiting Captain Harris (16:03)
    In this brand new interview, actor G.W. Bailey talks about getting the role as Captain Harris, his iconic stick, working with the other cast members, returning to the franchise, filming in the hot air balloon, and more.
  • Send In The Recruits: Scoring the Police Academy Films (15:53)
    In this brand new interview, composer Robert Folk talks about getting involved with the first film, coming up with the iconic march theme, giving it an academic feel but keeping it fun, altering the theme slightly to fit the mood of each character, his inspirations, finding the right music for each scene, and more.
  • Armed and Dangerous: Making Police Academy 2 (13:46)
    In this brand new interview, assistant director Roger Joseph Pugliese talks about getting upgraded to first assistant director, the politics of filmmaking, filming in Los Angeles, and more.
  • Fun and Guns Under the Sun: Making Police Academy 5 (16:52)
    In this brand new interview, director Alan Myerson talks about adding a slight emotional overlay to the story, integrating the new cast with the pre-established characters, the physical comedy, how an earthquake derailed his first day on the job, working with the cast, improvising on the set, and more.
  • Undercover Blues: Making Police Academy 6 (12:34)
    In this brand new interview, director Peter Bonerz talks about going from TV acting to directing, how he stipulated that guns could not be used to kill or wound people in the movie, the sets and filming locations, the sight gags, B-films, and more.
  • Archival Featurettes
    Originally created for the 2004 DVD release, these featurettes give a fun look back at the making of the films with the cast and crew. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, clips, some archival interviews from the set, and retrospective interviews with directors Hugh Wilson, Alan Meyerson & Peter Bonerz, producer Paul Maslansky, stuntman Wink Roberts, stunt coordinator/2nd unit director Alan Oliney, and stars Steve Guttenberg (“Cadet Carey Mahoney”), Bubba Smith (“Cadet Moses Hightower”), G.W. Bailey (“Lt. Thaddeus Harris”), Michael Winslow (“Cadet Larvell Jones”), Leslie Easterbrook (“Sergeant Debbie Calahan”), George Gaynes (“Commandant Eric Lassard”), Donovan Scott (“Cadet Leslie Barbara”), Marion Ramsey (“Cadet Laverne Hooks”), David Graf (“Cadet Eugene Tackleberry”), Brant Vann Hoffman (“Kyle Blankes”), Scott Thomson (“Chad Copeland”), Lance Kinsey (“Sergeant Proctor”), Brian Tochi (“Nogata”) & Matt McCoy (“Sergeant Nick Lassard”). Presented in 4:3 Full Frame Format.
    • PA 1 — Behind Academy Doors: Secret Files Revealed (30:23)
      A look back at the first film.
    • PA 2 — Accidental Heroes: The Best Of (6:28)
      A look back at the second film.
    • PA 3 — All Washed Up: Floating Memories (8:13)
      A look back at the third film.
    • PA 4 — Remembering A Lofty Investigation (8:28)
      A look back at the fourth film./li>

    • PA 4 — Skateboard Stunts (3:28)
      Montage of behind-the-scenes footage of the skateboard stunts, with an introduction by stuntman Wink Roberts.
    • PA 5 — Mistaken Identity: Case Reopened (7:40)
      A look back at the fifth film.
    • PA 6 — Unholy Alliance: A Retrospective (7:56)
      A look back at the sixth film.
    • PA 7 — Underneath The Mission (10:06)
      A look back at the seventh film.
  • Additional And Alternate Scenes (45:40)
    Collection of various deleted and alternate scenes from the first six films play back-to-back. Presented in varying levels of quality, in 4:3 format. Police Academy (1:40), Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (4:24), Police Academy 3: Back in Training (10:42), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (13:34), Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (4:46), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (10:33)
  • Theatrical Trailers (10:40)
    Trailers for all 7 films play back-to-back.
  • TV And Video Spots (8:12)
    TV/home video spots for all 7 films play back-to-back.
  • Image Gallery (15:44)
    Slideshow automatically advances every 4 seconds.

Final Thoughts:

The Police Academy films are still so much fun to watch almost 40 years later. Shout! Factory has put together a wonderful Blu-ray release that is a must own for any fan of the franchise. The films look and sound great, and the set includes a lot of wonderful archive bonus material as well as some fun new interviews with the cast and crew.

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