Transformers: The Movie

Transformers the animated movie (1986) represents one of the most exciting experiences of my childhood and something that I still hold dear as an adult. Based in the setting of the popular Transformers animated and comic book series of the mid to late 80's, Transformers the movie is set in the then distant 2005. The Autobots have been banished from Cybertron by the evil Decepticons and are now based at Autobot City on Earth, as well as two of Cybertrons moons. Decepticon leader Megatron conceives of a plan to vanquish the Autobots forever, and a new evil that threatens the very universe emerges... The movie is a classic tale of good v's evil, although it has a decidedly darker tone than that of the ongoing animated series of the time, with the Decepticons being portrayed as killing without hesitation, and many popular Transformers being unceremoniously destroyed. Certainly it was considered perhaps a little too adult at the time for the children who formed the franchises main audience, although it may seem a little tame by modern standards. Even by modern standards Toei Animations anime-style filming stands the test of time. Whilst being distinctly 80's in its style, it is still beautifully crisp, smooth and bright. Voice talent for the movie included the likes of Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Eric Idol (Monty Python) and even Orson Wells (Citizen Kane) in his very last acting role before his death, as well as such staples of the animated series like Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) and Frank Welker (Megatron). The movie also has an awesome rock and roll soundtrack that helps it be the great adventure it is, including such inspirational classics as 'The Touch' by Stan Bush (subsequently used in various other movies and TV shows such as ';Boogie Nights' and 'Chuck'), and 'Dare to be Stupid' by Weird Al Yankovic. I watched this at the cinema, owned it on VHS, it was the first DVD I ever purchased and also subsequently the first Blue-ray I owned so highly I rate it. It offers something for everyone regardless as to whether you are a 30-something fan like myself or a wide-eyed youngster just looking for an exciting cartoon to watch!

Worth it for the music alone

After watching faded, fuzzy, sub-par transfers of this movie on TV, VHS, and DVD for nearly 40 years, I am impressed with how this edition cleaned up . . . well, EVERYTHING. The images are sharp and crisp, bringing out tons of detail that has been blurred out over the decades. The audio has been nicely cleaned up, too, and distributed in layers for a much more cinematic feel. And restoring the picture into widescreen gives extra details that have been cut off due to the movie being reformatted for the old-style 4:3 TV screens. And that's just the main feature. The extras -- and there are HOURS of extra material spread across both discs -- provide some fascinating background info and correlated material from around the world, from character profiles to behind-the-scenes regional variations in the movie prints, to a hilariously badly-edited Japanese special episode ("Scramble City"), to a bizarre local TV ad for a local competition from WUAB (Channel 43) in NE Ohio. This is the DEFINITIVE version of the movie; you should seek or settle for no other.

On digital it is the better cut of the film released some years ago on dvd complete with Spike's expletive and it looks beautiful on a 4K tv. The soundtrack is amazing featuring a score by Vince DiCola known for his Rocky IV score then a plethora of hard rock and metal tunes with that distinction of being from the 1980s so it goes hand in hand with the giant robots. The voice cast is phenomenal and has some real stars of the Twentieth Century, Lionel Stander aka Max from Hart To Hart as old timer Kup being a real favourite of mine in this film. It's quite hard hitting for an animated film and has some moments of robot brutality but it is Transformers done exactly the way it should be. Stand aside Michael Bay this is the genuine article.

Despite being a HUGE Transformers fan as a kid, for one reason or another I didn't see the film on its release so have had to live with the feeling that I missed out on an important part of my youth ever since. Well, having now seen it, the good news is that the TF film is an entertaining and occasionally inspiring piece of work. The characters are solid (helped no end by the excellent voice cast) and the script is of good, if not great, quality. The film was originally shot in various non-widescreen formats and was cropped top and bottom for its cinema release and the way the makers of this DVD have transferred the print means that we see the whole film, rather than the cropped cinema version. I initially found this irritating, with large borders showing at each side of the screen, but have grown to appreciate it somewhat more over time. I nevertheless think that the film would look more cinematic and less like a TV show if the widescreen format had been preserved. The bad news is that the animation can't compete with that which kids are now used to seeing every day on the cartoon channels, often being only as sophisticated as that used in the original Transformers TV series. The sound is also a bit of a mixed bag, serving up some great sound effects but also some at times indistinct dialogue. Whether this is inherent in the master copy, or a by-product of the transfer to DVD, is unclear. The other issue I have with the film is the fact that it appears occasionally little more than a contrived way of getting rid of old characters and replacing them with new ones, maybe with pushing toy sales in mind. A number of old favourites are despatched within seconds of appearing on screen, often without saying or doing little, if anything, of value. I suppose that the film was a sort of transition piece between the old and new Transformers, so I won't blame the makers for it, and having loads of new characters would have added a sense of freshness to the franchise at the time. It's apparent from the first few minutes that the film was a work of genius when it was released back in 1986. Some of the opening scenes in particular are reminiscent of a Hollywood blockbuster of that period and would undoubtedly have served to make for memorable watching. The problem is that, whilst the film would have been untouchable back then, it can't really compare to what we've seen since. I doubt that many kids today would bother with it, whilst some older Transformers fans would be unable to get past its shortcomings. That's not to say that it isn't worth buying, because it is, I just can't shake the feeling that I would have appreciated it far more as a ten-year-old than I ever could today. I won't mark it down for those reasons, primarily because it was made for kids in 1986 rather than adults in 2007, but I still wish that I had seen it on its release, when I was less likely to spot its faults.

Wow, this version is the reference for all future efforts. The only scene i can qualm about is the secene where Hot Rod and Spike are sitting fishing. The scene is a bit of softfocus. The color is phenominal and consistant in this version. The clarity of the frames is with the exception of a few frames from that one scene remarkable. I prefer what i saw to a real high end digital remastering. It is phenominal. I'd almost swear it's MPEG2-HD. Might be. I imported it to the US, works fine on US PS3, is not region locked. There is nothing more i can say. You MUST own this if you are a transformer's fan. I don't watch most of the 'extras' and there are some here, I understand there was more on the Anniversary DVD from a couple years ago. Nice disc, but, the framing in widescreen is far superior here. Just seeing the detail in the HD one of Optimus standing far in the background but they still fully hand drew his details... again, just phenominal.

Sure, the plot is paper thin but who cares? The glam rock combined with the amazing animation creates this incredible experience that anyone who has even a passing interest in transformers should absolutely check out. I plan to buy a 4K tv so I can watch in the highest quality

I love this film and i kind of lost track of it for the last ten years until i saw this ultimate edition had been released! which i purchased instantly! if you have ever seen this at the age i was (8) you will love rewatching and remembering how great 80's cartoons were! look at them now days pur rubbish if you ask me! but back to the movie It has emotions flying everywhere , big fights and a great soundtrack(you've got the touch) don't cry at the prime scene please!you know what one i mean! yeah that's the one! any way stop reading this buy it and enjoy it for what it is a classic nostalgic trip down memory lane or for newbies a slice of what real cartoons are!!