Fish Called Wanda

A very funny film from Monty Python regulars John Cleese and Michael Palin, A Fish Called Wanda in its current DVD format is a bare-bones release with very few extras. The disc is two-sided, with a decent widescreen transfer on one side and a standard full-screen transfer on the other. As most comedies are 1:85 format, however, the black bars on top and bottom are minimal, resulting in no noticeable difference between the two sides. Even the Dolby Digital Audio is Mono. The most exciting extra on this disc is the "Wanda" screensaver that turns the television screen into a fish tank for a few minutes. Viewers can watch the computer-animated fish float around, blowing bubbles and looping the same path. Finally the disc comes with an eight-page color booklet featuring production notes, which is simplistic at best. Even the single theatrical trailer is nothing more than standard on this disc. Overall, this disc feels like a rental for first-time viewers of the film, not a true collector's prize. Language and subtitles are in English and French.