Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (The Unrated “Rich Mahogany” Edition) (Blu-ray)

Rating: PG-13 and Unrated

Starring:
Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy
Christina Applegate as Veronica Corningstone
Paul Rudd as Brian Fantana
Steve Carell as Brick Tamland
David Koechner as Champ Kind
Fred Willard as Ed Harken
Chris Parnell as Garth Holliday
Kathryn Hahn as Helen
Fred Armisen as Tino
Seth Rogen as Eager Cameraman

Directed by Adam McKay

Special Features:
Disc #1
Theatrical version
Unrated, Uncut and Uncalled For version
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Ron Burgundy’s ESPN Auditions.
Afternoon Delight Music Video
Bloopers
Commentary by Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Lou Rawls, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate

Disc #2
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy
Intro Commentary with Will Ferrell and Aaron Zimmerman
Raw Footage “Good Takes”
Cast Auditions
Comedy Central – Reel Comedy: Anchorman
Table Read 6/2/03
And So Much More!

Additional in-pack items
“The Many Months of Burgundy” journal
Trading cards (12) — In baseball card packaging

Other Info:
Widescreen
DTS-HD MA 5.1 Sound
Spanish and French Languages
Spanish and French Subtitles
Running Time: 98 Minutes

The Details:
The following is the official description of the film:

“There was a time before cable, when the local anchorman reigned supreme… Enter the hard-hitting world of 1970s local TV news where Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and his loyal Channel 4 News Team (Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner) are San Diego’s #1 rated news source.

All is well in their male-dominated world of news until beautiful, rising-star reporter Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) turns it all upside down. Sparks don’t just fly, they ignite an all-out war between two perfectly coiffed anchor-persons.

Now on Blu-ray for the first time, ‘Anchorman: The Rich Mahogany Edition’ has never looked, sounded or smelled as good. Enjoy 3 versions of the film including ‘Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie,’ all in glorious High Definition, as well as Never-Before-Seen Extras!”

“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (The Unrated “Rich Mahogany” Edition)” is rated PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence.

Mini-Review:
“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” makes its debut on Blu-ray, but there’s a catch. It’s a Best Buy exclusive. This “Rich Mahogany Edition” collects the theatrical edition of the film, the unrated edition of the film, and the follow-up “Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie” in one set. This has all been collected before on DVD, but this is the first time it has been on Blu-ray. Included in the set are the previously released journal booklet and a pack of Ron Burgundy cards.

This new Blu-ray set also has a different set of bonus features from that earlier DVD set. The MTV Movie Awards footage is gone along with the earlier audio commentary and the ‘making of’ featurette. New bonus features include a Comedy Central special on “Anchorman,” footage from a table read, and a new commentary with much of the cast and a few people that had nothing to do with the film. The set also includes the previously released bloopers, deleted scenes, cast auditions, “Afternoon Delight” music video, and ESPN Sportscenter Audition.

As already mentioned, this set includes “Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie.” It turns out that they had so much extra footage and alternate scenes from the theatrical version that they were able to splice it together into a whole new hour and a half movie. While the theatrical version is better material, this is still a fun treat for Burgundy fans. You get to see Maya Rudolph as a bank robber, Justin Long as Fred Willard’s troubled son, Amy Poehler as a ticked off bank teller, and more good stuff. It also has a completely different ending that takes place at the local observatory.

So if you already own the DVD set, you’ll get new material with this Blu-ray. But if you don’t already own it, it will make a fun addition to your Blu-ray collection.