Home Alone is a series of family comedy films that were directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York), Raja Gosnell (Home Alone 3), Rod Daniel (Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House) and Peter Hewitt (Home Alone: The Holiday Heist). The first two films of the series came out in 1990 and 1992 respectively, follow the adventures of a young boy named Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin) who, during the films, manages to get the burglars Harry (played by Joe Pesci) and Marv (played by Daniel Stern) arrested by using a series of booby traps that he sets throughout their house. The third film, which came out in 1997, features a similar story but with a completely new protagonist, Alex Pruit (played by Alex D. Linz) and has more of a spy theme.
A made-for-television film, Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House premiered on ABC on November 3, 2002. This film features some of the same characters that were originally featured in the first two films, including the protagonist Kevin McCallister, but with a new cast and a new story that doesn’t fall into the same continuity. A second made-for-television film, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist made its premier on ABC Family on November 25, 2012 and was part of the network’s special programming block “Countdown to the 25 Days of Christmas.” Like Home Alone 3, this film doesn’t center around Kevin, but a new protagonist, ten year old Finn Baxter (played by Christian Martyn).
Culkin was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Musical Or Comedy after the release of the first film. The first film ended up becoming the highest grossing live action comedy film of all time in the US and also held the record worldwide until it was eventually taken over by The Hangover Part II in 2011. It is the highest grossing Christmas movie of all time at the North American box office (when adjusted for inflation).
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York was shot in Winnetka, Illinois, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Evanston, Illinois and New York City (which was near Culkin’s hometown at the time). The Miami scenes were actually filmed in Los Angeles, California, including an exterior of Miami International Airport which was filmed at Los Angeles International Airport. This film became the second most financially successful film of 1992 as it earned over $173 million in revenue in the US and $358 million worldwide against its $20 million operating budget.
The Films (3.75/5):
Of course the first two films of the Home Alone franchise are always the best. These two created the foundation for someone to go out and create the additional films, however the remaining ones do not necessarily hold up to the original two. After deciding to revisit the first two films as a part of this pickup from the Black Friday sales, the first two definitely hold up to this day. Now, the third, fourth and fifth films of the series; you can definitely tell that ABC was trying to reach out to a younger demographic with them. They aren’t too terribly bad when treated as a separate entity, however they definitely aren’t anything close to the classics that we all have grown to love and adore.
Picture Quality (3.75/5):
Watching the first two films of this collection on their respective Blu-ray discs, I can certainly tell you that Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York look absolutely phenomenal in 1080p. Giving home audiences a very pristine image into the craziness that Kevin McCallister went through while fending off Harry and Marv and watching his mind work as he gets creative in both films; one can truly appreciate the work that went into the 25th Anniversary release(s). The final three films of the series, while I would’ve wished that they were also made available on Blu-ray for a truly complete Blu-ray set, it is completely understandable as to why they went with DVD for them. The final three films aren’t nearly as popular as the first two, so why put that much effort in making them available on Blu-ray as well? The overall picture quality of those DVD copies were exactly what you would expect with a DVD copy.
Audio Quality (4/5):
The Blu-ray discs that are included in the Home Alone (25th Anniversary Ultimate Collection) are packaged with a DTS Master Audio 5.1 audio track, allowing home audiences to have a much, much more immersive experience into the antics of both Kevin and the home invaders. Being able to hear and understand as if I was sitting right there in the middle of the action. The included DVD copies of the films all come packaged with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, continuing to allow audiences to feel as if they were right there in the middle of everything, despite being on a standard DVD disc. All of the discs that are included with this release have extremely crystal clear audio tracks insuring that you are able to hear and understand everything without having to manually adjust your volume levels whatsoever.
The Packaging (5/5):
The Home Alone (25th Anniversary Ultimate Collection) comes packaged in a paint can that features artwork modeled after the first two films in the series. Seen on the paint can is Kevin McCallister, as well as Harry and Marv. There is also the expected Christmas motif that surrounds the first two films as well as some green sludge from the second film.
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Within that paint can is a cardboard disc case that houses all of the discs for the five films. The first two films of the series are made available in this set on both Blu-ray and DVD, while the remaining three films are made available on DVD only. there is also a digital copy redemption pamphlet for both Home Alone and Home Alone: Lost In New York.
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There are some trinkets included that are featured in the first film. We are given a rubber spider that appears to be modeled after the tarantula in the first film. There is also a “Wanted!” poster for Harry and Marv as well as the crayon drawn map of the house and the various booby traps.
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Lastly, in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the first film, there is also a plastic Christmas ornament that features the title art for the 25th Anniversary as well as Kevin McCallister’s face.
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Special Features (5/5):
I was really excited to dive into the additional items that came packaged with Home Alone (25th Anniversary Ultimate Collection) simply because the first two films of this series were absolute favorites of mine as I was growing up. While I hadn’t seen the latter three films until just now, the McCallister family and their strife, adventures and hassle of having to deal with the home invaders through the first two films has always held a special place in my heart and had been a longtime holiday ritual to revisit each year. This set really packs a ton of special features, and it’s definitely something that you should check out if you have this set and haven’t looked into them yet, or even if you’re just now picking this up to add to your collection.
Home Alone
- The Making Of Home Alone
- Mac Cam: Behind The Scenes With Macaulay Culkin
- How To Burglar-Proof Your Home: The Stunts Of Home Alone
- Home Alone Around The World
- Where’s Buzz Now?
- Angels With Filthy Souls
- Deleted Scenes & Alternate Takes
- Blooper Reel
- Audio Commentary With Chris Columbus and Macaulay Culkin
- Theatrical Trailers
- 1990 Press Featurette
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
- Home Alone Theatrical Trailer
- Home Alone 2: Lost In New York Theatrical Trailer
- Home Alone 3 Theatrical Trailer
Home Alone 3
- Theatrical Trailer
- The Cast
Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House
- Theatrical Trailers
Home Alone: The Holiday Heist
- There are no bonus features on this disc
Technical Specs:
Video
Blu-rays
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVDs
Codec: MPEG-2
Encoding Format: 16:9
Resolution: 480i (NTSC)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
Blu-rays
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: DTS 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
DVDs
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles
Home Alone
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
English, French, Spanish
Home Alone 3
English
Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House
English
Home Alone: The Holiday Heist
English
Runtime
Home Alone: 102 minutes
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York: 120 minutes
Home Alone 3: 102 minutes
Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House: 89 minutes
Home Alone: The Holiday Heist: 90 minutes
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I’m extremely happy that I picked up the Home Alone (25th Anniversary Ultimate Collection) when I did as it was part of the most recent Black Friday sales at $25.00. Had it been any more, I would have gone for just the Blu-ray releases of the first two films to upgrade my DVD copies respectively. Each of the films looked really good on my living room television, despite the later films only being DVD. Each having a really nice visual and audible representation of the films, my wife and I were able to enjoy each of the films and the stories that they had to offer. If you’re looking to add the ultimate collection to your personal library, then by all means grab it from Amazon. However, I would only recommend doing so if the set is made available for no more than $25 shipped. If you are looking to add Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York on the Blu-ray format to your collection, I would most definitely recommend the individual releases.
