TUNNEL VISION
Label: MVD Rewind Collection.
Physical Media Release Date: 05/13/25.
Form of Release: Blu-ray + DVD.
TUNNEL VISION SYNOPSIS:
A federal committee reviews the programming of an immensely popular and uncensored network from 1985, including news segments, variety shows, scripted series, public service announcements, and commercials.
Laugh or get off the pot.
Tunnel Vision is a riotous satire of TV, packed with outrageous sketches & biting humor that mercilessly skewers the absurdities of TV culture.
It's the year '1985' and the proprietors of new television channel called 'TunnelVision', which is notably free of censorship) are under a government investigation led by a Senator who wishes to shut down the network due to its widespread negative effects on the population. During the hearing, the committee examines a typical day or programming which includes shows, programs, commercials, news, and much more, and what they discover will surely crack you up in this outrageous and irreverent spoof of 1970's movies and television in the tradition of Kentucky Fried Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon!
Directors Neal Israel (Bachelor Party) and Brad Swirnoff (Prime Time) along with producer Joe Roth (Anyone But You) and an all-star cast featuring appearances by Chevy Chase (National Lampoon's Vacation), John Candy (Uncle Buck), Al Franken (Stuart Saves His Family), Laraine Newman (Coneheads), Howard Hesseman (This is Spinal Tap), Ron Silver (Timecop) and Lynne Marie Stewart ('It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia') present a satirical look at the small screen, delivering a relentless barrage of parodies, spoofs, and social commentary.
OUR FILM REVIEW
The film has a baseline narrative as any well crafted anthology should centering around a television network named "Tunnel Vision" which features a variety of unconventional programming. Think Adult Swim at the peak of its insanity mixed with the energy of G4 Network with a no holds barred approach that over reaches even the realm of what HBO can get away with. It's a fine concept for a show with an infinite amount of possible bits, in fact it almost sparks a mental similarity with Movie 43 from over a decade back in terms of its nonsensical levels of humor.
Chevy Chase makes a cameo appearance saying a line or so and John Candy shows up... yeah he's just kinda there. It's almost as though a writer's room decided to throw everything against the wall and see what would prevail, but those that feel off were sloppily glued back up for us to suffer through. Comedy is a subjective matter of opinion and this could very well be peak comedy for someone out there, but even with an 70s mindset... it's difficult to find even an ember of humor.
The film is a mixture of different tones and types of filmmaking styles. It looks like a well produced comedy show from the 70s, vibrant in tone and graphics. It's not a fluent experience with some grain and gruff around the edges that could be interpreted as how Tunnel Vision the network is meant to be seen. The audio is similarly a experiment of mixed results. A majority of it's tone comes from the voiceover artists inflection while introducing and leading us through bits of the networks "catalog'. The film can be described as simply as this: Tunnel Vision lack cohesion.
SPECIAL FEATURES
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New! Feature Commentary from Cult Film Historian Marc Edward Heuck
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New! Interview with Co-Writer & Co-Director Neal Israel conducted by Stuart Shapiro (HD, 45:07)
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Tunnel Vision Continuity Script
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Archival Photo Gallery (SD)
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New! Photo Gallery
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Radio Spots
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Theatrical Trailer
TUNNEL VISION
RT Critic Score (as of 05/13/25)
88%.
RT Audience Score (as of 05/13/25)
90%.
MPAA
R.
Runtime
68 minutes.
Original Release
1976.
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Subtitles
English SDH
Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD-50)
Digital
N/A
Packaging
Slipcover in Original Pressing
Reversible Artwork
Collectible Mini-Poster
Playback
2K Blu-ray: Region A

OUR VERDICT:

+/- Humor is Subjective but...
+ Crazy Bizarre Cameos
- An Anthology of Bits Too Controversial For SNL
- Negative Reception
+ x7 Special Features
+ Audio Commentary
- NO Digital Code Included