If the mere mention of Howard the Duck starts you singing the theme tune to this movie then you know you’re part of the cult. Hey, it did go on to win four major awards… so what if they were Razzies? Universal finally does right by the duck and puts out a nice special edition for those that love this movie.
Howard (voiced by Chip Zien, but played by Ed Gale) is just sitting down from a hard days work and trying to relax with a stogie. His apartment starts to shake and soon he’s pulled into our dimension and stranded on Earth. Did I mention Howard was a humanoid duck? Guess not, since on his planet ducks were the dominant species and it’s like Earth, but with ducks.
Soon Howard is a duck outa’ water as our planet had apes being the dominant species and he’s stuck with us. After encountering a bunch of threatening duck haters he meets up with aspiring musician Beverly (Lea Thompson). She’s intrigued by the fowl and introduces him to Phil (Tim Robbins), who she thinks is a scientist.
Howard is not impressed with the nutty Phil and even less so when he finds out that he’s really a janitor. He tries to make it in our world but keeps laying an egg [insert rimshot here]. Phil reappears but he has Dr. Jenning (Jeffrey Jones) in tow. It seems that one of Jenning’s experiments was what pulled Howard onto our planet.
When Jennings tries another experiment the lab is destroyed and he is possessed by a Dark Overlord. Apparently these Dark Overlords want to take over our universe and now it’s up to a cigar chomping duck to stop them from doing so.
Howard the Duck became the punchline of every bad film throughout the eighties. It was a notorious flop, but has developed a cult following over the years. Based on the comic by Steve Gerber, it was a production of wunderkind George Lucas. His successes had critics sharpening their knives and Howard the Duck gave them the opportunity to unsheathe them and plunge them into him.
Howard goes down as one of the most critically reviled films to come out of the 1980s. It has its followers and I’ll have to admit to liking the film the first time I saw it. I’ve probably cooled a bit over the years on it though. It just seems too kiddy now.
I’ve not read Gerber’s comics but I’ve got the impression that they were gritty and noir. The film Howard is definitely softened and just feels like the filmmakers weren’t brave enough to go that way.
Chip Zien also adds to the nicety as his voice is very appealing, but again when I see pictures of Gerber’s duck I imagine something more gruff coming out of his beak. These days he’d be an all CGI creation, but here he’s a cute “Muppet-like” quacker.
As I said before, Howard has a cult following and that cult has been clamoring for a DVD release and they’ve finally gotten their wish. It’s really a nice special edition, but don’t expect to hear from Lucas or Tim Robbins.
Actually I was rather impressed that so many actually appeared on the documentary as I’d imagined that nobody would want to talk about a film that has had so much bad press. Maybe it was the “let’s set the record straight” feeling and the participants wanting to get their side of the tale out. Fans should be pleased.
Howard the Duck is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include the 26 minute “A Look Back at Howard the Duck” interviews director William Hyuck, producer Gloria Katz, and stars Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, and Ed Gale about working on the film.
The 13 minute “Releasing the Duck” is about the critical reaction and how the film has become a cult item. Next are 11 minutes of vintage featurettes and 2 minutes of teaser trailers.
Howard the Duck certainly isn’t a great film, but I don’t think it’s as horrible as everyone makes it out to be. I certainly think it would be interpreted differently today but the reputation that this film has should make producers cringe are redoing it. Universal has not laid an egg and finally gives cult members a DVD to quack about.
Howard the Duck is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
Your Talkback on this Story