Big Trouble (1986)
Comedy, Crime • 1h 33m
Overview
Leonard Hoffman is an insurance salesman struggling to make ends meet. The fact that he has triplet sons who all want to go to Yale isn't making things any easier. Blanche Rickey is also worried about money; her husband is a millionaire with a weak heart, and she worries that he'll blow through all his cash before he finally dies. When Blanche meets Leonard, she devises a murderous plan that she claims will fix both their problems.
Director: John Cassavetes
Cast: Alan Arkin, Beverly D'Angelo, Peter Falk, Charles Durning, Robert Stack, Paul Dooley, Valerie Curtin, Richard Libertini, Steve Alterman, Jerry Pavlon, Paul La Greca, John Finnegan, Karl Lukas, Maryedith Burrell, Edith Fields, Rosemarie Stack, Barbara Tarbuck, Al White, Teddy Wilson, Gloria Gifford, Herb Armstrong, Jaime Sánchez, Gaetano Lisi, Chester Grimes, Irene Olga López, Daphne Eckler, Carol Reinhard, Conroy Gedeon, Leonard P. Geer, Melvin Jones, Luis Contreras, John M. Kochian Jr., Domingo Ambriz, John Bianchini, Nafa Rasho, Roger Ito, Perry Fluker, Lynn Ready, Steven Lambert, Yukio G. Collins, Howard Clapp, Jeff Howard, Leland Sun, Al Leong, Danny Lew, Michaelani, Dennis Phun, Walter Soo Hoo, Richard Walter, Joseph G. Medalis, Gary Nastu, Michael Santiago, Warren Munson
Director: John Cassavetes
Criterion is warmer and more lifelike than BFI. See DVDBeaver review for more caps
BFI suffers from Quicktime Gamma Bug
Criterion has better encoding and doesn't have the bug so that's preferable.
Director: John Cassavetes
Criterion is warmer and more lifelike than BFI. See DVDBeaver review for more caps
BFI suffers from Quicktime Gamma Bug
Criterion has better encoding and doesn't have the bug so that's preferable.
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Director: John Cassavetes
Kino Lorber Blu-ray uses same old Sony master
Director: John Cassavetes
Kino Lorber Blu-ray uses same old Sony master
Director: King Vidor
Various US DVD such as Film Detective AlphaVideo Mill Creek
Director: King Vidor
Various US DVD such as Film Detective AlphaVideo Mill Creek
Director: Martin Ritt
Mill Creek DVD has Original Aspect Ratio while the Germany Plaion DVD doesn't
Director: Martin Ritt
Mill Creek DVD has Original Aspect Ratio while the Germany Plaion DVD doesn't
Theatrical: Mill Creek Blu-ray
Theatrical: Mill Creek Blu-ray
Theatrical: Mill Creek Blu-ray
Theatrical: Mill Creek Blu-ray
Director: Robert Stevenson
US AlphaVideo or Film Detective or Mill Creek DVD
US AlphaVideo or Film Detective or Mill Creek DVD
Director: Robert Stevenson
US AlphaVideo or Film Detective or Mill Creek DVD
US AlphaVideo or Film Detective or Mill Creek DVD
Director: William Witney
Director: William Witney
Director: Henry Hathaway
Director: Henry Hathaway
Director: James Cruze
Director: James Cruze
Director: Albert Ray
Director: Albert Ray
AlphaVideo OOP DVD or Mill Creek Hollywood Comedy Legends DVD
AlphaVideo OOP DVD or Mill Creek Hollywood Comedy Legends DVD
Library of Congress and Film Foundation had a new 2023 restoration but no release yet
AlphaVideo OOP DVD or Mill Creek Hollywood Comedy Legends DVD
AlphaVideo OOP DVD or Mill Creek Hollywood Comedy Legends DVD
Library of Congress and Film Foundation had a new 2023 restoration but no release yet
More Comedy on Blu-ray
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: George Sidney
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
Director: George Sidney
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
Director: John Waters
Director: John Waters
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
1991 Warner Bros LaserDisc (for original mono track)
1996 Warner Bros 25th Anniversary LaserDisc has isolated music and effects track (incorrectly labeled "music minus vocals") not present on any other release
1991 Warner Bros LaserDisc (for original mono track)
1996 Warner Bros 25th Anniversary LaserDisc has isolated music and effects track (incorrectly labeled "music minus vocals") not present on any other release
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Edit History
12/25/2025
Best English-Friendly Release
From
Mill Creek Blu-ray in Peter Falk 4-Film Comedy Collection
From
Mill Creek Blu-ray in Peter Falk 4-Film Comedy Collection
Best Video Release
From
Mill Creek Entertainment has Blu-ray in Peter Falk 4-Film Comedy Collection
From
Mill Creek Entertainment has Blu-ray in Peter Falk 4-Film Comedy Collection
7/9/2025
