“Boy, that escalated quickly…” – Ron Burgundy

This just in! Anchorman: The Legendary of Ron Burgundy has returned for its 20^th Anniversary, and with this quite brilliant Stay Classy edition from Paramount Home Entertainment, which offers the film on 4K UHD for the first time, alongside an utter wealth of entertaining extras.

Set in the 1970s, where the local American Anchorman was the lead face to present the news on TV – in this case Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy – he’s all bravado, leather-bound books and thinks of himself as a bit of a man-hero. He’s also got his loyal Channel 4 News Team with him, which includes Paul Rudd as Brian Fantana, Steve Carell as Brick Tamland, and David Koechner as Champ Kind, and this San Diego-based ensemble live in a male-dominated world that’s about to be blown out of the water after Christina Applegate’s outstanding Veronica Corningstone arrives, and she’s here to be as good as Ron, if not better – and prove that times are changing.

Important things first, as the Judd Apatow-production manages to just get away with what could become cringey because of its 1970s-setting, and it’s well aware of what type of comedy it is. The film arrived during the remnants of lad culture, yet this 4K UHD rewatch reminded me that Anchorman plays on the old world with an accurately funny balance of pointing out the stupidity of male behaviour, while also endeavouring to progress its characters. While there’s a few crude elements that don’t work as well in 2024, it thankfully isn’t as badly littered as other early 2000s comedies, and so instead of feeling dated Anchorman feels unexpectedly ahead of its time.

With Applegate’s Veronica living in a misogynistic “man’s world,” and this is clearly signified, she’s also career-driven and strong-minded, and holds her own amongst it. The film is also decisively aware from start to finish, even with hints of Airplane and Police Squad, and you can understand why certain sequences continue to influence some mainstream US comedy today. While we might not get this style of film now, there’s so many iconic scenes to keep it fresh. Not only are you getting an inspired Will Ferrell, but you also see his journey through the changes that come his way.

Ron’s latter breakdown is brilliant “I’m in a glass case of emotion!” and the Afternoon Delight song in the office is a particularly enduring circumstance. Let’s also not forget Rudd’s Brian Fantana and sex panther, Champ’s not-so-secret love for Ron, and then there’s Brick’s deadpan simplistically which is amazing. And as well as that key cast of Ferrell, Applegate, Rudd, and Koechner, who bring distinct ridiculousness (and this is a very silly film) to their characters – Anchorman also launched Carell into the early echelons of the film stratosphere. Also, just enjoy the great Fred Willard, alongside a cavalcade of cameos in the legendary back-street fighting scenes “there were horses, a man on fire and I killed a guy with a trident,” which includes the likes of Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Tim Robbins.

Madly, this was the feature debut for Adam McKay, who now has the likes of Don’t Look Up, The Big Short, Step Brothers, and Vice in his filmography, and McKay co-wrote the film with Will Ferrell. And Anchorman: The Legendary of Ron Burgundy remains intensely quotable, and comes with an incredible cast, if you like those tongue-in-cheek American comedies – or are even curious about such a setup – I do recommend checking it out before judging it on clips to give it full context. For me, Ferrell’s moustachioed man could be easily dislikable, but with quite the journey, you’re there with him on it. Just!

It’s worth mentioning that this Special Edition set is lovely from Paramount, so as well as the 4K UHD theatrical disc, you’ve also got a secondary Blu-ray with both the theatrical and extended versions plus commentary from by Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, Lou Rawls, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate (which feels quite rare to happen), the classic bloopers reel, a mad 36 deleted and extended scenes (I honestly wonder how many edits it must have gone through), plus the iconic Afternoon Delight video, and even an amusing ESPN Sports Centre Audition for the one and only, Ron Burgundy.

There’s also a third disc with another Blu-ray, this one includes Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie which is a 92-minute film featuring outtakes and unused storylines from the original movie. This included an entire sub-plot with a revolutionary political group called The Alarm Clock, but reportedly that version scored badly during test screenings, and, in truth, it doesn’t have the same energy as the final product. However, watch for stand-out sequences from Maya Rudolph, a little more Fred Willard, plus a great focus on Christina Applegate’s Corningstone and a deeper delve into her journalist skills and investigations. Also, the bank scene with Amy Poehler is magnificent.

The feature also features intro-commentary from Will and Aaron Zimmerman (which was a cut character by Adam McKay), plus other raw footage, extra cast auditions (which I always love), some Comedy Central Anchorman fun, an actual table read from 2003 with some of the cast, rehearsals, a deeper look into Channel 4 News with different features and reporting ‘on the scene’.

And, finally, in the box you also have a fold-out theatrical poster, Ron Burgundy’s ‘The Many Months of…’ notebook, some ace ‘baseball’ style cards, a Channel 4 sticker, and postcards – it really is kind of a big deal!

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy 20th Anniversary 4K UHD Collector Edition is out now!

Order here: https://amzn.to/4ckj30k