©1979 Universal City Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.
| Mono |
| Pressing Location |
DiscoVision Carson |
| Label Color |
Blue |
| Retail Price |
$24.95 |
| Year Issued |
1980 |
|
| Side |
Frames |
Running Time |
|
| 1 |
34,981 |
24min 17sec |
| 2 |
34,516 |
23min 58sec |
| 3 |
30,541 |
21min 12sec |
| 4 |
35,942 |
24min 57sec |
|
|
135,980 |
94min 25sec |
|
| Ratings |
|
| Video Transfer |
  |
| Audio Transfer |
 |
| Replication |
|
|
| Packaging |
|
| Large Open-Top |
| Open-Top |
| Side-Open Sticker |
| Printed |
 |
|
Pressing Notes
The Jerk is a very common title. There is about 4 seconds of film missing from at the side 2-3 side-break.
The scene where Bernedette Peters turns to look back into the trailer is much longer, and contains lead
in music to the next scene which is the ocean at night. The video transfer is about par for DiscoVision at the
time with too much contrast and the brightness too far up. Direct lighting scenes, like daylight, tend to bloom
slightly. The dark scenes are not as bad as those seen in Which Way is Up?, but they are
still not as good as the current MCA/Universal Home Video release. The audio transfer is on par as well, and is
neither strong in the high nor low ends.
DiscoVision copies are quite easily found, and most are of acceptable quality. Of the four copies examined in my
experience with DiscoVision, all have been about the same, with some very minor speckling.
The opening DiscoVision graphic begins normally, but fades out and cuts off about 3 seconds prematurely.
| Mono |
| Pressing Location |
DiscoVision Carson |
| Label Color |
Red |
| Retail Price |
$24.99 |
| Year Issued |
1981 |
|
| Side |
Chapters |
Running Time |
|
| 1 |
3 |
48min |
| 2 |
4 |
46min |
|
|
7 |
94min |
|
| Ratings |
|
| Video Transfer |
|
| Audio Transfer |
|
| Replication |
|
|
| Packaging |
|
| Large Open-Top |
| Open-Top |
| Side-Open Sticker |
| Printed |
|
|
Pressing Notes
The CLV edition of The Jerk replaced the CAV version with no announcement. The jackets were printed with no
artwork changes. This edition corrects the missing audio problem at the 2-3 side-break on the Standard Play (CAV)
edition by playing the scene for the full duration. Of course, this leads to a horrible problem, where the lead-in
music is present at the end of side 1 and then continues on side 2. In an attempt to clear up a mistake on the
original edition, they actually made the break more jarring.
Both the video and audio transfer are the exact same as the previous edition. Disc replication was surprisingly good,
with very little speckling and no audio helicoptering.
The Jerk was released in November 1992 by MCA/Universal Home Video (Catalog #:16015) in Digital Mono. There
have been some minor audio alterations which are not noted on the jacket anywhere. The DVD
(Catalog #:20214), issued in April 1998, restores the correct music altered in the 1992 LaserDisc. In January 2000, the title
was included in a DVD collection with two other Steve Martin titles; "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" and "The Lonely Guy". At
this time, the original DVD artwork was updated to something more colorful than the boring yellow background of the original.
Return to MCA DiscoVision Catalog
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Updated: June 9, 2002
Copyright ©2002 Blam Entertainment Group
