King Ralph Retro VHS Blu-ray review

Jun 13, 2022- Permalink

David S. Ward’s 1991 comedy King Ralph is one of Mill Creek Entertainment’s latest entries in their Retros VHS series, which pairs video store staples of yore with a cute slipcover which recreates a VHS tape box. When the British royal family is decimated by a freak accident, a search of historical records traces down an heir in the US. Ralph Jones (John Goodman) is a slovenly Las Vegas entertainer but he’s the next in line and receives a quick course on royal etiquette from Sir Cedric (Peter O’Toole). Meanwhile, Lord Percival (John Hurt) concocts a plan to discredit Ralph and claim the throne for himself.

The 1080p AVC encoded video transfer is presented in a 1.84:1 aspect ratio. Like many budget-priced Blu-rays, it’s not the cleanest transfer with some compression issues, crushing in the back levels, some digital smoothing of the grain and wear and tear on the print used for the transfer. Still, details are pretty good and though the colour palette may not be rich, it is still realistic.

On the audio side, the disc comes with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. It’s a decent stereo soundtrack but lacks any pizzazz. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized in the mix.

The disc doesn’t come with a digital code or any bonus materials. As mentioned, the slip cover recreates a video store rental tape box. Thankfully, there are no late fees.

Though the video and audio presentations won’t knock you off your feet, the cast is fit for a king and King Ralph is a fun little comedy. I appreciate Mill Creek presenting these smaller catalog films in the Blu-ray format and a very affordable price point, so I’ll recommended it, especially if you remember renting this when Blockbuster ruled the Earth.