Musician Weird Al Yankovic’s 1989 cinematic masterpiece “UHF” turns 35 this year. In celebration, Shout Factory will be doing the film’s first-ever 4K release! This high-definition edition will also come with more collectibles than you can shake a fish at.
The special features for the “UHF” 35th-anniversary release are still in the works. However, Shout can confirm that the deluxe edition will come with several physical collectibles.
Deluxe Edition Collectables
- An exclusive 18” x 24” rolled poster of the original theatrical artwork
- An exclusive 18” x 24” rolled poster featuring a new design
- Two slipcovers
- A retro prism sticker
- Smell-O-Vision Sticker Set
- A Collectible Fridge Magnet – shaped like a spatula as a nod to the film’s Spatula City commercial
- A Remote Control Stress Relief Collectible
This will be Weird Al’s 4th collaboration with Shout as a distributor. Past releases include; previous editions of “UHF,” The Complete “The Weird Al Show,” a collection of music videos, and “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” a pseudo biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe (“Harry Potter”).
[Writer’s Note: I collect weird and rare films and Shout’s release of “The Weird Al Show” is by far the most commented-on piece of media I have.]
“UHF” Plot
In “UHF” George Newman (Weird Al) is a small-town daydreamer whose uncle wins a local TV station, Channel 62, in a poker game. He puts his nephew in charge and hilarity, of course, ensues. It takes George a bit to get the station up and running but once he does it soon takes the town by storm. The big turning point is hiring the oddball janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards) to host the station’s kids’ show.
Soon it is flooded with strange programs like “Wheel of Fish,” “Raul’s Wild Kingdom,” and the ultraviolent “Gandhi II.” All this publicity grabs the attention of rival station Channel 8, who will stop at nothing to take the ragtag Channel 62 down.
“UHF” also stars Victoria Jackson (“Saturday Night Live”), Fran Drescher (“The Nanny”), Kevin McCarthy (“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”), Billy Barty (“Time Bandits”), and David Bowe (“A Few Good Men”).
Despite the cast of comedy legends, the movie was a flop at the box office making just $6 million on a $5 million budget. To be fair, it was facing off against “Batman,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” and “Ghostbusters II.” But it later found a cult following on home video.
Shout’s 4K release of “UHF” will be released on July 2nd. You can pre-order your copy here.
