Benji [Blu-ray]

If you love animal movies, this is a must see!!!

I sometimes hate how they mix reviews since this new remastered version is so much better that the previous bluray! I got the remastered Benji a few days ago and I've watched it once myself and once with my kids. It's a great restoration! In fact, it's the first them I've seen the movie widescreen! It looks wonderful for it's age, and it sounds very good. It's tons better than the previous bluray release! If you want Benji, get the orange cover with the circle that says it is widescreen!I want to spend most of my time reviewing this new restored release, but the movie itself is very good for family entertainment. It's a fun, classic movie following a dog's life. A large part of it just follows the dog as he does his daily rounds and how he finds a lady friend and then it leads to him eventually saving the day! It's pretty slow by today's standards and younger kids will probably enjoy it more. It's pretty clean with no bad language and light violence. There is one point where a dog is kicked, but it cuts away right before the actual kick and the dog is ok later. Two kids are kidnapped and yelled at some, but they aren't hurt. The bad guys use guns to threaten and the cops use guns to arrest the bad guys. A gun being shot is show in a flashback, but nobody is shown shot. It's a very clean movie that's great for family entertainment.It's obvious this is a movie from the 70's, but it's the best I've ever seen it. There is some grain throughout. I wouldn't call it light grain and I wouldn't call it medium grain--somewhere between the two. There's a speck of film damage here and there but you really have to be watching for it to notice. It looks really great. It was a budget release at the time and you can tell the cameras/camera work are less than amazing, but for what it is it looks great.The sound is nothing amazing, but it lets you hear what people are saying and the music sounds pretty good. All the music is 100% 70's so if you like that style, you'll like the soundtrack.But overall, it kept the interest of my 3 girls (ages 3-8). Some of it was a little drawn out and repetitive, but the story changes a little each repetition. I think it has a very good lesson about not giving up when you're doing the right thing. It's cute, it's simple, it's good for all ages. We're not going to watch it every week, but I'm glad we've got it and I'll pull it out again on a rainy day this summer! :) I do suggest it. I see that the "For the Love of Benji" restoration is coming out in April 2018, so I'll be picking that one up next.

Growing up what else could I say about our furry friends ..was that they rule. There is a connection that a dog and his/her pet parent has that is undeniable .... solid ! Benji and the franchises were legendary for my generation.. We love the dog ...and the story behind his appeal. Benji just ins't for kiddies ...he (Higgins) touches all of us who adore our 4-legged friends. The director (Joe Camp) did a great job piecing the story-line, blending dream sequences and the co-stars such as " Edgar Buchanan(Petticoat Junction), Frances Bavier, (The Andy Griffith Show)Terry Carter and Peter Brent ( kids dad) we recall from The Big Valley. The town of Denton,Texas was the location in 1974.. The fella who played Benji was named "Higgins"... his career was from 1960's-1974. Higgin's had a daughter named "Benjean" and she followed in her papa's shoes ...in the sequel's.. This movie is perfect for little children as well as the entire family.... As benji would say..... Woof ".. !

The friend I bought this for is in her early 30's...she and I happened to be talking about movies from our childhood (now, she's like 20 years younger than me...lol) and she mentioned that one of her most beloved memories was watching the original Benji movie when she was a kid. I'm thinking, wow! She sure does love the "classics"! When she mentioned it was from the 1970s, I was shocked that Benji was that "old"! She also said she couldn't find it anywhere so, I went looking, knowing that I could find it here, on Amazon, or that one of the 3rd party sellers could hook me up...and it happened exactly that way!! I bought it for her and when I gave it to her as an "early" birthday gift (her birthday is in August! Lol), you would have thought I was presenting her with a gold platter!! I love giving to others but just seeing how much she appreciated it was a gift to ME...

I remember watching this movie in theater. This was a great family friendly movie, written at a time when filmmakers and script writers knew how to produce a story that did not involve extreme violence, gutteral language, or sex. This is how movies might still be produced today if not for the big companies getting greedy and not wanting to pay script authors what they're fully worth.My only main, and major gripe with this release, is it's not the theatrical release. It's the one that was cropped down to pan and scan 4:3 aspect ratio for old school television. It would have been awesome to have been able to enjoy the actual theatrical aspect ratio this great movie was shot it. There are so many wonderful reactive details that were happening near the edges of the frame that we're being deprived of in this 4:3 version. That's the only reason I rated it 4 stars instead of 5.The music is to die for! Very moving, and well scored with multiple genres to please a wide audience.The story script is just so much fun. Captivating, tear-jerking at times, even a tad frightning to the point of puttig you on the edge of your seat, yet there's nothing that would gross anyone out, nothing that would disturb or upset anyone. It's fun, and family friendly, and I'd really love to see a return to this kind of story telling. It's long past time for a return to quality entertainment of this type.At least this version is available, which I suppose is better than nothing. AUTHOR: Please give us the full theatrical aspect ratio release.

I recently saw a modern version of this film and it prompted me to buy this original. Comparing films in this way sometimes leads to disappointment in one or the other but both of these versions are absolute charming in their own individual ways,

Good quality DVD bearing in mind it's an old film. Had foreign subtitles but you can remove these with your tv functions . Brought back great childhood memories

Good film

I did not watch benji when it was on TV so decided to buy it on dvd I like it it is a good and nice story with a happy ending

Most enjoyable.