Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4721 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-06-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Vacation paved the way for the John Hughes movie dynasty of the 1980s. Written by Hughes (who would go on to write, direct, and/or produce The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and so on) and directed by Harold Ramis (Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Stuart Saves His Family), the first Vacation movie introduces us to the all-American Griswold family: father Clark (Chevy Chase), mother Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), son Rusty (future Hughes staple Anthony Michael Hall), and daughter Audrey (Dana Barron). They all pile into the car for a cross-country road trip to Walley World, stopping along the way to view the world's biggest ball of twine. John Candy, Imogene Coca, and Randy Quaid (as yokel Cousin Eddie) pop up along the way. The movie was a big hit, and was followed by several sequels--National Lampoon's European Vacation, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation--but this one is still probably the freshest and funniest of the bunch. --Jim Emerson

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
French\Italian
English\Italian
English
Region 2
Mono English French Italian
Mono
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Arabic\Dutch\English\French\Italian\Portuguese\Spanish

Synopsis
Join the Griswolds, a typical suburban family, on their summer vacation, a cross-county trip to their favorite amusement park, Walley World. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong in this outrageous farce, featuring the comic genius of Chevy Chase as the desperate dad looking for fun and Beverly D'Angelo as his willing wife. As they wind their way across the country, the Griswolds are forced to survive a series of absurd events and wacky detours. By the time they finally reach the gates of Walley World, they are more desperate for fun than ever.

Customer Reviews

Timeless - comedy classic
This is a really fantastic film. It has not dated in the least. The jokes are subtly underplayed and very funny and the acting is great across the board. The story works and it is a film that you can watch over and over again and still notice new jokes.

Chevy Chase is at his finest here and one wonders why he doesn't make more films. His timing and expressions are flawless.

Criticism - No extras at all, not even a trailer. This film lends itself to having a commentary. Let's hope a fuller version is released soon.

Anyone who grew up as a Teenager in the 80's.....
...will know all about this movie, unless you had your head buried in the sand from 1980-1989. Put simply, National Lampoons Vacation,is Chevy Chase's finest hour.

The comedy is slapstick, and continues very much in the vein of Caddyshack, both of which were directed by Harold Ramis. Now, anyone watching a movie directed by Harold Ramis knows just what sort of comedy they are in for: Hotwire102, I'm guessing from your review you are one of those that just didn't get it.

Vacation is a classic, and still has holds plenty of belly laughs for me 20 years on. For those 'articulate' comedy lovers Vacation will disappoint, but for the 80's generation that grew up with Porkys, Caddyshack and Bachelor Party Vacation just can't be beat. Clark Griswold For President!

Every kid's nightmare - a holiday with Clark
I can only echo what other reviewers have said about this movie. Hotwire complains that it isn't in the same league as Hot Shots. Well, that's right, it's a totally different kind of movie. Hot Shots is built on the continual visual gags and movie piss-takes that have been apparent since Airplane, and include Top Secret, Naked Gun, Spy Hard, Dracula - Dead And Loving It, and a million and one other Zucker and Zucker movies. To compare this film with Hot Shots would be like comparing Psycho with Scream - they're both horrors but they aren't meant to be in any way similar.

This movie is one of the John Hughes feelgood films, and plays on the fact that Chevy Chase, as everyday hero Clark W Griswald, is what American and English kids find more embarrassing than just about anything else - the enthusiastic Dad. He's bought the station-wagon from Hell, he's got the holiday mapped out to the N'th degree with no room for deviation, he tries to get on with gangsters in Harlem as much as he does with Ellen's cousin's husband (who he obviously despises), he flirts with Christie Brinkley and ends up taking a midnight dip with her in a motel pool, and he kills Grandma's dog in the most hilarious way you could ever imagine. And Ellen, Rusty and Audrey back him up to the end. They might be irritated, annoyed, tired and angry. But if somebody takes a pop at Clark, they're right behind him all the way.

Slapstick humour, with John Hughes' usual touch of empathy (not apparent in European Vacation certainly), is the order of the day here. I love it. The only thing I would agree with Hotwire about - the actual Wally World section at the end isn't as good as it could have been. But until they get to Wally World - it's fantastic!