Crocodile Dundee, the 1986 box office hit, is getting the 4K steelbook treatment. The movie will be available December 1 for $39.99, but it’s available now for preorder at Amazon. I, for one, am excited.
It may be hard to imagine now, in an era when theatrical releases for comedies are few and far between, but there was a period during the 1980s when Crocodile Dundee was king. The character, played by Paul Hogan, was a pop culture icon. That’s because this movie was a mega-hit.
Made for under $10 million, Crocodile Dundee grossed $328 million worldwide, landing it at number two on the list of highest-grossing movies of 1986, behind only Top Gun. That’s a remarkable feat for a movie about an Outback outdoorsman.
Crocodile Dundee works because it’s a mix of tried-and-true ideas: It’s a fish-out-of-water story and a romance between an unlikely couple. It starts when Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski), a New York journalist, travels to the Australian Outback and meets the titular hero, a hunter who feels more at home in the wilderness than he does around other people.
Soon Sue invites Croc to come back to NYC with her. He agrees, and plenty of comedic hijinks ensue as Dundee’s outdoorsy sensibilities clash with city living. Cue Sue’s gradual romantic feelings toward Dundee, and her ambivalence about her current boyfriend.
The movie spawned a less-revered sequel in 1988, followed over a decade later by 2001’s Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. I’m not sure how well the original movie holds up, because I haven’t seen it since the VHS era, but I’m hopeful it still plays. I remember enjoying it a lot (and quoting it a lot) as a kid.
If you enjoy classic movies from decades ago, you have plenty of other options as well. Hook is getting a 35th anniversary steelbook edition. Shrek is getting a 25th anniversary steelbook. And plenty of others have big discounts in Amazon’s early Prime Big Deal Days sale.
