My family had cable television back in 1975 when we moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina. We had it longer than we watched it because my parents didn’t want to attach the cable to the back of our black and white TV set. One afternoon, I connected the little prong adaptor to the back of the TV set in the antenna spot. My mom saw me doing it and let out a scream like I was going to electrocute myself. It was worth risking my life although there weren’t many channels on cable at that point. Besides getting better signal quality for the network stations out of Raleigh, Durham and Wilmington, there were two “super stations” from Charlotte and Atlanta (the future TBS) on the dial. It was cool, but nothing too wild. When Tunnel Vision arrived in theaters, it wasn’t mocking actual cable TV of 1976. The film predicted TV we’d be receiving in 1985. Nearly a decade later, we had more channels including Showtime that pushed the boundaries. The pay channel had a special called Spice On Ice that featured topless ice skating. Tunnel Vision is Future Shock as a comedy.
Howard Hessman (WKRP In Cincinnati) plays the politician heading the Congressional committee looking into how Tunnel Vision has dominated the ratings and ruined America by turning the nation into a country of shut ins. People have quit their jobs so they can stay home all day watching the big broadcast. The committee runs clips of the channel’s programming while grilling the network executives. After a patriotic opening sign on that includes the presidents after Nixon, there’s a commercial for a mail order course for proctology. A lot of butts fill the screen. The morning new show Wake Up America focuses on peace in the middle east and the borders of Isreal and neighboring countries. This is still happening after 50 years so that’s a joke that hasn’t gone dry. Another product promoted is the ability to “read” classic books by taking pills. There’s an ad for drinking cleaning fluid to clean up your life which was once promoted at the White House. Joe Flaherty (SCTV & Freaks and Geeks) competes with Betty Thomas (Hill Street Blues) on a game show that asks the worst possible questions about their personal lives. While Joe wears a dress, Betty must answer in pasties. In a bit of prediction, they have a joke about an upcoming show starring Charles Manson and his women called Charlie’s Girls. While you think this is a spoof of Charlie’s Angels, the movie came out in March of 1976 while the TV series didn’t air until September. There’s a little kid show where the elementary schoolers go wild for Henry Kissinger (M*A*S*H*‘s Roger Bowen) and a dirty talking frog puppet. A TV movie features a man who comes back from Vietnam as only a head, but he’s willing to fight crime with the help of John Candy (SCTV). Al Franken and Tom Davis try to pick up the ladies at the pool and need personality sprays to succeed. This is the future of Axe body spray. The show’s single girl sitcom goes beyond That Girl when Gerrit Graham (Phantom of the Paradise) drops by for a date. “Ramon and Sonja” is a slur and stereotype filled sitcom with Laraine Newman (Saturday Night Live) as a gypsy mom. Chevy Chase (Fletch) does a PSA for people with serious issues. A show that predicts America’s Most Wanted also ties together several of the sketches and carries over to the end of the senate hearing. That concludes the network’s broadcasting day.
What really sells Tunnel Vision as a real network is having real TV voices on the soundtrack. Ernie Anderson plays the voice of the network. Besides being the father of P.T. Anderson, Ernie was the announcer for ABC at its primetime glory. You’ll remember him saying “The Love Boat.” Also doing voiceovers is Danny Dark who you’ll remember from saying “Sorry, Charlie” in the Sunkist Tuna ads and the voice of Superman on the Super Friends animated series. William Woodson narrates a few ads. He is beloved as the guy who introduced The Odd Couple in the first two seasons. Both Ernie and Danny appear on camera as newscasters too.
Tunnel Vision is extremely short for a comedy film which works in its favor. You don’t have the feeling of being stuck in a sketch and eager to pull out the remote control. The humor pushes the R Rating to make sure it’s nothing you’ll be seeing on The Carol Burnett Show in 1976. Even though broadcast TV censorship has laxed in the last 50 years, Tunnel Vision features a lot of jokes that wouldn’t be able to get on a current of Saturday Night Live. What I appreciate most about Tunnel Vision is that it works as both a spoof of TV and prediction of how bad things will get ten years down the road. It even predicted an audience that will keep the same station on their TV all day long and just sit there watching it like zombies. Luckily with its short running time, you’ll be able to watch Tunnel Vision, laugh and do something productive with the rest of your day.
The Video is presented in both 1.66:1 anamorphic and 1.33:1 full frame. The 4K transfer brings out the joy of standard definition broadcasts. Many of the sketches were shot on video and transferred to 35mm negative for the original release of the film. You’re better off watching it in 1.33:1 like television was broadcast in 1976. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Mono. Things are clear so you’ll hear all the jokes and famous voices. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary with Marc Edward Heuck is a historian for the Night Flight streaming service. He knows a lot of about the film. Turns out the Tunnel Vision logo lips belonged to Shelly Duvall (The Shining). He points out all the noted guest stars in the sketches.
Interview with Neal Israel & Stuart Shapiro (45:07) has filmmakers join up for a chat about making the film. They come to realize it has been 50 years since they shot the film. Neal sees how the film did predict the arrival and impact of cable (and pay channels). They talk about the outrageous humor in the film might not cut it in today’s marketplace. There’s a discussion of how they spoofs were selected as they put together the film. Neal Israel went on to direct Americathon & Bachelor Party. Stuart Shapiro went on to make Night Flight for USA Network in the ’80s.
Photo Gallery (3:50) includes photos from the opening of the film, newspaper ads, the press release, behind the scenes photos including Franken and Davis in swimsuits.
Archival Photo Gallery (2:55) includes color press photos.
Radio Spots (5:12) is what you would have heard while cruising around looking for kicks. They promote the fact that the cast is from Saturday Night Live and other comedy groups except now they get to work in R-Rated material.
Tunnel Vision Continuity Script (8:25) is a montage of the script pages. You can pause to read how it looked on paper.
Theatrical Trailer (2:56) swears we’ll be seeing the TV of 1985. We get a rundown of what will be shown each night on Tunnel Vision.
Trailers included for Cheerleaders Wild Weekend, Mondo New York, Ghoulies, Linguini Incident and Terminus.
Mini Poster that’s suitable for framing.
MVD Rewind Collection presents Tunnel Vision: Collector’s Edition. Starring Roger Bowen, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Howard Hesseman, Joe Flaherty, Laraine Newman, Betty Thomas, Phil Proctor, Al Franken, Ron Silver, Tom Davis, and Michael Overly. Running Time: 68 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: May 13, 2025.
