Flashdance (1983) (Paramount Presents) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Adrian Lyne

Cast: Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Belinda Bauer

Release Date: May 19, 2020

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

The hit movie that became a cultural sensation, Flashdance delivers an electrifying mix of music, drama and dance that dazzles the senses as it touches the heart; now newly remastered from a 4K film transfer supervised by director Adrian Lyne. Jennifer Beals stars as Alex, a fiercely determined 18-year-old with one all-consuming dream: to study at the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance. Working during the day as a welder and at night as an exotic dancer. Alex bravely pursues her dream, undertaking an unforgettable journey that reveals the power of her convictions. Featuring the Oscar–winning song “Flashdance—What a Feeling.”

Be sure to additionally check out our Blu-ray reviews for other releases in the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line below!

Paramount Presents #1: Fatal Attraction (1987) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #2: King Creole (1958) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #3: To Catch A Thief (1955) (Blu-ray Review)

The 1980’s pop culture sensation ‘Flashdance’ tells the story of Alex, a young hardworking welder with dreams of something greater. Alex spends her days hard at work and her nights and spare time dancing on stage at a local club or practicing her moves at home, all the while hoping to eventually realize her dream of studying at a prestigious Pittsburg dance school. But when she starts falling for her boss as well, things become even more complicated. Directed by Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction) and starring noteworthy newcomer Jennifer Beals in her breakout lead role, ‘Flashdance’ was initially released in 1983 and while it’s undeniably a product of its time which results in some of it being humorously dated, it does still provide enough warm memories, catchy music, romance and fun to still be incredibly entertaining nearly four decades later.

‘Flashdance’ joins the new ‘Paramount Presents’ numbered Blu-ray line of film classics from their expansive vault of titles, presented with collectible new Blu-ray releases that feature new 4K film transfers, and this 1983 musical drama makes a wonderful addition to the lineup of unforgettable films from over the decades. It’s an enjoyable romantic tale with a heavy focus on dance and music that showcases the 1980’s quite well. It does result in some of the film having become slightly dated or possibly appearing moderately silly by today’s standards, but fortunately that shouldn’t detract from the enjoyment it’s certain to continue bringing the fans.

Dedicated fans of this enjoyable 80’s cult classic will probably want to strongly consider a purchase of this new Blu-ray edition, especially if you don’t already own a prior release. The latest Blu-ray release of the fan-favorite film comes home complimented by an impressive new high definition video presentation sourced from a fresh 4K film transfer that was approved by director Adrian Lyne himself which alone may also be enough reason for many fans that already own the film to consider a double dip. The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray also features a nice lossless audio presentation, a few decent extras and of course the collectible artwork featured on all of the new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray releases. Those collectors intent on purchasing each title in the ‘Paramount Presents’ lineup will probably want to snatch up a copy at some point as well if you haven’t already done so.

Overall, the new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Flashdance’ brings the 1980’s sensation home on Blu-ray once again with a noteworthy new high definition presentation from a new 4K film transfer approved by director Adrian Lyne. Combined with a solid multichannel soundtrack along with a few enjoyable extras and of course the standard ‘Paramount Presents’ collectible packaging for the release, everything comes together into a pretty nice Blu-ray release that should largely thrill the fans and is definitely recommended for anyone already contemplating a purchase. It’s a fun, toe-tapping film that some newcomers may find a bit silly, but for those at least moderately familiar it shouldn’t have any trouble conjuring up some great nostalgia that’ll slap a smile on your face and have you tapping along with the soundtrack.

VIDEO:

The new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Flashdance’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation of the film from a new 4K film transfer supervised by director Adrian Lyne, with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. This newly remastered video presentation looks magnificent as a whole and provides a sharp, smooth and nicely detailed presentation from start to finish that’s rich with grain and other welcome elements representative of its film source; suffering no noticeable faults or issues throughout. It holds up beautifully even during the occasional darkly lit and fast moving sequences, never allowing anything onscreen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a wonderful high definition video presentation that looks consistently great and should largely thrill the film’s fans.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack offers up a clean, crisp and fairly active soundtrack throughout. It quite frequently takes advantage of all five available channels with this smooth and largely music centric audio presentation that sends the infamous soundtrack, plus some work and nature related activity along with more throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while always making certain that any dialogue and other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a nice 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that sounds consistently great and never falters or disappoints.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Flashdance’ features the Blu-ray line’s usual collectible packaging design with a slipcase that opens up to showcase the film’s original theatrical poster artwork and more photos on the interior of the Blu-ray’s case insert (we’ve once again include a beauty shot of the artwork from the studio below). The new Blu-ray release of the 80’s classic includes one brand new extra created specifically for this release: ‘Filmmaker Focus: Director Adrian Lyne Discusses Flashdance’ (running approximately 6 minutes in length), along with a few previously released extras including ‘The Look of Flashdance’ (running approximately 9 minutes) and ‘Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon’ (approximately 9 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (approximately 2 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

–

–

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

–

‘Flashdance’ is Now Available to Own, Newly Remastered as part of the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line from Paramount Home Entertainment

–