A near-perfect film, hated by some of the major film critics at the time, is getting a new 4K film restoration to celebrate its 40th Anniversary. This would be none other than director Adrian Lyne’s 1983 base-of-real-life romantic tale, Flashdance.
The 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack edition will be available from Paramount Home Entertainment on Apr. 11.
Based on — or “inspired by” — the life of Maureen Marder, a Toronto stripper by night and an industrial welder by day, it proved to be a work combination that was simply too tempting not to turn into movie. She received no credit for her story … and sadly, Marder spent years in litigation over her claims that she had been cheated … finally losing all appeals in 2015 (32-years after the film was originally released theatrically).
Flashdance launched the career of Jennifer Beals, whose only previous screen credit was a small part in director Tony Bills’ My Bodyguard. This mega-hit also marked the first production collaboration between Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, who also produced Beverly Hills Cop and Top Gun for Paramount.
And, one other bit of irony, the critical dancing routines and climatic breakdance sequence were doubled by Marine Jahan and Richard Colón respectively, but neither received screen recognition.
Nevertheless, filmmaker Adrian Lyne delivered what has turned out to be an iconic romantic tale, blended with high-energy dance and music sequences (Oscar-winner for Best Song, “Flashdance... What a Feeling” and also Oscar-nominated in the same category for “Maniac”), that not only showcased the acting talents of Jennifer Beals, but set the tone for a number of film productions that would follow, including Kevin Bacon’s Footloose that would rock theatres the following year.
Bonus features include the special feature titled “Filmmaker Focus: Director Adrian Lyne” and a pair of featurettes — “The Look of Flashdance” and “Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon.”
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