The quintessential 1980s long-form teenage music video finally debuts in the 4K format, and is even packaged in a Walkman-style metal case, for fans of director Herbert Ross’ toe-tapping teen drama Footloose: 40th Anniversary SteelBook Edition (Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, rated PG, 107 minutes, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, $30.99).
It’s nearly impossible not to get up and start dancing as Kenny Loggins’ title track blasts over the opening credits of the 1984 movie with a variety of feet in motion on screen.
Viewers are then quickly introduced to the fiery preaching of the Rev. Shaw Moore (John Lithgow) railing against rock and roll music and soon to be in conflict with new teenage implant in the small town of Bomont, cocky Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon).
As Ren tries to acclimate to the conservative environment, including falling for Moore’s rambunctious daughter Ariel (Lori Singer), he learns that dancing has been banned and decides to do something about it.
He organizes a school prom, challenging the city council and throwing adults up in arms. That allows plenty of angst as Ren and his family’s lives get more difficult from pressure applied by classmates, town leaders and parents.
Yes, the film is a bit cheesy, despite Ren’s oddly placed solo acrobatic dance sequence a la “Flash Dance” and the exaggerated dramatics at the town council.
However, the performances that include Sarah Jessica Parker as fun-loving teen Rusty and the late Chris Penn as Ren’s new friend Willard are charming, but all are supplemented by a fantastic vintage soundtrack.
The hits were led by Mr. Loggins’ “Footloose,” Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” and Loverboy’s Mike Reno and Heart’s Ann Wilson belting out “Almost Paradise.”
4K in action: The screen-filling, ultra-high definition restoration has its moments of clarity and color depth, but it’s inconsistent, with many soft-focus scenes that seem very out of place for a release boasting the highest home entertainment resolution technology.
For example, the outdoor tractor game of chicken looks very clean and crisp, but an indoor lunch meeting between Ren and Willard looks slightly out of focus for no reason.
Best extras: Paramount includes the 2011 Blu-ray version of the movie that compiles all of the bonus content from 2011 and previous releases, which are substantial.
Start with a pair of optional commentary tracks with first producer Craig Zadan and screenwriter Dean Pitchford teaming up to unload production information background and plenty of insight on the difficulty in casting Ren, the making of a musical, that famous Ren dance sequence, the film almost being canceled and topics touching near every aspect of the film.
Also, a solo effort by Mr. Bacon has a bit too much dead air, but he has plenty of detailed memories about shooting the film including the tensions between the small town and the filmmakers and his disappointment in the director using stunt actors and gymnasts to complete his big dance sequence.
Next, a trio of stand-alone interview segments (about 30 minutes long) from 2011 offers Mr. Bacon and Miss Parker as well as the pair discussing Penn and his acting style.
Also, a collection of vintage featurettes originating from the 2004 DVD delivers 30 minutes on the production and 14 minutes on the music.
Additionally, and foremost importantly to the package, owners get a very eye-catching steelbook design replete with pastel colors (shades of pink, purple and blue) in the finest traditions of the source material.
The outer case looks like a well-worn and compressed 1980s Walkman with a cassette visible in the device with the handwritten title “Ren’s Mix Gotta Cut Loose!!” and a slightly crumpled round sticker of Ren wearing a headset (culled from the original poster design).
The back offers five more wrinkled, multishaped and multicolored stickers covering the faux-Walkman featuring taglines from some of the songs, including “kick off your Sunday shoes” and “let’s hear it for the boys.”
The interior spread is equally clever with the left side offering a collage of six color images from the movie and the right side (under the pair of discs) recreating the full view of the cassette nestled in the Walkman.
And to round out the too-cool factor, Paramount throws in a mini version of the original movie poster (roughly 10 inches by 13 inches).
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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