Footloose - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Footloose



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
While I’ve been an 80s horror and action buff most of my life, I fully admit that there was a LOT of fun on the fluffier side of the aisle during the 80s. The decade was probably the most prosperous our nation had ever been, with excess and extremes oozing from every corner of the nation, so it naturally follows that the cinematic tastes would follow as well. While we were blowing up people left and right with buddy cop movies, or slashing through stupid teenagers on Camp Crystal Lake, the other side of the coin was acting out against a lot of the more conservative angles that they felt were trying to keep them down. We had gone through the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and the religious conservatives lashed back against that with what became known as “the Jesus movement”. Christian music exploded over night with bands like Petra and the like competing with secular music, and in a huge way it was a spiritual explosion at the time. The flip side of THAT coin came to roost in the 1980s, when the Jesus movement folks were coming into their late 30s and early 40s and had forgotten about how it was like to be children. Much like they did in the 1970sk they attempted to lash out at popular culture but the younger ones weren’t following them. It was the 80s and it was time for rock n’ roll once more. Thus we had an influx of films with all of them sporting very similar plot lines. Conservative parents putting a heavy hand on the younger teens, and the teens lashing out (as teens do) in hopes of forging their own paths.

Dirty Dancing before it was Dirty Dancing, Footloose was a cheesy, big budget, high octane dance movie that basically lucked out into touching on the pulse of the younger generation during that time period. The film itself shows big city teen Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) trying to make it in a small town in Rural America after his father walked out on him and his mom. Moving back to his mother’s home town he finds out that things are a bit different than the big city. Girls still like guys, guys still do dumb stuff in school, but the whole town has a wet blanket thrown over it as the Reverend Shaw Mooroe (John Lithgow) carries a massive amount of influence in the town. Years before his son was killed in an accident surrounding a party, so he and the rest of the town board decided to outlaw dancing and generally look down on teenagers and their “devil raising Rock music!”.

This isn’t going to fly with Ren, who just so happens to be a dance fanatic. After befriending Reverend Moore’s daughter Ariel (Lori Singer), Ren decides to change a few hearts and bend a few minds and put on a high school senior prom despite having half of the town ready to torpedo any argument he gives.

Yeah yeah, I know. It’s an instant classic, but I still can’t get over how cheesy Footloose is when looked back when you’re 20 years older and not in college. The dialog is a little bit loosey goosy, and the writing is not terribly advanced. However, the film has managed to become one of the 80s biggest dance classics and I firmly believe that it was because it happened to magically touch upon the pulse of the nation at the time. The early 80s was a time of rebellion much like how James Dean was in the 1960s. But this time it was a rebellion against the strictness and harshness that came out of the 1970s (which in turn was a reaction to the free love hippie era of the 1960s). People were frustrated, and one of the biggest frustrations out there came in the form of “mom, dad, you guys just don’t understand what it’s like to be a kid and want to have fun” during that time period. Luckily it blew up in cinemas over night, and still to this day is one of the most beloved Kevin Bacon films of all time.

Lori Singer and Kevin Bacon as solid as young actors, but it’s really John Lithgow as Reverend Moore. While seen as a villain for most of the film, he’s really not. He’s definitely an antagonist, but a villain? Not really so sure. He’s much more complex than just being a raging angry authority figure who doesn’t want no youngins having fun! Instead he’s a man who genuinely believes in his convictions, but also has to question his own status as an authority figure. The film has him evolve and change his opinions not based upon “movie logic”, and “plot armor”, but rather him being a genuinely good guy who just got carried a bit too much with the whole overbearing parent routine (which spilled forth into his role as spiritual leader of the bible belt town). So it’s nice to actually not hate a protagonist, and actually see his side of the story as well. In that regard Footloose excels tremendously




Rating:

Rated PG by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

OK, here’s the nitty gritty where all of us with the previous Blu-ray release are all wondering about. Is this is an upgrade over the notoriously terrible 2011 Blu-ray release? The answer is a resounding YES. Now, the 2160p disc isn’t perfect, but to say that it isn’t a huge upgrade over the Blu-ray would be down selling it just a tad. That Blu-ray was notoriously one of the worst catalog title releases Paramount did, rivaling some of the awful ones that Universal put out during that time period. Rivaling Face/Off or The Jerk, Footloose was an absolute mess of DNR that basically scrubbed any grain, any bits of detail, and any filmic qualities of the disc completely away. Paramount’s new 4K remaster looks a ton better, allowing us to actually see grain for the first time in years. It is warm and authentically colored with that Sepia and peach tone that was chosen for the visual aesthetic, and also showcases some really amazing looking fine details. It looks much more healthy and organic this go around, and looks like actual FILM for once.

The Dolby Vision color enhancements are subtle, but they are still very much welcomed on this release. Colors aren’t nearly so over brightened and pushed hot, instead tamed to a slightly dimmer look while still looking richer and deeper than the Blu-ray look. Black levels look really good for the most part, but I still notice some crush in the warehouse dance scene, and a few times inside of the homes. Overall, a VERY solid improvement over the 2011 Blu-ray, while still not being a shock and awe looking film overall.








Audio:

The UHD disc sort of “downgrades” the 6.1 track from the Blu-ray to 5.1 DTS-HD MA, but it’s not something I would worry about. The old days of having an EX track as a single rear surround channel (that usually got modified and split for people with 7.1 systems) is long gone, and the benefits of that single discrete extra channel was always heavily debated as being worthwhile. The 5.1 version of the track sounds virtually identical, with a strong vocal presence up front, and the surrounds getting their workout during the school yard, or during the 80s pop songs that crop up everywhere. The track and mix in general has NEVER been exactly show stopping, but the film was never mixed that way so it’s quite understandable. Paramount’s 5.1 DTS-HD MA track delivers the goods very well and creates a pleasing mix that just about everyone should enjoy.













Extras:

• NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
• Commentary by Craig Zadan and Dean Pitchford
• Commentary by Kevin Bacon
• Let's Dance! Kevin Bacon on Footloose
• From Bomont to the Big Apple: An Interview with Sarah Jessica Parker
• Remembering Willard
• Kevin Bacon's Screen Test
• Kevin Bacon Costume Montage
• Footloose: A Modern Musical – Part 1
• Footloose: A Modern Musical – Part 2
• Footloose: Songs That Tell A Story
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Footloose is that bit of 80s cheese that just seems to hit the spot. It has an absolutely killer 80s pop track, Kevin Bacon in his major break out role, and Lori Singer literally sizzling everywhere on screen …….well, not to mention John Lithgow absolutely stealing the film as Reverend Moore. Also, it’s been a LOOOOOOOONG time coming for 4K fans, cuz Paramount has sat on that absolutely awful Blu-ray release that we’ve had to suffer through for the last 15 years (ish). The new encode is light years better, and there’s a hefty amount of extras ported over from the Blu-ray. Well worth upgrading from.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Chris Penn, Lori Singer, Diane Wiest, John Lithgow
Directed by: Herbert Ross
Written by: Dean Pitchford
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, German, French, Italian, Japanese DD 2.0
Sugtitles: English English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Rated: PG
Runtime: 107 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 13th, 2024

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

Ashamed to say: I’ve never watched this.

Should I?

I mean, I’ve made it this long without it…

 

[Michael Scott]

Ashamed to say: I’ve never watched this.

Should I?

I mean, I’ve made it this long without it…

if you like films like Dirty Dancing, Flashdance etc, then it will be right in line with those

 

[Todd Anderson]

Never watched those either…

 

[Sonnie]

A man with his head in the sand.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I definitely didn't spend the 80s watching soft movies!

Iron Eagle, Red Dawn... that's what I was cutting my teeth on!! Though, I gotta say, I feel like I missed out! Maybe it's time to revisit the decade with a fresh pair of eyes.

 

[Sonnie]

No way I'd ever got away with not taking my girlfriend (or wife) to see those movies back then.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I play hardball, Sonnie. What can I say?

In the early 90s, my girlfriend wanted to see Legends of the Fall... I wanted to see Major Payne. So, we flipped for it. I won. Guess where we were sitting a few hours later?

That's right... Major Payne!

 

[Sonnie]

I guess I was just a sweeter boyfriend.

 

[Michael Scott]

Never watched those either…

you never watched Dirty Dancing even?? wooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Alright, Mike… I need a list. What movies from that genre and timeframe do I absolutely need to see?

 

[Michael Scott]

Alright, Mike… I need a list. What movies from that genre and timeframe do I absolutely need to see?

Dirty Dancing (no one puts baby in the corner)
Footloose
Breakin
Urban Cowboy (more of a dark drama, not light and fluffy)
Flashdance (although that is a syrupy date night romance movie)


but seriously. Footloose and Dirty Dancing are at the top of your list

 

[Asere]

Haha! See all the ones Mike mentioned plus Beat Street, Breaking 2, and Fast Forward.

 

[Asere]

Another one to watch is Peggy Sue Got Married. My wife is shocked I've never seen it. Likely going to have me watch it lol.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I believe that I've watched Beat Street... not the other three, tho.

I was obviously riding a different wavelength in the 80s.