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The 1980’s really were a different world. It was the decade that I feel saw the most diverse (though not necessarily great) film output. The super-seriousness of the 1970’s closed, and there was nothing aside from the fading Cold War to politically motivate. It was this type of climate that allowed for films like Flashdance to be made. A female charged variant on Rocky that featured MTV influenced visuals and highly choreographed dance sequences all set among the decaying steel mills of Pittsburgh.
The script had to have been a very tough sell, because I can’t imagine anyone making the plot for Flashdance sound good either on paper or spoken allowed. Try it yourself. “Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals, The Bride and The Grudge 2) a beautiful 18-year-old welder by day, stripper at Mawby’s Bar by night catches the eye of her boss (at the steel mill) Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri, The Hidden) who tries to get her out of the slums and into the world of high-class dance where her talents will be more appreciated.”
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to see (and definitely not invest in) something described that way either, but some how, some way Flashdance excels above the nonsense script and uninspired plot. What helps is that simply everything about the film is superbly well made.
The look of the film is one probably the second most important aspect of Flashdance’s success. British Director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Jacob’s Ladder), fresh off the non-success of the horribly underrated Foxes, rightfully looked to MTV and early music videos in general as an inspiration to the visual look of the film. This made sense. If you are going to make a film that is  being pushed as a “modern musical” you need to examine what “modern music” actually is. The result of this is a very slick film with colored lighting and excessive smokiness even in sequences that do not take place in Mawby’s Bar. What fits fine in the surreal world of the music video however has a different effect on a narrative. These odd effects become obvious and give an unreal quality to the film’s world. This isn’t a complaint, it’s an observation and it works out very cool in ways that allow every shot have a great style. Flashdance, despite having a story, is extremely visual, so these effects establish the films look and complement its theme nicely.
Style, however, will only get you so far if the music and dance numbers suck. Fortunately, this film has one of the best soundtracks in motion picture history. The synthesizer score was created by the incredible Giorgio Moroder responsible for some of the best techno dance records and film scores in music history (see Midnight Express, American Gigolo, Schrader’s Cat People and De Palma’s Scarface). Flashdance relies on this and its dance choreography more than anything and owes nearly all of its success to these ingredients as well.
There are several different dance numbers that have gone on to become iconic pop-culture images recognized even by people who have never seen the film. The first sequence at Mawby’s where Alex dances to Shandi’s “He’s a Dream” sets up the fact that this is certainly not your average exotic dancing locale. We see the silhouette of Alex as she dances her way out of her power suit onto a chair and then reaches up to douse herself with a bucket of  water, adding an element of over-the-top sexiness as she whips her hair around splashing the audience with water droplets. Likewise, the final scene in which Alex auditions to get into a prestigious dance academy is set to Irene Cara’s “Flashdance… What a Feeling” the feel-good theme to the film. An empowering dance track, the song went on to be a huge radio hit, and is perfect for this closing sequence which took four dancers to create, as it’s an exhilarating dance that inspires the viewer as much as seeing Rocky win or the climatic race in Chariots of Fire. This dance is the image most associated with the film and will forever be that way. Even nearly 25 years later, this particular dance sequence was parodied in a and homaged in the Jennifer Lopez music video for her song “” along with other dances from Flashdance.
The remaining performances are no slouch though. Not even those from other characters are without merit. Other memorable scenes include the montage to Michael Sambello’s “Maniac” which is arguably the most kinetic performance. For my money though, the less discussed dances to Karen Kamon’s “Manhunt” which is performed by Cynthia Rhodes (Staying Alive, Dirty Dancing) and Beals’ dance to Laura Branigan’s “Imagination” are two of the best. “Imagination” specifically has a bizarre interpretive dance feel to sets it apart from the others. In it, Beals is dressed in a kabuki style costume dancing in front of a television blowing air at her like those old Maxell ads. There’s also a great segment in the film of the Rock Steady Crew breakdancing in the street to “It’s Just Begun” (sadly not on the soundtrack) by Jimmy Castor & the Jimmy Castor Bunch a classic of early hip-hop that still gets mixed in today’s radio. It’s one of the first times that breakdancing was widely shown to the masses and helped establish its popularity across the country as a uniquely American contribution to dance.
 Much like a music video, Flashdance is like a product of its era. If someone were to write a paper on the year 1983, I would give them a copy of Flashdance and they would probably be 80% of the way there. Womens’ roles in society, the era’s music, popular dance, fashions and style were all well documented onto this celluloid. And the film’s influence back on the culture it portrayed only further establishes it in this way. Following the release of Flashdance to theatres, the soundtrack sold like hotcakes. The off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that Beals wears in the film, and also the film’s poster, started a fashion trend that became popular for several years and still revives from time to time. A perfect example of art imitating life, imitating art. The film’s popularity was nothing short of amazing and unexpected. It was released in April opening to just over $4 million dollars. But it didn’t drop off for a while, and didn’t leave theatres until September. The film spent five straight months at the Cineplex with its biggest performing weekend actually being seven weeks after it was released. Truly, Flashdance struck a chord with its audience, and continues to do so today.
Not bad for a hokey film about a welder/stripper, is it?
 The DVD Presentation
I bought the original Flashdance DVD the day it came out back in 2002. While I didn’t have a problem with the transfer (I was just happy to get the flick in 16x9 for the first time) others did. They saw artifacts where I didn’t and some complaints were made that it was misframed, something that to this day I never did see. Now, the new DVD looks like it might have been mastered from the same negative only slightly more restored. The colors are magnificent and the blacks are deep. If anyone finds fault, no doubt they will site that the film is soft and grainy. Well, there is smoke going through the film constantly and many early 80’s movies were naturally grainy so that’s moot. The 5.1 surround track is the same track from the last DVD. It’s a pretty decent mix, although the dance scenes seem to be directed more from the front than the rears. Although even that seems appropriate since you’re technically in the audience at these shows. There is also a Stereo mix in Spanish and two Mono mixes in French and Portuguese which waste DVD space, along with subtitles for all four languages (including English) for those that require them. All in all, it’s a pretty solid presentation for the film.
And the Extras Are?
The 2002 DVD released several years ago was completely barebones. At this point, it could be said that any features would be welcome. But I’m a bit pickier than that, and when I first heard about the Special Collector’s Edition of Flashdance, all I expected was a fluffy featurette or two. I certainly didn’t expect a five-part series from Laurent Bouzereau well known for his ability to assemble great featurettes and documentaries for DVD.
The History of Flashdance – (14:41)
The first featurette reveals the origins of the Flashdance project and the creative team learning about it and getting attached. I enjoyed hearing Adrian Lyne talk about the poor reception of his first film Foxes and how Flashdance actually took several years to get made despite the studio really wanting to get it made. It’s always awesome hearing Jerry Bruckheimer talk, and the chance story behind how Jennifer Beals won the lead role is jaw-dropping in how serendipitous it is.
 The Look of Flashdance – (9:13)
This is a really interesting look at how so many of the iconic images associated with the film was made. Everything from the filming locations to special effects and the smoke and lighting are discussed, particularly from Adrian Lyne.
Flashdance: Music and Songs – (6:13)
Only 60,000 copies of the soundtrack album were released to coincide with the film. This first print run sold out in hours. This featurette is short, but gives the origins of the popular songs. It also shouldn’t be missed for the interview with the incredible Giorgio Moroder.
Flashdance: The Choreography – (10:09)
Probably my favorite of all the features, this one focuses on every dance sequence in the film. First-time choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday breaks apart each sequence revealing his vision and what he was going for in each. With the music and dance being the critical reason for Flashdance’s success, I found this beyond interesting.
Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon – (8:52)
The final featurette follows the post-production of the film, Paramount’s lack of enthusiasm for the end film, and the film’s phenomenal success that lasted for months theatrically with grosses remaining consistent all summer long. More surprising was how it influenced popular music and fashion for the next few years.
 The only thing really missing from this featurette series is Alex Owens herself, Jennifer Beals. But I would rather hear from the creators over the actors anyway. What an awesome documentary.
Teaser Trailer – (1:31)
Theatrical Trailer – (1:57)
You know, in all my years, I never remember seeing these trailers, or even looking for them. As a fan, it’s really interesting to see how the film was marketed in a way that resembled a feature-length music video, which of course it was. The teaser even uses a different font than the poster or credits used and an odd MIDI sounding synthesized instrumental version of Irene Cara’s title song. Both trailers are anamorphic too. Cool!
Previews –
While it does say “Previews” with an “s.” The truth of the matter though is that all that’s in it is a non-anamorphic trailer for Dreamgirls.
6-Track Soundtrack CD –
Paramount saw it fit to include a partial soundtrack CD with Flashdance’s DVD re-release. It’s a cool extra to have, and I say this even though I have six copies of the full album in my possession (three on vinyl, one cassette, and two CDs – the original pressing and the remastered version). Just shy of 22 minutes, the six songs included on this CD cover the more popular and important songs from the film.
- Irene Cara – “Flashdance… What a Feeling”
- Karen Kamon – “Manhunt”
- Shandi – “He’s a Dream”
- Joe Esposito – “Lady, Lady, Lady”
- Donna Summer – “Romeo”
- Michael Sambello – “Maniac”
The only song left off that is really missed is Helen Saint John’s “Love Theme from Flashdance” which is every bit as memorable as the titular song. All of these songs sound like they were pulled from the remastered CD, which has richer sound than the original release.
For a budget priced special edition, I gotta say that I’m impressed with what we get. Half the soundtrack, a great five-part documentary courtesy of the incredible Laurent Bouzereau and the original trailers. Its leaps and bounds better than the original bare-bones release. This is the best version of Flashdance we’re probably ever gonna see.
The Bottom Line
Flashdance is a perfectly made film, but it isn’t a perfect movie. Everything about it works together from the stylish direction to the empowering storyline to the soundtrack. The fashions and music might be permanently locked in 1983, but time has been very kind to the film. Today, Flashdance is a pop culture landmark which will always be remembered for its modern approach to storytelling and music.
This new Special Collector’s Edition of Flashdance isn’t overkill on the extras, but every minute of what’s here is required viewing for any fan of the film. Including the mini-soundtrack as a bonus is an inspired move by Paramount and while I’ve been a lifelong fan who has seen Flashdance at least 30-40 times (I even own the original one-sheet) even I’ve learned an impressive amount about the film’s history from this DVD. If only all so-called “Special Editions” made an effort to be this special, the home video world would be a very happy place.
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