Flashdance DVD Review

Flashdance--what a feeling! However cliché that tagline is, I just couldn’t resist, for it is the phrase that truly describes the classic 1980s dance film. Alex Owens, welder by day and exotic dancer by night, dreams of entering the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance. Through Jennifer Beals’s endearing performance, we are caught up in the sweet story of a dream come true.

Flashdance influenced an entire generation--it started it all: leggings, baggy sweatshirts, leg warmers, skintight leotards, armholes and neckholes cut off of large shirts, and the trick every woman spent hours perfecting: removing your bra while still wearing your shirt. Alex is a very empowering character for women. She works in a man’s world as a welder, and releases her feminine sexuality by dancing in a nightclub, but without stripping; she dances because she loves it, not because she wants to please men. Strong performances all around, especially from the supporting characters: Michael Nouri as Nick Hurley, Lilia Skala as Hanna, Sunny Johnson as Jeanie, and Kyle T. Heffner as Richie.

The special features of the Special Collector’s Edition are absolutely fascinating to watch, for the entire process of the creation of the film is described through interviews with the filmmakers and actors. In “The History of Flashdance,” you learn about the pre-production phases of the film: how the story was an immediate hit, although it took a couple of writers to complete the final script, and the casting process of newcomer Jennifer Beals and her fellow dancers. In “The Look of Flashdance,” costume designer Michael Kaplan tells us the reasoning behind Jennifer Beals’s wardrobe. Alex’s bulky army jackets and baggy jeans reflect her ability to keep up in a man’s world; her skintight leotards and legwarmers display her sex appeal without looking as though she is trying to be sexy. The wonderfully inspirational soundtrack of Flashdance, including the Academy Award winning song “Flashdance-What a Feeling” by Irene Cara, is discussed and analyzed track by track on the featurette “Flashdance: Music and Songs.” The success of the film and the impact on the 1980s culture is discussed in “Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon.” Audience members regularly danced along with the actors in the aisles of the movie theater, and broke into applause when the preview was shown, much to the surprise of the filmmakers.

The most interesting feature is “Flashdance: The Choreography,” for choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday and director Adrian Lyne explain the style and purpose of each dance number in the film, and what it was like to work with each dancer. Lyne wanted a dance number to involve water, for he had never seen a “wet dance” before, and the water droplets would look incredible through the stage lights. Thus the famously backlit water dance sequence was created. The dance number set to the tune of “Maniac” was choreographed in sections only when they got to the set, and the final sequence was re-created many times by the editors until Lyne was satisfied with the end result. Jennifer Beals wasn’t the most terrific dancer, and Lyne and Hornaday explained the process of casting and working with her many stunt doubles—in the final dance number of the film, four different dancers collaborated to create the sequence.

The best part of the Collector’s Edition disc set is the bonus disc. After watching the film, you will be craving the inspirational beat from the film, and the bonus is an audio CD that includes six tracks from the film, including the title song, “Manhunt,” and “Maniac.” You won’t be able to keep yourself from jumping up and dancing to the music!