In Adrian Lyne's FLASHDANCE, a young woman, Alex (Jennifer Beals), strives to achieve success as a classical dancer, but economic forces require her to work as a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night. Standing in her way is an abundance of profound social obstacles, not the least of which is her boss at the welding factory, Nick (Michael Nouri), who is also her boyfriend. Alex strives to be accepted into a prestigious ballet academy, and she is furious when she realizes that her boyfriend might be pulling strings for her behind the scenes. Along the road to self-discovery and independence, Alex also struggles to accept love, come to terms with her own stubbornness, and find the inner strength to turn her lofty dreams into reality.
Edited for maximum rhythmic impact, FLASHDANCE is full of glistening bodies and metallic surfaces, powered by Giorgio Moroder's throbbing music and one hit song after another: Michael Sembello's "Maniac," Karen Karmen's "Manhunt," and, notably, Irene Cara's Oscar-winning theme song, "Flashdance...What a Feeling." FLASHDANCE marks the first coproduction between Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, who geared the film toward the MTV generation.
Theatrical release: April 15, 1983.
FLASHDANCE was never a "number one" movie, but it ran for months, its string of hit songs keeping it in the public eye. Eventually, it earned $95 million in theaters in the U.S.
Adrian Lyne had doubts about FLASHDANCE; he was asked eight times before he agreed to direct the movie.
Before FLASHDANCE was filmed, Jerry Bruckheimer and screenwriter Joe Eszterhaus searched for bars with "flashdancers." The pair returned with the news that there were none. Undaunted, the filmmakers made one up for their story.
French dancer Marine Jahan was the uncredited double who performed most of Jennifer Beals's dances in FLASHDANCE.
Excerpt: "Don't you understand? You give up your dream, you die."--Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri) to Alex (Jennifer Beals)
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital Suround Mono 2.0 - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Dolby Digital Suround Mono 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, Portuguese, Spanish - Optional
Additonal Release Materials:
Featurette - 1. The History of the Flashdance
2. The Look of Flashdance
3. Flashdance: Music and Songs
4. Flashdance: The Choreography 5. Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon
Trailers: 1. Teaser Trailer
2. Theatrical Trailer
TV Spot
Director of Photography
Donald Peterman: Director of Photography, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
Music
Giorgio Moroder: Music producer/composer
Music
Irene Cara: Famous for "Fame"
Music
Michael Sembello: Music, FLASHDANCE (1983)
Review 1:
"...Beals is a radiant, doe-eyed young beauty..."
Source: New York Times
p.C13 04/15/1983
Review 2:
"...An anthology of extraordinarily flashy dance numbers to the accompaniment of over a dozen high-powered tunes..."
Source: Variety
04/13/1983
Review 3:
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he movie surprisingly stands the test of time..."
Source: Empire
p.201 11/01/2007