{"id":20889,"date":"2020-07-23T16:45:52","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T23:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=20889"},"modified":"2020-07-23T16:45:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T23:45:52","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-sixteen-candles-1984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=20889","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: SIXTEEN CANDLES (1984)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Special Collector\u2019s Edition Blu-ray is currently\navailable from Arrow Video (www.arrowvideo.com \u2013 www.facebook.com\/ArrowVideo\/<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you grew up in North America during the 1980s, it\u2019s more than likely that the films of John Hughes made a huge impact on your life. After working for National Lampoon and making his start as a screenwriter with the script for National Lampoon\u2019s Vacation<\/em> (1983), the artist was given the opportunity to write and direct his first feature. The result was Sixteen Candles<\/em>, a massive hit that ending up sending Hughes on a spectacular and successful journey creating films featuring young central characters, doing so with an original and memorable voice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrow Video, who also released an extras-packed edition of Hughes\u2019\nlater effort Weird Science<\/em> (1985), have now given his debut film a\nfantastic upgrade with a Special Collector\u2019s Edition Blu-ray. The movie looks absolutely\nincredible. It also comes with an assortment of bonuses, many new to this\nedition, that will make it a must-own for any fan of 80s cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film begins with Samantha (Molly Ringwald) turning 16, preparing\nfor another day at school and anticipating her family making a fuss over her\nbirthday. Unfortunately, the lead\u2019s conceited sister Ginny (Blanche Baker) is\nabout to be married and the whole house is in chaos preparing for the event. So\nmuch so that Sam soon discovers that everyone at home has completely forgotten\nabout her big day. And, if that indignity, and losing her room to eccentric visiting\nrelatives wasn\u2019t enough, our protagonist also must contend with personal issues.\nShe pines for fellow student Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling), struggling to\nbuild up the courage to talk to him. All the while, she must fend off the romantic\nadvances of the aggressively dorky Ted (Anthony Michael Hall).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What would seem like a fairly typical teen comedy is really elevated\nby the excellent performances, as well as near perfect comic timing, and the\nsharp and authentic-sounding dialogue. The movie was made 36 years ago and\nadmittedly some of the elements on display here are out of date. However, no\none watching the film can complain that writer\/director John Hughes doesn\u2019t have\na deep understanding of the teenage mindset and a perfect ear for dialogue. While\nthe situations are certainly exaggerated, there\u2019s an accuracy and empathy towards\nall the young characters that is undeniable. As someone who was around during\nthe era, this sounds exactly how kids of the day spoke and related to one another.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ringwald should be commended for her work as Sam. This\ncharacter is a very likable and relatable lead, dealing with an endless array\nof problems over the course of the feature. While the challenges aren\u2019t exactly\nlife-threatening, they clearly feel that way for this teen. Everything seems to\nbe stacked against her and Sam perfectly encapsulates the insecurities, frustration\nand embarrassment associated with this awkward time in life. Most young actors\nwould have trouble carrying a picture like this, which requires quick wit, as\nwell as awkward encounters that sometimes result in tears. It\u2019s an underrated\nperformance, and she appears to do everything required of her with ease (remarkably,\nthe performer was only 15 years of age during the shoot).   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other cast members are just as strong. Baker is very hilarious as the self-involved sister and the final wedding scene, featuring the bride on a few too many muscle relaxants, delivers big laughs. Of course, the rest of the cast are equally amusing and almost everyone gets a moment or two to shine thanks to the elaborate comic scenarios developed. While the character of Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe) wouldn\u2019t fly today, his unusual love affair with Marlene (Deborah Pollack) delivers some great physical comedy. Other members of the cast getting involved in all sorts of bizarre and bawdy shenanigans include John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Haviland Morris, Jami Gertz, Paul Dooley and even Brain Doyle Murray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this title may not possess the depth of Hughes\u2019 1985 follow\nup, The Breakfast Club<\/em>, it is one of the most effective and hilarious teen\ncomedies of its era, landing gag after gag from beginning to end. As mentioned,\nthose who pick up this release will note an uptick in picture quality, as Arrow\nVideo have given the original negative a new 4K scan. Everything is crisper than\never and every eyeroll from Sam is crisper than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the other things that make John Hughes films distinctive\nare their soundtracks. This movie is no exception, filled with tunes from the\nlikes of David Bowie, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Patti Smith, Billy Idol, The\nStray Cats and Thompson Twins. When the movie was original released on video,\nlicensing issues caused some of the tunes to be taken out or replaced. This edition\noffers the original and proper background music along with (for curiosity\u2019s\nsake) the alternate home video edition with substituted tracks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the movie first aired on TV, there was also an additional\nminute-long cafeteria scene added to the running time. It hasn\u2019t been available\nin the past, but now you can watch the movie either with the moment included through\nseamless branching, or simply see the original theatrical edition. Personally,\nI like the bonus lunch material and am glad to incorporated back in the movie.\nIt\u2019s short, adds a couple of amusing lines and doesn\u2019t slow down the pacing at\nall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The disc also comes with new interviews with plenty of the actors.\nThere\u2019s a conversation with Gedde Watanabe and Deborah Pollack about their time\non the film. They talk about how they met and were cast, working with John\nHughes, and then describe the fun they had on the set. The two also allude to more\ncraziness that was shot but never used in the final cut. Their remembrances are\nenjoyable to listen to and the pair remain close friends to this day. There\u2019s also\na funny talk with John Kapelos (who played Ginny\u2019s groom) and his time on set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The casting director for the film tells plenty of intriguing\nstories about casting and working with John Hughes. She notes that most of the young\ncast were extremely shy, including Anthony Michael Hall, and noted how the director\nmanaged to coax big performances from them. Camera operator Gary Kibbe\ndescribes his work on the feature and how it helped him advance his career (he\nlater became a director of photography and shot many of John Carpenter\u2019s films),\nand composer Ira Newborn talks about his work scoring and John Hughes\u2019 exceptional\nability to seamlessly incorporate popular music into his storytelling. Writer\/director\nAdam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City<\/em>) details his experiences as a teenage\nextra in the movie. He recalls talking to Hughes, expressing his interest in filmmaking\nand asking if he could shadow him throughout the production. He talks about his\namazement when the director immediately okayed it and what he learned from the\nexperience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s also a great archived documentary from 2008 about\nthe production that includes comments from stars Anthony Michael Hall, Paul\nDooley, Justin Henry, Haviland Morris and Gedde Watanabe, as well as celebrity fans\nof the movie. Additionally, you\u2019ll find a video essay from a critic discussing\nthe movie from a feminist perspective. She details all of the out-of-date elements\non display in the story, although the speaker also can\u2019t deny the movie\u2019s great\nperformances, charm, influence and aspects that may have been a little ahead of\ntheir time. Also included are a ton of movie trailers, commercials and other promo\nmaterial included. The only thing that\u2019s missing are the inclusion of missing\nscenes described earlier, but sadly, it appears that those bits were likely tossed\nand are gone for good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you might have already guessed, Sixteen Candles<\/em> is\nan 80s comedy classic and this new Blu-ray is absolutely incredible, giving the\nfilm a fine polish and including almost every bonus feature you could possibly\nhope for. If you grew up with this movie, then you can\u2019t go wrong in picking up\nthis disc. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Special Collector\u2019s Edition Blu-ray is currently available from Arrow Video (www.arrowvideo.com \u2013 www.facebook.com\/ArrowVideo\/). If you grew up in North America during the 1980s, it\u2019s more than likely that the films of John Hughes made a huge impact on your life. After working for National Lampoon and making his start as a screenwriter with the script […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[116,1589,1836,2923,2928,3067,4660,10868,14149,18472,18473,18474,19653],"class_list":["post-20889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-116","tag-anthony-michael-hall","tag-arrow-video","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review","tag-blu-ray","tag-comedy","tag-john-hughes","tag-molly-ringwald","tag-sixteen-candles","tag-sixteen-candles-blu-ray-review","tag-sixteen-candles-review","tag-teen-comedy"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}