Flashdance is the 1983 romantic drama directed by Adrian Lyne, based on a screenplay by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri in the leading roles. The supporting cast includes Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson, Kyle T. Heffner, Lee Ving, Ron Karabatsos, and Belinda Bauer. The plot follows an 18-year-old woman named Alex Owens (played by Beals) who works as a welder at a steel mill by day and as a dancer at a local bar by night. Alex dreams of being accepted into a prestigious dance conservatory, but she lacks formal training and is intimidated by the audition process. While she is not a stripper, she and some of the other dancers at the bar are constantly being recruited to work at a local strip club by its owner, Johnny C. (played by Ving), who is a regular at the bar. Along the way, Alex catches the eye of her older boss at the steel mill, Nick Hurley (played by Nouri), and the two begin a relationship that helps her find the courage to pursue her goals.
The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray. It also comes with a digital code that can be redeemed on Movies Anywhere. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is okay, but not great. It did not receive a high-quality transfer and is not a huge upgrade over the 1080p version. All of the bonus content is located on the standard Blu-Ray disc and totals about a half hour of runtime. Those extras include a short interview with director Adrian Lyne, a couple of making-of featurettes, and the theatrical trailer.
While the movie was a massive commercial hit when it was first released, it remains a very uneven film. The story does eventually get from point A to point Z, but it gets there in a very haphazard manner, with some of the characters' actions making absolutely no sense. The movie also feels very much stuck in the 1980s, relying heavily on several music montages, including a very out-of-place, cheesy workout sequence that slows down the narrative. Additionally, the storyline of an 18-year-old employee who starts dating her older boss feels a bit creepy nowadays and would not make for a romantic story in the modern day. The acting across the board was okay, and the writing was definitely uneven. Beals did a decent job given that this was her first major acting role, after having done some modeling and having a very small part in one movie before she was cast in this film. It was a pretty big deal to have a biracial lead actress in her first major role, which still makes the movie somewhat groundbreaking. Ultimately, the movie's soundtrack, which features several popular 80s songs, is much better than the film itself, which is dated and does not hold up particularly well. However, it is still worth checking out for fans of 1980s movies, as long as you accept it for what it is and do not expect more than that.
