Flashdance I Love the 80’s Edition DVD review |

Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri in Flashdance

Paramount Home Entertainment and VH1 celebrate the best films of that unforgettable decade in the second wave of the I Love the 80’s Collection. Thirty of the most memorable motion pictures released by the studio between 1980 and 1989 were released on DVD yesterday, February 3rd—all accompanied by a special bonus CD containing songs by some of the era’s popular recording artists.

Anyone who’s gotten hooked on VH1’s hit TV show I Love the ‘80s, with its vivid flashbacks of the decade’s people, pop culture, fashions and fads, will find plenty to love in the I Love the ‘80s DVD series. The second installation in the I Love the ‘80s film series gives preppies, punks and everyone else who loved the ‘80s a chance to take home a little bit of fun pop culture history. This unique collaboration between Paramount Home Entertainment and VH1 debuted in August 2008 with 40 of the decade’s outstanding films. In addition to the bonus CD containing four songs by some of the era’s top recording artists, the promotion offers consumers two free music downloads with the DVD purchase (while supplies last) giving them even more opportunity to relive the 80’s.

One of the films released this week was Flashdance, the 1980’s romantic dance classic, starring the forever-stunning Jennifer Beals, who currently appears in the steamy TV hit The L Word and will soon to star opposite Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli; and in an early acting role, Michael Nouri, who went on to play a number of tough-guy action roles, including Detective Tom Beck, in one of my all-time favorite below-the-radar sci-fi thrillers, The Hidden.

Flashdance became a cultural sensation, inspiring teenaged girls to wear spandex and dance shoes to high school, and set off a worldwide obsession with modern dance. The film touched everyone’s heart who watched, and introduced middle-America to the then-little-known art form of break dancing, in an unforgettable scene featuring Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon, Wayne “Frosty Freeze”, Marc Lemberger and The Rock Steady Crew, spinning uncontrollably on a piece of cardboard, to the beat of It’s Just Begun by The Jimmy Castor Bunch.

Beals stars as Alex Owens, a fiercely determined 18-year-old with the all-consuming dream of studying at the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance. Working during the day as a welder and at night as an exotic dancer, she bravely pursues her dream, undertaking an unforgettable journey that reveals the power of her convictions and teaches her the meaning of love.

Flashdance definitely gets its sexy allure from director Adrian Lyne, known for steamy titillating dramas including Fatal Attraction and 9 ½ Weeks. He brings a brave sensibility to the lens, injecting sparkle and energy into a number of now classic dance scenes.

Flashdance is presented in English with subtitles available, with options of 2.0 Surround, 5.1 Surround and Dolby Digital, in widescreen format.

Director: Adrian Lyne
Cast: Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson, Kyle Heffner, Lee Ving, Belinda Bauer, Ron Karabatsos, Malcom Danare, Philip Bruns, Micole Mercurio, Liz Sagal, Cynthia Rhodes

Original Theatrical Release Year: ff
DVD Release Date: February 3, 2009