Product Description

A portrayal of the timeless struggle between innocent pleasure and rigid morality. City-boy Ren McCormick finds himself in an uptight Midwestern town where dancing has been banned.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 2-MAY-2006
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3824 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2004-09-28
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Amazon.com
Director Herbert Ross (The Turning Point) pulled a winning movie out of this almost self-consciously archetypal tale of teenage rock rebellion. Kevin Bacon stars as a hip city kid who ends up in a Bible-belt town after his parents divorce. An ill fit for a conservative community where rock is frowned upon and dancing is forbidden, Bacon's character rallies the kids and takes on the establishment. Between a good cast really embracing the drama of Dean Pitchford's screenplay, and Ross's imaginative, highly charged way of shooting the dance numbers, you can get lost in this all-ages confection, and you won't even mind Kenny Loggins's bubbly pop. Bonuses include one of John Lithgow's best performances (a bit reminiscent of Jimmy Stewart), and Christopher Penn (who sure doesn't look the same anymore) as a good-natured hick who learns to boogie. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

A classic
I saw this movie in the theatre on opening night. I still enjoy watching it. The acting in this movie is great, and the storyline is top notch as well. I think the movie represents the attitudes in small town America as they were. I know of many cases in real life that were a lot like this plot, but in real life the protagonists faired worse than Kevin Bacon. I have heard a lot of bad reviews about this movie from people who watch it today. Mostly because it is a "white" film with almost no racial diversity considering the subject matter. Well, you have to look at the social and cultural context in which the film was made to begin with. I happened to live in a small colorado town during my teen years and HELLO we only had 1 black family in the town. That was reality, as it was in many small towns. And as for the music, mind you, this was about 4 years before the forthcoming of the rudimentary forms of rap and hip hop. Micheal Jackson had more white fans than black, and most blacks listened to rock and roll. You cannot judge this film by modern standards and do it justice. I think that if you keep an open mind you will enjoy this film a great deal.

This is the best film ever made!
I loved footloose in the 80's and I still love it now! It is definitely a classic, along with Top Gun. This movie will always be one of the best - Kevin Bacon was wonderful! The soundtrack is great, too!

DISMAL IMAGE QUALITY NEEDS TO BE "CUT LOOSE"!
Herbert Ross' "Footloose" is one of those feel good flicks from the 80s that has dated at about twice the rate of most films from other decades. Its story is based in fact: that of a town ordinance that banned any form of public dancing. When Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) arrives with his family he can barely contain his distemper over the outdated law. He's young, rebellious and full of energy that just needs to be expressed. Together with the rest of the town's high school brethren, Ren resolves to challenge the law and its most ardent supporter, Rev. Shaw Moore - who lost his only son after a night of drunken abandonment and a fatal car accident and thereafter blamed rock music for everything. Moore's daughter Ariel (Lori Singer) is behind Ren's move to ditch the law. Actually, she's the model of good girl/bad girl, staying out late, smoking and making out with her studly boyfriend. The film also co-stars Chris Penn as Willard, a clutsy cowboy who becomes a high steppin' catch after Red teaches him all the right moves. And somewhere in this little trifle you'll find Sarah Jessica Parker as Rusty, another high school senior in desperate need of a better hairdo and a lot less lipstick.

Before you pull out you're wallet and cut loose you may want to consider that Paramount's new Special Edition of "Footloose" offers NO improvement over the previously issued DVD. The transfers are identical in their image and sound quality and a complete and thorough disappointment to watch. An incredible amount of film grain plagues many of the opening scenes. There's also more than ample digital grit and aliasing and edge enhancement problems to go around. Age related artifacts crop up everywhere and are distracting. Colors are muted and, at times, extremely muddy and dated. Black levels are never black but a tonal mess of brown and gray. Really, there's nothing to get excited about here. Extras include a three part documentary (it's beyond me why Paramount continues to take one documentary and chop it into three short featurettes that can't be simultaneously played) that includes interviews with the cast and crew and the film's theatrical trailer. Truthfully, though, this is not an outstanding or even ample effort for the folks on the mountain.