Footloose appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Expect inconsistency from this Dolby Vision image.
Definition became one of these up and down elements. While parts of the film showed solid delineation, others felt loose and less than concise.
I noticed no issues with jaggies or shimmering, but the transfer did seem come with moderate noise reduction. Grain seemed inconsistent and the film came with a bit of a flat, waxy look at times. At least print flaws appeared absent.
Colors were fairly positive, especially given the usual “80s murkiness”. Though the hues didn’t pop, they came across as reasonable full and rich much of the time, with a little extra punch from the disc’s HDR.
Blacks were a little crushed at times but usually showed nice enough denseness, and shadows showed decent delineation. HDR gave whites and contrast some added pop. Perhaps the 4K reflected the shortcomings of the source, but I suspect it could look better than this spotty disc.
As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Footloose, it seemed surprisingly positive, and most of the credit went to the portrayal of the flick’s pop tunes. These presented great delineation across the soundscape, with surprisingly active material in the surrounds.
Check out the opening credits’ use of the title tune to get a sense of what I mean. Most of the number stayed in the front, but unique elements expanded to the rear in a satisfying and fun way. Other pop songs followed suit and provided a tasteful and dynamic depiction of the music.
Non-musical elements worked fine for a 40-year-old flick but didn’t succeed to the same degree. Effects spread nicely across the front channels, though they often came across as somewhat too heavily weighted toward one speaker or another.
They meshed decently well but needed a little more naturalism to movement and integration. Still, they added a feeling of atmosphere to the piece and occasionally kicked it into higher gear such as during scenes with trains as well as the tractor duel.
Audio quality varied but usually seemed positive. Dialogue occasionally represented the weak link. Most of the speech was acceptably concise and distinctive, but a little edginess interfered, and many lines seemed a bit stiff.
Effects could also come across as somewhat lifeless, but they usually appeared pretty accurate, and the louder elements presented surprising depth. For example, the train roared to life in a manner much more satisfying than I anticipated.
Where the audio of Footloose worked best connected to its music once again. Most of the songs sounded solid.
The only minor exceptions came from logical circumstances like the tunes heard in bars. Those intended to resemble source music, so I wouldn’t expect the same quality heard in the pop tunes dubbed on top of other action in the same manner as score. Overall, color me impressed with this appealing soundtrack.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2012? Though the 4K’s 5.1 theoretically lost a channel from the BD’s 6.1, both sounded very similar to me.
As for the Dolby Vision image, it lost the BD’s print flaws and demonstrated somewhat stronger colors and blacks. At its best, it also boasted superior delineation.
However, the 4K’s higher resolution also meant that the scan’s drawbacks became more apparent, so the soft shots looked even fuzzier here. I’d call the 4K a mild upgrade over the similarly iffy BD but don’t expect much.
No extras appear on the 4K itself, but the included Blu-ray copy brings a bunch, and the set starts with two separate audio commentaries. In the first, we hear from actor Kevin Bacon, who offers a running, screen-specific discussion.
Bacon goes into his lack of dance experience, the atmosphere on location in Utah, concerns about his casting, research and an undercover stint at a high school, various doubles, his initial resistance to his success, working with the others, and many notes about the film’s production and legacy.
When he speaks, Bacon shows little ego and provides amusing and frank remarks about the flick. The operative phrase remains “when he speaks”, unfortunately.
Lots of dead air mars this chat. If you can get around the many gaps, though, Bacon offers a fun look at his breakout movie.
For the second track, we hear frm producer Craig Zadan and writer Dean Pitchford, both of whom sit together for their running, screen-specific discussion. While dead air causes problems for the Bacon commentary, it doesn’t become an issue here with this chatty pair.
They cover a myriad of Footloose- related subjects. We hear of the project’s origins and difficult development process, with many notes on attempts to land a director and a lead actor. It’s very interesting to learn of the guys who almost get Bacon’s part.
We also get a lot of information about the music, and the piece includes many comments on various forms of studio resistance that popped up along the way, such as Dawn Steel’s violent opposition to the casting of Bacon and others’ insistence that the flick include a rap song. The men chat about how MTV greatly aided the film’s success and other elements connected to its legacy.
We find some notes about problems on the set such as Bacon’s irritation when they used dancing doubles and learn of conflict with director Herbert Ross. A few tidbits about deleted scenes and alterations also appear.
The track moves briskly and always remains entertaining and informative, as it offers a lot of great information. The guys also don’t pull many punches, so we get a discussion mostly unfettered by caution and banal pleasantries. This is a terrific commentary that should really delight fans - heck, I didn’t like the movie but I loved this track.
After this we encounter a 2004 documentary called Footloose: A Modern Musical. Presented in two parts, this runs 30 minutes combined and displays movie clips, archival materials, and interviews.
We hear from Bacon, Zadan, Pitchford, former school principal Dean Worsham, former students Kim Kennedy and Brent Christian, Elmore City Mayor Rachel Bailey, casting director Marci Liroff, choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett, gymnastic consultant Chuck Gaylord, stunt coordinator Max Kleven, costumer Gloria Gresham, and actors John Lithgow, Chris Penn, Lori Singer, and Elizabeth Gorcey.
The program follows the project’s roots and development, a look at a real-life community that overturned a ban on dancing, landing a director and cast, approaches to the characters, rehearsals and shooting, choreography and doubles, clothes and hair, and the film’s impact. Because the two commentaries included so much excellent information, we don’t overturn much new material here.
It’s good to hear from some of the other participants, and the quick overview of the real-life community adds spark, but don’t expect to learn much that you don’t already know from the commentaries. “Musical” acts as a decent synopsis, though, and is definitely worth a look if you don’t want to listen to the commentaries.
In addition to the film’s theatrical trailer, we get a featurette called Footloose: Songs That Tell a Story. It occupies 13 minutes, 54 seconds with a similar structure as “Musical”. We get information from Pitchford, Zadan, Bacon, Lithgow, editor Paul Hirsch, songwriter Tom Snow, music supervisor Becky Mancuso-Winding, and performers Kenny Loggins, Sammy Hagar, Mike Reno,
They talk about the impact of MTV, the integration of music into the film, casting singers, specifics of the song creation, the use of dance in the flick, and music videos from the film. As with “Musical”, we get a fair amount of repeated information in “Story”.
However, it offers a greater breadth of new notes than its predecessor, largely from the inclusion of the musicians. It doesn’t provide a terrific encapsulation of its subject, but it works well for the most part.
The remaining extras were created for the 2012 Blu-ray. Let’s Dance! Kevin Bacon on Footloose runs 12 minutes, 20 seconds and features the actor’s comments about his early career, getting the role in Footloose, rehearsals, research and shooting the film. Though Bacon repeats a bit of what he says in his commentary, he adds some new details and makes this a likable, brisk chat.
Next we find From Bomont to the Big Apple: An Interview with Sarah Jessica Parker. It fills seven minutes, 37 seconds with her thoughts on her acting career pre-Footloose, getting cast, her character, shooting the film, her co-stars, and the flick’s legacy. Since Parker, didn’t show up in the 2004 bonus materials, it’s good to hear from her here.
Remembering Willard offers a six-minute, 11-second memorial for actor Chris Penn. It provides remarks from Parker, Bacon, and Penn himself from the 2004 DVD’s interviews.
Though some of this acts as standard praise for the late performer, it’s not just plain happy talk. We get some interesting thoughts about the actor as well, and those moments make it worthwhile.
We finish with Kevin Bacon’s Screen Test (4:36) and Kevin Bacon’s Costume Montage (2:50). In the first, we see some of Bacon’s try-out footage while the actor discusses it. That commentary makes the segment more useful and entertaining.
The second simply shows a collection of costume tests, some of which already appear in “Screen Test”. No Bacon remarks pop up here, so it’s less compelling, but it’s still a nice archival piece.
A fluffy combination of movie musical and social commentary, Footloose doesn’t hold up well after 40 years. The flick suffers from a lack of flair and excitement, as it mostly presents dull characters and predictable situations. The 4K UHD offers erratic visuals, surprisingly involving and clear audio and some nice supplements highlighted by one absolutely stellar audio commentary. The 4K probably becomes the best version of the movie on video but it suffers from more issues than I’d like.
Note that Footloose is available in either a standard plastic case or a "steelbook" package. Both come with identical discs and differ solely due to those formats. The steelbook retails for $5 more than the regular version.
To rate this film visit the DVD of FOOTLOOSE
