St. Elmo’s Fire (1985/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C
I have
always been a defender of Joel Schumacher because he is one of the most
interesting directors working within the Hollywood system with an exceptional
track record, yet he has made some films I am not a big fan of like D.C. Cab, Batman & Robin and Flatliners. Just above those mistakes (about on an even
footing with The Number 23) is the
still-discussed St. Elmo’s Fire, his
first big hit and a film I always saw as a poor version of Barry Levinson’s
1982 film Diner (and a title that
seems the reverse of The Big Chill). However, as someone once pointed out, it was
the first film about this generation of these types of yuppie that was expected
to be instantly ready for adulthood in the Reagan era and how that was and is
always a doomed proposition.
Unfortunately,
the screenplay he co-wrote is too melodramatic to make this the fully realized
work it could have been about how dead end the lives here might be and inadvertently
celebrated these lives without criticizing them enough (Co-writer Carl
Kurlander moved on to junk like Saved By
The Bell, so you tell us who is the weakest link) and that is why the
uninvited “Brat Pack” moniker stuck much like Madonna’s later unwelcome
association with Material Girl.
Actually,
the cast is one of the things that save the film. Schumacher improves as a director here, while
Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Rob Lowe, Andie MacDowell, Andrew
McCarthy, Mare Winningham and Ally Sheedy became the hot new generation of
actors, even though their careers all had odd twists and turns later. However, the film has aged badly, reminds us
of the part of the 1980s that we are still paying for in a one-of-a-kind film
that is as odd as ever.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in real anamorphic Panavision
35mm film by the great Stephen H, Burum, A.S.C., but this transfer is much
softer than it should be throughout and even color becomes an issue. You also get some noise throughout that can
be distracting and depth is also limited.
Burum had just shot Body Double
for Brian De Palma and would soon rejoin him for The Untouchables, so he was on a roll. He rightly suggested the scope frame to
Schumacher for the film and it is another reason it was a hit. Note the smart compositions throughout. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is off of the old
Dolby A-type analog sound and the flaws are apparent throughout form the hit
songs to David Foster’s first film score.
Extras include
the goofy Music Video for John Parr’s hit soundtrack song Man In Motion (but not the Video for Foster’s better instrumental
theme song?), another good Schumacher audio commentary, original making-of
featurette and two new features exclusively for the Blu-ray: a new on-camera
interview with Schumacher and deleted scenes that don’t add much to the film,
but fans will like seeing.
- Nicholas Sheffo
