You love to hate them, you hate to love them. There is an irresistible quality to the bad men in film, whose dastardly ways lure you in and keep you rooting for them until the bitter end.
With the remake of 1981’s turbulent Endless Love out this Valentine’s Day, starring Alex Pettyfer as a boy in love with a criminal past, we celebrate some of cinema’s most notorious, sometimes misunderstood scoundrels and their paths to retribution.
John Bender – The Breakfast Club
Dir. John Hughes, 1985
Spending the majority of John Hughes’ fantastic teen film slumped over a desk and setting things on fire, Judd Nelson’s juvenile Bender is the definition of angst. Criminally minded, troubled and at times malicious, Hughes still urges you not to give up on him, with glimmers of a better person under that grubby coat and a victory that will have you punching the...
With the remake of 1981’s turbulent Endless Love out this Valentine’s Day, starring Alex Pettyfer as a boy in love with a criminal past, we celebrate some of cinema’s most notorious, sometimes misunderstood scoundrels and their paths to retribution.
John Bender – The Breakfast Club
Dir. John Hughes, 1985
Spending the majority of John Hughes’ fantastic teen film slumped over a desk and setting things on fire, Judd Nelson’s juvenile Bender is the definition of angst. Criminally minded, troubled and at times malicious, Hughes still urges you not to give up on him, with glimmers of a better person under that grubby coat and a victory that will have you punching the...
- 2/13/2014
- by Beth Webb
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Interesting thing about the movies I (we?) tend to watch again and again: They are often the most formulaic. I’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada, a tragicomedy about Anne Hathaway‘s bangs, more times than I recited the Nicene Creed in Sunday School, and that movie is almost Disney-esque in its adherence to familiar plotting. That’s just what I like in rewatchable cinema: a gentle retread of everything I understand to be a normal, comforting movie arc. Sigh. I want to pop corn just typing that.
Enter Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann‘s debut film that cannot hit you hard enough with “ugly duckling” movie tropes. If we judged this movie based on plot alone, we’d be hard-pressed to find anything resembling the unexpected. It even concludes with a triumphant dancefloor lift, a la Dirty Dancing. But what matters — and this goes for Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge...
Enter Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann‘s debut film that cannot hit you hard enough with “ugly duckling” movie tropes. If we judged this movie based on plot alone, we’d be hard-pressed to find anything resembling the unexpected. It even concludes with a triumphant dancefloor lift, a la Dirty Dancing. But what matters — and this goes for Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge...
- 11/13/2013
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
Blu-ray Release Date: April 30, 2013
Price: Blu-ray $14.99
Studio: Lionsgate
The acclaimed 1992 comedy movie Strictly Ballroom was director Baz Luhrmann’s first film, before he wowed audiences with the visually stunning Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and Australia.
The romance follows maverick dancer Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio, TV’s Adrenalin Junkies) who risks his career by bringing on a new, unknown partner (Tara Morice, TV’s Dance Academy) and performing an unusual routine.
Based on an idea by Luhrmann, the movie was co-written by the director and Craig Pearce, Luhrmann’s writing partner on Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!.
Strictly Ballroom was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical.
On Blu-ray, the independent film comes with these special features:
featurette “Strictly Ballroom: From Stage to Screen”featurette “Samba to Slow Fox Dance”deleted scenedesign gallery with narrationaudio commentary with Lurhmann, production designer Catherine Martin and choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell.
Price: Blu-ray $14.99
Studio: Lionsgate
The acclaimed 1992 comedy movie Strictly Ballroom was director Baz Luhrmann’s first film, before he wowed audiences with the visually stunning Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and Australia.
The romance follows maverick dancer Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio, TV’s Adrenalin Junkies) who risks his career by bringing on a new, unknown partner (Tara Morice, TV’s Dance Academy) and performing an unusual routine.
Based on an idea by Luhrmann, the movie was co-written by the director and Craig Pearce, Luhrmann’s writing partner on Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!.
Strictly Ballroom was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical.
On Blu-ray, the independent film comes with these special features:
featurette “Strictly Ballroom: From Stage to Screen”featurette “Samba to Slow Fox Dance”deleted scenedesign gallery with narrationaudio commentary with Lurhmann, production designer Catherine Martin and choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell.
- 2/8/2013
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
Strictly Ballroom is an interesting film. It takes the timeless tale of The Ugly Duckling and sets it in a ballroom dancing atmosphere. Conceived by Australian writer/director, Baz Luhrmann, Strictly Ballroom is the first installment in The Red Curtain Trilogy, a trio of films that feature theater-related romance. The other films in the trilogy include Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge!.
Originally a stage musical, Strictly Ballroom tells the story of a ballroom dancer named Scott Hastings played with very little affect by Paul Mercurio. He has his own style of dancing which puts him in a little bit of trouble with his family and friends. His dance partner ditches him during tryouts for a ballroom dancing competition and it is then up to Scott to find another partner to practice with. He eventually finds help in Fran (Tara Morice), an “ugly duckling” who frequents the dance studio. Together they...
Originally a stage musical, Strictly Ballroom tells the story of a ballroom dancer named Scott Hastings played with very little affect by Paul Mercurio. He has his own style of dancing which puts him in a little bit of trouble with his family and friends. His dance partner ditches him during tryouts for a ballroom dancing competition and it is then up to Scott to find another partner to practice with. He eventually finds help in Fran (Tara Morice), an “ugly duckling” who frequents the dance studio. Together they...
- 12/18/2010
- by Randall Unger
- JustPressPlay.net
Chicago – A few weeks ago, we acclaimed the beauty of the Blu-ray releases of Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet.” Oh what a difference a studio can make. While Fox treated those Luhrmann films with HD respect, Disney has decided to release his first film, the great “Strictly Ballroom” in a lackluster standard DVD special edition that would have been great in 2006 but times have changed.
DVD Rating: 3.0/5.0
The most terrifying thing about the “Strictly Ballroom: Special Edition” may not be that it’s lackluster in comparison to the great Blu-rays of “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet” but that it appears to not be a tie-in to those releases but something far more terrifying. The back of the DVD case says “The Film That Started the Dancing With the Stars Phenomenon!” Really?!?! A 1992 Australian film that made $12 million inspired “Dancing With the Stars”?!?! What’s next? A...
DVD Rating: 3.0/5.0
The most terrifying thing about the “Strictly Ballroom: Special Edition” may not be that it’s lackluster in comparison to the great Blu-rays of “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet” but that it appears to not be a tie-in to those releases but something far more terrifying. The back of the DVD case says “The Film That Started the Dancing With the Stars Phenomenon!” Really?!?! A 1992 Australian film that made $12 million inspired “Dancing With the Stars”?!?! What’s next? A...
- 12/1/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.