The Breakfast Club Criterion 4K UHD Review
“The Breakfast Club” redefined teen movies.
Written and directed by the ever influential John Hughes, “The Breakfast Club” revolves around 5 teenagers of different backgrounds having detention on a Saturday at Shermer High School. There’s Andrew the jock, John the rule breaking rocker, the nerdy Brian, the weirdo Allison, and the popular girl Claire. The judgmental Vice Principal (Richard) wants them to write an essay, be silent, and not move from their seats, but naturally they all start talking, leaving their seats, and engaging in shenanigans. Despite being very different people, the 5 manage to open up to each other and talk about their personal lives and personal demons. Maybe, just maybe they might even start connecting and seeing things from a different perspective.
Prior to “The Breakfast Club,” teen films often dealt with beach parties and dangerous youth, but John Hughes’ classic changed the game. Not only did the film deal with teen angst and the dangers of labels, but it strived to be more authentic both in terms of dialogue and characters. It wasn’t just some Hollywood version of what teens were like in the 80s. The characters within this story felt like real people dealing with real issues. It’s no wonder this film has continued to endure to this day alongside other John Hughes gems. Hughes managed to tap into something that few filmmakers before or since have in terms of teen movies. He can make you laugh out loud, show you a blossoming romance (like Allison and Andrew), and delve into deep drama like John’s abuse.
A big part of the success of this 1985 was, of course, the Brat Pack with Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, and Anthony Michael Hall. All 5 actors give arguably one of their best (if not their best) performance here with Judd Nelson particularly standing tall as the tough yet vulnerable John. Paul Gleason also shines as the hard-ass Vice Principal.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p In Dolby Vision HDR. How does it look? The 4K digital restoration maintains the grain and features sharper image quality and colors. It’s also an improvement over the Blu-ray release (which is also housed in this set).
Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Uncompressed Mono. How do the tracks sound? From the dialogue to the Simple Minds unforgettable “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”, both tracks deliver crisp audio.
Extras:
* “The Breakfast Club” trailer
* 2008 commentary by Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall on the 4K and Blu-ray
* A booklet with credits, photos, and an essay by author David Kamp.
* A 1985 AFI interview with John Hughes and a 1990 audio interview with Hughes from “Sound Opinions.”
* An episode of “This American Life” featuring an interview with Molly Ringwald.
* 51 minutes of raw deleted and extended scenes.
* “Sincerely Yours- A 55 minute 2008 documentary on the film with cast and crew interviews.
* Cast interviews from an episode of “Today.”
* “Describe The Ruckus”- A video essay which contains Judd Nelson reading John Hughes’s production notes.
* Ensemble, John Hughes and Dede Allen profiles.
* 2017 Molly Ringwald Ally Sheedy interviews and 4 separate interviews from 1984 with Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Irene Brafstein and Paul Gleason.
* “Youth Picture” (a news story on teen films), “Roller-Coaster” (another news story), and a vintage TV featurette
1 Comment »
Leave a reply to firewater65 Cancel reply
Share This Blog
Robert Ham
dmanderson
Andrea
nicklyons1
DVD Corner 
The first time I saw this was during a raucous house party in late 1985 or possibly ’86, while I was in college. I was there with a good friend who passed out during a drinking game. I was also on another plane of existence when I got caught up in this movie. I don’t know if it was a tape or on cable. While the party raged around me, I watched this movie. When it was over, it seemed that the party was, too, so I gathered my friend and we made our way home. I’ve watched it several times since and have loved it every time.