Blu-Ray Review:
FAME
By Jason Gillard
*Screenshots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
Current Rottentomatoes.com score 90% Fresh: 19 Rotten: 2
In Alan Parker's FAME, teenagers selected for New York City's High School for the Performing Arts push their talents to the limit to make it big in show business. This episodic tale follows savvy Coco (Irene Cara), timid Doris (Maureen Teefy), gay Montgomery (Paul McCrane), macho Raul (Barry Miller), soulful Bruno (Lee Curreri), and others as they struggle to achieve their dreams of stardom while coping with the universal teenage problems of loneliness, insecurity, and embattled, mercurial identity. Cara, electric as the budding songstress Coco, shines brightest in the infectiously exuberant young cast. The film, which won Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, overflows at each corner of its loosely unfolding narrative with inspired music and dance numbers that seem to burst forth spontaneously out of sheer irrepressible emotion. (Rottentomatoes)
Sitting down to watch Alan Parker's FAME I really had no idea what to expect as I had not seen the movie before. I figured it was the standard movie where a bunch of misfit kids work hard and go through heartache to make it to the big time. Well part of that does happen, but mostly I was dead wrong. After the credit's rolled I wasn't sure whether I liked the movie or not. There were parts of the film that were good and parts that I found a little disturbing which I think was the directors intention. I also thought scenes where everyone just breaks into song and dance were a tad unrealistic. After reading the back of the Blu-ray I thought it was going to be a realistic portrayal of what it would be like to be in New York City's High School for the Performing Arts. But there is a scene in the cafeteria where everyone just starts playing and dancing together or another scene were Bruno's father plays his music in front of the school and everyone piles out into the street dancing and stopping traffic. For all of these unrealistic scenes there are some strong messages for teenagers looking to get into the business. An example of this would be where Coco is tricked into taking her top off, thinking the person is a casting director who could propel her to the big time. I think maybe this movie really shows it's age and maybe that's why I couldn't get into it. I don't think the movie was ever a classic and I can see why as the movie may not be for everyone.
7 out of 10
Video
FAME arrives on Blu-ray in a 1:85.1 aspect ratio. The 1080p transfer is surely an upgrade over the DVD releases of past, but a slight upgrade at that. I found the colours in the movie to be quite dull, with nothing really popping out at you. Grain is also quite heavy in this transfer, now usually a light film grain makes for a very nice picture, but the grain in this movie is a little to heavy which I can only imagine is straight from the source material. Flesh tones of the characters are good for the most part but in some scenes they look flush. Black levels are adequate but there are certain scenes that could have used an upgrade in this department. Detail is pretty non-existent comparing it to other catalog releases. Overall for big fans of this 80's film it's an upgrade, for the rest of us it's pretty unattractive.
6 out of 10
Audio
For the audio we get a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that tries to impress but really doesn't. There is obviously a lot of music in this film, but I never really felt it took advantage of the lossless format. The rear channels are active during the music scenes but they're really only there to fill everything in. The LFE channel in pretty non-existent. I rarely heard anything that took advantage of the LFE. The movie when not singing and dancing is a pretty centered affair. The dialogue has been mixed well and all the characters were easy to hear and to make out even when chaos is going on. The score should be the highlight of this track and it's alright, but again it should be standout and for me it wasn't. Overall I am sure a lot of this was due to the sound design in the 1980's, but they could have remixed everything better.
6 out of 10
Extras
Class Reunion commentary with branching video highlights featuring Alan Parker and cast
Lee Curreri, Laura Dean, Gene Anthony Ray, Maureen Teefy
On Location With Fame
The Fame field trip
Trailer
The extras of this film leave something to be desired especially if you're a fan of the film. The first extra is a commentary with Alan Parker. It's a pretty understated track, but he does offer some incite into the film. But unless your a big fan I highly doubt your going to sit through the whole thing. Also while the commentary is running at certain points in the film you can select to view interviews with cast members. Again this is for fans only. "On Location with Fame" is a really dated documentary that I found quite boring. The best extra on the disc would have to be "The Fame field trip". This is a documentary about the New York City's High School for the Performing Arts. They talk about what's changed and what's stayed the same and the impact the film had. Overall there isn't much here to recommend.
5 out of 10
Overall
For me this disc is a disappointment. For those who are fans of the film and own the DVD you will be getting an upgrade, for the rest of us I would steer clear!
6 out of 10