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Ferris Bueller's Day Off is directed by John Hughes.
The film stars Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey
Jones, Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, Ben Stein, Richard
Edson, and Edie McClurg. Contributors to the musical score
include Ira Newborn, Arthur Baker, and John Robie. ***
Ferris Bueller is a Chicago high school student who,
like so many others, is sick and tired of long, boring school
days. So he comes up with the ultimate plan - fake an illness
to get out of going to school, and use that day to get together
with his friend s, and do everything fun the city has to
offer. Once he is up and about, he teams up with his girlfriend
and his reluctant, constantly depressed and nervous buddy.
And borrowing the latter's father's priceless sports car,
the trio heads downtown to partake of numerous activities.
But what Ferris doesn't know is that the school's dean is
aware of his less-than-stellar attendance habits, and is
out to bust him by any means necessary. ***
The movie is a classic - one of those few eighties
movies that really stands the test of time, and never manages
to feel dated. Prior to shifting over to the world of family-friendly
cinema, John Hughes was the master of teenage angst films.
And perhaps no movie he ever participated in demonstrates
that more than this one. There are laughs to be experienced
around every corner, and yet the film is never raunchy or
explicit. It's a success on every level. ***
Ferris Bueller's Day Off's cast is one of the greatest
assets the film has going for it. Matthew Broderick brilliantly
portrays the title character. Always entertaining and always
lovable, Brod erick's performance here is arguably the finest
of his career. The other stand-out is Alan Ruck as Cameron,
Ferris' always-fearful companion from a broken home. Other
great performances include Jennifer Grey as the title-character's
uptight sister, Jeffrey Jones as the high school's over-the-top
dean who will stop at nothing to bring Ferris down, and
Edie McClurg as the dean's goofy secretary. Some brief (but
no less memorable) performances include Ben Stein as the
boring, monotone economics instructor, Charlie Sheen as
a drug addict in a police station, and former Sonic Youth
member Richard Edson as a crooked parking attendant. The
movie is filled with excellent performances. ***
Alongside its cast, another great thing the film has
going for it is the storyline, and the way the film explores
it. It's a simple, to-the-point storyline so many people
can relate to - who among us all hasn't wanted to ditch
school for the sake of having a great day? The trio goes
all across the city, and the comical scenes never stop.
The tone of the film is perfect - always comical and entertaining,
yet never raunchy or explicit. ***
Music for the film is composed by multiple composers.
Amongst them is Ira Newborn, who would also compose the
music for numerous other films/shows/artists/etc, including
the Naked Gun films. The songs featured in the film come
from a variety of sources and cover numerous genres - each
one of which always suiting a certain scene in the film
perfectly. Sadly though, John Hughes refused to release
a soundtrack album, as he felt the songs wouldn't work well
together as an album. As such, many songs featured prominently
in the film, including the Flowerpot Men classic Beat City,
are now highly sought after. Great music.... I only wish
there was a soundtrack that had it all together! Image And
Sound: This is one of those movies where I’d been waiting
for the Blu-Ray for a long time – after all, it’s one of
the greatest films of the eighties. And let me be the first
to tell you this Blu-Ray transfer does not disappoint. It’s
not the best vintage film transfer I’ve seen in HD, but
it’s certainly above average, given what I’ve seen for other
films of the same era. Detail throughout the presentation
is sharp, and there is an enhanced amount of detail I couldn’t
see in any old DVD presentation of the film. The grain level
is consistent, and never interferes with the viewing process.
My only real complaint image-wise is that a few shots look
too soft , and some facial textures lack depth. Still, a
small complaint. A lossless audio track only sweetens the
deal, bringing the dialogue and widely-diverse musical score
to life like never before. All in all, Ferris Bueller’s
Day Off on Blu-Ray shouldn’t disappoint. ---
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| Special
Features: |
This is a straight-up port of the Bueller Bueller Edition
DVD, so all of the same features are present here. There
are various making-of and other vintage featurettes detailing
the creation of this classic film, as well as a photo gallery.
Disappointingly, everything is presented in standard definition.
Still, it is a nice variety of bonus material and I’m grateful
we got anything on the disc at all. I wasn’t expecting all
the features from the previous DVD release, so this actually
comes as a pleasant surprise. ***
One complaint I must make, however – like the Bueller
Bueller edition DVD, this version of the movie DOES NOT
include the John Hughes commentary from the original DVD
release. I don’t see how hard it would have been to slap
it on the Blu-Ray port.
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