ST. ELMO’S FIRE (1985, Blu-ray released August 11, 2009 – MSRP $28.95)
I’m a comic book guy. Always read ‘em. Always loved ‘em dearly. I’m sure you can understand my level of discomfort then, upon discovering that St. Elmo’s Fire, a film I remember fondly from my youth, was directed by none other than Batman-franchise assassin, Joel Schumacher. His weapon of choice to bring down a caped crusader? Day-glo colours and adult onset latex-nipplitis. With this in mind, I settled in to a viewing of the St. Elmo’s Blu-ray disc, with expectations very, very low, eyes peeled for signs of rubber diamond-cutters. While it might not be quite as solid an effort as I recall from my youth, Schumacher happily managed to avoid the pitfalls of his later films. There is a touch of requisite 80s neon here but rest assured that this is no Batman and Robin.
St. Elmo’s Fire was, at its core, a John Hughes (may he rest in peace) movie all grown up. It was the kids from Breakfast Club out of college, floundering in real life, trying desperately to find their place in the world. While not a literal continuation of Club, St. Elmo’s does follow along in its thematic content while featuring some of the same young cast members a few years on. What’s lacking is that richness and depth that Hughes was able to effortlessly instill in his characters. Maybe it’s that Schumacher’s attempts at humour feel stiff. Put on. Maybe that keeps me at arms length from the film where a movie like Breakfast Club sucks me in almost as soon as it begins. Needless to say, it was great to see this slice of the 80s again. It’s uneven but pretty entertaining. And it reminded me of grade 8.
Speaking of uneven, how about that transfer? Man, I found it really tough to like the look of this disc. You know, maybe this is a faithful transfer of the best elements available but it really doesn’t cut it for me. While the colours are vivid and there are moments of great detail throughout, some shots are just so damn soft they look to my eyes like upconverted VHS! Thankfully, the bevy of supplements save it from being a complete pass. I’ll say this for Schumacher – the man gives good commentary. He may repeat a lot of content from his Blu-ray exclusive featurette but the commentary never lets up. It’s always interesting, always engaging. You’ll also find a vintage making-of featurette, fifteen minutes of deleted scenes and an awe-inspiring 80s music video.
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