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The Runaways Blu-ray Disc review

THE RUNAWAYS (2010, Blu-ray released July 20, 2010 – MSRP $34.95 US, $32.99 CAN)

The Runaways [Blu-ray] (2010)Director Floria Sigismondi made me feel weird. The Runaways, her first feature length film after mostly directing music videos, is a rock-biopic that flirts around the end of the ’70s when the titular teenaged all-girl band took over the world of rock and roll. Dakota Fanning stars alongside fellow teen, Kristen Stewart, playing lead guitarist Joan Jett. Casting Fanning as Cherie Currie, the lead singer of the band, was a great idea. Not because she is a good actress (I don’t think she is) but the former child star is fantastic as a sexualized-creepy-teen. Currie ends up being the youngest old-dirtbag ever. One look at old Runaways images in a Google search will confirm that. Stewart is admirable as Jett with her angst-ridden desire to be something other than what she is and Jett the true embodiment of the music she played. Michael Shannon is the sleazeball manager Kim Fowley who keeps spurting out sexist slogans such as “Jail-fucking-bait! Jack-fucking-pot!”, “I wanna see the scratch marks down their fucking backs! Now, do it again. Again. Like your boyfriend just fucked your sister in your parent’s bed.” Judy Blume this is not.

The story line, loosely framed around Currie’s book Neon Angels, plays out like all rock-ographies – how the band met and formed, their early struggles, their rise to stardom, dealing with said stardom, lesbian make out sessions, the drugs, the drugs the drugs and managerial problems (Fowley keeps yelling at the five ladies to think with their cocks – I would have a problem with that too) and the inevitable breakup. Oh, yeah, the ubiquitous Japanese teenage soft-core-porn shoot is in there as well. Isn’t that getting a little old? Obviously poetic license has been used. Viewers who previously knew the band’s tale won’t see the rape, Fowley having sex in front of the band or more of the ambiguous romance between Jett and Currie.

It’s a nice looking film, grainy with well composed shots, that are accurately translated on to the Blu-ray disc. That means, however, that the image isn’t exactly of the slick home-theatre demo disc variety. There is some slight blocking to be seen but otherwise this is a stellar high-definition presentation of Benoît Debie complex photography. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack, on the other hand, is the sound of virtual perfection, highlighting the rock-and-roll music at the centre of the film while providing a solid, enveloping ambiance for environmental effect.

The Runaways comes to Blu-ray with a fairly lackluster collection of supplements including a very, very dry commentary track with the real Joan Jett and actresses Stewart and Fanning. A couple of brief “Making-of” featurettes and some trailers round out the bonus features.

My thoughts are convoluted after viewing the film. Its message about sexism and sexuality felt mixed – is it exploitative or empowering? However, rock’s youthful energy and rebellious spirit overcome that, making it a decent film. It also made me take a closer look at some of the band’s back catalogue: http://amzn.to/bjSTdj

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