FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH - 4K Remaster - Coming From Criterion

[AndyDursin]

Awesome, totally awesome!

Though I hope Arrow does this in the UK and releases an actual 4K UHD -- preferrably with the deleted scenes tacked back in

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
The wild world of adolescence has rarely been captured with as sharp an observational eye as in this refreshingly smart, frank spin on the teen comedy by director Amy Heckerling and screenwriter Cameron Crowe—for each of whom it kicked off a hugely successful film career. Based on Crowe’s experiences going undercover as a student at a Southern California high school, Fast Times at Ridgemont High blends hormone-fueled hilarity with an almost sociological examination of the 1980s teenage experience: the shopping-mall hangouts, fast-food jobs, buzzkill teachers, awkward dates, and first experiences of love and sex. This pop-culture touchstone launched to stardom practically an entire cast of unknowns—including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, Forest Whitaker, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, and Sean Penn as stoner icon Jeff Spicoli—and broke new ground in its raw yet sensitive depiction of the realities of coming of age.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director Amy Heckerling, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 1999 featuring Heckerling and screenwriter Cameron Crowe
• Television version of the film from the eighties, featuring deleted and alternate scenes
• New conversation with Heckerling and Crowe, moderated by filmmaker Olivia Wilde
• Reliving Our “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” a 1999 documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew
• Audio discussion from 1982 with Heckerling at the American Film Institute
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Dana Stevens and, for the Blu-ray edition, a new introduction by Crowe

1982 • 89 minutes • Color • 5.1 surround • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

[Monterey Jack]

Looks like I can chuck my copy of the Waxworks Universal disc. Phoebe Cates in a new 4K transfer...

[Paul MacLean]

• Television version of the film from the eighties, featuring deleted and alternate scenes

Will this at least be in HD, or will Heckerling pull a George Lucas and give it to us in 4:3 standard definition?

[AndyDursin]

Looks like it's just the broadcast master, which is better than nothing but...maybe Arrow will release this in the UK and restore the deleted scenes back into the movie as they did on a couple of John Hughes comedies (Weird Science and 16 Candles) over the last couple of years.

It could also be the source materials were lost in the Universal fire and that's all that left but who knows, seems to be a movie-by-movie situation.

I just know what Cameron Crowe told me years ago, that he wanted the deleted scenes restored to the movie. Sadly Amy Heckerling is the one who calls the shots there since she's "the director".

[Monterey Jack]

You have to wonder, if there's a new 4K transfer, will Universal release their own UHD to cash in on the film's 40th(!) anniversary next summer. Criterion released Do The Right Thing, and Universal did their own UHD release barely a year later.

[AndyDursin]

I would bet they would. This has always been a strong selling catalog title. They are not as manic about "Anniversaries" the way Disney has been, so may not even need to wait until next year.

[Monterey Jack]

Supposedly the TV version is going to be in full HD from an IP provided by Universal, so this isn't going to be like that VHS-quality TV edit of The Thing that was included on the Scream Factory release.

[AndyDursin]

I just saw that guy's post on the blu ray board.

That's great if true and proof some of these "TV cuts" were assembled in film form before being transferred over to broadcast masters as this would be yet another one (like Superman) that had a film source and could be transferred in high def. We'll see if that's the case.

I'd have rather had the deleted scenes put back into the film but it sounds like those are gone from the Universal fire -- this is certainly better than nothing! And will be worth having even when the UHD comes out in 2022 for the movie's 40th anniversary

[AndyDursin]

Damone's privates have been restored, here to Criterion's Blu-Ray for the first time. Not that I NEED to see that personally, but for those who do...

TV version is 4:3 and legit HD, looks good. It's the true TV version also with profanity excised, etc.

The extras are pretty light. Didn't really love the 40 minute Crowe/Heckerling Zoom call because Olivia Wilde is kind of annoying as a moderator, interjects herself into it too much. The other extra is an audio recording of a 1982 AFI audio seminar with Heckerling that's probably more interesting on balance. They recycled the commentary and Making Of from the DVD of decades back.

Transfer is expectedly nice, but I really would like to see a 4K UHD of this with HDR grading, which would make the arcade and mall colors pop even more. Here's hoping

[AndyDursin]

Man, at first I thought it was just the lack of HDR, but I had a feeling the colors looked a little "off". And they are -- like feeble looking. Apparently there's already "controversy" about this.

Check out these comparison pics:

Original Blu-Ray

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/15/fast_times_ ... u-ray_.jpg

Criterion

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/15/fast_times_ ... u-ray_.jpg

Original

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/15/fast_times_ ... u-ray_.jpg

Criterion

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/15/fast_times_ ... lu-ray.jpg