The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) - Helen Slater, Christian Slater (1 Viewer)

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

3 months into 2010 , and still no word on a release.The dvd format is over 10 years old , blu ray has been invented,even a commentary for a future release has been rumored to have been made.The studio must really hate this movie.

 

[Robert13]

I've been waiting for this to come out on dvd for a long time. I thought for sure it would be out by now. Why are they holding on to it for so long? They should just license it out to a company that does want to release it. I'm sure Anchor Bay or Shout! could do a proper release on it.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Looks like 2010 will leave us with still no release in site for this. I thought with the films 25th anniversary , we would finally get it.

 

[Robert13]

I have been waiting for this for a looooong time. I finally gave up and got a really nice copy through a trade a few weeks ago. Amazing that they haven't made this available on dvd. At this point, it may come out via their MOD program.

 

[ChristopherM]

Sony Columbia released this movie on DVD in Spain last year - but online retailers list it as 4:3.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Im still hopeful for a release, after the ishtar announcement for blu ray and dvd, anything is possible.

 

[JimmyT]

This is available now through Sony's deal with Warner Archive MOD. It is also listed on Amazon's site. Newly remastered, 16X9, with all new commentary. http://www.wbshop.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-WB-Site/default/Search-Show?q=1000262441&adid=1111WACsonyEml&src=ESONY11

 

[The Drifter]

The Legend of Bille Jean is one of my favorite '80's films. I had a strong interest in seeing TLOBJ back in the '80's & early '90s', and remember seeing ads for this on network TV - though for whatever reason never caught it that time. However, as the years went by, I became more & more interested in the film, especially because it gained a "cult" following over the years.

So, I finally saw the film around Spring 2012, on the DVD-R; IIRC, it took a long time to make it's way onto DVD (it was first released in 2011), at least partially because of rights issues involving the Pat Benatar soundtrack. IMHO this is a great way to see the film at this point. The print is Anamorphic Widescreen, and the Picture Quality (PQ) is fairly good. I know there's a Blu out there, but am not sure how much better that is than the DVD - which is, IMHO, exceptional - especially given the age of the film.

I enjoyed the storyline, the Corpus Christi, TX setting (I've been there a couple of times, and the beaches are great - it reminds me slightly of Florida), and the characterization. Great story revolving around how poor people (Bilie Jean & her friends) are victimized by the rich & powerful (represented by the the fat cat sleaze-bag who attacked Billie early in the film, and his entitled son) - typically, in cases like this - the rich perps. get away with their actions, while the poor people suffer. So, that's why this film was so refreshing - i.e., I liked how Billie Jean & co. represented the underdogs of society, and became "heroes" to a great extent as the film progressed.

Comments about the film:

-It was funny to see a youngYeardley Smith in a "live action" role; later, she provided the voice for Lisa Simpson on the iconic cartoon series "The Simpsons" - LOL. It's also interesting that Smith, who could easily pass for a young teen in the film (which she portrayed) was actually 21 when the movie came out in '85 (she was born in 1964).

-And, it's also worth noting that Christian Slater & Helen Slater are not related, despite having the same last name & despite having played brother & sister in the film

- Christian Slater really looks like he got badly beaten up, after he went after the kids who stole his motor scooter. Very realistic make-up, especially given that this is an '80's film.

-One of my favorite scenes was when the sleazy father - who was trying to make money off of Billie's image (by selling T-shirts with her face, etc.) was confronted by Billie Jean on the beach, towards the end. It was very fitting that his entire "operation" burned down in that fire, and that no one even made an attempt to help him - especially because he & his scum-bag son had been directly responsible for Billie's problems in the first place. Poetic justice

- If the movie had come out today, I think it would have been much more violent. I.e., I suspect that the sleazy father would probably have gotten accidentally killed in his store - instead of just getting wounded - and the kids (Billie Jean & her gang) would have been on the run for their lives. And, the film would almost certainly have ended with Bille Jean (or another of the kids) getting killed. However, given that '80's films have - in some cases - a kind of innocence about them, the ending was relatively happy for the "good guys". Which really fit the era; i.e., I can't imagine the movie ending any way other than it did.

-The very attractive Martha Gehman (Ophelia) was 30 when the film came out - though was playing a much younger character. Yes, she does look like she could be in her mid-20's, but not quite 30. She doesn't look that much older than H. Slater (who was 25 at the time). In any case, she did a great job in this film.

-There are numerous great & very cinematic shots in the film, notably:

1) A scene @ dawn when the gang is leaving the abandoned miniature golf place for the first time (near the beginning), with the sun is rising above the bridge in the background - very nice.

2) Another great scene is @ night, with the amusement park in the background - the one ride lit up with fluorescent lights is especially impressive.

 

[Ethan Riley]

I watched the Blu when it came out. I thought at the time that it was pristine.