St. Elmo’s Fire 4K Review (Sony)

St. Elmo’s Fire is a 1985 coming-of-age drama co-written and directed by Joel Schumacher (The Lost Boys, Batman franchise, Falling Down, The Number 23, Phone Booth, 8MM, The Client, A Time to Kill, and Flatliners). It was co-written by Carl Kurlander (Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Hang Time, Malibu CA, and USA High). It was produced by Lauren Shuler Donner (Logan, Deadpool franchise, You’ve Got Mail, Maverick, X-Men franchise, Constantine, Any Given Sunday, Mr. Mom, and Pretty in Pink). The budget was $10,000,000 and it grossed $37,803,872 worldwide at the box office!!!! Seven friends that are all recent college graduates are searching for a place in the real world, as they face serious issues of career and commitment. Leslie (played by: Ally Sheedy from WarGames, Bad Boys, Short Circuit franchise, and The Breakfast Club) and Alec (played by: Judd Nelson from Making the Grade, New Jack City, Airheads, and Billionaire Boys Club) try to save their crumbling romance. Wendy (played by: Mare Winningham from Turner and Hooch, Miracle Mile, Wyatt Earp, and Nobody’s Fool) is a shy virgin that hides a secret love for the married Billy (played by: Rob Lowe from The Outsiders, Class, Tommy Boy, and Wayne’s World) that’s still searching for his own goals. Kevin (played by: Andrew McCarthy from Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Weekend at Bernie’s franchise, and Mannequin) is a cynical writer who scorns love until he realizes that he’s actually in love with one of his close friends. Kirby (played by: Emilio Estevez from Repo Man, Young Guns franchise, Maximum Overdrive, and The Mighty Ducks franchise) is a law student that obsessively pursues an older doctor Dale (played by: Andie MacDowell from Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Groundhog Day, Short Cuts, Michael, and Ready or Not). The beautiful and neurotic Jules (played by: Demi Moore from The Substance, Ghost, About Last Night, and Indecent Proposal) paints a poignant picture of life in the fast lane. At their favorite local hang-out St. Elmo’s, they experience it all. They save, betray and love one another as only the closest of friends can!!!! St. Elmo’s Fire is one of the more serious projects from the Brat Pack in the 80’s. It featured a few stars from the iconic The Breakfast Club. Director Joel Schumacher proves his versatility with St. Elmo’s Fire, he was able to master several different sub-genres over the years. I can see why some people do not like this one. Most of the main characters are kinda unlikable but I think their relationships are very strong together no matter what happens. There’s a variety of interesting subplots thrown in the mix for this coming-of-age drama. Demi Moore steals the show as the lying and down on her luck Jules. She manages to make her messed up life look great after covering up all her real issues from her friends. Andrew McCarthy is great as the vulnerable Kevin. He’s always kept away from relationships or love until now where he can’t escape it since it’s one of his friends. He is a mystery, no one really knows which way he goes. He disguises his problems being cynic and always backs it up with sharp comebacks. Judd Nelson plays the powerful and ambitious Alec with ease. He has the most success from this group and he’s not ashamed to admit it. He takes his girlfriend for granted and he sleeps around just because he can. Rob Lowe is fantastic as the chaotic Billy. He’s married with a kid but he still tempts his virgin friend because he wants to be the first with her. He is a musician that always lives on the edge. Emilio Estevez is hilarious as Kirby. He runs into someone from his past and he can’t stop thinking about her. He doesn’t even give himself a chance to catch up with what she’s been doing all this time, he goes right into trying to win her over. Ally Sheedy is top notch as the confused Leslie. She knows Alec isn’t exactly faithful but she’s just waiting for the proof while he’s trying to marry her at the same time. She’s the object of desire but she doesn’t even realize it. She gets caught up in all kinds of drama with her close group. Mare Winningham as Wendy doesn’t really fit in with this group or even this specific role at times. She was older than all of the leads. I guess it works for her character because she’s definitely the odd one out when you compare everyone. She’s still good here, I just someone else would have been better in it. The supporting cast includes Andie MacDowell, Martin Balsam (Psycho), Joyce Van Patten (Monkey Shines), Jenny Wright (Near Dark), Blake Clark (50 First Dates), Anna Maria Horsford (Friday franchise), Matthew Laurance (Eddie and the Cruisers), Gina Hecht (Night Shift), and Whip Hubley (Top Gun). St. Elmo’s Fire is basically John Hughes for adults in real life scenarios. It shows all the struggles after finishing school and what happens next. It has a good balance of drama, comedy, romance, and surprises. St. Elmo’s Fire can be a little more serious and darker than most of the stuff this popular group was making during the 80’s but that’s honestly why I enjoy it so much. It didn’t care about being something else. It’s a very mature look at life when you least expect it to change. I can’t believe it’s already been 40 years. St. Elmo’s Fire is loaded with talent, high quality soundtrack, and it keeps your attention on all the crazy situations going on here. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Sony Pictures! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is from a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. This 80’s drama has never looked better anywhere, it’s a huge upgrade to all of the past versions over the years. All of the visuals are much sharper on this UHD. It has all kinds of different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks on the disc. The audio is also a massive improvement over all of the previous home video releases especially it’s great soundtrack. All of the dialogue is crisp, the drama is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with co-writer and director Joel Schumacher. He chats about the 80’s. He talks about putting together the all star cast for this. He goes over the look of it. He brings up the characters and he shares plenty of detailed information/stories here. It has the little over 14 minute “Joel Schumacher Remembers St. Elmo’s Fire”. It’s an interview with the man behind the camera for this classic. He was making D.C. Cab when he came up with this idea. He had a rough time selling it to studios because most of the main characters are very unlikable so they didn’t see the appeal of it. He chats about The Brat Pack and the casting of this drama. He’s going into detail on why he made some of his choices. He discusses the controversial subplots here. He shows his appreciation for the music from it. He goes over it’s release and success. It has a little over 16 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes “Too Young,” “A New Car,” “How About Lunch,” “There is No Billy the Kid,” “The Woman in the Fur Coat,” “Someone Tell Me What Happened,” “I’m a Loser,” “Secret Obsession,” “Just Pick a Date,” “A Very Well-Dressed Fool,” “Where’s the Defroster,” and “That’s My Dad.” There’s some nice extended character moments in this but I can see why most of them were left on the cutting room floor. It has the almost 9 minute “Original Making Of Featurette”. It has interviews Joel Schumacher, Lauren Schuler, Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Mare Winningham, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, and Emilio Estevez. They chat about working on the film. They talk about their characters and their relationships. They go over some of the themes of St. Elmo’s Fire. Lowe even mentions that he was filming Youngblood at the same time. It has the little over 4 minute John Parr “Man in Motion” music video from the soundtrack. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. It comes with a slipcover and a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!