At Shermer High School, five students are there on a Saturday for detention. Andy and Claire are the only two that are in the same social circles. Bender is a troublemaker, Brian is a nerd, and Allison is insane. Running the detention is Vice Principal Dick Vernon and he can think of a lot of different things he’d rather be doing on a weekend than policing these hooligans. He gives the kids an assignment of writing a 1000-word essay about “who you think you are”. They have 8 hours and 54 mins until they can leave… a lot can happen in that amount of time.
THE BREAKFAST CLUB is written and directed by the late, great John Hughes. He had this way of entertaining moviegoers with relating the exaggerated situations to something the audience may have closely experienced. He did everything from the high school experience to family vacations. This was Hughes’ second time working with Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald as they were both in the comedy classic, SIXTEEN CANDLES.
This is one of those films that everyone has either seen or has some knowledge about it. Over the last 30 years, there have been countless movies that either take a cue or reference this classic in some way. There is so much “teenage angst” that you can cut it with a knife. This was also the birth of The Brat Pack. The group consisted of Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. Most of them couldn’t escape the stigma of being in the group and their careers never got too far off the ground.
I love this movie and that’s part of why I can easily call it a classic. There are so many memorable moments and, for most people, this was the first movie about adolescence that really hit the mark. Even for the super-popular, their high school experience had a thin-candy shell that was a struggle to make it through from day-to-day.
Cast
Emilio Estevez as Andrew Clark “The Jock”
Anthony Michael Hall as Brian Ralph Johnson “The Brain”
Judd Nelson as John Bender “The Criminal”
Molly Ringwald as Claire Standish “The Princess”
Ally Sheedy as Allison Reynolds “The Basket Case”
Paul Gleason as Richard “Dick” Vernon
John Kapelos as Carl “The Janitor”
I have seen this movie so many times and I can easily say that this is the best the film has ever looked. The new 4k scan is a 1080p AVC transfer and the end result is so clean. The images are a bit clearer than the not-so-old 25th anniversary release, but it’s the coloring that stands out the most. The film is vivid with brilliant blues in Andy’s clothing, the blue neon in the library, and Claire’s fiery ginger hair. The images are also clear, bringing new life to the three-decades-old movie. There is a natural grain and I think that the release would’ve been selling itself short without it. The images are crisp and sharp, as well as highly detailed. In a few of the darker scenes, there is a little bit of black crushing, but not enough to distract the viewer. Universal put a lot of care into authoring an excellent release.
When the movie opens with the drums from the theme song “Don’t Forget About Me” by Simple Minds, it rumbled in my home theater. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is on point. I’m guessing it’s the same mix from the 25th anniversary release, but either way, it sounds great. The music is the stand-out here. This movie’s soundtrack is superb, so making sure the mix is cleanly separated in the 5.1 setup had to be a priority. The treble and bass are smooth and never overdriven. This is a great example of doing the audio right.
The supplements are excellent and are great for old and new fans. The only new feature to the release not from the 25th Anniversary release is the trivia track.
Bonus Features:
-Audio Commentary with Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall: This is a good commentary as the pair talk about everything from the movie. It’s definitely a feature to check out.
-Accepting the Facts: THE BREAKFAST CLUB Trivia Track: The trivia track is as long as the entire movie and has good trivia that some fans might not even know.
-Sincerely Yours: This is an older 12-part featurette about the movie and an in-depth look at the characters.
-The Most Convenient Definitions: The Origins of the Brat Pack: The featurette explains how the name “The Brat Pack” came to life and how it has helped/hurt the actor’s careers.
-Theatrical Trailer
Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
Digital copy
Running Time
97 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated R
Region Coding
Region Free
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French DTS 2.0
Spanish DTS 2.0
German DTS 2.0
Spanish DTS 2.0
Italian DTS 2.0
Japanese DTS 2.0
Subtitles
English SDH
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Japanese
German
Arabic
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
Hindi
Icelandic
Italian
Norwegian
Swedish
I can’t believe that this is the 30th anniversary of THE BREAKFAST CLUB. The release has been cleaned up by a new video transfer with brighter colors and better realistic skin tones. The audio sounds great as well. I was expecting a lot of new bonus features, but I’m glad they’ve included the ones that made it and the all-new trivia track. Either way, this is a must-have movie and a must-see that still holds up 30 years later. If you don’t own this on Blu-ray, this is the version to pick up.
