[wp-review id=”102997″] Bille Jean and her brother Binx live in Corpus Christi, Texas. Binx owns a motor scooter and when the two are driving to a local place to swim, they run into a guy named Hubie Pyatt. He thinks he can do whatever he wants because his dad is a big shot in town. Hubie steals the scooter and drives off with it.

Later that evening, Billie Jean goes to the police with her friends Putter and Ophelia but the detective blows them off. When the three come home, they see a busted scooter and a beaten Binx. The next day, they go to the Pyatt’s shop to get the money for the scooter from Hubie or his dad. In a moment alone, Mr. Pyatt tries to rape Billie Jean and tries to deny it when she breaks away from him. Binx has gotten his hands on a revolver and as Mr. Pyatt approaches him, the gun goes off and hits in the shoulder. The kids have to get out of there before the police come so they all head home, pack and go on the run.

THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN is directed by Matthew Robbins and he directed DRAGONSLAYER and *batteries not included. With this, it was a teenage rebellion movie with two young Slaters (not related) and a few other young actors at the time. It has all the 80’s cheese that you might expect but it is incredibly enjoyable.

Cast
Helen Slater – Billie Jean Davy
Keith Gordon – Lloyd Muldaur
Christian Slater – Binx Davy
Richard Bradford – Mr. Pyatt
Peter Coyote – Lieutenant Larry Ringwald
Martha Gehman – Ophelia
Yeardley Smith – Putter
Dean Stockwell – District Attorney Muldaur
Barry Tubb – Hubie Pyatt

VIDEO QUALITY:

The video is a 1080p AVC presentation that has a really nice picture to it. It is grainy and there are some solid details in the images. The grain does hide some of the lines and sharper edges but it is a mixed bag. The video is obviously upgraded from the DVD version. The skin tones are natural and warm. The coloring, in general, is bright with the 80’s hues everywhere.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

AUDIO QUALITY:

The audio is a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. The sound is pretty good when it comes to the effects with a lot of stock sounds being used. The music is really nicely done with Pat Benatar’s Invincible being made famous. The voices are clear for the most part and do have a flicker of muffling from time to time.

SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING

-Audio Commentary: with Helen Slater and Yeardley Smith.

Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc

Running Time
95 mins

Edition Ratings
Rated PG-13

Region Coding
Region A

Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio Mixes
English Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles
None

THE BOTTOM LINE:

THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN is practically a cult classic with some famous lines and actors found in the movie. The characters are memorable and definitely entertaining. The video maintains the look from the period with some notable improvements in the detailing. I do wish the audio was an HD mix to get some more fidelity from the source material. The commentary is well worth checking out; especially if you know the movie well. With this releasing having one of the VHS slipcovers, it is an easy decision to pick up.