Flashdance (1983)

Director:

Adrian Lyne

Writers:

Thomas Hedley Jr. (screenplay) and
Joe Eszterhas (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 April 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Music

Tagline:

Every day, she works in a man's world. Every night, she dances through the universe that is her dream.

Plot:

A Pittsburgh woman with two jobs as a welder and an exotic dancer wants to get into ballet school.

Plot Keywords:

Dancer | Dance | Ballet School | Steel Worker | Footsie Under The Table

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Beals	...	Alex Owens
Michael Nouri	...	Nick Hurley
Lilia Skala	...	Hanna Long
Sunny Johnson	...	Jeanie Szabo
Kyle T. Heffner	...	Richie
Lee Ving	...	Johnny C.
Ron Karabatsos	...	Jake Mawby
Belinda Bauer	...	Katie Hurley
Malcolm Danare	...	Cecil
Philip Bruns	...	Frank Szabo (as Phil Bruns)
Micole Mercurio	...	Rosemary Szabo
Lucy Lee Flippin	...	Secretary
Don Brockett	...	Pete
Cynthia Rhodes	...	Tina Tech
Durga McBroom	...	Heels
Stacey Pickren	...	Margo
Liz Sagal	...	Sunny
Norman Scott	...	Normski
Mr. Freeze	...	Mr. Freeze (as Marc Lemberger)
Frosty Freeze	...	Frosty Freeze (as Wayne Frost)
Prince Ken Swift	...	Prince Ken Swift (as Kenneth Gabbert)
Crazy Legs	...	Crazy Legs (as Richard Colon)
Robert Wuhl	...	Mawby's Regular
Steve Price	...	Mawby's Regular
Matt Landers	...	Mawby's Regular
Darren Roy	...	Mawby's Regular
Frank Pesce	...	Mawby's Regular
Larry John Meyers	...	Welder #1
David DiManna	...	Welder #2
Helen Dexter	...	Dancer at Repertory #1
Mark Anthony Moschello	...	Dancer at Repertory #2
Debra Gordon	...	Dancer at Repertory #3
Erika Leslie	...	Blonde Skater
Jim McCardle	...	Ice Rink Official #1
Ernie Tate	...	Ice Rink Official #2
Bettina Birnbaum	...	Stripper #1
Deirdre L. Cowden	...	Stripper #2
Colin Hamilton	...	Maitre D'
Tony De Santis	...	Waiter #2 (as Tony de Santis)
Marjean Dennis	...	Woman at Restaurant
Bob Harks	...	Priest
Ann Muffly	...	Woman at Hanna Long's
Henry Crowell Jr.	...	Racquetball Player (as Hank Crowell)
Frank Tomasello	...	Harry
Jumbo Red	...	Grunt
Evette De Marco	...	Ballet Dancer
Richard Fritz	...	Ballet Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mike Berro	...	Dance Judge #5 (uncredited)
Monique Gabrielle	...	Stripper (uncredited)
Joe Shelby	...	Street Person (uncredited)

Directed by
Adrian Lyne

Writing credits
Thomas Hedley Jr.		(screenplay) (as Tom Hedley) and
Joe Eszterhas		(screenplay)
Thomas Hedley Jr.		(story) (as Tom Hedley)

Produced by
Jerry Bruckheimer	....	producer
Peter Guber	....	executive producer
Tom Jacobson	....	associate producer
Lynda Obst	....	associate producer (as Lynda Rosen Obst)
Jon Peters	....	executive producer
Don Simpson	....	producer

Original Music by
Giorgio Moroder

Cinematography by
Donald Peterman		(director of photography) (as Don Peterman)

Film Editing by
Walt Mulconery
Bud S. Smith		(as Bud Smith)

Casting by
Gretchen Rennell

Production Design by
Charles Rosen

Set Decoration by
Marvin March

Costume Design by
Michael Kaplan

Makeup Department
Rick Sharp	....	makeup artist
Robert L. Stevenson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Tom Jacobson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marty P. Ewing	....	second assistant director (as Marty Ewing)
Albert M. Shapiro	....	first assistant director (as Albert Shapiro)

Art Department
Walt Hadfield	....	construction coordinator (as Walton D. Hadfield)
Mark Wade	....	property master
Camille Abbott	....	production illustrator (uncredited)
Andrew Probert	....	pre-production artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Don Digirolamo	....	sound re-recording mixer
Louis L. Edemann	....	sound effects editor
Robert Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer
David W. Gray	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as David Gray)
Cecelia Hall	....	sound effects editor
Sean Hanley	....	looping editor
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Buzz Knudson)
George Watters II	....	sound effects editor
James E. Webb	....	sound mixer (as Jim Webb)
Crew Chamberlain	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Dan O'Connell	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects
Marvin Gardner	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Joe Dunne	....	stunt coordinator
Louie Elias	....	stunts
George Fisher	....	stunts
Ted Grossman	....	stunts
Victor Paul	....	stunts
George Robotham	....	stunts
John Robotham	....	stunts
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt driver (uncredited)
Sharon Shapiro	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Victoria Vanderkloot	....	stunt double: Jennifer Beals (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John J. Connor	....	camera operator
Kal Manning	....	gaffer (as Wright K. Manning)
Herb Ritts	....	still photographer: photographs on the wall
John R. Shannon	....	still photographer
Dickson P. Sorensen	....	additional photographer
Calvin Sterry	....	key grip
Albert Watson	....	still photographer: photographs on the wall
Clay H. Wilson	....	dolly grip (as Clay Wilson)
Richard Clark	....	video playback supervisor (uncredited)
Lawrence Grauman	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Norman Lang	....	electrician (uncredited)
Keith Peterman	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Scott Rathner	....	second assistant camera: Pittsburgh (uncredited)

Casting Department
Donna M. Belajac	....	location casting
Matt Casella	....	casting assistant
Rita Clarke Holt	....	location casting
Julie Selzer	....	casting assistant
Franklyn Warren	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Paula Cain	....	costume supervisor
Mark Peterson	....	costumer: men
Bobbie Read	....	costumer: women

Editorial Department
Richard Alderete	....	associate editor
Robert Lederman	....	associate editor (as Bob Lederman)
Mitchell Sinoway	....	associate editor
M. Scott Smith	....	associate editor (as Scott Smith)

Music Department
Jim Henrikson	....	music editor
Sylvester Levay	....	conductor (as Sylvestor Levay)
Sylvester Levay	....	music arranger (as Sylvestor Levay)
Phil Ramone	....	music supervisor
Russ Regan	....	music consultant: PolyGram Records
Ken Topolsky	....	music coordinator
Michael Boddicker	....	musician (uncredited)
Sylvester Levay	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Joel Marrow	....	transportation coordinator
Dan Marrow	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Joanie Blum	....	script supervisor
Anne Coe	....	assistant: Mr. Lyne
Mauri Syd Gayton	....	assistant: Mr. Jacobson (as Mauri Syd Blumenfeld)
Dennis Grisco	....	animal trainer
Enid Hertz	....	assistant: Mr. Simpson
Jeffrey Hornaday	....	choreographer
David Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Bruckheimer
Casey Silver	....	assistant: Mr. Lyne
Karen Standard	....	assistant: Mr. Bruckheimer
John R. Woodward	....	location manager
Mary Lou Devlin	....	production secretary (uncredited)
David Israel	....	location manager (uncredited)
Marine Jahan	....	dance double: Jennifer Beals (uncredited)
Charles Newirth	....	location manager (uncredited)

Thanks
Michele Casale	....	the producers wish to thank

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)
• PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (as A Polygram Pictures Production)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (2012) (Australia) (theatrical) (2K Digital re-issue)
• Cinema International Corporation (1983) (Greece) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1983) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1983) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1983) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2003) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2003) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1987) (Greece) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• The Movie Channel (TMC) (1984) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Modern Film Effects  titles and optical effects
• Animal Talent  animal training
• Pennsylvania Bureau of Motion Picture & Television Development  the producers wish to thank
• City of Pittsburgh  the producers wish to thank
• Los Angeles Ballet  courtesy of: Evette De Marco and Richard Fritz
• Varèse Sarabande  courtesy of: "Adagio for Strings"
• Casablanca Records  original soundtrack album on (as Casablanca Records and Tapes)
• Central Casting  extras casting (uncredited)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Inter Video  24 frame video playback (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | South Korea:18 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:6 | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Portugal:M/6 | Brazil:10 | Norway:12

Filming Locations:

Bob Hope Patriotic Hall - 1816 S. Figueroa Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Before Kyra Sedgwick auditioned for a role here, she was instructed by her agent to wear a leotard, heels and no tights. She wore, instead, a miniskirt and heels and auditioned for director Adrian Lyne whom she berated when he took a call during her audition.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alex is dancing in the red suit and white face makeup, she just has the red suit on. When we see her again moments later, she has blue leggings on underneath the skirt, which weren't there before.

Quotes:

Frank Szabo:You girls eat like pigs.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "NCIS: Identity Crisis (#5.4)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is

Flashdance clearly provides what many viewers want

There are already many comments on this film in the IMDb database, and I had no intention of writing another until to my surprise I noticed that it was frequently being replayed on several different local TV channels. Flashdance is a very outdated movie that has never appealed to most film critics, so I felt this was sufficiently unusual to justify an attempted explanation.

Since the DVD of Flashdance was released, it has appeared for hire in many small local convenience stores and service stations that only maintain a very small rack of films for hire Clearly although it is now very much of a period movie, it continues to retain an enormous appeal for many of those who have seen it before. Personally I have watched our tape of Flashdance more often than most of the other tapes we have at home. This is not because it would be my first choice, but because it is a film that my wife loves to watch again and again; whilst I find I can view it repeatedly more readily than many of her other favorite tapes, so when we are discussing what to view and have rejected a number of other possibilities we tend to turn back to Flashdance. This reinforces the comments already made in your database about Flashdance being a "feel good" movie for which most people seem able to ignore the faults and just enjoy the music, the dancing and the romance. (It also features "Grunt", a very appealing dog, who remains one of the reasons why my wife is always ready to rewatch this film.) As a film Flashdance is therefore something of a paradox. Originally the final product was not very highly regarded by the studio and only received a limited release. This was severely panned by most of the critics, and not surprisingly the film initially received very little support from the public. The reviews and the low attendance led to plans to withdraw it from circulation early, but before these were implemented the audiences started to grow and continued to increase until cinemas showing the film were mostly packed out. Clearly those few who saw the film at an early showing started telling their friends to ignore the critics and see it. This escalated exponentially until the film finished up as a major hit. In commenting on this film it would be equally invalid to ignore the very real concerns of the critics or the equally real appeal it had, and still seems to have, for most of the public.

The story is trite - a female welder in a steelworks dreams of being a ballet dancer and practices her dancing in one of the local bars at night. Here she meets and starts to fall in love with her fairly young divorced boss. With his support she is able obtain an audition with a major dance company who are essentially only interested in her dance training, and lose any interest they may have had when she says she has never attended a dance school. However she proceeds to audition for the very bored selection committee and gives an electrifying free dance performance that in true fairy story tradition brings the committee to its feet. Some critics have complained that doubles replaced the star Jennifer Beals for this sequence, but this is surely not important - the real question is how effectively the film plays, and this sequence has rightly been very widely admired. About the time the film was released, modern dance companies were being formed alongside traditional ballet companies in many major cities in North America and this sequence certainly added to the appeal of the film at the time, but it is decidedly not the only reason for watching it.

I could spend pages criticizing the screenplay in several different respects, but other comments in your database have already done this, and these criticisms are ultimately not damming. The important thing is that the film maintains an ongoing flow which sweeps most viewers along and earns it a place as one of the finer musical comedies to have been released in the past quarter century. The object of a film is to entertain the public and in ranking Flashdance I feel I must base my rating on its undeniable success in doing just this. So 7 out of 10.