Flashdance (1983)

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

Director:

Adrian Lyne

Writers:

Thomas Hedley Jr. (screenplay) (as Tom Hedley), Joe Eszterhas (screenplay)

Stars:

Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala

Won 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Alex Owens is a female dynamo: steel worker by day, exotic dancer by night. Her dream is to get into a real dance company, though, and with encouragement from her boss/boyfriend, she may get her chance. The city of Pittsburgh co-stars. What a feeling!

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Plot Keywords:

cabaret | ballet | dancer | dance | cook | 

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Taglines:

Something happens when she hears the music...it's her freedom. It's her fire. It's her life.

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flashdance

Filming Locations:

440 S June St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$94,900,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$205,900,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Then-struggling actor Kevin Costner auditioned for the part of Nick Hurley but lost out to Michael Nouri. He was the runner-up for the part.

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Goofs

Near the end of the "Imagination" (strobe light) dance sequence, some of the black tape used to create squares on the "rice paper" backdrop alternates between untouched and torn and drooping.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nick: l'll tell you what. l'll give you the Cowboys and three.
Pete: Three and a half.
Nick: Take three, be happy.
Pete: Three and a half. l'm ecstatic.

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Connections

Referenced in The West Wing: We Killed Yamamoto (2002)

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Soundtracks

Adagio for Strings
By Tomaso Albinoni (as Albinoni)
Arranged and Conducted by Lee Holdridge
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Courtesy of Varèse Sarabande Records

User Reviews

Nostalgia

As other users have said this film is very dated, but not necessarily bad. It was looked upon as a bit of fluff that was very successful in the box office. So now, it would come across as nostalgic (in the same vein as Dirty Dancing). But the thing I do like about it, is just that. Adrian Lyne perfectly captured the time, a post disco era when Break-dancing and Synth Pop were all the rage - Who could forget the FANTASTIC theme song, sung by Irene Cara (Fame) and composed by Synth Pop genius Giorgio Moroder (I feel love - Donna Summer among many others). So what if Jennifer Beals wasn't a great actress? So what if it wasn't her dancing? (Think one of them was a break dancer from "The Rock Steady Crew" - see? All about the era!) she was a good looking girl, and this was a harmless bit of fun at the time.