Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.0 |
| Video |  | 1.5 |
| Audio |  | 4.0 |
| Extras | | 4.0 |
| Overall |  | 3.5 |
Footloose 4K Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 3, 2024
Paramount has released the fan-favorite 1984 film 'Footloose,' starring Kevin Bacon and directed by Herbert Ross, to the UHD format. New
specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio. The 2011 Blu-ray, rightly maligned for its substandard video quality and for more
than a decade in desperate need of a makeover, is also included with all of the legacy supplements. That Blu-ray included a 6.1 lossless soundtrack.
Big-city teen Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) is the new kid at school, and he's woefully unprepared for the realities that await him within his new
small-town digs. It's a small, conservative, faith-based little corner of America where popular music and dancing have been banned following the
untimely deaths of several local teens. Leading the charge is the Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow), a hard-line preacher who believes there's
no good to come of worldly pressures and pleasures. Ren's nonchalant, happy-go-lucky attitude is blasphemy, and he finds himself in trouble with
every move he makes. Nevertheless, he's quick to befriend Ariel Moore (Lori Singer), a rebellious thrill-seeker who also happens to be the good
Reverend's daughter. Ren ultimately decides that the sleepy little town's no-fun-allowed mandated lifestyle is one to which he cannot conform. His
only choice is to reshape it in
his own image, or at least convince the locals to meet him halfway. To do that, he's going to need to take off his dancing shoes and put on his
thinking cap if he's got a prayer in showing the town that God doesn't disapprove of song and dance and that a little noisy, grooving fun is just what
the doctor ordered.
For a full film review, please click
here.
Footloose 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
Paramount certainly had room to make massive improvements over the 2011 Blu-ray, and the studio's new 2160p/Doby Vision UHD presentation does
just that. While imperfect in its own right, this new 2024 release is clearly, and vastly, superior to the old Blu-ray, not just in terms of a resolution boost
or an amplification of colors under the Dolby Vision grading, but in correcting some of the major flaws found in the old release, especially the excessive
DNR that left skin looking hopelessly waxy and inauthentic and grain that was frozen and pushed and pulled with the movement of characters.
With the grain more in check with film and the basic expectations for grain management in general, Footloose is free to take advantage of the
2160p resolution offered, and the movie looks very good. While it's a bit naturally soft and not a visually dynamic image by any means, the more stable
grain and seemingly untampered detailing leave the movie looking very healthy and true to its roots. While details never reach the level of "striking" or
"excellent" or "lifelike," the improvements to stability certainly allow for nicer reproduction of skins, clothes, and environments. Though not a "looker"
by its nature, Footloose on UHD definitely stands heads-and-shoulders above the old Blu-ray and delivers a pleasingly film-like image that fans
will find well worth the upgrade cost.
The Dolby Vision colors are certainly not dynamic by any stretch of the imagination. The film's palette is definitely somewhat muted, lacking brilliance
and punch, but that's the nature of the film. Still, there's an obvious solidification at play that amplifies core colors, from clothes and natural greens to
exterior lighting (look at the 1:38:28 mark for a nice example of Christmas lights against a black sky). Speaking of blacks, there is some crush at play
in some of the nighttime exteriors and low light interiors, but blacks do hold deep rather than push to overly light or gray and/or blue. White balance is
good, though as with the rest of the colors not really as punchy and bright as some of the finer UHDs on the market. Muted and basic though this one
may be, there's still some nice solidification and amplification at work, especially those Christmas lights and lights in the dance sequence at film's end.
Footloose 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
While the UHD "downgrades" the soundtrack from a DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 lossless soundtrack on the Blu-ray to, here, a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
presentation, there's not a major difference to any area: clarity, spacing, and the like. I believe that the review for the old Blu-ray track essentially
satisfies for this presentation as well, so please click here for audio coverage.
Footloose 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
All of the included supplements are found on the included Blu-ray disc, which is identical to the previous 2011 issue. There are no extras on the UHD
disc. See below for a list of what's include on the Blu-ray and please click here for full coverage. This release ships with a digital copy code
and a non-embossed slipcover.
- Audio Commentary: Producer Craig Zadan and Writer Dean Pitchford.
- Audio Commentary: Actor Kevin Bacon.
- Let's Dance! Kevin Bacon on Footloose
- From Bomont to the Big Apple: An Interview with Sarah Jessica Parker
- Remembering Willard
- Kevin Bacon's Screen Test
- Kevin Bacon Costume Montage
- Footloose: A Modern Musical -- Part 1
- Footloose: A Modern Musical -- Part 2
- Footloose: Songs That Tell a Story
- Footloose Theatrical Trailer
Footloose 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Footloose is a decent enough movie that works a bit better than its horribly generic and transparent plot would suggest. It's overshadowed by
Dirty Dancing and even the popularity of its own theme song, but it's an entertaining enough little genre and decade footnote that still plays
well
thanks to its ever-relevant themes. Paramount's UHD release of Footloose makes amends for the disastrous 2011 Blu-ray by replacing the
DNR'd 1080p image with a much more flattering and filmic 2160p/Doby Vision presentation. It looks very nice. The 5.1 lossless soundtrack is good, and
the legacy extras remain excellent in quality and quantity. Fans are definitely going to want to upgrade!
