Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Heathers Blu-ray Movie Review

Que Sera, Sera.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 25, 2008

Greetings and salutations!

The Teen Angst genre is certainly nothing new to Hollywood, and the decade of the 1980s seemed to have the market cornered for such films. Two prime examples immediately spring to mind, the 1985 John Hughes soul-searcher The Breakfast Club and the 1989 Michael Lehmann cult classic Heathers. A staple of the home video market and a cornerstone of cable television broadcast schedules, The Breakfast Club is certainly the more popular of the two, and is arguably the better film. Certainly more refined, boasting a bigger and better cast, higher production values, and a director who has established himself as one of Hollywood's elite power players of the past quarter century, The Breakfast Club is the model by which all other films of its kind are judged. Still, Heathers is perhaps the most sinister and darkly comedic film ever to depict that hodgepodge of culture, curiosity, confusion, and confrontation that is life as a high school student. A film dealing with issues ranging from revenge, acceptance, exclusion, emotion, and even murder and suicide, Heathers is a film that is not necessarily a tough watch, but is one that simmers on the brain long after the disc stops spinning. The film is part fantasy, certainly exploring territory that is clearly taboo, but handling the material with a sense of purpose. While viewers will likely leave the film with a different take on what it is trying to say, there is little doubt that the primary theme of the film is the importance of individuality, in that regard the film's message similar to that of the recent animated hit Kung Fu Panda, but obviously told with darker undertones and mature themes.

Heather Chandler faints in awe at the sight of the Limited Edition release of 'Heathers.'

Veronica (Winona Ryder, Edward Scissorhands) belongs to the most popular clique in high school, the "Heathers," so named for the three other members who share that same first name. Nevertheless, she finds herself becoming more and more discontent with the popular clique culture and begins a physical and emotional relationship with the school's rebel, J.D. (Christian Slater, Broken Arrow). The two share a desire to see the Heathers -- and the school's hierarchy in general -- collapse, and the logical first step, of course, of is to eliminate the source of the problem. While Veronica doesn't necessarily see eye-to-eye with J.D., disagreeing that killing one of the Heathers outright is the right approach, the couple wind up doing just that, and forging a suicide note to cover their tracks. Soon thereafter, Heather becomes more popular than ever in death, and the subject of suicide is the talk of the school. Using the suicidal trend as cover, J.D. plans the staged murders of two of the school's football jocks -- Ram and Kurt -- after they spread a particular nasty rumor degrading Veronica. Veronica again reluctantly takes part, and only after the murders does she begin to see J.D.'s potential for large-scale tragedy, and she must do all she can to prevent him for going any further.

One theme that might strike viewers during a screening of Heathers is one that showcases that the appearance of the "ideal" life may, in fact, be far less than ideal. Veronica is a girl who seems to have it all, living a life for which most high school girls long. She's attractive, intelligent, the owner of a trendy wardrobe, has the eye of the school's most popular football jocks, and is a member of the school's most elite clique. She also lives a home life with two caring parents in a rather nice house. Nevertheless, she exhibits signs of regret and remorse, clearly not enjoying her status amongst the elite, having turned into someone she doesn't recognize. Veronica has abandoned her childhood friends because the other members of her group don't approve of them. She becomes visibly flustered when the group plays a cruel joke on the school's shy, overweight loner. Even her home life is marked by simple routine. The film depicts Veronica spending only fleeting moments with her parents, each conversation ending in the same old joke as she eats the same old snack, making the same old excuse for why she must leave their company, generally for something she doesn't even want to do, all in the name of "fitting in." Her life is superficially satisfying to the casual observer, but it leaves her unfulfilled because she is everything but herself.

Veronica's desire to better herself, to escape from the doldrums, and to replace the vacuousness of her existence with meaningful relationships and activities that promote self-worth and, hopefully, a sense of inner peace, leads her to a relationship with J.D., a loner in whom she finds a romantic connection and a mutual desire to break from the norm and expose the lies and false pretenses behind which the school's most popular students hide. She at first allows herself to stand steadfastly behind J.D.'s morbid sense of payback, taking part in the deaths of several classmates with only a hint of remorse. Soon, she realizes that not only is J.D. taking things too far, but that she has again become a slave of sorts to another lifestyle, this one with far more dire consequences than cruel jokes and the shunning of longtime friends. In addition, Veronica notes in her diary that those superficial classmates she so tired of have, in death, gained those qualities she so desires to come out in her life: "Heather depth, Kurt a soul, Ram a brain." Veronica certainly possess all three of these qualities, and the film brilliantly portrays how they all three fall to the wayside in favor of the shallowness, soullessness, and blind obedience of peer pressure, of a desire to be something other than an individual, of searching for the wrong answers in a quest to escape from such an unfulfilling lifestyle.

Heathers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Heathers enters the hallowed halls of Blu-ray with a generally pleasing 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer. Certain segments of the image look hazy and washed out, although the movie has never looked particularly sharp and clear. Nevertheless, the disc manages to offer a level of detail and color reproduction not seen on the previous DVD release, particularly the "THX" 2001 DVD release. There are some major differences between these releases, the most obvious being the drastic reduction in grain and print speckles. The upconverted DVD image appeared plenty worn, with rather heavy amounts of grain visible in most every shot. Colors also appeared worn down, and the image lacked much in the way of fine detail. The Blu-ray offers a much smoother, far less grainy image, but detail doesn't necessarily suffer. An outdoor croquet game as seen in chapter three, for example, reveals far more in the way of depth and fine detail in the lawn and shrubs. Color reproduction of both the greenery and the bright clothing is stronger in the sequence, too. Flesh tones also appear warmer on the Blu-ray; the DVD exhibited pale, almost ghastly-in-appearance characters. Black levels are fairly stable throughout this release. The Blu-ray release is a marked improvement in practically every area, and fans will likely be pleased with the results.

Heathers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Heathers enrolls on Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Please note that the although a DTS logo appears on the disc's artwork, there is no DTS track, or any track other than the TrueHD track, available on this disc. This multi-channel lossless mix is rather front heavy. Chapter 12 offers the first moderately impressive audio experience of the film; the song Teenage Suicide Don't Do It is blasted through a sound system that plays with some vigor and presence, and a gunshot heard shortly thereafter packs a noticeable punch that slightly reverberates through the chest. A few student-body cheers at a pep rally in the school gymnasium in chapter 19 offer up decent quality that makes for a nice, semi-realistic moment, one of the best the track has to offer. Dialogue reproduction is the disc's strong suit, never missing a beat and always coming across loudly and clearly enough. While Heathers is not the sort of material that sells multi-thousand dollar home theater systems, fans will appreciate the slightly more clear and robust lossless offering and the subtle improvements offered over the previous DVD soundtracks.

Heathers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Despite the front cover's proclalamtion of a "20th High School Reunion Edition," there is not much new here in terms of supplemental features compared to the 2001 DVD release. All of the major supplements have been ported over, a new featurette being the primary addition. An audio commentary with director Michael Lehmann, producer Denise Di Novi, and writer Daniel Waters is first. This easygoing track is neither too dry and technical, nor too goofy and meaningless. These participants find the perfect pace, recounting everything from the influence of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket to casting the film's most important roles. Fast Film Facts is a standard pop-up trivia track that provides some nice background information on the film, though it simply repeats various facts as described in the commentary track. Two featurettes are next. First up is the new one, Return to Westerburg High (1080i, 21:21). Here, writer Daniel Waters, producer Denise Di Novi, Michael Lehmann recount their experiences making the film. Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads (1080i, 30:01) once again features Waters, Lehmann, and Di Novi recounting their experiences together, much of the information beginning to overlap. Various members of the cast, including Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, also chime in throughout the feature. Finally, the film's trailer (480p, 1:50) concludes this disc-based supplemental package.

This Blu-ray edition of Heathers comes housed in a limited edition locker, inside of which may be found several additional bonus features. The locker measures approximately 9" in height, 3" in width, and 6" in depth. The locker door actually does open and close (without the use of the fake locking mechanism). Inside their locker, buyers will find three items. First is a series of Heathers-related magnets, some in varying sizes with words, pictures, and products as seen in the film. Also included is a fake Algebra II book that features a front and rear flap decorated as if by a series of students who have used the book over the years, but the pages are actually a box that houses one of three Heathers-themed T-Shirts (a white one that says, "Big Fun," or one of two black shirts that say either, "What's Your Damage?" or "Greetings and Salutations," sized large and manufactured by Fruit of the Loom). Finally, a "Westerburg High School Rottweilers Class of 1988" yearbook is included that houses both discs of the DVD set in the front and the Blu-ray copy of the film in the rear. In between is a 20-page color and black-and-white miniature yearbook, several pages of which are inscribed with well-wishes of Westerburg classmates. Inside, buyers will find a two-page "Year in Review" spread that talks up the best of 1987-88, pictures from the film, "The Best of Lunchtime Poll of 88," "Where Are They Now" text biographies of Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, and Kim Walker, two pages of community advertisements, and even more content. All in all, this is a spiffy package, though the current asking price of $81 on Amazon.com feels somewhat steep. The set will certainly be to the liking of hardcore Heathers fans, though. Eight pictures of this set are available under the "screenshots" tab listed above.

Heathers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Combining dark humor, wit, drama, and a message on the importance of individuality, Heathers is one of the finest films to ever depict the darker side of high school life. It's also a rather well-crafted film, featuring standout performances from Christian Slater and Winona Ryder. Still timely some 20 years after its initial release and lending itself well to repeat viewings, Heathers arrives on Blu-ray and seems as fresh as ever. While the disc does not offer top quality visuals or a robust soundtrack, they both offer a marked improvement over the previous DVD versions. This edition also ports over most of the DVD special features and adds a new one to the mix. Heathers is also available as a standard, more affordable, Blu-ray release. Either edition comes with a solid recommendation, and longtime fans of the movie with the appropriate funds will definitely want to gravitate towards the handsome limited edition.