Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Pretty in Pink Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 15, 2020

John Hughes made an indelible imprint on the 1980s, essentially giving shape to what feels like fully half of the decade's defining cinematic trend: the High School film (the other being musclebound Action films). Hughes may not have kicked off the decade's high school life/romance/comedy hybrid genre -- one could point to Fast Times at Ridgemont High for that distinction -- but his Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off certainly came to stand as essential viewing for the decade. His sharp writing, insightful glimpses into real feelings, ability to shape tangible characters, and capture a quintessential cut-out of the decade's inward emotions expressed in its outward peculiarities has made many of his films unquestioned classics. Hughes wrote, but did not direct, Pretty in Pink, 1986's Howard Deutch-helmed classic that tells a simple tale of tangled teenage romances and upended emotions in a film that may lack the dramatic impact of his The Breakfast Club and the biting wit of Bueller but that embodies his style as well as any other.

High schooler Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) doesn't fit in. She comes from a poor, working class background. Her father Jack (Harry Dean Stanton) is unemployed and depressed since his wife left him. Andie doesn't have the flashy cars and expansive clothes so many of her classmates take for granted. She successfully and thriftily designs and sews many of her own but faces ridicule for her background. It doesn't help that her best friend is a social outcast named Duckie (Jon Cryer) who is secretly in love with her. While Andie fends off the advances of elitist rich boy Steff McKee (James Spader), she holds secret feelings for her preppy schoolmate Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy). With prom approaching, Andie finds herself caught between unrequited love on two fronts and a crush on a guy out of her class but, just maybe, not out of her reach.

Pretty in Pink pretty well covers well-trodden territory, but rather than feel rehashed and recycled and wooden, it's quite spirited in its simplicity, in classic Hughes style. Because the story builds around relatable human conditions, more than just offering a snapshot of a time or place or emotion, the material holds up to scrutiny because Hughes and his cast bring to it a sincere authenticity that does away with magical movie moments, instead allowing the content to breathe and the characters to develop fully within their emotional centers. The film expresses the content with passion, its actors capable of not just recreating a set of feelings but rather making those feelings the defining attributes that make them personable and relatable. Even in the midst of material that's stale by the textbook definition, Pretty in Pink gracefully explores the content with a sincerity that supersedes its inherent triteness.

Further, the film is well paced and smartly assembled around its edges, both helping to carry the material with technical efficiency and production design grace that complement the story and characters, but never carry them. Deutch, making his directorial debut, and legendary Cinematographer Tak Fujimoto know their way around a shot and compose the film in such a way as to not simply frame action but also enhance the story, to center an emotion rather than just a character. Deutch never gets in the way, though, allowing a talented cast to define the material, to demonstrate full emotional command and allow their work, and Hughes', not his, to shape the story. The actors are very outwardly expressive of their innermost, and most intimate, passions. They are aided by Hughes' script as a starting point but Ringwald, Cryer, and McCarthy do outstanding work, as mentioned earlier, in elevating essentially cardboard center content into a carefully constructed treatise on life and love in the 1980s.

Pretty in Pink Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Pretty in Pink's Blu-ray is sourced from a 4K remaster and the result is hands-down one of the nicest looking filmic 1080p transfers on the market today. The picture abounds in grace and classic cinema textures. A fine, even, consistent grain field which holds steady throughout lends to the image a vital cinematic façade. It's a beautiful rendering that is fully supportive of the movie's textures, which present with consistent, flattering, natural sharpness and are perfectly accentuating of the source photographic elements. Facial features boast wonderful clarity and intimate definition while period attire likewise reveal very capable line, stitching, and fabric definition across a full spectrum of attire, from the proverbial rags to riches. Some of the densely decorated locations are a treasure for high definition clarity, notably the TRAX record store which offers album covers, posters, decorative work, and more in easily visible and tactile abundance. Colors are rich, revealing the period pastels and louder, bolder tones alike with equal vitality and nuanced intricacy. Skin tones are perfectly natural and black levels are wonderfully deep and true, offering true density without hindering shadow detail. The print is meticulously clean and the only true stumbling block, if one can even call it that, comes during the club scene in chapter eight where the smoky, low light backgrounds occasionally struggle to hold compression artifacts at bay. Otherwise, this one is practically perfect. It's a shame it has of yet not earned the UHD treatment. This is a terrific foundation that would undoubtedly deliver a quintessential 4K/HDR experience, but fans can rest assured that Pretty in Pink has never even approached this level of fine, filmic excellence for home consumption.

Pretty in Pink Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pretty in Pink's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is not particularly expansive through the rear channels, but it is prodigiously active along the front. Generally speaking, the soundtrack soars with wonderful definition and vitality. The 80s beats sing out of the speakers with incredible clarity and perfectly wide front-end spacing and dominance, aided by a healthy, balanced low end support. Surrounds fold in some elements, such as at a club at the 12-minute mark, but the majority spills from the front side. Ambience, too, lingers along the front, particularly in places like the record store and various school locations with some opening through the rest of the stage during the finale. Dialogue is clear, center-positioned, and well prioritized for the duration.

Pretty in Pink Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Pretty in Pink includes a new retrospective, a look at the original ending, a trailer, and an isolated score. This release is also part of the "Paramount Presents" line which includes unique packaging beyond standard Blu-ray case and slipcover components. Find below a brief text overview. No DVD is included, and neither is a digital copy code.

• Filmmaker Focus: Pretty in Pink (1080p, 7:38): In this new retrospective, Director Howard Deutch reflects on the movie's success and legacy, landing the job, working with John Hughes, casting and characters, key moments, and the ending.
• The Lost Dance: The Original Ending (480i, 12:15): Cast and crew look back on the film's original finale, including Ringwald's illness on the set and audience reaction to the original finale.
• Original Theatrical Trailer (480i, 1:27).
• Isolated Score Track: Watch the film with music only. Presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. This extra is accessible under the "Settings" menu tab.

The packaging is just unique enough to stand apart but not so unique as to draw attention towards it. It's basically a slipcover over a transparent, rather than blue, case, all the same essential dimensions as any other case plus slipcover presentation. The outer slipcover is unique in that the front half folds open to reveal an additional image, which is oriented 90 degrees from the front panel, making, essentially, a two-panel vertical that for Pretty in Pink shows original artwork in a larger format. The front image depicts the classic black-and-white picture with Duckie and Blane in the back and Andie in front, her attire colored pink, as is the word "pink." A "Paramount Presents" symbol top left and a small banner bottom right displaying the year the film was released are also featured. The front panel is identical to the Blu-ray case front artwork. There are some alterations between slip and case on the rear panels; the former includes a blurb about the Paramount Presents line while the latter features a billing block. The Blu-ray case is clear and there's an inner print inside that includes stills running along left and right hand sides, a larger photo of Andie in the middle, and a Howard Deutch quote within. It's nothing fancy but it is at least a little meatier than the run-of-the-mill slipcover and blank interiors that add almost no additional value. Both the slipcover and the case artwork depict the number "6" at the bottom of the spine, denoting the sixth film in the line, clearly an effort to entice completists to gradually buy the entire series.

Pretty in Pink Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pretty in Pink is one of the defining motion pictures of the 1980s, here lovingly restored in 4K. The picture quality is practically perfect and the audio is excellent. It's disappointing that a more thorough assortment of extra content was not included, but fans will be tickled pink with the exquisite 1080p video presentation. Very highly recommended.