6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The short-lived roller-disco craze of the late 1970s served as inspiration for this dated comedy, which follows the patrons of a popular roller-disco palace as they prepare for a major race. Naturally, the climactic showdown features a wholesome, upright hero (Greg Bradford) facing the fearsome challenge of a leather-clad villain (a pre-fame Patrick Swayze).
Starring: Scott Baio, Ron Palillo, Maureen McCormick, Ruth Buzzi, Patrick SwayzeComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
How quaint. Director William A. Levey's Skatetown, U.S.A. is a directionless motion picture that is much like the skaters depicted in it, ambling about in circles with some rhythm and grace but very little feel for purpose or drive. It's a meandering movie without a traditional plot or narrative structure, one that chooses to focus on the experience while foregoing any depth within the experience. The movie released in 1979 in the Disco era's twilight, a relatively big production focused on a fading fad that four decades later is more of a time capsule than it is a timeless cinema venture. But it's all good. The movie might lack much beyond its rhythm, but there's no mistaking the infectious, if not obviously insignificant, beats and the manner in which the movie carries itself. It embraces the frivolity and it banks on the beats and the skates, as well as some skin and some silliness, to sell itself to audiences that, back then, probably would have rather been in the movie than watching it, never mind considering those today who might see the film as a history lesson rather than an entertainment vessel.
Skatetown, U.S.A. rolls onto Blu-ray with a pleasant, filmic 1080p transfer. The picture shows no signs of unwanted digital tinkering. Grain appears intact and naturally organic. It's complimentary to the textures, which are firm and revealing. Intimate close-ups show pores and hair with satisfyingly clear and robust visual complexity. Clothes, the slick wooden rink floor, and any number of accents around the screen, such as various food items at the snack bar, present with agreeable complexity. Colors are many and adequately vibrant. There's a feel that the picture could squeeze out a little more intensity to the palette, but various neon signs do dazzle with a good amount of pizzazz. There's an underlying dullness to some of the colors, as multitudinous as they may be, due in large part to the somewhat lower lighting conditions inside the rink. Still, there's enough pop to core colors to give the movie some life. Skin tones are fine and black levels are good. There are no serious encode flaws of note. Sony's MOD (Manufactured on Demand) release is a treat, especially considering that this is the film's official home video debut; one couldn't have asked for much better.
The movie's audio is all about the music. The two-channel DTS-HD Master Audio lossless soundtrack does what it can with the vintage, dated material. Clarity is not bad and spacing is adequate. The lack of surrounds means a lesser feel for immersion into the skating rink, a shame given its size, the number of skaters, and the intensity of music. The lack of legitimately immersive atmosphere is the track's biggest drawback, even over any clarity concerns, just for the inability to more finely and fluidly define the environment, which for all of the movie's silliness and narrative vacuousness would be fun to more fully experience from a sonic perspective. But there's enough raw detail to create a fairly basic, just not involved, landscape. Gaggles of hungry customers at a snack counter, skaters zipping around the rink, or the DJ's microphone reverberation help to create an essential feel for location specifics that do at least find some stretch out to the front edges. Some of the skating effects are tinny and crunchy, such as when a gaggle of skaters zip down pavement outside in chapter two. Inside, on the wooden and slick floor, clarity is improved. Music never finds exacting detail, either, but does present well enough to support the movie's essentials. Dialogue is adequately detailed and finds a natural front center imaged location; there's no feel for voices lost out to the sides. All in all, this is a good track that is limited in its ability to more finely recreate the environment but it does convey the basics well enough.
Sony's Blu-ray release of Skatetown, U.S.A. contains no supplemental content. No "top menu" or "pop up" menus are included. A strange glitch: pressing the "top menu" button during movie playback disables the ability to pause playback, at least on the review Oppo UDP-203 player. It also removes the counter on the front panel and replaces it with "top menu" text. Resetting by pressing stop or opening the disc tray appear to be the only remedies.
Skatetown, U.S.A. is a fairly empty film with no direction, unless one counts skating in circles a "direction." There's very little story; the film is more concerned with atmosphere, some skin and some muscles, and music. It's more like a repetitive variety show without a narrative structure. It works well enough as pure escapism but audiences looking for any kind of cinema meat won't find it here. Sony's Blu-ray is unfortunately featureless, but considering this is the first official home video release on any format that's to be expected. Video and audio presentations are fine, the former very good and the latter working with dated material that is conveyed adequately, if not a bit roughly; the lack of greater immersion really hurts the experience. Recommended as a curiosity and a very small piece of home media history.
1994
1989
2013
2016
1989
National Lampoon Goes to the Movies
1983
1995
2021
1979
1989
2014
2013
15th Anniversary Edition
1997
2002
Choice Collection
1981
1984
Warner Archive Collection
1982
1990
1995
2019