Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Crush Blu-ray Movie Review

The sociopathic girl next door.

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson September 23, 2016

Nick Eliot (Cary Elwes) is a bright 28-year-old investigative reporter getting his start at the chic magazine, Pique. Nick travels to an unnamed town on the east coast of the US where he will stay at the guesthouse of the Forrester's, an affluent and well-known family. Along the way, Nick nearly hits a female teen rollerblading from across the street. The girl turns out to be the daughter of the family whom Nick will be renting his little house. Before almost driving into her, Nick notices the fearlessness in Adrian Forrester's (Alicia Silverstone) eyes. Adrian is an extremely sophisticated and cunning girl on the verge of womanhood whose also saddled with a personal agenda. Although Nick is twice as old as Adrian, he has difficulty averting the pernicious charm and pesky advances of this sassy girl. The film is presumably set during the summer and Adrian has little to do but ride her horse around or use the swingset (she is also an accomplished pianist).

Nick realizes something may be wrong when he uncovers a draft of a story he typed is different (and better) than the version he wrote. Adrian plays innocent around her doting and supportive parents, Cliff Forrester (Kurtwood Smith) and Liv Forrester (Gwynyth Walsh). Adrian's fellow equestrian, Cheyenne (Amber Benson), has some strong suspicions about what her friend may do to Nick but is it safe to warn him when Adrian always seems to be watching? Nick finds a friend and confidant in Amy Maddik (Jennifer Rubin), who he collaborates with on his investigative story. When Nick is together with Amy, Adrian feels jealous that Amy will steal the man she most wants to conquer. The film has a continual mood of unease because Adrian may spring a dastardly act on an intended or unsuspecting victim.

Adrian enjoys being looked at.

The Crush is the kind of movie that Pauline Kael would likely have labeled as "entertaining trash." On the disc's audio commentary, director Alan Shapiro states that a schism ensued between him and the studio's marketing department. On the one hand, Shapiro sought to infuse his screenplay with dark humor, levity, and camp. On the other hand, studio advertisers wanted to sell the film as a serious psychological thriller. It is accurate to claim, though, that The Crush was intended as the Fatal Attraction (1987) for teenage/young adult audiences. Silverstone, in her screen debut, has a similar inclination toward prurience and conniving tactics as Glenn Close's Alex Forrest does in the Adrian Lyne film. [The Crush also pays visual homage to the title character in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962).] Shapiro's film treads familiar material in the female sociopath genre but executes it in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Silverstone is ravishing to behold but she delivers a smart performance that transcends her role as a beauté. Elwes is handsome and vulnerable in the "wrong man" mold which would have pleased a director like Hitchcock. Elwes has nice chemistry with Rubin whose character's motives threaten Silverstone's. Though The Crush has "trashy" elements, this is not to insinuate that it's a "bad film." The movie is attractively lensed by the late cinematographer Bruce Surtees, who shot many of Clint Eastwood's films. The performances can retain a campy quality but that was the intention of its creator.

The Crush Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout! Factory presents The Crush in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this BD-50. The Warner Bros. DVD came out in 2000 and the picture on this disc reveals that Shout! undoubtedly made a new digital intermediate transfer. The image is very clean and looks smooth in-motion. Though slight DNR is evident, there is still a nice amount of grain present. Contrast for brightly lit scenes appears razor sharp and color delineation looks excellent. Grain is more prevalent in the interiors and outdoor scenes shot at dusk. Primary colors are the standout, especially in scenes featuring the Forrester household. The agua on the bikini of Silverstone's character has almost a resplendent shine. There are tiny flecks from time to time but Shout! has done a commendable job of cleaning up the image without too much post-processing in its restoration work.

The Crush Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Preceding the film's distributor and production company logos is a black screen with a prefatory note from Shout!: "The audio on THE CRUSH has a phasing issue. It can be heard on the previous DVD release as well. We searched for alternate audio but they all had the same issue." The label has included a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. I primarily focused on the former for this review. The technicality Shout! cited can be heard during the main titles when Nick drives his car to the Forrester's and a pop song plays. Acoustically, the 5.1 recording comes across like "stadium sound" with pitch levels bouncing around the various speakers. Thankfully, dialog is audible and understandable through much of the film and can be plainly heard in the center channel. The audio limitations are apparent at different junctures on the disc and the sound reproduction is a bit inconsistent. Old hardware reviews have pointed to "ADR glitches" and these need greater unpacking. Silverstone's character was partially inspired by a girl who once had a crush on Alan Shapiro. When the girl's parents learned that Shapiro used their daughter's original name of "Darian," they threatened Morgan Creek Productions with a lawsuit. Warner Bros. eventually reached an agreement with the parents that the character's name be changed to "Adrian." So while various characters uttered "Darian" during principal photography, "Adrian" was later looped in by different actors. In television broadcasts of The Crush, "Adrian" is used instead of "Darian." This usage has been maintained on the Blu-ray. Mouth movements appear out of sync when actors mention the Silverstone character. Fortunately, this is not front-and-center distracting. On the plus side, Graeme Revell's synths and strings-based score accompanies the onscreen action quite well. Normally, I would give the audio a lower score but given that Shout! had to make due with preexisting anomalies, I've been more lenient.

The Crush Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Alan Shapiro - This is a new commentary track with writer/director Shapiro moderated by film critic Nathaniel Thompson, the editor of Mono Digital. Thompson is clearly well-prepared and did his homework on the production history of The Crush. Shapiro, however, admits to not having seen the film for years and often provides sketchy recollections. Thompson tries to keep the conversation rolling but poses several close-ended questions to Shapiro. The director frequently replies with monosyllabic answers or terse statements and Thompson sometimes stalls the conversation with a wordless affirmative. Shapiro does supply some solid anecdotes about unnamed studio executives and working with the actors. Thompson said on social media that this track was one of his personal favorites but Shapiro's input is average at best.

• The Doting Father – An Interview with Kurtwood Smith (10:00, 1080p) - Shout! filmed a new interview with the veteran character actor, who recounts his time on the set of The Crush.

• Stung by Love – An Interview with Actress Jennifer Rubin (13:20, 1080p) - Shout! also filmed a second interview with Rubin whose memories of The Crush seem sharper than Shapiro's. Rubin talks about her early modeling days, her horror films, and the filmmaking climate of the early nineties.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:04) - an upconverted, full-frame original theatrical trailer.

• TV Spot (:18) - an upconverted TV spot (1.33:1) that does a decent job of marketing the film.

The Crush Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Crush is fun, entertaining, and sometimes suspenseful. Shout! has given the 1993 film a shimmering new transfer and added three new bonus materials. It would have been a treat to hear both Silverstone and Elwes reminisce about the film but apparently, they were not available for a retrospective interview. Hopefully, this Blu-ray will inspire a record label to give Graeme Revell's score an official release. RECOMMENDED to fans of the cast.