Fast Times at Ridgemont High (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

I have loved this movie for all of its 39 years now. It was and still is fresh, funny, completely true-to-life, and so enjoyable to watch that it is always a very quick viewing. The fine ensemble cast of young, soon-to-be-famous actors, the slick, clever script, and the great soundtrack have helped make it the very BEST film of its kind.The rest of this review is solely about the Criterion Collection (hereinafter referred to as "CC") Blu-Ray release and its quality & features.This CC Blu Ray is FAR better than the previous Universal BR. The picture is sharper, cleaner, and NEWER-looking; just terrific!  Whereas Universal seemingly ADDED grain to theirs, and the focus and "newness" of their BR picture were a cut below this disc's. I hate when studios do that; I guess they must not understand that Blu-ray buyers are looking for a sharp, clean picture-- NOT grain (ugh!).This new CC version contains the previous, excellent 40-minute documentary about the making of the film, ported over from the older BR and I think also the old DVD.  Around 6-8 of the stars (incl. Ray Walston/"Mr. Hand") are interviewed in this documentary, along with a couple of studio execs, Amy Heckerling (the director), and others behind the camera.  This new Criterion Blu-ray release ALSO contains a NEW, 2021 three-way discussion between Amy Heckerling, author/screenwriter Cameron Crowe, and Olivia Wilde, who had nothing to do with this film but who "interviewed" the other two as a fellow movie-maker (and actress) who saw it when growing up and was influenced by it as a moviemaker.  Their discussion was GREAT!  VERY informative, with mostly NEW details revealed.This Criterion Collection BR disc ALSO has the full, 96-minute TV VERSION of the film, shown in 4x3 aspect ratio (the theatrical version is 90 minutes). It is quite sharp and clean and IS INDEED Hi-Definition itself (with a bit-rate averaging 15-16 Mbps, often higher).  I can say that ALL footage added back into this version (almost 6 minutes) from the theatrical version's outtakes was not just non-essential, but BAD, both plot-wise & dialog-wise; in nearly all cases of these added-back deleted scenes, they make the story meander-- they are simply boring diversions that slow the film down and ruin the pace. Clearly, the editing out of this garbage helped make the theatrical film FAR better than it would have been with it. None of these weak detours or bumps along the way were in the theatrical version (but ARE contained in the TV version).  Of course, the naughty words were dubbed over in the TV version-- thus, A LOT of such dubbing exists, embarrassingly.  The footage added back actually contains a mall garage scene with Stacey and Linda that, since it's immediately followed by a similar discussion between them in a Perry's Pizza inside-mall location, makes it obvious that no one in the editing room realized that they "introduced" the same remark TWICE in 2 consecutive scenes in the TV version.  They should have reversed the order of the two scenes, but still, the almost identical dialog would be unacceptably/amateurishly redundant either way.Ok, there WAS one decent scene in the TV version that wasn't in the theatrical version: Mr. Hand is briefly seen autographing yearbooks for various students early on at the school dance near the end of the film. They each greet him with "Aloha, Mr. Hand." That would have been nice to keep in the theatrical version. INSTEAD, they kept a split-second full frontal nude view of Mike Damone in this disc's theatrical version that wasn't in Universal's BR . . . but who needs that?The enclosed glossy booklet with LOTS of pages, info, & pics is a wonderful keepsake, too. Interesting, informative, has beautiful photos-- well done.I am often disappointed by Criterion, but not this time. This effort was a clear improvement over the older, Universal Blu-ray. FTARH fans who don't mind double-dipping on Blu-ray purchases of the same film-- when significant improvement is available-- should acquire this CC version without hesitation!

I'll split this review into 2 parts, first what's different with this new release and why you should absolutely buy it even if you already own it and secondly if you are not a child of the 80's and don't know why the fuss I'll explain why this movie deserves a look.Specs this is a new 4k scan of the actual film. For the kids that's how we recorded things after cave paintings. The Blu-ray has both versions of the film, the theatrical and TV versions. The TV version is actually longer than the theatrical and has some really great material so it's worth watching both.This is by far the best looking and sounding version that has been released to date. The 5.1 soundtrack sounds quite a bit better than my previous DVD copy. You can actually hear dialog without having to crank up the volume after loud music or even a football game. Speaking of the music it adds so much to this movie it is absolutely 80's. Film grain is organic and the since the 80's was all about bright colors, they did a fantastic job making sure everything is exactly as it should be.As far as the film itself, I'll start by saying this originally came to theaters when I was in Jr high. I felt a connection to each of the characters because it was the most accurate and honest film about teenagers I had seen. Honestly to this date I haven't seen many other movies tackle so many issues and still have a positive message about what life still had in store.Watch the film again and notice how every character had positive and negative issues they were forced to deal with. With a stellar cast so big it's amazing how each story was masterfully interwoven with every other story and they were all given enough time to care about what happened to them.People may not agree with a 12 year old watching this movie and I admit it was really difficult at times to watch with my kids BUT (and it's caps on purpose) it opened several new lines of communication about drug use, sex, abortion and who you can count on in a time of need.Anyway, this movie is so much more than a typical teen comedy like "American Pie" for example. This movie shows how actions have consequences and even when it feels like all hope is lost because you knew your love was different, and you were going to be the high-school couple that stayed together forever, when it did end you knew life will continue on.The music that was chosen for this movie could not be any better. It is the 80's. With that get the movie, live, laugh, love.

This is a true classic, especially for Gen-Xers who remember hanging out or working at the mall. Now, it seems that Mall’s are a thing of the past as they where not doing very well before this Pandemic. This edition has some additional scenes that didn’t make the final cut and it looks much clearer and more refreshed than other Blu-Ray copies of this I have seen. Criterion is doing an incredible job with restoring and upgrading these classic movie titles. I would love for them to do a lot of work on the classic “The Hunger” that originally came out in 1983. The version starring David Bowie , Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve. Not the remade versions that came out in 1999 or 2018, both of which star David Bowie and Terrance Stamp. I’ve never seen either of these.Also the Rock and Roll fantasy animated film “Heavy Metal”, the unrated version. The unrated version is much better than the R-rated version. Criterion did such an incredible job with “Planet Fantastic” that I was absolutely surprised that they could make my old VHS look so bad. Another title worth the Criterion Collection to get a better restoration of is the 1996 movie “Basquiat”, which stars one of my favorite actors, Jeffery Wright. He is extremely talented and he takes on the persona of the character he plays. He is incredible in this movie.I just like owning the actual copy of these movies as you never know when it will be gone from a digital copy, like how I lost several movies when Ultraviolet decided to shut down! Having a tangible copy far out ways having a digital copy stored on a cloud service.

U.S Label CRITERION COLLECTION has reissued the 1982 classic Teen DramaFast times at ridgemont high on blu-ray but with a new 4k restoration 1:85:1 HD transferpackaging is 1 Disc in standard plastic case with booklet inside the case.i tell you the picture quality does look beautiful 10 times better than the old Universal blu-rayNo Grain no dirt, excellent colour restoration about 9.8/10 rating for PQthe sound mix is excellent aswell with new 5.1 master audio mix sounds very Good 7-8/10also Criterion has restored some missing Nudity footage from the controversal pool scenethat was edited out from the Universal blu-ray/dvd so it appears that the 89mins Theatrical cut is now UneditedEXTRAS, for the first time ever the broadcast 1:33:1 TV version is now officially released on blu-raywhich runs roughly 5mins Longer than the Theatrical cut so the TV version is 95minsthis 1:33: TV version which was only available to get as a bootleg Disc has Alternate scenes/ Deleted scenes in the film, i was stunned at the picture quality for the TV version it seems Criterion made the effort to clean up the picture quality for the TV version aswell, seems to be Digitally remastered quality about 6-7/10 picture quality compared to the bootleg VHS quality this new DR quality looks 5times more clearer and sharper no Doubt about ittheres also a new skype interview with Director Amy Heckerling & screen writer Cameron crowemoderated by Filmmaker Olivia wilde, goes for about 30mins specially filmed for this new blu-ray reissueother extras are the usual 50mins retrospective Documentary from 1999 plus Audio commentary with Any Heckerling plus Deleted scenes in HD quality, plus the 1982 Theatrical trailer in HDplus stills Behind the scenes stills photo Gallery plus a thick booklet inside the casethis new criterion reissue is 10 times better than the old universal blu-raythe Disc is region A locked so AUS fans will need all regions player before buying

Another great Criterion Bluray release. Those that are fans of high school dramas that have incredible nostalgia will be fans of Fast Times. A lot of great supplements on this disc, with a tone of rewatch value.