Risky Business (Special Edition): 4K UHD Review
In 1983 writer Paul Brickman (The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training and Deal of the Century) made his directorial debut with Risky Business, starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. While Cruise was starting to get a little attention with minor roles in 1981’s Taps and 1983’s The Outsiders, it was his breakout roles the same year in All the Right Moves and Risky Business that made him a star. 1983 really set the actor up for leading man status. This was just three years before Top Gun, which made him a movie star. I would say that Risky Business was the one that really gave his career a significant push. Cruise even beat out the likes of Sean Penn, Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, John Cusack and Tom Hanks, who all auditioned for the role of Joel Goodsen. This week Risky Business arrives on 4K UHD as part of the Criterion Collection. Featured in the release are new 4K restorations of both the original theatrical release and the director’s cut, which were supervised and approved by director Paul Brickman and producer Jon Avnet.
Joel Goodsen (Cruise) is a teenager that resides in the upper-class suburbs on the north side of Chicago. He lives in a big house and his parents expect a lot from him. To them, nothing is more important than Joel getting a degree from an Ivy League school. Joel has worked hard to make sure he got the grades that could get him into a school like Princeton (his father’s alma mater). When Joel’s parents go on vacation, one of his friends encourages to simply let loose. Raiding his parents liquor cabinet and taking his father’s Porsche for a joyride is a decent start, but its’ when Joel decides to call an escort, that his life takes an unexpected turn. Joel’s night with the beautiful Lana (De Mornay) exceeded his fantasies. However, he gets a little over his head, when he allows Lana and one of her escort friends to crash at the house until he gets his mother’s Steuben’s glass egg back, which Lana took because Joel didn’t have the $300 on hand that he owed her. To make things even more complicated, Lana’s pimp, Guido (Joe Pantoliano) isn’t too happy that Joel is getting in the way of his income. This is especially true since Joel and Lana have turned his parents house into a brothel for the weekend with Joel’s high-school friends becoming clients.
Risky Business is a very different film than your average sex comedies from the 80’s. While there is some great humor here, especially from Joel’s friends Miles (Curtis Armstrong) and Barry (Bronson Pinchot), this is a much more mature film than something like Porky’s. This is more of a Reagan-Era satire about capitalism, in the packaging of a teenage sex fantasy and Brickman’s writing is quite sharp, especially when it comes to De Mornay’s character.
The new 4K restorations were created from the original 35mm camera negative and 35mm interpositive. The 2160p transfer is presented with Dolby Vision/HDR. I took in the director’s cut, simply because I had actually only seen the theatrical cut up until now. This new transfer from Criterion is quite wonderful. While most of the exterior scenes take place at night, the interior of Joel’s house shows plenty of detail. The night scenes look much richer than the previously released Warner Bos Blu-ray. A perfect example would be outside the hotel, where Joel finds Lana and also by the water, where Joel’s father’s car has an unfortunate incident. This is definitely a huge improvement. We also get a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which definitely takes full advantage of the amazing soundtrack that features the likes of Phil Collins and Tangerine Dream.
There are some new bonus features included in this release. We get new interviews with Avnet and casting director Nancy Klopper. We also get a new conversation between editor Richard Chew and film historian Bobbie O’Steen. If you are a fan of Risky Business, I recommend picking up this release from Criterion.
Bonus Features:
- New 4K digital restorations of the director’s cut and the original theatrical release, supervised and approved by director Paul Brickman and producer Jon Avnet, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary for the original theatrical release featuring Brickman, Avnet, and actor Tom Cruise
- New interviews with Avnet and casting director Nancy Klopper
- New conversation between editor Richard Chew and film historian Bobbie O’Steen
- The Dream Is Always the Same: The Story of “Risky Business,” a program featuring interviews with Brickman, Avnet, cast members, and others
- Screen tests with Cruise and actor Rebecca De Mornay
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film curator and critic Dave Kehr
- New cover illustration by Jeremy Enecio
By: Marc Ferman