Category: (DVD)
41 new, starting at $6.99
4 used, starting at $12.63
The Breakfast Club, an iconic portrait of 1980s American high school life, is now available in an all-new digitally remastered Flashback Edition with never-before-seen bonus features! When Saturday detention started, they were simply the Jock, the Princess, the Brain, the Criminal and the Basket Case, but by that afternoon they had become closer than any of them could have imagined. Featuring an all-star ’80s cast including Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy, this warm-hearted coming-of-age comedy from writer/director John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Weird Science) helped define an entire generation!
John Hughes's popular 1985 teen drama finds a diverse group of high school students--a jock (Emilio Estevez), a metalhead (Judd Nelson), a weirdo (Ally Sheedy), a princess (Molly Ringwald), and a nerd (Anthony Michael Hall)--sharing a Saturday in detention at their high school for one minor infraction or another. Over the course of a day, they talk through the social barriers that ordinarily keep them apart, and new alliances are born, though not without a lot of pain first. Hughes (Sixteen Candles), who wrote and directed, is heavy on dialogue but he also thoughtfully refreshes the look of the film every few minutes with different settings and original viewpoints on action. The movie deals with such fundamentals as the human tendency toward bias and hurting the weak, and because the characters are caught somewhere between childhood and adulthood, it's easy to get emotionally involved in hope for their redemption. Preteen and teenage kids love this film, incidentally. --Tom Keogh
Why is this movie so popular?Reviewed by Orion Rooney, 2010-03-09
I had to watch this movie in Psych class last semester. The entire
time all I wanted to do was punch each of the kids in the face and
tell them to stop acting like such whiny little brats. Bender, the
"outcast-druggie" stereotype was possibly the most obnoxious
character I've ever seen in a movie. He basically spent the entire
time aggravating the other characters (and me at the same time) who
were equally annoying in their reactions to him (they ALWAYS took
the bait, ALWAYS responded like he wanted them to. Seriously, don't
you learn in preschool to plug your ears and say "I'm not
listening, I'm not listening"?).
Then at the end they magically become friends, and 2 pairs of them
start dating, which also got on my nerves, because it was SO
unrealistic.
A Little Cheesy, But Gets You ThinkingReviewed by Zachary Koenig, 2010-03-06
To be completely honest, I usually hate movies like this. It's like
Don McLean's song "American Pie", where basically he just mashes up
a whole bunch of different themes and lets people interpret them to
death. It kind of takes the fun out of the experience. Fortunately,
director John Hughes (Mr. 80s himself!) doesn't allow his weighty
material to get in the way of the film's true message.
Basically, the plot of this film centers on a group of five
high-schoolers dragging into the school on a Saturday to serve
their detention "sentence". They come from all walks of life: The
Rebel (Judd Nelson), The Jock (Emilio Estevez), The Princess (Molly
Ringwald), The Troubled (Ally Sheedy) and The Nerd (Anthony Michael
Hall). While being lorded over by Principal Richard Vernon (played
brilliantly by Paul Gleason; he almost steals the show!), the
self-dubbed "Breakfast Club" start to get to know each other a
little bit.
From there, the rest of the film is essentially two things: a
series of hilarious sight/action gags to foil Mr. Vernon, and (more
importantly) a treatise on the cliquish life of high school
students. Led by the colorful commentary of Nelson's hard-edged
character, each stereotype is carefully picked apart and laid bare
for the world to see. Is "Ringwald" truly a good girl, or just
fooling herself? Is "Hall" a dedicated student, or just playing the
role to keep the few friendships he has? Plus, the instigator
("Nelson") turns out to be perhaps the most interesting
character-study of them all!
What keeps the movie from seeming too high-handy and sappy, though,
is the wonderful directing of Hughes. Unlike, say, James Cameron's
"Avatar", where the issues are preached to you in black-and-white
terms with no room for disagreement, Hughes leaves it up to the
viewer to decide who "The Breakfast Club" members really are. You
can view them as Mr. Vernon does, or have the opportunity to delve
in deeper if you so choose.
Thus, I have no problems recommending this film to any and all fans
of movies that will really make you think. The ending may be too
cheesy (but probably needed to satisfy the teen audience), but
along the way it packs quite an intellectual and emotional punch,
with a hefty dose of comedy thrown in as well.
CD MovieReviewed by V. Shanstrom, 2010-02-28
I was not told it would be wide screen and I did not like that
Forced annoyanceReviewed by BJ, 2010-02-23
The 'High School Reunion Collection' edition of the DVD contains a major issue: a series of forced commercials upon running the disc, before you reach the DVD menu. I could not skip past the commercials. My copy of the DVD was faulty and would slow down, then lock-up during the commercials, making watching the film impossible.
Great product, great serviceReviewed by Carolyn Wolfe, 2010-02-14
The service was great and I love the movie. It came early ad was a present for my family member and it just turned out great!