Review: Sixteen Candles

Blu-ray: Sixteen Candles (1984)

Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald) comes downstairs on her 16^th birthday and not one of her family has remembered, because her older sister Ginny is getting married the next day.

The scowl on Sam’s face remains throughout the entire film.

Sam is infatuated with school heart throb Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling). Jake opens up to his friend Rock (yes…Rock) and tells him he’s basically fed up with his perfect girlfriend Caroline. Meanwhile, much younger (about 14 ish? Perhaps? ) Ted (Anthony Michael Hall, stealing the whole film) is in love with Sam. She rejects him, while scowling as he is a pain in the arse – and about 13.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot Sam’s grandparents are there for the wedding and one of them has brought along Chinese foreign exchange student, Long Duk Dong (yes…Dong). The grandparents make Sam take him along to her Prom dance that very night, and surprisingly  the ‘Donger’ (yes…Donger) finds an unlikely girlfriend in the tall, Jock-like, large-breasted  Marlene.

I’ve never really been a massive fan John Hughes’ earliest films, you know the romantic geeky sort. They passed me by, probably because my dad was a striking miner and we had to sell the TV. But I have to admit I was a little amazed to see that Sixteen Candles is basically Porky’s for nice kids. Okay maybe not Porky’s, but Animal House at least.

And of course it’s of its time. Where the sullen sulky heroine actually GETS the guy (Dear LORD she is miserable). Also the female depictions  – that is, you can only be complete if you have a boyfriend/husband, doesn’t wash today.

I do get why its loved, but I think Hughes was finding his feet with this film and made it again, much better, in Pretty in Pink, and Some Kind of Wonderful.

But who I am to complain? This is again a wonderful package from the masters Arrow. Extras coming out of your yaya, and the film itself with its new 4k restoration is nothing short of breathtaking.

A must buy for Hughes fans.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation of the Theatrical Version of the film (92 mins), plus Blu-ray™ world premiere Extended Version (94 mins), featuring the additional “cafeteria” scene newly remastered in high definition
• Original lossless mono audio, plus 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround option
• Original English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Alternate “home video” soundtrack prepared for VHS and laserdisc releases
• Option to watch additional scene from the Extended Version separately
• Casting ‘Sixteen Candles’, an all-new audio interview with casting director Jackie Burch
• When Gedde Met Deborah, a newly filmed conversation between actors Gedde Watanabe and Deborah Pollack
• Rudy the Bohunk, a newly filmed interview with supporting actor John Kapelos
• The In-Between, a newly filmed interview with camera operator Gary Kibbe
• The New Wave Nerd, a newly filmed interview with filmmaker Adam Rifkin, who shadowed John Hughes while working as an extra on set
• Music for Geeks, a newly filmed interview with composer Ira Newborn
• A Very Eighties Fairytale, an all-new video essay written and narrated by writer Soraya Roberts, looking at the film from a contemporary feminist perspective
• Celebrating Sixteen Candles, an archive documentary featuring interviews with cast, crew and admirers, including stars Anthony Michael Hall, Paul Dooley, Justin Henry, Haviland Morris and Gedde Watanabe
• Theatrical trailers, TV spots and radio spots
• Image galleries
• BD-ROM: PDF of the original shooting script
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Nikki Baughan and Bryan Reesman

Review by Tina from a disc kindly supplied by Arrow Films.

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