A selection of archetypes--the Jock (Emilio Estevez), the Brain (Anthony Michael Hall), the Criminal (Judd Nelson), the Princess (Molly Ringwald) and the Kook (Ally Sheedy)--serving a morning's detention in a high school library talk and talk and talk, ultimately reaching emotional catharsis after dropping the defenses they've built up in response to uncaring authority figures (personified by Paul Gleason's martinet principal). Working around a superlative soundtrack featuring Wang Chung and Simple Minds, the unsung star of writer/director John Hughes' 1985 classic teen chamber piece may be legendary editor Dede Allen, who keeps the surprisingly talky film zipping along. Hughes' regular tropes about youth rebellion and the artificiality of the high school class structure were never more sensitively articulated than here, with strong turns by Hall, Sheedy, and Ringwald, and while the fashions and slang may indeed be dated, the sense of teenage angst still rings true. Although digitally remastered (slightly improving the image quality of a film that was never all that pretty, while adding DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound options), this new release offers scant improvements over an earlier DVD incarnation (and, disappointingly, no extras). Recommended, if you don't have the first version. (D. Fienberg)[Blu-ray Review—Aug. 3, 2010—Universal, 97 min., R, $26.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1985's The Breakfast Club (25th Anniversary Edition) features a good transfer and a 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by costars Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall, the 12-part “Sincerely Yours” retrospective documentary featuring cast and crew (52 min.), “The Most Convenient Definitions: The Origins of the Brat Pack” featurette on how the term was coined (6 min.), the BD-Live function, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut for one of the definitive films of the ‘80s.][Blu-ray Review—Mar. 10, 2015—Universal, 97 min., R, $19.98—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, 1985's The Breakfast Club (30th Anniversary Edition) features a good transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Blu-ray extras new to this release include an “Accepting the Facts” trivia track, and bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Extras from the previous release include audio commentary by costars Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall, the 12-part “Sincerely Yours” retrospective (52 min.), “The Most Convenient Definitions: The Origins of the Brat Pack” segment (6 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: if you own the 25th anniversary release, there's not much reason to add this one; if you don't, then this edition of the seminal ‘80s film is definitely recommended.][Blu-ray/DVD Review—Jan. 9, 2018—Criterion, 97 min., R, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1985's The Breakfast Club features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by costars Anthony Michael Hall and Judd Nelson, deleted and extended scenes (52 min.), the 2008 “making-of” documentary “Sincerely Yours” (51 min.), an “Electronic Press Kit” with interviews and featurettes (23 min.), a 1985 audio interview with director John Hughes (48 min.), a 2017 interview with costars Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy (19 min.), 1984 interviews with Sheedy (16 min.), costar Paul Gleason (11 min.), Nelson (13 min.), and costar Irene Brafstein (9 min.), as well as a 1999 audio interview with Hughes (16 min.), a “This American Life” radio segment with host Ira Glass interviewing Ringwald (15 min.), a video essay featuring Nelson reading Hughes's production notes (12 min.), an excerpt from a 1985 episode of The Today Show with the cast (10 min.), and a booklet with an essay by author and critic David Kamp. Bottom line: an excellent edition of Hughes's signature ‘80s film.]
This titled is included in our list of inspiring movies for teachers.