Risky Business
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Synopsis
A sly piece of pop subversion, this irresistible satire of Reagan-era materialism features Tom Cruise in his star-is-born breakthrough as a Chicago suburban prepster whose college-bound life spirals out of control when his parents go out of town for the week and an enterprising call girl (Rebecca De Mornay) invites him to walk on the wild side. While Cruise boogying in his briefs yielded one of the most iconic pop-cultural moments of the 1980s, it is the film’s unexpected mix of tender romance (enhanced by a moody synth score by Tangerine Dream) and sharp-witted capitalist critique that remains fresh and daring.
Picture 9/10
Paul Brickman's Risky Business receives a 4K upgrade courtesy of The Criterion Collection, presenting the film with Dolby Vision in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on a triple-layer disc. The 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition presentation is sourced from a new 4K restoration, taken from scans of the 35mm original negative and a 35mm interpositive for some sequences. This edition also includes a standard Blu-ray featuring a 1080p presentation of the film and all video features. Criterion's edition marks the debut of the Director's Cut, while also including the theatrical cut. Both versions are presented via seamless branching, with the endings being the only aspect that differs.
I found Criterion's Blu-ray to be quite impressive on its own, improving over Warner's Blu-ray and its dated master, but the 4K manages to further enhance the experience. The restoration itself looks outstanding, cleaning up the film and making it appear almost brand new, with the 4K scan capturing a staggering level of detail. The 4K presentation excels in its rendering, surpassing the Blu-ray's high-def encoding. Grain is rendered more cleanly here, even in the highlights, where detail remains evident without looking like noise. The image appears clean and natural without any digital texture.
Dolby Vision and HDR significantly enhance the film's darker sequences, which look fine on the Blu-ray but receive a notable boost here, offering improved detail in the shadows and better depth. Brightness levels are well-balanced, enhancing the image where it counts, whether in light reflections on surfaces or the headlights during the nighttime Porsche chase sequences. The wider range also benefits the film's misty or smoky scenes, such as the opening shower sequence. While the Blu-ray handles these moments remarkably, they are even cleaner and better blended in the 4K presentation.
Some sequences look a bit fuzzy, likely due to being sourced from the interpositive, but overall, this edition looks absolutely wonderful. It's not a film I would have immediately thought needed a 4K edition, but it looks fantastic!
Audio 8/10
Criterion only includes the 5.1 remix, presented in DTS-HD MA. Most of the film’s audio is centralized to the fronts, with some noticeable movement between the front speakers for dialogue. The film’s music, from Tangerine Dream’s score to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” is directed to the rears and sounds terrific, delivering an impressive amount of range and depth. The lower channel is also effectively integrated. While I’m a little disappointed that the original monaural soundtrack isn’t included, the 5.1 track isn’t mixed in a distracting manner and sounds great.
Extras 8/10
Criterion throws in a good mix of exclusive new material with content recycled from Warner’s 2008 special edition. The biggest addition is the ability to watch either the theatrical cut or Brickman’s preferred director’s cut, presented here for the first time. This cut alters the ending to make it a little more bittersweet, rather than leaving it open for a happier resolution, making it clearer where the film’s central relationship is likely heading.
Brickman had the theatrical cut’s ending forced on him at the time due to concerns that the film would perform poorly, a change he has never fully accepted. He delves into this in the included audio commentary (found on both the 4K disc and the Blu-ray), recorded in 2008, where he is joined by producer Jon Avnet and star Tom Cruise. Along with discussing the issues surrounding the ending, Avnet and Brickman talk about the script and the challenging process of getting the film made, which might seem surprising now. But it becomes clear why the participants pointing out this was a youth-centric movie that was more serious, not like Porky’s, without any major stars. At this point, even Cruise was barely a step up from a nobody, and DeMornay had only a few small roles prior to this (in one of the newer interviews, we learn Harry Dean Stanton recommended her despite her only being a background extra in a film he worked on). Editing and finding the right tone also proved difficult, especially with the subway sequence at the end. They explain that the way it was originally shot would have almost certainly destroyed their careers (the fact that the deleted material isn’t included here is a big shame). The commentary track primarily features Avnet and Brickman, but Cruise also shares stories from the production and insights into why he feels the film still holds up after all these years. (As a note, the commentary only plays with the theatrical cut.)
It's a surprisingly insightful and engaging track that covers a lot of ground, but Criterion manages to cover even more through three new interviews. The first is with producer Avnet, who talks more about the scriptwriting process, the political angle of the film and its representation of the time period, the film’s rise in stature over the years, and the look Brickman was aiming for (The Conformist comes up again, as it did in the features for Arrow’s edition of American Gigolo).
It’s a reflective and insightful discussion about the film and the impact it had on the first-time filmmaker, who didn’t do much afterward despite the film’s success, and Avnet delves into why that is the case. Even better is the new 30-minute interview between the film’s editor, Richard Chew, and film historian Bobbie O’Steen. As mentioned in the commentary, editing the film proved difficult, especially in finding the right tone, and Chew explains how he worked through that and assembled the scenes, despite not having proper coverage in several cases (aspiring filmmakers should watch this if only to see how he cleverly got around that). He then talks about a few key scenes, including the subway sequence at the end (though he doesn’t talk about the original idea behind it). The discussion then veers into influences (like The Graduate) and sound mixing, making for one of the more involving and fascinating examinations of film editing I've probably come across.
Casting director Nancy Klopper then talks for 18 minutes about her career in casting and its importance before discussing the difficulty behind casting this film, with plenty of Polaroids from the period to show. She recounts the screen tests of Cruise and DeMornay, which are also included here via a 14-minute featurette (originally made for the Warner edition), 4 minutes of which feature new interviews with members of the cast and crew. Klopper’s interview eventually steers into how overlooked the job is and discusses how the Academy is finally recognizing the field by adding an award, something she has fought extensively for over the years.
Criterion also includes, on top of the film’s original trailer, Warner’s 2008 making-of featurette, The Dream is Always the Same. Running 29 minutes and featuring interviews with Brickman, Avnet, Cruise, Rebecca DeMornay, Joe Pantoliano, Bronson Pinchot, Curtis Armstrong, and even filmmakers Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe (among others), it’s a fairly run-of-the-mill studio-produced featurette but it does at the very least offer a streamlined representation of the film’s production from inception to release. If you go through the other features, you can probably skip it, though getting the perspective of the other actors in the film still proves worthwhile.
Warner’s DVDs and Blu-rays included the alternate “director’s cut” ending as a separate feature. Since the scene has been edited into the main feature, it’s not included separately here. Criterion’s insert then features a wonderful appreciation of the film written by Dave Kehr.
Though I liked Kehr’s essay, I still wish Criterion included another new academic addition or two. Still, their new material is excellent and pairs wonderfully with Warner’s previously produced content.
Closing
Criterion's 4K UHD delivers an outstanding new presentation and a solid set of features that surpass Warner's previous special edition. It comes with a very high recommendation.
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