Blu-ray Movie Reviews

While vacationing in the summer of 1963 with her family, 17-year-old Baby (Jennifer Grey) is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music and meets rebellious Jonny (Patrick Swayze), the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naïve. Oh the possibilities.

Dirty Dancing came to theaters the year I graduated high school and you could get a date with virtually any girl in school as long as you made it known you intended on taking her to see this flick. Needless to say, I saw it more than once and as far a chick flicks go, this is one of the best. The casting is perfect with Swayze and Grey as the two leads and the soundtrack is one of my personal favorites from the 1980s.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Vastly improved over previous Blu-ray release
• Accurate flesh tones
• Decent shadow detail
• Soft and grainy

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack
• Front-loaded track
• Intelligible dialog
• Surround speakers relegated to ambiance and score bleed
• Crisp dynamics

The previously released Blu-ray from 2007 is considered one of the worst looking titles ever and fortunately Lionsgate went back to the drawing table. While this newly minted master is rough around the edges, it has more to do with the low-budget photography than anything.

Bonus Materials

• Two feature length commentaries
• Trivia Track
• 8 Behind-the-scenes featurettes
• Tributes to the departed cast and crew
• 3 Music videos
• Deleted, Alternate, and Extended Scenes
• Digital Copy
• Photo Gallery, collectors book, and more

This happens to be one of my wife's favorite films and I may have to turn in my man card for saying this, but I enjoy it almost as much as she does. I've had a crush on Jennifer Grey for as long as I can remember and she looks outstanding in 1080p. Recommended.

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Release Date: May 4, 2010
Studio: Lionsgate

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics