Private School [DVD]

This review is only for the Shout Factory Blu-ray release.This movie has plot and dialog and professional actors who could get work without needing to do nude scenes and stuff. It is a comedy and I have no sense of humor so I cannot comment on that stuff.The Blu-ray image quality is crystal clear, and the image is designed to fit most normal widescreen TVs, with a ratio of 1.85:1, without cutting off the bottom third of the image the way anamorphic widescreen videos do.This Disc has 2 different commentary tracks, both of which have interesting stuff at times. One of the commentaries is actor Michael Zorek, who was the dude in a dress in the shower scene, and he has some interesting comments about acting with a bunch of naked women.The disc has interviews with Matthew Bodine and Betsy Russell.This movie has several nude scenes, including Betsy Russell wearing only a towel and having it ripped of with very brief full nudity, a scene with Betsy Russell showing her breasts to Matthew Bodine, a few seconds later a scene where Betsy Russell's blouse is ripped off while she is riding a horse, and an iconic shower scene featuring Playboy Playmate Lynda Weismeier, and an uncredited Brinke Stevens, and several other foxy naked women. Near the end of the movie Phoebe Cates is seen wearing a wet, almost transparent dress showing partial nudity, and then apparent body-doubles portraying Phoebe Cates and Matthew Bodine embracing while not showing their faces. A person could argue the shower scene is better than the shower scene in Porky's.It has a strange DVD Extra which is the entire movie as it was shown on VHS, where Betsy Russell's brief nude scene was off the right side of the screen because VHS movies were usually truncated to fit the old fashioned almost square TVs in the 1900s. The "VHS" version also has the low image quality of VHS tapes. Interestingly, the VHS image shows a bit of the bottom of the image that is cut off the Blu-ray version, but nothing significant is missing on the Blu-ray image. The "VHS" version is also darker.

**UPDATE NOV 2019** Shout Factory's Bluray release contains Bonus Features that could have been better. Michael Zorek's commentary and Matthew Modine's interview are okay, but are a little dry. Modine in particular seems very sedate and tentative. At one point he says he was uncomfortable with the Sexploitation angle of the film and felt bad for Betsy Russell. Ironic, since it was Betsy who was nude and in her interview she states she had no problem with it, mostly because Phoebe Cates (whom she idolized) told her it was no big deal. Modine says he was intimidated by Cates' confidence and sings the praises of the veteran character actors like Ray Walston and Fran Ryan. Both he and Russell detail the casting process (Vincent D'Onofrio was up for the role of Bubba). I wish Kathleen Wilhoite had participated because she is so animated and lively it would have made the features more interesting.This is miles above other ‘80s teen sex comedies like SCREWBALLS or SPRING BREAK. It’s so well-written, the direction is perfect, the pacing never drags, and the acting is superior to what is usually found in these types of films. Even the minor characters are memorable and well-written. The adult roles are cast with veterans like Ray Walston and Fran Ryan and talented actors like Julie Payne and Richard Stahl--it even has Frances Bay (the “rye bread” lady from SEINFELD) but none of them embarrass themselves because everything they do or say is genuinely funny.I was too young to see this in theatres in 1983 but I did catch in on TV two years later and it was BIG deal because they left all the swearing in. Watching it today, it seems pretty tame and quaint in terms of vulgarity but there is still lots of nudity and the theme song is the crass Harry Nilsson 1972 song YOU’RE BREAKIN’ MY HEART which sets the tone right away. Actually, the soundtrack is fantastic and a perfect time capsule of the early ‘80s that features Stray Cats, Bow-Wow-Wow, Rick Springfield, Vanity 6 and Men’s Room. Phoebe Cates even gets in on it and belts out a great rocker called HOW DO I LET YOU KNOW. Aside from the music, there’s a totally ‘80s Aerobics sequence that features Phoebe Cates and Betsy Russell in leotards and legwarmers (a young, then unknown Paula Abdul is in too but hard to pick out).Kathleen Wilhoite is hilarious in this. I became a big fan of hers based on this movie. I would love to see outtakes and commentary. I really wish some company like Kino Lorber or Olive Films would release a deluxe Bluray version of this complete with extras. I would love to hear from Betsy Russell, Phoebe Cates but especially Michael Zorek and Kathleen Wilhoite since their characters were my favorite. Kathleen did a commentary on the MURPHY’S LAW Bluray and it was so lively and spirited, I bet she could fill the running time just by herself! Until then, the DVD is bare-bones, but video/audio quality is terrific, and this movie is still great fun.