Starring: Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon
Director: Peter Chelsom
Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Video: 1.85:1 widescreen, 1080p HD
Audio: PCM Uncompressed 5.1, English DD 5.1, French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1
Extras: Deleted Scenes, Commentary, Featurettes, Music Video
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Length: 106 minutes
Rating: ****
Shall We Dance? is a remake of a Japanese film from about ten years ago of the same name, and essentially the same plot. Richard Gere plays John Clark, who’s going through the classic mid-life crisis, and is bored with his entire existence, including his relationship with his wife, played by Susan Sarandon. One night on his way home, he stops to look in the window of a dance studio and spies beautiful instructor Jennifer Lopez, and is instantly smitten. He signs up for her class, looking to add a little clandestine spice to his life, and the movie begins to travel down some much trodden territory. He questions his own intentions, and how far he plans to take his dance-related activities; his friends all counsel him against whatever it is he might be planning, and his wife, of course, becomes concerned with his frequent late nights at the office and obvious absences. At first glance, this film reeked “chick flick” to me, but to my great surprise, the movie is smart and entertaining, and the combination of elaborate dance sequences and a dynamic music soundtrack made for very enjoyable watching, indeed.
From a technical standpoint, I was stunned at both how good this movie looks and sounds. I have fairly elevated standards, and I expect really good picture quality and sound from all Blu-ray discs, and I just can’t begin to tell you how it pains me when either a highly anticipated or classic title comes up short technically. For a movie like this, that I’d mainly consider either just a romantic comedy or a date night flick, to offer such amazing image and sound quality just floors me. Why can’t they all be this good? I realize that aging source material plays a good part in less than successful transfers of classic films, but is it really the source material, or the care put into the transfer? Regardless, this movie excels in its presentation, and is as close as it gets to reference quality technically.
While all the bonus materials were presented in standard definition, they were, nonetheless, entertaining to watch, and offered a great deal of insight into the director’s creative process. Though no means a classic, this is an exceptionally good “popcorn flick,” and its near-reference quality presentation on Blu-ray will wow your friends and family. Very highly recommended!
— Tom Gibbs
