Search - Strictly Ballroom on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Questionable for Children, Profanity Movie Release: 1992 DVD Release: 03/19/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 34 mins Studio: Miramax Members Wishing: 60 Genres: Comedy Drama, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Melodrama, Dance Film

This wildly off-beat comedy is about a male dancer (Paul Mercurio) who refuses to follow the accepted rules of ballroom dancing and creates his own style of choreography, which infuriates the ballroom dancing establishment. Before he's scheduled to compete in the Pan-Pacific ballroom championships, he's forced to take up a new partner (Tara Morice), a beginner who initially seems without promise. With his help, she turns into an assured and wonderful dancer. Baz Luhrmann's visual style may be too bright, gaudy and exaggerated for some tastes, yet he treats his characters with compassion, which makes Strictly Ballroom such an engaging comedy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Paul Mercurio - Scott Hastings
Tara Morice - Fran
Bill Hunter - Barry Fife
Barry Otto - Doug Hastings
Pat Thompson - Shirley Hastings
Gia Carides - Liz Holt

Director Baz Luhrmann gives out love, song, and dance in the hyper-styled film Strictly Ballroom. Buena Vista/Miramax has done a fantastic job at making sure this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer appears solid and very clean. While a few imperfections exist (i.e., dirt, grain, digital artifacting), the bulk of this image looks natural and exceptionally bright and flashy. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English. This is a semi-well mixed soundtrack that features some directional use, though the bulk of the mix tends to come from only the front and center speakers without much dynamic range. Also included on this disc are English, French, and Spanish subtitles. Included on this first-ever DVD edition of Strictly Ballroom are some great extra features, starting with a commentary track by director Luhrmann, production designer Catherine Martin, and choreographer John O'Connell. Each participant has a lot to say on the making of the film while Luhrmann comes off as positively energetic. The documentary "Samba to Slow Fox" really has nothing to do with the film, instead focusing on competitive ballroom dancing in Australia. Next up are a group of short featurettes that touch on the different aspects of the film (narrated by Luhrmann) that include the film's production design, the promotional campaign, and some personal information on the director. Each of these run anywhere from 25 seconds to three minutes. Finally there is a gaggle of theatrical trailers for different Buena Vista DVDs. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide