Heathers Blu-ray offers decent video and audio in this still overall recommended Blu-ray release
At Westburg High, you're either a Heather or a nobody. And while Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) might not be named Heather, she's a hands-down Heather in spirit, waging battles in the school's full-scale popularity war … but it's all getting to be a bit too much. Enter mysterious newcomer Jason (Christian Slater), who offers her the perfect -- albeit deadly -- solution to end the Heathers's social tyranny.
The Teen Angst genre is certainly nothing new to Hollywood, and the decade of the 1980s
seemed
to have the market cornered for such films. Two prime examples immediately spring to mind,
the
1985 John Hughes soul-searcher The Breakfast Club and the 1989 Michael Lehmann
cult
classic Heathers. A staple of the home video market and a cornerstone of cable
television
broadcast schedules, The Breakfast Club is certainly the more popular of the two, and is
arguably the better film. Certainly more refined, boasting a bigger and better cast, higher
production values, and a director who has established himself as one of Hollywood's elite power
players of the past quarter century, The Breakfast Club is the model by which all other
films
of its kind are judged. Still, Heathers is perhaps the most sinister and darkly comedic
film
ever to depict that hodgepodge of culture, curiosity, confusion, and confrontation that is life as a
high school student. A film dealing with issues ranging from revenge, acceptance, exclusion,
emotion, and even murder and suicide, Heathers is a film that is not necessarily a tough
watch, but
is one that simmers on the brain long after the disc stops spinning. The film is part fantasy,
certainly exploring territory that is clearly taboo, but handling the material with a sense of
purpose. While viewers will likely leave the film with a different take on what it is trying to say,
there is little doubt that the primary theme of the film is the importance of individuality, in that
regard the film's message similar to that
of the recent animated hit Kung Fu Panda, but
obviously told with darker undertones and mature themes.
Today's lesson: Hull Clean and teen girls don't mix.
Veronica (Winona Ryder, Edward
Scissorhands) belongs to the most popular clique in high school, the "Heathers," so
named for the three other members who share that same first name. Nevertheless, she finds
herself becoming more and more discontent with the popular clique culture and begins a physical
and emotional relationship with the school's rebel, J.D. (Christian Slater, Broken Arrow). The
two share a desire to see the Heathers -- and the school's hierarchy in general -- collapse, and
the logical first step, of course, of is to eliminate the source of the problem. While Veronica
doesn't necessarily see eye-to-eye with J.D., disagreeing that killing one of the Heathers outright
is the right approach, the couple wind up doing just that, and forging a suicide note to cover
their tracks. Soon thereafter, Heather becomes more popular than ever in death, and the
subject of suicide is the talk of the school. Using the suicidal trend as cover, J.D. plans the staged
murders of two of the school's football jocks -- Ram and Kurt -- after they spread a particular
nasty rumor degrading Veronica. Veronica again reluctantly takes part, and only after the
murders does she begin to see J.D.'s potential for large-scale tragedy, and she must do all she can
to prevent him for going any further.
One theme that might strike viewers during a screening of Heathers is one that
showcases
that the appearance of the "ideal" life may, in fact, be far less than ideal. Veronica is a girl
who seems to
have it all, living a life for which most high school girls long. She's attractive, intelligent, the
owner
of a trendy wardrobe, has the eye of the school's most popular football jocks, and is a member of
the school's most elite clique. She also lives a home life with two caring parents in a rather nice
house. Nevertheless, she exhibits signs of regret and remorse, clearly not enjoying her status
amongst the elite, having turned into someone she doesn't recognize. Veronica has abandoned
her
childhood friends because the other members of her group don't approve of them. She becomes
visibly flustered when the group plays a cruel joke on the school's shy, overweight loner. Even
her
home life is marked by simple routine. The film depicts Veronica spending only fleeting moments
with her parents, each conversation ending in the same old joke as she eats the same old snack,
making the same old excuse for why she must leave their company, generally for something she
doesn't even want to do,
all in the name of "fitting in." Her life is superficially satisfying to the casual observer, but it
leaves her unfulfilled because she is everything but herself.
Veronica's desire to better herself, to escape from the doldrums, and to replace the vacuousness
of her
existence with meaningful relationships and activities that promote self-worth and, hopefully, a
sense of inner peace, leads her to a relationship with J.D., a loner in whom she finds a romantic
connection and a mutual desire to break from the norm and expose the lies and false pretenses
behind which the school's most popular students hide. She at first allows herself to stand
steadfastly behind J.D.'s morbid sense of payback, taking part in the deaths of several classmates
with only a hint of remorse. Soon, she realizes that not only is J.D. taking things too far, but that
she has again become a slave of sorts to another lifestyle, this one with far more dire
consequences than cruel jokes and the shunning of longtime friends. In addition, Veronica notes
in her diary that those superficial classmates she so tired of have, in death, gained those qualities
she so desires to come out in her life: "Heather depth, Kurt a soul, Ram a brain." Veronica
certainly possess all three of these qualities, and the film brilliantly portrays how they all three fall
to the wayside in favor of the shallowness, soullessness, and blind obedience of peer pressure, of
a desire to be something other than an individual, of searching for the wrong answers in a quest
to escape from such an unfulfilling lifestyle.
Heathers enters the hallowed halls of Blu-ray with a generally pleasing 1080p,
1.85:1-framed transfer. Certain segments of the image look hazy and washed out, although the
movie has never looked particularly sharp and clear. Nevertheless, the disc manages to offer a
level
of detail and color reproduction not seen on the previous DVD release, particularly the "THX"
2001
DVD release. There are some major differences between these releases, the most obvious being
the
drastic reduction in grain and print speckles. The upconverted DVD image appeared plenty worn,
with rather heavy amounts of grain visible in most every shot. Colors also appeared worn down,
and the image lacked much in the way of fine detail. The Blu-ray offers a much smoother, far
less
grainy image, but detail doesn't necessarily suffer. An outdoor croquet game as seen in chapter
three, for example, reveals far more in the way of depth and fine detail in the lawn and shrubs.
Color reproduction of both the greenery and the bright clothing is stronger in the sequence, too.
Flesh tones also appear warmer on the Blu-ray; the DVD exhibited pale, almost
ghastly-in-appearance characters. Black levels are fairly stable throughout this release. The
Blu-ray release is a marked improvement in practically every area, and fans will likely be pleased
with the results.
Heathers enrolls on Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Please note that
the although a DTS logo appears on the disc's artwork, there is no DTS track, or any track other
than the TrueHD track, available on this disc. This multi-channel lossless mix is rather front heavy.
Chapter 12 offers the first moderately impressive audio experience of the film; the song
Teenage Suicide Don't Do It is blasted through a sound system that plays with some vigor
and presence, and a gunshot heard shortly thereafter packs a noticeable punch that slightly
reverberates through the chest. A few student-body cheers at a pep rally in the school gymnasium
in chapter 19 offer up decent quality that makes for a nice, semi-realistic moment, one of the best
the track has to offer. Dialogue reproduction is the disc's strong suit, never missing a beat and
always coming across loudly and clearly enough. While Heathers is not the sort of material
that sells multi-thousand dollar home theater systems, fans will appreciate the slightly more clear
and robust lossless offering and the subtle improvements offered over the previous DVD
soundtracks.
Despite the front cover's proclalamtion of a "20th High School Reunion Edition," there is not
much
new here in terms of supplemental features compared to the 2001 DVD release. All of the major
supplements have been ported over, a new featurette being the primary addition. An audio
commentary with director Michael Lehmann, producer Denise Di Novi, and writer Daniel Waters is
first. This easygoing track is neither too dry and technical, nor too goofy and meaningless.
These participants find the perfect pace, recounting everything from the influence of Stanley
Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket to
casting the film's most important roles. Fast Film Facts is a standard pop-up trivia track
that provides some nice background information on the film, though it simply repeats various
facts as described in the commentary track. Two featurettes are next. First up is the new one,
Return to Westerburg High (1080i, 21:21). Here, writer Daniel Waters, producer Denise
Di
Novi, Michael Lehmann recount their experiences making the film. Swatch Dogs and Diet
Coke Heads (1080i, 30:01) once again features Waters, Lehmann, and Di Novi recounting
their experiences together, much of the information beginning to overlap. Various members of
the cast, including Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, also chime in throughout the feature.
Finally, the film's trailer (480p, 1:50) concludes this supplemental package.
Combining dark humor, wit, drama, and a message on the importance of individuality,
Heathers is one of the finest films to ever depict the darker side of high school life. It's also
a rather well-crafted film, featuring standout performances from Christian Slater and Winona Ryder.
Still timely some 20 years after its initial release and lending itself well to repeat viewings,
Heathers arrives on Blu-ray and seems as fresh as ever. While the disc does not offer top
quality visuals or a robust soundtrack, they both offer a marked improvement over the previous
DVD versions. This edition also ports over most of the DVD special features and adds a new one to
the mix. For the collectors, Heathers is also available in a limited edition boxed set. Either edition
comes with a solid recommendation.
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