Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19446 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-12-26
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Dimensions: 3.00 pounds
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.com Essential Video
John Hughes's popular 1985 teen drama finds a diverse group of high school students--a jock (Emilio Estevez), a metalhead (Judd Nelson), a weirdo (Ally Sheedy), a princess (Molly Ringwald), and a nerd (Anthony Michael Hall)--sharing a Saturday in detention at their high school for one minor infraction or another. Over the course of a day, they talk through the social barriers that ordinarily keep them apart, and new alliances are born, though not without a lot of pain first. Hughes (Sixteen Candles), who wrote and directed, is heavy on dialogue but he also thoughtfully refreshes the look of the film every few minutes with different settings and original viewpoints on action. The movie deals with such fundamentals as the human tendency toward bias and hurting the weak, and because the characters are caught somewhere between childhood and adulthood, it's easy to get emotionally involved in hope for their redemption. Preteen and teenage kids love this film, incidentally. The DVD release includes production notes, cast and crew bios, widescreen presentation, Dolby sound, closed captioning, optional French and Spanish soundtracks, and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Review
The best of director John Hughes' many teen-angst films of the 1980s, this perceptive, absorbing comedy-drama basically puts five different teenage archetypes in a classroom for Saturday detention and lets them interact. Judd Nelson is most memorable as a bully who reveals his abusive home life, but the entire ensemble cast is terrific. Adults may be somewhat distraught by the amount of venom directed their way, and the idea that one day in detention could unite such disparate types stretches credibility, but the result is a sometimes heartbreaking, often hilarious, surprisingly moving film. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

On the DVD
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews

We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all.
Ah... the eighties - a simpler time. A time when James Cameron was the greatest Sci-fi director out there (he had not even begun his obsession with the Titanic). A time when bright, almost neon, colours and big hair were in. A time when Ferris Bueller had made cutting school into an art form and Judd Nelson was the coolest guy on the planet!

The Breakfast Club is not just another teenage movie, it is the teenage movie! (Even though the average age of the actors in the movie would have been about 25). I think you have to see it when you're a teenager to really appreciate it. Anyone who sees it when they are in their thirties or later, like Richard Vernon, (the teacher in charge of the unruly group of teenagers) has already forgotten what it was like to have raging hormones and bad hair.

You could argue that it is a movie by numbers, giving you all the elements and characters that teenagers can relate to. You have in the simplest terms and most convenient definitions a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Everyone one of us can relate to one of these characters (personally, I was the basket case). You have snappy dialogue, a very uncool and intolerant authority figure, in the guise of Paul Gleason, demonstrating the generation gap perfectly. Lots of pretty people to satisfy those raging hormones. You also have all the major topics that teenagers are most concerned about discussing, losing your virginity, parental oppression, and school status to name but a few.

The Breakfast Club is a film that I will make sure that my children watch when they are teenagers, and hopefully they will appreciate it as much as I did. (My kids are going to hate me!)

Still relevant after all these years
Some question the durability of "The Breakfast Club," saying that the themes and plotlines do not hold up in today's teen society. As a 15-year-old, I would like to say that that is thoroughly untrue. 19 years after its release, "The Breakfast Club" is still a truthful, relateable account of teenagers and their personalities, and the ways in which they interact with each other. Sure, the stereotypes of the characters may be a bit exaggerated -- but that's necessary in order to get the point across. Watching this movie, I feel as if I know these people, or at least I've run across them at one point in my high school career.

The plot, as most people know, involves five different kids being assigned Saturday detention together. Each kid represents a typical high school stereotype -- a princess (Molly Ringwald), a jock (Emilio Estevez), a brain (Anthony Michael Hall), a basket case (the excellent Ally Sheedy), and a criminal (Judd Nelson). At the beginning of the day, none of them know each other, except for the princess and the jock. Throughout the day, they learn more about each other and work at tearing down the stereotypes that pit them against each other. As for the reviewer who said this isn't realistic that they would open up so much to each other -- it absolutely is. Put five kids into a room without an adult for nine hours, and they will talk about anything.

The beauty of this movie is the depth of the characters beyond the stereotypes -- particularly the nerd, Brian, who as we find out in the movie has problems well beyond what people think of him. He is the one that I most relate to in the movie. Watch "The Breakfast Club," and see who you most relate to. It's a great experience. Beyond the social commentary aspect, it's also just a funny movie. The jokes come at breakneck speed, especially for the first half of the movie (before it gets somewhat serious). The actors are also very enjoyable in their roles, particularly Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall. Highly recommended.

Fun and artistic
"The Breakfast Club" is the story of five high school students(Emilio Eztevez's character of Andrew Clark,Molly Ringwald's character of Claire Standish,Anthony Michael Hall's character of Brian Johnson,Judd Nelson's character of John Bender,and Ally Sheedy's character of Allison Reynolds)stuck in detention for one entire day. Dissapointing and quiet,right?

Dissapointing--yes--quiet--wrong!!!!! The principal in charge of all five students,Richard Vernon(the late Paul Gleason--RIP)is nothing more than arrogant and stubborn. He won't let anything get in the way of the detention he is giving being harder than a bowling ball on one's foot. Add that together with all of the mischief that John Bender carries with him to the detention,and You've got more than just a long day.

"The Breakfast Club" may be a teen comedy/drama;yet,it is some of the best artistic work ever developed and pulled off. No doubt--without a question--"The Breakfast Club" has some of the most antic humor ever pulled off on camera. You'll laugh hard at a line of comedy you know was written in the script--You'll laugh harder at its execution by whichever actor delivers it.

What is it that really makes "The Breakfast Club" shine? On top of how well-written the comedy is,the drama is just as impeccable. Sure--its a trait that even "Happy Gilmore" didn't forget to touch up on. Yet,the remarkable part is how the drama maintains feels of darkness and seriousness all in one,not going overboard but making its intention,power,and prescence known. Don't expect anything Oscar worthy. Understand the concept for what it is,and from "The Breakfast Club",You'll find keen traits that are not only very hard to find--could have come close to not existing.

As you may have noticed,what you have here is a "special edition" of "The Breakfast Club"--a part of the High School Reunion Collection. The remastering is quite solid and adds to the enjoyment of the movie. It brings the 80's fashion and traits of "The Breakfast Club" to life so much to the point where the word nostalgia isn't crawling through your head. There are no real bonus feautures(unless you count the recommendations for a few other John Hughes films and the theatrical trailer for "The Breakfast Club"),though. The remastering is good enough to forget bonus feautures. However,if you are intent on bonus feautures coming along with "The Breakfast Club",you have come to the wrong place.

Overall,a memorable film that is enjoyable for all ages,and belongs in every film fan's collection.