Weird Science

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domino harvey
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Weird Science

#1 Post by domino harvey » Fri Apr 26, 2019 11:54 am

Image

THEY WENT FROM ZEROES TO HEROES IN ONE FANTASTIC WEEKEND.

If you can’t get a date… make one! After proving himself the king of heartfelt teen flicks with Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, writer-director John Hughes infused the genre with a hefty dose of wacked-out sci-fi comedy in Weird Science, a film where every teenage boy’s wildest fantasies come to life.

Perenially picked-on high school nerds Gary (Anthony Michael Hall, Sixteen Candles) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) are sick of their status at the bottom of the social food chain. Using Wyatt’s computer, the two hatch a plan to create their dream woman – and following a massive power surge, that woman unexpectedly appears in the form of Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). Gorgeous, intelligent, and blessed with limitless magic powers, Lisa makes the boys’ dreams come true… but what about Wyatt’s gun-toting psycho older brother Chet (Bill Paxton), and the two bullies (Robert Downey Jr and Vamp’s Robert Rusler) determined to put them back in their place?

Inspired by EC Comics and boosted by a killer soundtrack (including the classic title theme by Oingo Boingo), Weird Science has never looked better than in this new special edition, including an exclusive extended version of the film featuring deleted scenes never released on home video before.


4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
  • New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative
  • 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the original Theatrical Version of the film (94 mins), plus seamlessly-branched exclusive Extended Version (97 mins), featuring two additional scenes
  • Original lossless stereo audio, plus 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround option (theatrical version only)
  • Original English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Edited-for-TV version of the film (SD only, 95 mins), plus comparison featurette highlighting the alternate dubs and takes
  • Casting ‘Weird Science’, an interview with casting director Jackie Burch
  • Dino The Greek, an interview with supporting actor John Kapelos
  • Chet Happens, an interview with special makeup creator Craig Reardon
  • Fantasy and Microchips, an interview with editor Chris Lebenzon
  • Ira Newborn Makes The Score, an interview with the composer
  • It's Alive: Resurrecting Weird Science, an archive documentary featuring interviews with cast, crew and admirers, including star Anthony Michael Hall
  • Theatrical trailers and TV spots
  • Image gallery
  • Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring writing on the film by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Amanda Reyes
  • Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tracie Ching
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tracie Ching

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domino harvey
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Re: Weird Science

#2 Post by domino harvey » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:21 pm

Thought this would go to Shout, surprised Arrow ended up with it. The extra of the TV version sounds intriguing, though unlike some other Hughes movies I never saw it as a kid in either version (though I’d seen a few episodes of the TV show). Somehow I suspect there won’t be an academic discussion of Anthony Michael Hall’s “black voice,” so keep dreaming of that potential Criterion release

I like this one a lot though, especially in how it sounds like a really creepy horndog teen fantasy and ends up being a sweet movie in which our nerdy leads never actually do anything untoward with their creation and instead get real girlfriends by improving their self-esteem and worth in the eyes of others

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swo17
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Re: Weird Science

#3 Post by swo17 » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:27 pm

In contrast, I saw the edited-for-TV version of Ferris Bueller so many times growing up that the actual version (especially the scene of the nurse delivering the telegram) just feels wrong to me

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Gregory
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Re: Weird Science

#4 Post by Gregory » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:32 pm

Arrow Films wrote:a film where every teenage boy’s wildest fantasies come to life.
Absolutely not.

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domino harvey
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Re: Weird Science

#5 Post by domino harvey » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:43 pm

It’s cool that you were super woke as a horny teenager, but I don’t think it’s such an outrageous statement to say hormonal young men fantasize about having an attractive woman at their disposal, especially since the film acknowledges this but still undermines the fantasy by emphasizing the readily available reality as superior

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Gregory
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Re: Weird Science

#6 Post by Gregory » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:47 pm

I don't think any film should be claimed to represent everyone's experience. And when it's this one, far from it. Every teenage boy fantasizes about creating a subservient sex robot and then not having sex with it/her?
Last edited by Gregory on Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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swo17
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Re: Weird Science

#7 Post by swo17 » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:57 pm

Gregory wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:47 pm
not having sex with it
Ah, that's the part he objected to :D

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colinr0380
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Re: Weird Science

#8 Post by colinr0380 » Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:05 pm

I object to the idea that Kelly LeBrock somehow could not be a teenage boy's wildest fantasy! And whilst she is literally manufactured by the two boys, she wastes no time in turning the tables on them and is definitely the dominant partner of the trio! One of the more comic aspects of the situation is that once created our nerdy heroes are rather intimidated by even a fantasy female!

Actually the "every teenage boy's wildest fantasy" aspect could just as easily encompass other things too from the older brother literally turned into a talking pile of faeces to the grandparents getting freezer-drawered, to standing up to Michael Berryman as leader of a very intimidating biker gang!

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Gregory
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Re: Weird Science

#9 Post by Gregory » Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:34 pm

swo17 wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:57 pm
Gregory wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:47 pm
not having sex with it
Ah, that's the part he objected to :D
Just another reason it's a silly claim to make.

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bearcuborg
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Re: Weird Science

#10 Post by bearcuborg » Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:47 pm

colinr0380 wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:05 pm
Actually the "every teenage boy's wildest fantasy" aspect could just as easily encompass other things too from the older brother literally turned into a talking pile of faeces to the grandparents getting freezer-drawered, to standing up to Michael Berryman as leader of a very intimidating biker gang!
Dats da truth baby!

Also, all the cred she gives them with the clothes/cars/wild parties. John Hughes and The Blues Brothers were practically city issued material growing up in Chicago in the 80s and 90s, so I never saw the tv edits of this or any other Hughes movie. I’m looking forward to the upgrade.

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furbicide
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Re: Weird Science

#11 Post by furbicide » Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:32 am

This one's got its moments, but I always thought it was a weaker cousin of '80s Hughes films like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club – perhaps leaning a little too heavily on wacky comedy over characterisation. Still, good on Arrow for bringing this out, and I'm super-interested in reading the wonderful Alexandra Heller-Nicholas' take on it in the booklet.

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domino harvey
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Re: Weird Science

#12 Post by domino harvey » Sat Apr 27, 2019 2:46 pm

colinr0380 wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:05 pm
Actually the "every teenage boy's wildest fantasy" aspect could just as easily encompass other things too
I forgot I wrote about this one ~5 years ago in the 80s List, but appropriately enough that was my argument for the film at-large:
domino harvey wrote:
Thu May 01, 2014 7:52 pm

Weird Science (John Hughes 1985) Well, as per our earlier Hughes discussion, here's my last remaining "big" Hughes title and despite a premise that sounded cringe-inducing and all of the potential for a film about two geeks who somehow make their own dream woman to be sexist and bring all other sorts of baggage with it, I loved this and would rank it second in the Hughes cannon only behind the Breakfast Club. Part of its success is that of course their dream woman, despite being completely open for business as it were, never actually violates the teenage boys, and instead helps them earn self-respect and the respect of their peers and the ability to get two non-created girls of their own age. The movie has lots of set pieces and wacky gags, some of which are refreshingly off-kilter (At one point the entire kitchen turns blue), and it is a testament to the worthlessness of the MPAA system when this movie, which is filled with a surprising amount of nudity, gets a PG-13 when Breakfast Club gets an "R" because they said "Fuck" too many times. But the MPAA being idiotic is not news. So, anyways, good work John Hughes on getting this past the censors.

What makes Weird Science work is that it deftly pounces on the inherent comic possibilities of two losers getting what they've always said they wanted, and many of their troubles are filtered through a perfectly realized teenage sensibility. Take the scene where Kelly LeBrock threatens Anthony Michael Hall's parents at gunpoint to make them okay with her taking him out. This would be tonally bizarre and inexplicable in its lack of a comic focal point unless you think of how effectively this functions as teenage wish fulfillment. The whole film is like that. And the leads are likable and not irredeemably dorky, their desired dates cute and nice (this is not "Convert the stuck up bitches"), and the villains nicely sketched in. Plus, any film where Anthony Michael Hall speaks in a "black" voice for like fifteen minutes and still ends up a good movie has some kind of magic mojo working in its favor!

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rapta
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Re: Weird Science

#13 Post by rapta » Sat Apr 27, 2019 3:25 pm

bearcuborg wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:47 pm
John Hughes and The Blues Brothers were practically city issued material growing up in Chicago in the 80s and 90s, so I never saw the tv edits of this or any other Hughes movie.
Another 4K restoration from Arrow of this beauty wouldn't go amiss (nor would some more Hughes; especially Uncle Buck).

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colinr0380
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Re: Weird Science

#14 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Apr 28, 2019 2:33 am

That's a great write up domino. That reminds me that I sometimes wonder if this is the 'horny teen' version of Mary Poppins with Kelly LeBrock as the Julie Andrews figure!

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Feego
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Re: Weird Science

#15 Post by Feego » Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:49 am

The comparison featurette exploring the differences between the theatrical and TV versions is really fun. In addition to the obvious profanity, sexual references, and nudity, it's always surprising to see what was once considered inappropriate for TV then that wouldn't cause anyone to bat an eyelash now (lines that were changed include "We are studs," "They're gonna freak out!" and "Screw the house."). I actually wish this kind of feature was included more often, at least for comedies. I believe the only other ones I've seen are for De Palm's Dressed to Kill and Scarface.

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colinr0380
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Re: Weird Science

#16 Post by colinr0380 » Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:38 pm

Don't forget RoboCop! (NSFW). The TV version was actually the way I first saw the film. "Once I even called him *airhead* "
Last edited by colinr0380 on Tue Nov 05, 2019 6:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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furbicide
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Re: Weird Science

#17 Post by furbicide » Tue Jul 23, 2019 11:56 pm

Shaun of the Dead is a classic of the (funkin') genre:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY7D6rKjoKM

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domino harvey
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Re: Weird Science

#18 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:12 am


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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Weird Science

#19 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri May 26, 2023 9:07 am


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