Product Details

• Actors: Sean Penn, Reni Santoni, Jim Moody, Eric Gurry, Esai Morales
• Directors: Rick Rosenthal
• Writers: Richard Di Lello
• Producers: Marty Hornstein, Robert H. Solo
• Format: Color, EP, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Republic Pictures
• VHS Release Date: February 21, 1995
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303338739
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,526 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sean Penn delivered a star-making one-two punch in the early '80s, debuting as stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and turning up only a few months later, all but unrecognizable, as a steel-nerved teenage convict in this raw, powerful prison drama--and both performances hold up remarkably well. While the story line of Bad Boys has the familiar contours of classic jailhouse melodrama (Penn's fearless Mick stands tall against a bullying Latino gang boss played by Esai Morales), the sense of tightly wound raw force the actor conveys is so convincing that it's actually a little scary. It goes way beyond the blunt-force impact of a standard action star; Mick's acts of violence are expressions of personality, practically eruptions of his life force. The authenticity of this portrayal is reinforced by the closely observed production design: the youth-prison set is so cunningly textured that many moviegoers took it for the real thing. Ally Sheedy also made her film debut in Bad Boys, as the girl Mick leaves behind on the outside. --David Chute

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Approach this dvd with caution, February 17, 2008

By 

Alkaline (FL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Boys (Uncut & Uncensored) (DVD)

The film is great, but those of you who already own the original Anchor Bay dvd which as been available for years dvd should be weary, since this is just a repackaging. As many of you know, Starz bought out Anchor Bay awhile back, so the re-release and new packaging reflects that. No new features or upgraded transfer--just the commentary and original trailer like on the AB disc.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why has this movie been edited?, July 8, 2000

By 

John Milford (Stockton, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Boys (DVD)

One of my all-time favorites; saw it many times on HBO in the early 80's. However, the DVD that I recently purchased from a big retail store was strangely edited. I can recall at least 3 scenes that were completely omitted, for no apparent reason: 1) when Mick's girlfriend is picking out Paco Moreno from the police line-up; 2) when Tweety is released and picked-up by a vanload of his thug friends; and 3) when Mick gets to assign "sh-thouse" duties to Paco and Paco subsequently spits soda on the floor in front of him. There could be more scenes missing that I can't recall; it's been 15 years since I've seen it. However, all of those scenes add to the greatness of this film and I can't think of ANY reason for them to be cut. One of the great features of DVD is that you usually get MORE movie, not LESS. This DVD has absolutely NO extra features. But, I guess you get what you pay for...still a fantastic movie, with great performances by Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Clancy Brown, Reni Santoni and several others. Although the edits are disappointing, this is still well worth watching.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The REAL Bad Boys, December 17, 2007

By 

Mike (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Boys (Uncut & Uncensored) (DVD)

This review is for the new uncut dvd of the 1983 movie called Bad Boys. Forget the one with Martin Lawrence and the plageurized title - this one's about REAL Bad Boys.

Whenever I see a TV schedule and notice Bad Boys in the lineup, it is almost always the 1995 Martin Lawrence movie - which I have never seen nor do I care to see. Now I have my own original Bad Boys dvd and I no longer have to worry about cable channels repeating the 1995 movie over and over while hardly acknowledging the better one. I refer to the 1983 movie for the rest of this review to avoid confusion - which happens when a few movie producing idiots decide to use the same name for a different movie.

There were only 2 left on the shelf, so I quickly grabbed this dvd at Best Buy the other day for $7.99. I heard about the first release of this film to dvd that came out a few years ago where some were saying that there were scenes cut. This dvd that I am reviewing has the yellow strip across the top that says "uncut and uncensored" and it did not disappoint.

Scenes that had been previously missing from the previous vhs and dvd release have been restored. O'Brien's mom tells him to turn down the radio - and he turns it up (the song is Everybody Wants You by Billy Squire), Paco's friends stare at Allie Sheedy as she was on the L train, and Sheedy identifies Paco in a police lineup. But the the most significant restoration is where Tweety is shown driving off in a red van with his friends after he is let out (and he gives a middle fingered salute to the boys in the pen). This is key in explaining one of the film's supporting characters.

I recommend this dvd to everyone who enjoyed it back in the day. For those who haven't seen it yet - it's a cool and interesting jailhouse film that still holds up. Sean Penn plays the 17-year old anti-hero, but when he is faced with survival in a boy's prison you can't help but root for him. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.