Customer Reviews

Risky Business

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think most people who buy/rent this DVD have already seen the movie and know what they're getting. There are a lot of good reviews on this movie here at amazon.com but I only saw one that mentioned the quality of the DVD. It is absolutely horrible. The companies who produce these dark, grainy DVDs need to know that the consumers aren't going to accept this type of low-quality transfer. I'd gladly pay a bit more money for a DVD that's viewable. We know how good movies can look on DVD. So why release a disc that looks as poor as this one? As consumers we need to demand better! Just as VHS movies recorded in SLP or EP were unacceptable, so are DVDs that look as bad as this Risky Business disc.

"Risky Business" is without a doubt one of the classics from the 80's which I've continued to enjoy many times. This is simply a great movie with convincing acting, superb music, good script and believable characters. While the plot isn't anything too original, the above mentioned qualities make this movie fun to watch. Tom Cruise, having the house to himself while his parents are away, carries out the fantasy of just about every adolescent male by basically turning his home into a party haven with the inevitable consequences that follow. Rebecca De Mornay (it should be illegal to look that good in a pair of tight jeans!) plays a prostitute that becomes Cruise's "partner" in the scheme of things and Joe Pantoliano plays her sleazy pimp and does a great job in his role.

One thing that stands out about "Risky Business" is that while technically a comedy, the tone is often dark in terms of sequence of events and the eerie (yet great) instrumental music that pretty much makes up the soundtrack. While others might not really like this, I think it makes the movie stand out and avoid the over-the-top silliness that have caused many 80's comedies to become dated by today's standards. Don't get me wrong, I love those 80's movies, but "Risky Business" has a certain quality to it that takes on a more serious tone while also maintaining the fun element.

And finally, I have to say that the DVD transfer is absolutely horrific. Extras are virtually non-existent and image/sound quality is abysmal. 2003 has come and almost gone, so by now it's pointless to hope for a 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD. So if you intend to buy this get it on VHS. I can't see why anyone would want the DVD other than for longevity's sake.

On paper,a movie about an entrepreneurial high school senior turning his parents' suburban Chicago home into a brothel while they're out of town sounds rather broad,but this early Tom Cruise vehicle pushes beyond the typical Teen Virgin Comedy by cleverly tapping into the "greed is good" zeitgeist of the ultra-yuppiefied 80's."Risky Business" also presages films like "The Ice Storm" and "American Beauty" with its similar "Sodom in Suburbia" setting. The film benefits from an intelligent(and frequently hilarious) script and skillful visual style that separates it from the(brat)pack of John Hughes films that seem to hog most of the "80's movie" spotlight. While the oft-shown "underwear karaoke" is quite amusing, the most memorable moment occurs between Cruise and co-star Rebecca DeMornay during a late night subway ride that remains, to this day, one of the most artfully erotic love scenes in modern cinema (and no one takes thier clothes off!!)"Risky Business" was also one of the first MTV-influenced movies,and makes excellent use of its soundtrack music. A gross of $6,000 would make any boy happy, except when he has to give it all away to Guido the killer pimp.

FYI - disc comes with a digital copy, but the confirmation/serial code expired in Sept. of 2009.

Otherwise, the movie looks great on BD; clearly much money was saved on the production budget by not buying any bras for Rebecca DeMornay.

Rarely will you find a video store without RISKY BUSINESS. Not only is it a contemporary classic, but it was also Tom Cruise's breakthrough film and a major hit. While reputed to be a very good movie, upon watching it, I found it to be something else. It's an excellent movie.

Tom Cruise plays Joel Goodson, a high-school kid who is just that - a good son. He's responsible, careful, and trusted. But when his parents leave town for the week, Joel decides to loosen up - but after he nervously invites call girl Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) into his house, everyone goes horridly wrong. With only a few days left to go, Joel must raise his grades, make $8,000, get back stolen furniture, and escape from the clutches of Guino (Joe Pontoliano), the killer pimp. Work is hell. And Joel knows it.

This movie is great. It wildly exceeded by expectations, and is much better than it's said to be. Cruise is great - the fact that RISKY BUSINESS is Cruise's first major film is enough to make it worth the watch, anyway; De Mornay is also very good. Paul Brickman's direction has a sort of artistic feeling to it (he also scripted); he has a unique way of creating a film that's funny, erotic, and occasionally suspenseful.

Another wonderful aspect of the film is its terrific soundtrack. It features rockin' songs from such popular artists as The Police, Bob Seger, Talking Heads, Muddy Waters, Phil Collins, and Prince. It also features new music by the hit-making band Tangerine Dream, whose techno, futuristic-sounding score gives the movie an occasionally nightmarish, occasionally unpleasant mood to it - and, of course, the film is about every teenager's nightmares come true.

All in all, RISKY BUSINESS is essential viewing from the 1980's, and it works just as well now as it did then. Tom Cruise's first hit, a terrific soundtrack, and a cult classic - this is RISKY BUSINESS.

This 1983 film that launched the career of Tom Cruise proves its relative timelessness by entertaining audiences even today. Mediocre student and always-obedient son Joel (Cruise) is left alone in his upscale suburban house when his parents take a vacation. It's Joel's senior year in high school and it appears that the only highlight is going to be a boring project for the Young Enterpriser Club contest. When his friend Miles (Curtis Armstong) forces his hand to take a chance, Joel is thrown into an out-of-control scenario involving the charming prostitute Lana (Rebecca de Mornay), her enterprising friends, an irate pimp named Guido (Joe Pantoliano), and a high school full of unfilled but hormonally charged teenage boys. Throw in Joel's father's Porsche, an application to Princeton, and the all-important midterms that Joel is in danger of failing - and you've got a fast-paced, hilarious flick of adolescence out of control.

Unlike today's teen movies, "Risky Business" is not preoccupied with sophomoric humor and gratuitous foul language. It's too smart a screenplay for that. Instead, it focuses on the humor of a good boy gone temporarily bad, and how one small act of rebellion changes everything. At times, the film tries to be artsy with its gimmicky camera shots, direction, and editing, thus dating the film more than the costumes and screenplay do, but overall it succeeds. The music is great, particularly for those who remember the times.

Dust off your memories and revisit this fun flick. If you've never seen it, you should, if for no other reason than for seeing why Tom Cruise and Rebecca de Mornay rocketed to fame following its release.

A subversive, quintessential 1980s-style coming-of-age story, disguised as an 80s teen sex romp, set in the Chicago suburbs. It recasts the elements of William Faulkner's coming-of-age story, The Reivers--the young man (Joel), the old man's car (the Porsche), the corrupting influence (Curtis Armstrong), and Miss Reba's house (his parents' North Shore home), twisting them into a sort of Reagan-era fable where it's OK, even admirable, to be a pimp for a weekend. The moral: take responsibility for your own mess, get rid of the evidence, and exploit the corruptibility of your Princeton admissions rep.

Risky Business is a fantastic movie, much more complex than the standard teen fare at the time. Great music by Tangerine Dream (written especially for the movie) and strong performances from its young cast, most notably a nineteen year old Tom Cruise and twenty four year old Rebecca De Mornay. (Small side note: Cruise and De Mornay lived together for over two years after making the movie, so the chemistry on-screen must have been pretty real!)

The original end of the movie was much darker than the happy, everything turns out okay version that was released. Both versions were filmed and shown to a test audience, which preferred the happier, lighter version. The original has (to my knowledge) never been released in any form, and I was concerned that it had been lost.

I'm very happy to report that this 25th anniversary release is planned to include a new making-of documentary along with the alternate ending and commentary by Tom Cruise, director Paul Brickman, and producer Jon Avnet.

So, it appears that this is what Risky Business fans have been waiting since 1983 to see! The DVD is scheduled for release on September 16th, so we'll have to wait just a little longer. Keep in mind also that while the press information is normally correct, all of it is subject to change prior to release. But, it certainly looks very promising.

Sean P. Logue, 2008

The transfer is bad. The digital copy has expired by 10/16/09(Thank you Warner Bros) Audio commentary by filmmakers conflicts with feature audio countless times and cannot be isolated. Warner Bros is engaging in decietful, misleading and disingenuous tactics to make a profit and won't budge on expiration date extension (but what else is new). Why put an expiration on a digital download? Afraid some of your content might exist online long enough for some devout Risky Business "hacker" to acquire the film for free? (what a risky venture digital copy thing is. Poor WB)

I remember as a 17 Yr old in 1983 seeing the commercials for Risky business on TV,rolling my eyes and thinking to myself"another one??"it seemed like every other week their was a new Teen-sex movie,and Risky Business seemed just as mindless as all the others,dont get me wrong,as much as I adored the Naked Female form,sitting through 80 minutes of drivel for 10 minutes of Flesh was no longer something My teenaged self could stomach.had it not been for a friend who invited me to the movies I would never have seen the film at all.I remember readying myself for another Porkys-Private School-Spring Break fiasco as the lights dimmed,within a few minutes of the movie starting however,with those images of the slowmoving trains,and that haunting Tangerine Dream score I realized that this was anything but a typical teen sex romp.I sat there for the next hour and a half mesmerized by the Arty Camera work,great cinematography,clever script,Rebecca DeMornays eyes,the"guido the killer pimp"line(which always got the biggest laugh),The eerie,Dreamlike tangerine Dream score,The clever soundtrack mixing contemporary 80s music(Prince,Talking Heads,the police)with Blues and Fusion(Muddy Waters,Jeff Beck)it was like an arthouse version of an 80s teen movie and I absolutey loved it!I went back and saw it 5 more times in the theatre and the following year a couple more times when it aired on cable.seeing it on DVD more then twenty years later,the movie is still very impressive,a true Cinematic Gem from that memorable decade although I wish it had included more extras,ESPECIALLY the alternate ending.What ive always wondered was why didnt paul Brickman,The Director,ascend to greatness after this Film,instead of not doing another Movie for over ten years??