Flashdance

"Something happens when she hears the music... it's her freedom. It's her fire. It's her life."

1983 1h 35m EN

😐

6.5

MID

★6.5TMDB · 1,672

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Alex Owens, a young woman juggling between two odd jobs, aspires to become a successful ballet dancer. Nick, who is her boss and lover, supports and encourages her to fulfil her dream.

“Something happens when she hears the music... it's her freedom. It's her fire. It's her life.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jennifer Beals
Alex Owens
Michael Nouri
Nick Hurley
Sunny Johnson
Jeanie Szabo
Kyle T. Heffner
Richie
Cynthia Rhodes
Tina Tech
Lee Ving
Johnny C.
Ron Karabatsos
Jake Mawby
Lilia Skala
Hanna Long

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Adrian Lyne
Writers: Joe Eszterhas, Thomas Hedley Jr., Thomas Hedley Jr.
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $202M — a 28.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

43 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Adrian Lyne, shot by Donald Peterman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Giorgio Moroder. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bud S. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri and Sunny Johnson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Something happens when she hears the music... it's her freedom. It's her fire. It's her life.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0085549 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Adrian Lyne directs. Donald Peterman behind the camera. Giorgio Moroder scores. Bud S. Smith cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $202M — a 28.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
243 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Adrian Lyne, shot by Donald Peterman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Giorgio Moroder. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Bud S. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri and Sunny Johnson carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Something happens when she hears the music... it's her freedom. It's her fire. It's her life.".
8IMDB entry: tt0085549 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald Peterman
Original score: Giorgio Moroder
Editing: Bud S. Smith
Production design: Charles Rosen
Costume design: Michael Kaplan
Makeup / hair: Robert L. Stevenson
Sound: Robert 'Buzz' Knudson
Stunt coordinator: Joe Dunne
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $201,521,203
Return: 2879% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Flashdance (1983)

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Adrian Lyne

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522020-05-06
★ 8/10
Entertaining drama with an amazing soundtrack and great performance from Jennifer Beals. Not the strongest story at times but still was enthralled through its reasonable 90-minute running time. 3.75/5
CinemaSerf2022-09-06
★ 6/10
Aside from the toe-tapper that was Irene Cara's title song, the rest of this film is really only notable because it shows the sheer determination of a young woman - "Alex" (Jennifer Beals) to make it. Initially, in a man's world as a welder more than holding her own, whilst at the same time she wants to swap her night-time dancing pole for a ballet school bar and prove that she has what it takes to become a top dancer too. Fortunately, her wealthy boss is also her boyfriend, and "Nick" (Michael Nouri) is keen to help her along - sometimes a little too keen, which can lead to the odd bit of tension as she finds herself with an audition that could change everything. It is a very positive-looking film with an upbeat theme and that helps carry what is otherwise a really rather poorly acted affair with some clunky dialogue and a narrative that follows a fairly predictable pattern - before the ending that we just know is coming. Laura Branigan and Giorgio Moroder had a hand in the rest of the soundtrack, which when you watch this film again after all but forty years proves remarkably memorable (if not great). Like it or not, this was a groundbreaking piece of cinema that though it struggles to exude much punch now, certainly did quite a lot - cinematically speaking - back then. Benefits from big screen audio, and is still worth a watch if you are of a certain age.