The Movie
Showgirls remains one of the head-scratchingest, eye-rollingest, "WTF"est major motion pictures ever committed to celluloid, which imparts at least a sort of train-wreck fascination. It's supposed to be sexy--the private and professional lives of Las Vegas' hottest "adult" performers!--but in short order, the sheer quantity of nudity numbs us to its intended effect. Not helping is the array of obnoxious characters so over-the-top in their cruelty that we lose all touch with reality. And if that's the point, why set it on the gritty streets of Sin City?
The "women" of Showgirls are gross caricatures choosing to live in an angry world, spouting dialogue obviously written by a man, purporting to be shocking but really just fifth-grade-boys'-room-silly. For better or worse, the film defined the career of star Elizabeth Berkeley, who in fairness does work her ass off as Nomi Malone (not her real name!), a beautiful, gifted, hungry drifter who quickly works her way from a sleazy strip joint to the lead in the most celebrated topless revue in town. It's a journey which, like the movie itself, goes woefully off-course.
The Picture
The 2.35:1 image is delivered as high-bitrate AVC, and yet the image is a little soft, and a little noisy, particularly in smoky rooms, suggesting that this is just a modern HD presentation of an older video master. Blacks are relatively strong and there are no glaring errors, but anyone hoping to count every pore and bead of sweat will be disappointed, as this is one of those "notch above DVD" Blu-rays.
The Sound
I was immediately impressed by the use of discrete rears for traffic and casino noise, both very active in a location like Las Vegas, and later for moments like a luggage cart being wheeled off the screen and to the left. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 channel mix also handles well the musical score of Dave Stewart (he of Eurythmics fame), while the club scenes in particular exhibit the necessary bass presence, further establishing the three-dimensional space of this movie.
The Extras
New for Blu is "Pole Dancing: Finding Your Inner Stripper," a twelve-minute HD history on the art form and a mini-lesson. The rest of the bonuses are ported over from the 2004 special edition DVD, in SD. "'The Greatest Movie Ever Made' A Commentary by David Schmader" manages to find incredible symbolism and meaning, albeit at times in a wonderfully bitchy way. "Lap Dance Tutorial featuring the World-Famous Girls of Scores" is exactly what it claims, while "A Showgirls Diary" analyzes four specific sequences with behind-the-scenes footage plus director Paul Verhoeven's sketches (eleven minutes total). Showgirls Fact-Up Trivia puts intermittent info on the screen, pertaining to what's happening and plenty beyond the movie itself.
Disc Two is a standard-definition DVD with the audio commentary plus selectable video commentary for the Cheetahs club sequence by two Scores dancers who seem both horrified by the violent tone and appreciative of certain traits of the actresses. The DVD also includes the lap dance tutorial, Showgirls Diary and trivia track.
Final Thoughts
I'm no prude, and I suppose that Showgirls might work as soft porn for some, now in "HD," but the filmmakers' reported allegations that they were creating a grander morality tale or treatise on modern sexual desire are sadly misguided.
Product Details
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