Flashdance

This article is about the 1983 film. For other uses, see Flashdance (disambiguation).

Flashdance
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAdrian Lyne
Screenplay by
Story byTom Hedley
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDonald Peterman
Edited by
Music byGiorgio Moroder
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • April 15, 1983 (1983-04-15) (United States)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million
Box office$201.5 million[2]

Flashdance is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer, Alex Owens, who aspires to become a professional ballerina, alongside Michael Nouri, who plays her boyfriend and the owner of the steel mill where she works by day in Pittsburgh. It was the first collaboration of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and the presentation of some sequences in the style of music videos was an influence on other 1980s films including Footloose, Purple Rain, and Top Gun, Simpson and Bruckheimer's most famous production. It was also one of Lyne's first major film releases, building on television commercials.[3] Alex's elaborate dance sequences were shot using body doubles (Beals's main double was the uncredited French actress Marine Jahan, while a breakdance move was doubled by the male dancer Crazy Legs).[4]

The film opened to negative reviews by professional critics, including Roger Ebert, who panned it as "great sound and flashdance, signifying nothing" (and eventually placed it on his "most hated" list).[5] It was a surprise box-office success, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 1983 in the United States.[6] Its worldwide box-office gross exceeded $200 million.[2] The soundtrack, compiled by Giorgio Moroder, spawned several hit songs, including "Maniac" (performed by Michael Sembello), and the Academy Award–winning "Flashdance... What a Feeling", which was written for the film by Moroder, with lyrics by Keith Forsey and the singer Irene Cara. Flashdance is also often remembered for its film poster featuring Beals sporting a sweatshirt with a large neck hole (according to the actress, her look in the scene came about by accident after she simply cut a large hole at the top of one that had shrunk in the wash).

  1. ^ "Flashdance (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 27, 1983. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Box Office Information for Flashdance". The Numbers. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Delaney2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ DeFrantz, Thomas F (2014). "Hip-Hop in Hollywood: Encounter, Community, Resistance". In Melissa Blanco Borelli (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Dance and the Popular Screen. Oxford University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-19-989783-4.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger (August 11, 2005). "Roger Ebert's Most Hated list". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  6. ^ "1983 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2018.