Gritty, exuberant and with an Oscar-winning music score, Alan Parker's "Fame" comes to DVD with a toe-tapping 5.1 sound mix and a commentary from the man himself.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

Picture Whilst it's slightly soft at times, the image transfer for this 1980 movie is vivid in colour and looks far fresher than any TV outings for the film.

Sound Here's a film that's been begging for a 5.1 sound track, and this DVD comes with an excellent effort that really makes the most of the music score in terms of mixing it around the speakers and giving it a welcome bass boost.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Audio Commentary Billed as "A Class Reunion", this commentary does feature contributions from 'class members' Maureen Teefy, Gene Anthony Ray, Lee Curreri, and Laura Dean. By far the majority of the time is given over to Alan Parker, who is as interesting and remarkable at remembering details and anecdotes as he was with his commentaries for "Bugsy Malone" and "Angel Heart".

The film was to have been called "Hot Lunch" but, as Parker recalls, he was passing a video store one day only to find there was already a porn film of the same name. Parker also reveals that he's not a fan of the TV series spin-off, feeling that it was a sanitised version of his rather more realistic take on the type of language and attitudes of the real students of the time. His movie was meant to show the darker side of celebrity or the desperation to be famous and the downside to it.

Vintage Featurette Well they've got the title right for this promo, which - while nothing special - does feature some good behind-the-scenes footage, especially of the stand-out 46th Street mass dance routine.

Fame Field Trip This is quite an imaginative featurette where you get to meet the current students and teachers of the current New York Performing Arts School. The temptation to try and replicate the "Fame" routines has been avoided, thank goodness, as the students are already busy enough bursting into song and dance at the drop of a hat without needing encouragement.

Interview Gallery Here you get to see filmed excerpts from each of the contributors to the audio commentary.

Additional Extra Features Also on the DVD is a trailer.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION Chapters: 37
Ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Tracks: Multiple languages
Subtitles: Multiple languages
Captions: English and Italian
Menus: Static, with music
Special Features Subtitles: All of the special features come with subtitles apart from the commentary and trailer.

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.