Imitation is considered the highest form of flattery. No film has ever been copied, parodied and referenced in popular culture quite as much as the 1983 classic, Flashdance. Whether its the chair scene in Mawbys bar or the audition scene that clinches the young stars place in the academy, Flashdance has inspired a long list of pretenders and fashion trends since its release. The first collaboration between Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, who went on to produce Top Gun and Beverley Hills Cop, Flashdance was their first success story of many. Jennifer Beals is Alex Owens, exotic dancer by night and steel welder by day. Her blue-collar life is all very well but Alexs burning ambition is to win a place at the Pittsburgh Conservatory. During a saucy routine at the bar, the boss of the steel mill notices Alexs charms and attempts to relieve her of her lowly warehouse existence with her pit-bull Grunt. Alexs initial attempts to win a place at the school are short-lived. Her lack of formal training leads her to professional ballerina Hanna Long, who mentors the young upstart towards a standard more worthy of a reputable institution.
Despite some major setbacks in Alexs progress, as well as for her closest allies, her relationship with the married Nick reaps rewards.
Nick secures an audition for Alex at the Conservatory and, despite some technical hitches, she performs the Flashdance theme song with the energy and panache of a true professional.
Flashdance is as well known for its soundtrack as its wonderfully eighties dance sequences, with the music winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
The title song, What a Feeling, remains one of the best-loved pop songs of all time spawning not just industry copycats but a slew of secret fans all over the world, desperate to whip out their legwarmers and slide effortlessly across a shiny audition room floor.
The Special Collectors Edition is a must for any fan and includes The History of Flashdance The Look of Flashdance as well as more in-depth looks at both the music and the choreography.