There is no way this film is forty years old.

I remember very well the summer of ’84, and the first time that I saw Footloose. I was completely swept up in the music, I just recently discovered pop music, having grown up in a predominantly country household, and the rhythms and beats really spoke to me.

In fact, after the screening at the Canadian Forces Station we were posted to, you could tune into any radio station and hear songs from the soundtrack at any given time.

I was so taken by the style, that when pirated copies of the videotapes were making the rounds, I watched it endlessly, learning the dialogue, and insisting to my friend that we learn the dance moves for the film’s climax for the next teen dance.

Every time I hear any of the songs from the soundtrack, I’m immediately transported back not only to that film but to that summer. It was an amazing one for me with lots of changes and discoveries.

It’s been a long time since I watched this one, but not only do the memories come flooding back, but it also reminded me of how much I honestly love this film. Kevin Bacon was perfectly cast as Ren McCormack, a city kid from Chicago, who ends up in the small town of Bomont with his mother (Frances Lee McCain).

He’s shocked to discover that the town has outlawed music and dancing, and it’s all kept under the watchful eye of Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow). Consequently Ren ends up in trouble with the locals really fast, even as he makes friends with Willard (Chris Penn) and begins to fall for Moore’s daughter, Ariel (Lori Singer).

Ren tries to make his way, but trouble keeps finding him, until he decides the best thing to do is shake up the town by organizing a senior dance, which will bring him to conflict with the town’s ruling body, including Moore.

Filled with great songs, written specifically for the film by Dean Pritchard and collaborators, the soundtrack rocks on every level as Ren teaches his friend how to dance, he works to win the girl, and allow the town and Moore to better understand him and his generation.

The 4K is absolutely stunning and filled with vivid colours and details. Considering the last time I watched this film it was on DVD, I’ve never seen it look better. It’s a beautiful image with colours popping off the screen, and details of signs and fabrics are sharp and defined.

And that sound! Man this soundtrack rocks!

The accompanying blu-ray as some wonderful extras, including the original DVD extras of the trailer, a look at the songs, a doc on Footloose as a modern musical, and then there are the previously released blu-ray features which includes Bacon’s costume montage, and screen test, a tribute to the late Penn, a chat with Sarah Jessica Parker who plays Rusty in the film, a conversation with Bacon, and two commentary tracks, one featuring Pritchard and producer Craig Zadan, and one with Bacon.

I love this movie so much, it is permanently tied to the nostalgia of my own growing up, and entering my teen years, and that magical summer of 1984. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to add this one to my collection when it finally hit 4K, and for me, this one was so worth the wait. I was holding out for a hero, and this 4K delivers.

Footloose, the 40th anniversary release, is available on 4K today from Paramount Canada, so cut loose, with Footloose!