ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (July 2024): Criterion are releasing Paul Brickman's "Risky Business" to 4K UHD. It offers "New 4K digital restorations of the director’s cut and the original theatrical release, supervised and approved by director Paul Brickman and producer Jon Avnet." The package has one 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR (both cuts) and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. We reviewed the Warner Blu-ray from 2008 HERE and have compared some captures below. The new 2160P image is superior - in all the ways you would want and expect; colors are more balanced and nuance, grain textures are fine but visible, contrast is layered better, more film like presentation etc.. The newer transfer seems brighter and bluer but the disparity was quite evident on my system. The two cuts "director's" and "theatrical", are seamlessly branched on the Criterion 4K UHD and Blu-ray. The difference comes in the final 8-minutes of the film but the running time actually is the same. Paul Brickman’s director’s cut has the original, darker ending that was a bonus feature on the Warner Blu-ray. 

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 60 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: The Conversation (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perfect Days, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le samouraï  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Castle of Blood (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (HDR), Fist of Legend (HDR), American Gigolo (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Long Wait (no HDR,) Bound (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Valiant Ones (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mute Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Narc (software uniformly simulated HDR), Peeping Tom (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (software uniformly simulated HDR), High Noon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Criterion) (software uniformly simulated HDR), I Am Cuba (no HDR), The Demoniacs (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Nude Vampire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nostalghia (no HDR), Werckmeister Harmonies (no HDR), Goin' South (software uniformly simulated HDR), La Haine (software uniformly simulated HDR,) All Ladies Do It (software uniformly simulated HDR), Old Henry  (software uniformly simulated HDR), To Die For (software uniformly simulated HDR), Snapshot (software uniformly simulated HDR), Phase IV (software uniformly simulated HDR), Burial Ground (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dark Water (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fear and Desire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (no HDR), Paths of Glory (software uniformly simulated HDR), Southern Comfort (software uniformly simulated HDR).

On their 4K UHD, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original English language. "Risky Business" has a car chase... and a handful of audible separations including the father's Porsche into Lake Michigan. The score has indelible tracks by Tangerine Dream (Sorcerer, Thief, The Keep, Firestarter, Miracle Mile, Heartbreakers, etc.) that work so well in the film. There is also, famously "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger with Cruise famously miming a performance - plus Phil Collins ("In the Air Tonight",) Muddy Waters, Prince ("DMSR"), Jeff Beck, Journey, "Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, and "Swamp" by Talking Heads. It's scarce but available on CD and vinyl HERE with half the tracks being Tangerine Dream. It all fits the film early 80s period perfectly. The discs both offer optional English (SDH) subtitles - and the 4K UHD, is region FREE, playable worldwide while the Blu-ray is 'A' / 'B' dependant on your geographic location where you purchase the package.

The 4K UHD and Blu-ray disc offer both cuts and the same audio commentary for the original theatrical release featuring Brickman, Avnet, and actor Tom Cruise - that was on the 2008 Warner Blu-ray... it remains pretty interesting to hear since it was 25-years after the production and their recollections are more recent than if done today (Brickman is 75 in 2024.) It was Brickman's directorial debut film. Much of "Risky Business" was filmed in Brickman's hometown of Highland Park, Illinois, and the surrounding area. I enjoyed revisiting it. The rest of the extras are on the second disc Blu-ray. There are new interviews with Avnet and casting director Nancy Klopper running almost 40-minutes in total plus a new 1/2 hour conversation between editor Richard Chew and film historian Bobbie O’Steen. The Dream Is Always the Same: The Story of “Risky Business,” was on the older Blu-ray cited as a "25th Anniversary Retrospective" there. It is well-made featuring interviews with Amy Heckerling (Fast Time at Ridgemont High), Curtis Armstrong, Bronson Pinchot, Peter Travers, Jon Avnet, Joe Pantoliano (Bound), Steve Tisch, Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay (Runaway Train, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) and Cameron Crowe (Vanilla Sky.) There are also a 1/4 hour of amusing 'Screen tests' with Cruise and actor Mornay partially shown in The Dream Is Always the Same and as a supplement on the last Blu-ray. Lastly, is a trailer and the package has liner notes with an essay by film curator and critic Dave Kehr.

Criterion's 4K UHD release of Paul Brickman's "Risky Business" is highly anticipated with a healthy does of nostalgia for its many fans. Sean Penn (who has a cameo somewhere in Risky Business), Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, John Cusack and Tom Hanks auditioned for the role of Joel Goodsen that was eventually given to Cruise who stated in the extras "I was just trying not to get fired". Michelle Pfeiffer was offered De Mornay's 'Lana' (her breakthrough role), but turned it down. So we have Cruise as a 'straight arrow' from the upper-economic strata primed for the Ivy League. He is smart enough to realize that he is short on experience - and could do with a does of 'letting loose' when provided the opportunity. 'Lady of the evening' Lana tells him 'Oh, Joel, go to school, go learn something' and he gets his initiation into business street-smarts... and sex. "Risky Business" is buoyed by effective dialogue, memorable Tangerine Dream score, Cruise's breakout role (with "Old Time Rock and Roll" miming) and De Mornay's hypnotic camera appeal.... plus the intimate train sojourn. Criterion's 4K UHD release is a good one and should definitely be a keeper. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze