Heathers [Blu-ray]

Director: Michael Lehmann Michael Lehmann

Overview

A deliciously nasty black comedy, Heathers is set at a cliquish high school in Ohio. The most exclusive of those cliques is the Heathers, comprised of the prettiest and most popular girls in town. The group's leader is the manipulative Kim Walker, who orchestrates the humiliation of anyone who fails to meet her standards. Eventually, Heathers member Winona Ryder begins to exhibit a conscience; together with her hardcase boyfriend Christian Slater, Ryder plots to avenge all the unfortunate victims of the group. Before long, Heather (Kim Walker) ends up dead along with Kurt and Ram, with poignant suicide notes posted near their bodies.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/27/2011
UPC:	0014381732252
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	R
Source:	RLJ ENTERTAINMENT, INC
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	1,578

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Winona Ryder	Veronica Sawyer
Christian Slater	J.D.
Kim Walker	Heather Chandler
Penelope Milford	Pauline Fleming
Glenn Shadix	Fr. Ripper
Lance Fenton	Kurt Kelly
Patrick Labyorteaux	Ram
Jeremy Applegate	Peter Dawson
Jon Matthews	Rodney
Carrie Lynn	Martha `Dumptruck' Dunnstock
Shannen Doherty	Heather Duke,Actor
Lisanne Falk	Heather McNamara
Ursula Martin	Featured
Jon Mathews	Rodney
Phill Lewis	Dennis
Renée Estevez	Betty Finn
John Zarchen	Country Club Keith
Sherrie Wills	Country Club Courtney
Andy David	Fat Cynic
Kevin Hardesty	1st Heavy Metaller in Parking Lot
Josh Richman	2nd Heavy Metaller in Parking Lot
Bess Meyer	Female Stoner
Jennifer Rhodes	Veronica's Mom
Bill Cort	Veronica's Dad
Larry Cox	David
Kent Stoddard	Brad
John Ingle	Principal Gowan
Stuart Mabray	Counselor Paul Hyde
Aaron Mendelson	Nerd in Pauline's Class
Kirk Scott	Big Bud Dean
Mark Bringleson	Officer McCord
Chuck Lafont	Officer Milner
Mark Carlton	Kurt's Dad
David Newman	Composer

Technical Credits

Daniel Waters

Denise Di Novi	Producer
Michael Lehmann	Director
Chris Webster	Executive Producer
Daniel Waters	Screenwriter
Sally Dennison	Casting
Julie Selzer	Casting

Editorial Reviews

John Hughes minted the gold standard for '80s teen movies with such heartfelt profiles in angst as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. But when Heathers arrived in 1989, it heralded a new age. A black comedy with a brutally witty script (by Daniel Waters and director Michael Lehmann), Heathers mixed satire, nihilism, and madcap horror into a bubbling, critic-pleasing brew. It also helped propel Winona Ryder to prominence, portraying Veronica, the offbeat outsider who joins the sadistic, school-ruling clique known as the Heathers (Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, and Kim Walker) only to grow intensely dissatisfied with their antics. Expelled from the group, she takes up with new kid, J. D. (Christian Slater, channeling Jack Nicholson), whose misanthropy trumps even her own repulsion at phony adolescent hierarchies. Soon, Heather bodies begin piling up, Veronica realizes that J. D. is a homicidal maniac, and it's clear that teen movies will never be the same. A colorful pop paean to teen alienation, Heathers attacks the status obsession of American teens with glee -- a strain that informs such '90s hits as Clueless and American Beauty, as well as the poignant 2001 entry Ghost World. The DVD editions -- either the Limited Edition tin or the more conventional Special Edition -- sport audio commentary and "Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads," a featurette, bearing the Heathers working title, that reunites the cast and crew. Also unearthed and presented for the first time -- alas, only in script form -- is the original ending (with Veronica aiding rather than hindering J. D.'s final spree).

Barnes & Noble - Chas Turner

A more scathing and trenchant teen movie has rarely been made than Heathers. Packaged and sold as a film about a group of wanna-be Valley Girls, it turned out to be a deadly examination of cliques and teenage vengeance, a black comedy comparable in its own way to Lord of the Flies. Screenwriter Daniel Waters and writer-director Michael Lehmann took audiences by surprise with smart, telling dialogue and a diabolical plot. Playing the only member of an Ohio high school's ruling clique not named Heather, Winona Ryder did much to launch herself into stardom. The film also cemented the bad-girl reputation of TV star Shannen Doherty and featured Christian Slater in his first major starring role. Heathers was too dark to be as popular with mass audiences as it was with many viewers and critics.

All Movie Guide