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  Directed by
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  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.78:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Full Frame
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English, French
  Extras

    Night Shift

    Warner Bros./Warner Home Video . R4 . COLOR . 106 mins . M15+ . NTSC

      Feature
    Contract

    The memory can do funny things to you. Night Shift is a flick that conjured up remarkably fond memories, and one which I must have viewed an alarming number of times in my younger days as I remembered almost every line in it. It came as quite the surprise then to realise how very much of its time it is, as ooh boy does it look dated now. Still, it has Fonzie in it, so it can’t be that bad!

    Chuck Lumley (Fonzie) is a rather mousy, fastidious and orderly man, a big fan of earmuffs who was formerly an investment counsellor. The high pressure of his career was too much, however, and he wanted out in preference for a quieter and more peaceful life - so he took up a gig working in a morgue. He’s engaged to a rather neurotic and controlling gal named Charlotte, and all seems fine in his somewhat downtrodden life, such that it is.

    This is until after six years of dedicated service he’s shunted to the night shift, as his boss’ nephew has been given days – he may be an utter slob who thinks that The Flintstones’ Barney Rubble is an accomplished actor, but the powers of nepotism can never be underestimated. As if working against the tidal flows of the New York subway isn’t enough, his new night partner is one Billy ‘Blaze’ Blazekowski (Michael Keaton in what was apparently hid first film role). Billy’s a thinker – a real ‘idea man’, I mean he even has the solution to the world’s garbage woes there for all to hear on his portable tape recorder – edible paper! Needless to say this manic chatterbox with a Rolling Stones fixation and a tendency to use hearses as a for hire limo service is not exactly the type that would have been poor Chuck’s first choice as workmate.

    "BUP-BAAAAAA! BA-DA-DAA, BA-DA-DAA, BA-DA-DA!"

    Things continue to spiral out of Chuck’s control when he meets a sweet girl named Belinda (Shelley Long), whose profession just happens to be that of a street walker. She’s going it alone after her pimp got somewhat slam-dunked into oblivion, and it’s not a safe world for her. After finding her somewhat worse for wear after a client decided not to pay, Chuck’s gets to thinking – surely there’s some way Belinda and her workmates could be looked after physically and financially without having to surrender 90 percent of their income to that not particularly salubrious kind, the pimp? Now, take this thought, add an ‘idea man’ to the mix and the concept of ‘Love Brokers’ is born. After quite some convincing Chuck is on board, and organising the working girls’ lives to the point of initiating a dental plan and all manner of investments. While business is going great guns, Chuck’s not the most comfy with the whole situation – or his growing attraction to Belinda - and he doesn’t even know of the super-pimps (not being too au fait with the prostitution industry, I have no other suggestion for whatever the tier above general, run of the mill street pimps actually is!) who aren’t too jazzed that they’re not getting a cut of all the action and are actively out to find a solution to their problem...

    With Ron Howard directing, and Fonzie starring Night Shift is quite the mini Happy Days reunion, however needless to say the plot summation above should make you realise it would be enough to have Mrs Cunningham reaching for the smelling salts. Hey, it was the ‘80s, after all – you could get away with being all risqué and stuff! Barely off screen for a minute, Henry Winkler does a fabulous job as the mouse that, umm, ends up squeaking louder – and it’s a world away from his super-duper-cool Fonzie persona – and Shelley Long gets a chance she obviously relishes to sully her image a little after playing the ever-so-sweet Dianne on Cheers for a number of years – even if she still comes across as a sweetie pie regardless (a hooker with a heart of gold? Never!). Michael Keaton is great fun, playing a sort of proto-Beetlejuice but without the goth makeup, and if you’re quick and alert you’ll spot a cameo from Ron plus early appearances by Kevin ‘neat’ Costner and even Shannen Doherty as a wee little one – complete with that well developed attitude she’s still renowned for...

      Video
    Contract

    Oh well, another region 4 NTSC release. It seems pointless carrying on about how ridiculous this situation is, as it looks like it’s just going to keep on happening. So, if like most of the general population you don’t have NTSC playback capability, you may as well stop reading here.

    Transfer-wise we get given a good solution to the “annoying black bars” syndrome, with a flipper disc that contains a full frame version of the film on one side, and an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 (not 1.85:1 as the case states, but at least it’s close) on the other. Both ratios tend to have fairly similar traits, and for a film that’s now 20 years old it exhibits a lot of those signs that you would expect, with what can best be described as a somewhat ’80s-ish look to things. Colour is slightly washed out, but at times tends to be a bit oversaturated in the red department – with some of the girls’ dresses especially being a little harsh on the old peepers. Black levels are pretty good throughout, and whilst things tend not to be razor sharp by any means the picture is still pretty reasonable, bar for an often alarming amount of white speckles which tend to ebb and flow throughout, plus the odd bigger scratchy visual invaders at times.

      Audio
    Contract

    The film was made in Dolby Digital stereo, and reasonably enough this is what we get. All is clear and well synched, but those shunting it via a Prologic receiver won’t get much in the way of added bang, other than dialogue emanating from the centre speaker.

    The man himself Burt Bacharach supplied the score, with a few tracks given lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager. Unfortunately the early ‘80s were hardly Mr B’s salad days, so we get rather pulpy mush like the theme Night Shift, which could only have been performed by blink and you would have missed them overnighters Quarterflash, as it sounds almost exactly like their solitary (in Australia at least) hit Harden My Heart put through a blender for about a nanosecond – almost identical. Otherwise there’s the alarmingly ewwy That’s What Friends Are For recurring throughout, performed here by the also alarmingly ewwy Rod Stewart. These tracks share screen time with a few early ‘80s pop gems, such as Heaven 17’s Penthouse & Pavement and Talk Talk’s fabulously new romantic eponymous song – plus naturally enough there’s the Rolling Stones, and being an ‘80s film the requisite appearances of Van Halen and Pointer Sisters songs are also present.

      Extras
    Contract

    Umm, we get the film in two different ratios, what more could we want? Well, anything actually, but alas there is nought.

      Overall  
    Contract

    If you too have fond memories of Night Shift then seeing it again will most likely either have you in rapture, or seriously questioning your judgement in the past. Still, it manages to remain a reasonably entertaining diversion with some snappy writing and many memorable lines, and regardless of the rather dubious premise behind it all it still manages to be quite sweet. The disc is decidedly rudimentary, with average vision in NTSC, basic sound and no extras to speak of, however it is retailing for under $20 so that helps make up for things a bit.

    Just be prepared to see Fonzie being all wussy like - it just isn't natural I tells ya!


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      And I quote...
    "The coolest loses his coolness, there's a hooker with a heart of gold, a manic 'idea man' and, well, it was the early '80s..."
    - Amy Flower
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Pioneer DV-535
    • TV:
          Sony 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Onkyo TX-DS494
    • Speakers:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse RBS662
    • Centre Speaker:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse ECC442
    • Surrounds:
          DB Dynamics Eclipse ECR042
    • Subwoofer:
          DTX Digital 4.8
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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