Showgirls: 15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition

The widely ridiculed NC17-rated flesh opus Showgirls that was chased from our local cinema by religious fundamentalists (so, just don't go see it!) really isn't all that bad, and if you're in the mood for some steamy scenes...here you go. It tells the story of young Nomi Malone (Berkley) out to seek her fortune in Las Vegas. But her dreams of showgirl stardom are momentarily sidelined as she pays the bills by lapdancing in an off-the-strip nudie bar. Eventually, Nomi has her shot at a part in the hottest show on the strip and goes about getting it by going after the hotel's entertainment director (MacLachlan) as well as his girlfriend (Gershon)—the star of the show. Whatever it takes. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a "Greatest Movie Ever Mande" audio commentary track by a Seattle writer by the name of David Schmader (a HUGE fan of this movie who manages to point out the film's flaws and phenomenons), two featurettes: "Poll Dancing: Finding Your Inner Stripper" (HD 11:54) and "Lap Dance Tutorial" featuring the world-famous Girls Of Scores (SD 04:56) "A Showgirls Diary" for four scenes (SD 10:54), the Showgirls fact-up trivia, and theatrical trailer.

As with the previously reviewed anamorphically enhanced 2.40:1 DVD in Issue 88, which gave the original non-anamorphic 2.10:1 DVD (Issue 41) a real lapdance, this 1080p AVC is the new definitive edition. The previously soft image quality is no longer inherent in the picture. Images are much sharper, with finer details nicely resolved, especially during close-ups of facial features and object textures. Still, at times, the imagery appears soft but intentionally so. Colors are fully saturated with vivid and rich hues. The picture is densely colorful throughout, with full-blown contrast and deep, solid blacks. This is a glittering presentation of Las Vegas that is colorfully engaging. (Gary Reber/Suzanne Hodges)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is more impressive than the previous efforts. There is some very effective sonic presence in all the strip club and hotel showroom performances. The previous DVD's Dolby Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack lacked the LFE channel, but this version does register at times slight LFE energy. Still, as before, because of the bass heavy "dance" music included throughout, as well as some on-stage pyrotechnic explosions, this soundtrack requires strong and punchy (albeit tight and controlled) bass to be 100 percent effective. The soundtrack still is essentially devoid of any effective discrete subwoofer channel activity, as there is minimal LFE activity. (The previous DVD soundtarck was void of LFE energy.) While there is bass coming from the front three screen channels, it isn't enough and it never fully satisfies. The overall soundtrack does merit a "4" rating because of channel separation, very good sound quality of the music soundtrack, good dialogue reproduction, and some better-than-average spatial integration. The music score, at times, is recorded well with an aggressive holosonic® surround presence. The new lossless version presents a more refined and more open soundfield with smoother midrange and dialogue reproduction. Fidelity generally sounds dated with a slight edginess and strident quality at times. Overall, this is a real energy blast during the intense dance routines, but not reference quality. (Gary Reber)