Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (45th Anniversary Edition) 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School is the 1979 musical comedy from producer Roger Corman directed by Allan Arkush. The film, which has attained cult classic status in the years since its release, is pretty much in line with much of the teen school comedies of the era such as Animal House and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but surprisingly less raunchy given this is from the same filmmaker responsible for Death Race and Piranha.

For many, the film is probably most famous for the title track from the Ramones, and the band does play a big part in the film. The story revolves around the students of Vince Lombardi High who love rock music, but their authoritarian new principal, Togar (Mary Woronov), but leader of the student rock ‘n’ roll rebellion and Ramones fanatic Riff Randell (P.J. Soles) is determined to infuse some punk spirit into the student body – and to go see the Ramones in concert. But when Togar confiscates her tickets, she wins them in a radio contest and gets to the show anyway.

Similar to the film FM, which also ended in a concert and heavily relied on a rock music soundtrack but managed to completely miss the punk rock revolution even though it came out only a year before, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School ends with a rollicking live performance by the Ramones at the Roxy and the ultimate scene of teenage rebellion as the kids at Lombardi wreck their school. How this finale would play today in an era where serious concerns of school violence, mass shootings, and literal mass shooting drills at schools play out is a topic for another time. ‘

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School’s nearly alternative reality, slapstick, and even building up of the Ramones into a supergroup status they never quite attained seems quaint today. While the film is hardly great filmmaking by any means, as a cultural statement that others at the time seemed to be missing it still holds up and is a great popcorn film. And I hear it’s raining cats and dogs in Idaho.

Purchase Rock ‘n’ Roll High School 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com

The Video

This 45^th anniversary edition of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School on 4K Ultra HD is taken from a new 4K scan from the original camera negative. It arrives in a 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p encodement and it looks gorgeous. For a low budget comedy from 1979, the film looks relatively crisp with natural colors, a thin layer of grain and very little source damage present. The Dolby Vision grading brings out the primary colors of the late 1970s clothing such as PJ Soles’ satin jacket, but it really comes alive during the live concert performance of the Ramones at The Roxy. There is good pop in the highlights of the stage lights, and an array of colors from various shades of blue, red, and purple.

The Audio

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School comes with the original monaural mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. This sort of film would seem like it presents the perfect opportunity to provide a 5.1 or at the very least a 2.0 stereo mix to go along with the Ramones’ punk rock soundtrack, but the mono mix sounds good here at least, with a punchy mid-range and clean dialogue. There is still some clipping that can be heard in the louder passages and some natural limiting of the range that makes it sound a little boxed in.

The Supplements

Shout! adds a few special features to this release over the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray SteelBook release from a few years ago, including a new audio commentary and a new interview with Markey Ramone. Additionally, on the Bonus Features Blu-ray Disc they include the sequel Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever in standard definition.

Bonus Features on 4K & Blu-ray Feature Film Discs:

• Commentary with Stephen B. Armstrong, Author of “I Want You Around: The Ramones and the Making of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” (NEW)
• Commentary with Allan Arkush, Mike Finnell and Richard Whitley
• Commentary with Roger Corman and Actress Dey Young
• Commentary with Allan Arkush. P.J. Soles, and Clint Howard
• Commentary with Richard Whitley and Russ Dvonich

Special Features Blu-ray:

• Interview with Musician and Actor Markey Ramone (1080p; 00:19:44) (NEW)
• Class of ’79: 40 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School — Expanded Edition (1080p; 01:14:07)
• Allan Arkush’s 2019 Sunday Slasher Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Intro (1080p; 00:05:30)
• Back to School: A Retrospective (1080i; 00:23:46)
• Staying After Class: An Interview with Actors P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, and Dey Young (1080p; 0016:02)
• Interview with Roger Corman Conducted by Leonard Maltin (1080i; 00:04:36)
• Interview with Allan Arkush (1080p; 00:11:35)
• Audio Outtakes from The Roxy (1080p; 00:15:23)
• Original Radio Ads (1080p; 00:01:05)
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 00:02:11)
• TV Spot (1080i; 00:00:34)
• Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever (In Standard Definition) (01:31:31)
• Trailers from Hell — Filmmaker Eli Roth on Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1080p; 00:02:18)
• Happy Birthday, Joey! (1080i; 00:03:56)
• The Real Riff Randell (1080i; 00:02:07)
• Who Wrote Rock ‘n’ Roll High School? (1080i; 00:06:59)

The Final Assessment

Shout! has offered up an excellent 4K restoration of this cult classic. Whether you are a Ramones fan or just a fan of silly Roger Corman comedies, this is one you should pick up.

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School 45th Anniversary Edition is out on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray December 10, 2024 from Shout! Studios

Purchase Rock ‘n’ Roll High School 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: PG
• Studios & Distributors: New World Pictures | Shout! Factory
• Directors: Allan Arkush | Joe Dante (uncredited)
• Written By: Richard Whitley (screenplay) | Russ Dvonch (screenplay) | Joseph McBride (screenplay) | Allan Arkush (story) | Joe Dante (story)
• Run Time: 93 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 986 nits
  • MaxFALL: 445 nits
  • Max. Luminance: 1000 nits
  • Min. Luminance: 0.0001 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Street Date: 10 December 2024