MovieChat Forums > Flashdance (1983) Discussion > They made no attempt to hide it wa a dou...

They made no attempt to hide it wa a double HAHA


Why on earth did they not attempt to hide the fact it was a body double doing all the dancing specially at the end dance audition the doubles face was shown through all of the dance

I cant believe people back in the day were outraged to find it was a double all along ...did they not have eyes back then

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You have to remember that 35mm film projected in a theater in 1983 had nowhere near the clarity of digital presentations like DVD and the ultra clear Blu-ray format. VHS was a grainy affair with little clarity to boot. The secret was safe for a while unless you read a lot about the dance double controversy early on in print. I saw the film as a kid in Hawaii upon its release during the Summer of 1983 and we did not see the double's face. We were indeed believers at that time.

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I wouldn't say they made no attempt: let's say though that it wasn't a good one.
The word got out and the only person who probably took any heat--while promoting the film-- at all was Beals but it obviously wasn't her fault.

I'd say comedians picked up on it and started the ridicule which was followed by radio DJ's palying the soundtrack in the summer of '83.

Kisskiss, Bangbang

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Indeed. I'm really noticing doubles in a lot of movies I watch on Blu Ray or HD streaming, but then in the past it was just commonly known that doubles were used in movies with no way around it (like digital face changing), so it didn't bother people as much. Personally, I kind of look away from the face when I notice it is a double because I like keeping with the illusion.

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You think 35mm is inferior to DVD or Blu Ray? Well.....you're wrong.

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Crazy legs from Rock steady crew with a wig on.

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Nobody was "outraged." This was one of the first and most popular uses of a body double in a movie, but is there really a difference between this kind of double and a stunt double?

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It was pretty obvious in Footloose. I noticed it as a kid in the theater at the time.

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I heard there was a body triple (or two doubles) during that final scene.

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Yes, apparently a gymnast did the leap through the air, Crazy Legs (mentioned above) did the break dance back spin, and the primary dance double did all the rest of it... but when projected on film in a theater and with director Adrian Lyne's trademark diffused cinematography, it all blended pretty well at the time. Only now with high resolution Blu-ray and HD to you see everything so clearly.

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I figured it was a double when I saw it and wondered at the big deal they made when it came out that it was a double. Why should anyone be "outraged?"

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The breakdance spin at the end of her routine was definitely a double. It was laughably obvious.

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Like the whole movie.

Breakdancing is not ballet.

It’s like the difference between doggeral and poetry. The former is accessible to the masses. The latter is art.

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