3/5 Approach this dvd with caution
  by Robb Hodges (FL, USA)
The film is great, but those of you who already own the original Anchor Bay dvd which as been available for years dvd should be weary, since this is just a repackaging. As many of you know, Starz bought out Anchor Bay awhile back, so the re-release and new packaging reflects that. No new features or upgraded transfer--just the commentary and original trailer like on the AB disc.

5/5 THE FIGHTING IRISH
  by B. Fitzgerald (salem, or)
It is a shame that nowadays when you ask someone if they have seen Bad Boys they automaticaly think of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence because the 1983 Bad Boys is far superior to the later Bad Boys movie.
Set almost entirly inside the claustophobic boy's prison, this movie is one of Penn's best performances, and that is saying alot.
Penn quickly rises throgh the ranks in the prison and overcomes alot of adversity to become the top dog, and soon learns that earned respect is a sweet thing.

3/5 Excellent Film Is Butchered For Video, But Penn Still Shines
  by jahertzb@students.wisc.edu (Madison, WI)
Much has been said about the overall merits of this most entertaining and provocative Sean Penn starrer. However, not enough can be said about Penn's stellar performance as the brooding Mick O'Brien. His best performance, Penn does wonders with little dialogue. Through his expressions and body language, Penn tells us more about his character's frustration, rage, and sorrow than any verbal barrage ever could. And it's a helluva lot more convincing.

Jeff Shannon's highly informative review mentioned just about everything EXCEPT that all available home video versions of this fine film (VHS and DVD) are CUT by nearly twenty minutes. The original U.S. theatrical release was 123 minutes, but all video copies (including the earlier releases) are 104 minutes. The out-of-print laserdisc did run the full 123 minutes as did the print HBO ran years ago.

It's still quite a satisfactory film, but the mystery remains as to why nineteen minutes of crucial and interesting character development was cut. The film gets a five-star rating, but sadly I can only give the video and DVD versions a one-star rating.

The ridiculous final line: The DVD offers a THEATRICALLY-FORMATTED (letterboxed) transfer of a film that's been CUT FOR HOME VIDEO.

4/5 Why has this movie been edited?
  by John Milford (Stockton, CA United States)
One of my all-time favorites; saw it many times on HBO in the early 80's. However, the DVD that I recently purchased from a big retail store was strangely edited. I can recall at least 3 scenes that were completely omitted, for no apparent reason: 1) when Mick's girlfriend is picking out Paco Moreno from the police line-up; 2) when Tweety is released and picked-up by a vanload of his thug friends; and 3) when Mick gets to assign "sh-thouse" duties to Paco and Paco subsequently spits soda on the floor in front of him. There could be more scenes missing that I can't recall; it's been 15 years since I've seen it. However, all of those scenes add to the greatness of this film and I can't think of ANY reason for them to be cut. One of the great features of DVD is that you usually get MORE movie, not LESS. This DVD has absolutely NO extra features. But, I guess you get what you pay for...still a fantastic movie, with great performances by Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Clancy Brown, Reni Santoni and several others. Although the edits are disappointing, this is still well worth watching.

4/5 The REAL Bad Boys
  by Mike (Colorado Springs, CO USA)
This review is for the new uncut dvd of the 1983 movie called Bad Boys. Forget the one with Martin Lawrence and the plageurized title - this one's about REAL Bad Boys.

Whenever I see a TV schedule and notice Bad Boys in the lineup, it is almost always the 1995 Martin Lawrence movie - which I have never seen nor do I care to see. Now I have my own original Bad Boys dvd and I no longer have to worry about cable channels repeating the 1995 movie over and over while hardly acknowledging the better one. I refer to the 1983 movie for the rest of this review to avoid confusion - which happens when a few movie producing idiots decide to use the same name for a different movie.

There were only 2 left on the shelf, so I quickly grabbed this dvd at Best Buy the other day for $7.99. I heard about the first release of this film to dvd that came out a few years ago where some were saying that there were scenes cut. This dvd that I am reviewing has the yellow strip across the top that says "uncut and uncensored" and it did not disappoint.

Scenes that had been previously missing from the previous vhs and dvd release have been restored. O'Brien's mom tells him to turn down the radio - and he turns it up (the song is Everybody Wants You by Billy Squire), Paco's friends stare at Allie Sheedy as she was on the L train, and Sheedy identifies Paco in a police lineup. But the the most significant restoration is where Tweety is shown driving off in a red van with his friends after he is let out (and he gives a middle fingered salute to the boys in the pen). This is key in explaining one of the film's supporting characters.

I recommend this dvd to everyone who enjoyed it back in the day. For those who haven't seen it yet - it's a cool and interesting jailhouse film that still holds up. Sean Penn plays the 17-year old anti-hero, but when he is faced with survival in a boy's prison you can't help but root for him. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.