Baby It's You – Fun City Editions (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1983
Director: John Sayles
Writers: Amy Robinson, John Sayles
Cast: Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Joanna Merlin, Jack Davidson, Leora Dana, Bill Raymond, Sam McMurray, Liane Curtis, Tracy Pollan, Frank Vincent, Robin Johnson, Gary McCleery, Matthew Modine, Fisher Stevens

Release Date: April 15th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 105 Minutes 1 Second
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Jill's a drama major, headed for college. Sheik's a drop-out, headed for nowhere. They're as different as day and night, but they share a powerful bond: first love." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New 4K Restoration from the original 35mm negative".

Baby It's You comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.4 GB

Feature: 30.4 GB

This release is sourced from a new 4K restoration; it looks excellent. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look. 

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Going by the soundtrack listing on IMDB, I did not notice any songs missing or replaced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (posters/stills/home video art/Japanese press book), an interview with director John Sayles titled This is Very Familiar to Me  (33 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producers Amy Robinson and Griffin Dunne titled From Triple Play to Double Play (29 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Rosanna Arquette titled A Little Magic (9 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Vincent Spano titled Like a Glove (19 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Matthew Modine titled I Was in the Right Profession (8 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Bill Ackerman, reversible cover art with legacy artwork, and a 20-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with an essay titled Strangers in the Night John Sayles Bitter-Sweet Detour written by Gavin Smith, an essay titled They’re Pulling Out of Here to Win: How Bruce Springsteen Steers John Sayles Coming-of-Age Journey written by Caroline Madden, and cast & crew information.

There are two Easter eggs: a theatrical trailer for Baby It's You (2 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), which can be found when you click on the FCE logo on the extras menu page 1, and a theatrical trailer for Falling in Love (1 minute 36 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), which can be found when you click on the FCE logo on the extras menu page 2.

Summary:

John Sayles directed Baby It's You. He’s known for Return of the Secaucus Seven, The Brother from Another Planet, Eight Men Out, and Lone Star.

Baby It's You is a melodrama set in the 1960s about lovers from opposite sides of the tracks. Jill is an aspiring actress from an affluent family, while Sheik, who comes from a working-class background, dreams of becoming a performer like Frank Sinatra. Though there is an immediate attraction between them, their relationship is tumultuous. When they briefly go their separate ways to find themselves, they ultimately decide that being together is better than being alone and miserable.

When it comes to performances, the cast is excellent, especially Rosanna Arquette (After Hours) as Jill and Vincent Spano (Alphabet City) as Sheik. Baby It's You’s greatest asset is their on-screen chemistry, which is exceptional. The supporting cast features a few recognizable faces like Tracy Pollan (Bright Lights, Big City), Mathew Modine (Full Metal Jacket), and Robert Downey Jr. (Less Than Zero).

Being set in the 1960s, it should not be a surprise that music plays a significant role. Though most of the soundtrack is music from the 1960s, four Bruce Springsteen songs round out the soundtrack. That said, Bruce Springsteen’s songs, despite not being from the same era, complained about the rest of the soundtrack. Furthermore, the appearance of Strangers in the Night ties in with the Sheik’s obsession with Frank Sinatra.

Though Baby It's You explores themes such as teenage angst and the idea that opposites attract—topics frequently addressed in numerous films—it ultimately emerges as a production that often exceeds expectations. That said, it is in its examination of themes like unrequited love, self-acceptance, and jealousy where it truly excels. The narrative is well-constructed; it effectively builds to a bittersweet misery-loves-company finale. Ultimately, Baby It's You is a heartfelt melodrama that quickly draws you in and stays with you.

Baby It's You gets an excellent release from Fun City Editions that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer