Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains – Fun City Editions (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Release Date: USA, 1982
Director: Lou Adler
Writer: Nancy Dowd
Cast: Diane Lane, Laura Dern, Marin Kanter, Ray Winstone, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Paul Simonon, Fee Waybill, Barry Ford, Black Randy

Release Date: January 20th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 87 Minutes 37 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (UHD), Region A (Blu-Ray)
Retail Price: $49.95

"The Stains, a fledgling punk band comprised of three teenage girls, rise, fall...and rise again in this "rock 'n roll parody" directed by music industry veteran Lou Adler (Up in Smoke). With nothing keeping them in their dying factory hometown, rebellious Corinne Burns (Diane Lane, Streets of Fire), her sister Tracy (Marin Kanter, The Loveless) and their cousin Jessica (Laura Dern, Wild at Heart) form the Stains and tour with fading glam rockers the Metal Corpses and working-class English punks the Looters. Through a combination of media manipulation and Corinne's brazen on-stage persona, the Stains become an unlikely overnight sensation. But the girls quickly learn that the business of music is insatiable, fans are fickle and fame is fleeting..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

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

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.9 GB

Feature: 61.1 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.5 GB

Feature: 26.1 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Both audio tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with director Lou Adler, an archival audio commentary with actresses Diane Lane and Laura Dern, an audio commentary with Marc Edward Heuck, and an audio commentary with Jake Fogelnest and Marc Edward Heuck.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an image gallery (stills/advertisements/posters), a reel of dailies from the music video shoot (16 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), deleted scenes and alternate opening title sequence from 35mm workprint, presented silent and with commentary from Marc Edward Heuck and Jonathan Hertzberg: Bathroom (53 seconds), TV News Broadcast #1 (2 minutes 6 seconds), Motel Room #1 (2 minutes 27 seconds), Bamboo Room and Motel Room #2 (2 minutes 51 seconds), Parking Lot (51 seconds), TV News Broadcast #2 (44 seconds), Stu Interviews Corinne (54 seconds), Billy Looks for Corinne (57 seconds), and alternate opening title sequence (4 minutes 24 seconds), an archival audio interview with Night Flight co-creator Stuart Shapiro (17 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival making-of video featurette by Sarah Jacobson and Sam Green titled The Fabulous Stains: Behind the Movie (10 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Lou Adler, an archival audio commentary with Diane Lane and Laura Dern, an audio commentary with Marc Edward Heuck, and an audio commentary with Jake Fogelnest and Marc Edward Heuck.

Other extras include reversible cover art and an Easter egg: a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), which can be found when you click on the FCE logo on the extras menu.

Summary:

Unable to find employment in the small town where she lives, a 17-year-old whose parents are dead forms a punk rock band with her sister and cousin.

The narrative follows the rise and fall of three friends who form a band called The Fabulous Stains. Despite their inability to play their instruments and their singer being tone-deaf, they manage to overcome these things due to their determination, especially their lead singer. They channel their anger into their music, and their lead singer creates a new persona. As a result, their fan base rapidly expands, primarily consisting of young girls who look up to and emulate the lead singer.

Although Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains features a strong character in Corinne Burns, the other characters lack depth, and some are nothing more than stereotypes. Diane Lane (The Outsiders) portrays Corinne, and she delivers a captivating performance that enhances the presence of those around her. She effectively conveys her character's angst and steadfast refusal to conform to others. Other notable cast members are Laura Dern (Blue Velvet) in the role of Corinne’s cousin and bandmate, Steve Jones and Paul Cook (Sex Pistols), and Paul Simonon (The Clash).

The narrative does a superb job of drawing you in and holding your attention. Things move briskly, ensuring there are no issues related to momentum, and its finale serves as a perfect coda. It's not surprising; the music is Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains' greatest asset; it is infectious and does an exemplary job of capturing the punk rock attitude. Ultimately, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains is a highly entertaining film that explores the importance of staying true to oneself in an industry that often seeks to reshape individuals into something mass marketable. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains gets a definitive release from Fun City Editions. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer