«Flashdance», between arrests for domestic violence and sudden deaths, here’s what happened to the protagonists

On April 15, 1983, exactly forty years ago, it landed in US cinemas «Flashdance», directed by Adrian Lyne. The film tells the story of Alex, a young welder from Pittsburgh played by Jennifer Beals, who dreams of becoming a dancer and being admitted to the dance academy. During the day the girl works in the factory, in the evening she dances in the Mawby’s nightclub and prepares for the difficult dance exam that she will eventually pass. The film was panned by the critics, but immediately achieved global success and launched the protagonist who was a university student at the time of filming. Costing $7 million, it grossed over $200 million worldwide. The main piece of the soundtrack, «Flashdance…What A Feeling», sung by Irene Cara (who passed away a few months ago), is the work of the Italian Giorgio Moroder, one of the most famous gurus of electronic music and disco music. The piece won the Oscar for best song in 1984. The vinyl with the film’s music sold 700 thousand copies in the first two weeks and in total exceeded 6 million copies. Although some scenes appear naive and obvious, so much so that the film has been defined as “a Cinderella tale updated to the 80s”, “Flashdance” marked an era and made a generation dance.