Written by: Dominick at 12:37 am
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Movie Info:
Writers: Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey
Director: Randal Kleiser
Cast: Olivia Newton John, John Travolta, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, Kelly Ward, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly, Dinah Manoff, Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Sid Caesar
Rating: PG
Studio: Magnolia
Release Info:
Theatrical Release: June 16, 1978
DVD Release Date: September 23, 2008
Online Availability: Letterman Sweater at Amazon for $14.99 – Pink Ladies at Amazon – T-Birds at Amazon
I love Grease. You might be surprised to learn I’m a fan of musicals. As a former actor/singer I have a great respect for the musical genre. Grease is by far, the most fun musical out there. In its movie form, it’s become a true classic and it’s hard to believe that it has been 30 years since the movie first premiered. So much time has passed and this movie only helped to propel Olivia Newton John and John Travolta to super stardom.
Now you can’t watch a movie with Travolta in it, without seeing him get his groove on, on the dance floor, and Grease is just one of the films that showed off how good he is at dancing. Of course, that really doesn’t have anything to do with the legacy of Grease. This movie was bigger than any of the stars in it. It was/is bigger than any of the cast and crew ever could have anticipated. In fact, I truly do not know one person who doesn’t like Grease. It’s just that good of a movie. It’s timeless and the new generation finally has a chance to enjoy this classic.
So, what is it that people like so much about Grease? There are catchy songs. It reflects true high school spirit. It has great actors and excellent acting performances. Grease is the word..truly. I can’t think of a single thing wrong with this movie. Most of all, Grease is fun. I know I’ve said that before, but it really is fun to watch. It’s hard not to be happy while watching this musical.
So, in 1978, a relatively unknown Australian actress, Olivia Newton John, shared her leading role with a very famous, on top of his game, John Travolta. He was already reeling from the success of Saturday Night Fever. Add in remarkable chemistry between the two and a quirky set of actors that span several generations in Hollywood, with the likes of Didi Conn, Jeff Conaway (the true blue Broadway Danny), Eve Arden, Joan Blondell, Frankie Avalon, Sid Caesar, Dina Manoff, and Stockard Channing, and you have one heck of a terrific movie.
Grease Plot
For the 30th anniversary of Grease, Paramount has released three, unique, Rockin’ Rydell Edition DVDs. The one we received is the Rockin’ Rydell Edition in the Letterman’s Sweater. There is also the Pink Ladies and the T-Bird Editions. Basically, these are keepcases, which you can use to keep your DVDs in, which are shaped like clothing from the various groups in the movie. The Letterman’s Sweater is identical to the one worn by Sandy. The Pink Ladies is identical to the Pink Ladies’ jacket. The T-Bird is a leather jacket similar to the ones that were worn by Danny, Kenickie and the gang.
“A hickey from Kenickie is like a Hallmark card. Where you care enough to send your very best…”
That’s just one of the many lines that are forever immortalized in the movie Grease. As you might have guessed, Grease is a movie about a group of highschoolers during their senior year. The movie is based on the Broadway musical, though it contains a few different songs and movie always have the chance to portray things a bit more realistically than a musical can, when the only thing the actors have to work with is on a stage.
At the beginning, Sandy (Newton John) and Danny (Travolta) have celebrated an amazing summer together. They’re in love and they’ve spent all of their days together at the beach. The sad news is that Sandy is heading back to Australia and she believes that this is going to be the end of their relationship. Danny tries to reassure Sandy that they will see one another again. If only he knew how true that statement is!
After singing a sweet love song, the scene moves to Rydell High. It’s the senior year there for most of the students featured in the movie, and their newest one is Sandy. Her family has decided to stay in the United States. Sandy befriends Frenchy (Didi Conn), one of the Pink Ladies (a somewhat outcast-ish clique) and is quickly introduced to the others in the group, Jan (Jamie Donnelly), Marty Maraschino – like the cherry (Dinah Manoff), and Betty “Riz” Rizzo (Stockard Channing). The other girls, especially Rizzo don’t really feel Sandy fits in, but Frenchy really likes her.
Sandy also meets Patty Simcox (Susan Buckner), a girl who is popular and not liked very much by the Pink Ladies. Patty is the one who gets Sandy into cheerleading, something that just adds to the fact that she really doesn’t fit in with the Ladies in Pink. In the meantime, Danny also goes to Rydell. He’s Danny Zucco, the head of a cigarette smokin’, class skipping, slightly thuggish, leather jacket wearing group of ragtag misfits.
During the first day of school, Danny tells the guys, Kenickie (Jeff Conaway), Doody (Barry Pearl), Putzie (Kelly Ward) and Sonny (Michael Tucci) about the hot little number he picked up at the beach over the summer. Sandy tells the Pink Ladies and Patty about the sweet gentleman she met at the beach this summer. Of course, when Rizzo finds out this gentleman is Danny Zucco, she arranges a meeting between the two, without either of them knowing.
Danny is shocked to see Sandy and the two don’t hit it off so well the second time around. Sandy believes Danny is really a creep who lied about liking her. Danny tries to play things cool with his friends. With the pressure of the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies, the two might not make it through their senior year without some fights, some misunderstandings and plenty of tears on Sandy’s part. Of course, there are some happy moments, as well. National Bandstand hosts a dance off through the school and the T-Birds create an awesome car, Grease Lightening, which they’ll be using in a big race.
Beyond that, there’s some singing, some dancing, some nerd bashing, a football rally, an unlikely person joins the track team, a sleepover, a date at the drive-in, a student leaves school to become a beautician, only to flunk out, and a touching scene where Frankie Avalon plays a guardian angel like Debbie Reynolds had in Tammy. With so much excitement and fun, how could I possibly give Grease a low rating? If you haven’t seen Grease then shame on you! If you have and don’t own it on DVD, then you need to check the Rockin’ Rydell Edition out!
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Grease has never looked better than in the Rockin’ Rydell edition. Previous releases of the DVD had a lot of visual errors. This version, presented in 2.20:1 anamorphic widescreen has been remastered. Things look so much better, that in comparison to past releases, this looks like an entirely new movie. The colors are bright, realistic, and vibrant. The skintones are more natural. It’s hard to believe that this movie was made 30 years ago, because it doesn’t look like it.
The audio quality for Grease is pretty much the same as past releases. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track comes through clearly. The music filled soundtrack is full bodied and somewhat dynamic (though this could be improved upon in the future). The dialogue and music are balanced nicely. This sound is full and robust. There are Spanish and French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo tracks, as well. Subtitles are available in English.
Visual: 
Audio: 
Bonus Features:
The Rockin’ Rydell Edition of Grease is full of bonus features. There are plenty of features in comparison to what was offered in much earlier releases of this movie. The original trailer for this 1978 film is the first bonus on this DVD. Next is a video intro by the director of Grease, Randal Kleiser. This is a very short discussion of what the movie is and introduces fans of the movie to Kleiser. Speaking of Kleiser, he plays a big part of this entire bonus section.
Kleiser is back in a full length commentary, which he does with Patricia Birch, the choreographer of the film. This is a bit dry, but does have plenty of information die-hard fans will love to know about the movie, its production and its cast. Birch is there to discuss the dancing and choreography for the movie, since there were many large dance sequences. If you want to learn more about Grease you will certainly learn it in this commentary, so listen to it even if it has occasional boring moments.
Moving on, there is the “Rydell Sing-Along”, where you can sing along with your favorite songs from Grease. There are 11 songs in total and this is just like Karaoke, with the words flashing across the screen. This means nearly anyone who can read can participate in this fun bonus. There are a few ways to use this feature. Play all the songs in a group, play them individually, or play them while watching the film, so as the song happens in the film you can karaoke it. This is great for movie nights!
There is a long featurette that serves as more than a making of, called, “The Time, The Place, The Motion: Remembering Grease.” The cast of Grease as well as the crew and producers reflect on this wonderful movie and what it took to make it. There are some pretty funny memories, like when Stockard Channing mentions her “hickey from Kenickie” was real because Jeff Conaway doesn’t like doing anything half way. Olivia Newton John discusses how she requested a screen test and how she had to feel comfortable and have chemistry with John or she wasn’t going to do the film. Luckily, the two got along famously. This is, by far, the very best bonus in the set!
Moving on, there is the featurette, “The Moves Behind the Music.” As you might have guessed, this looks at the dance sequences and what went into making them. There were many extras, a lot of dancing and a lot of planning that had to go into choreographing such large scenes. There is also a featurette called “Thunder Roadsters”, which looks at the cars used, especially Grease Lightening, and what it took to give the cars the look/feel the crew wanted. The following featurettes, that were on the first release of Grease are included in the bonus section. These include “Grease Memories from John and Olivia” and “Grease on DVD Launch Party” both of which are self-explanatory features.
The features keep coming. There are 11 alternative and deleted scenes. These have an introduction with the director, Kleiser. These scenes were filmed in black and white. Most of these are just extended scenes. You can view all 11 scenes at once or separately. Finally, there are clips from a TV special called, “Grease Day, U.S.A”, a featurette about the original movie premiere and four photo galleries.
This is an insane amount of bonus features and nearly all of them are well worth the addition. This bonus section totally rocks!
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
If you already own the 2006 release of the Rockin’ Rydell Edition, the only change is the “adorable” keepsake cover (though some 2006 releases have the cover, too). Otherwise, the DVDs are identical. However, if you own a previous release of Grease this version has way more bonuses and a vastly improved look. I really like the little keepsake cover, but then I’m cheesy. Either way, unless you already own this DVD version in its previous incarnation you need to pick up this 2008 version. It’s Grease. Why wouldn’t you want to own this DVD?
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Grease, DVD Review, Paramount, Rockin Rydell Edition, Letterman Sweater, Olivia Newton John, John Travolta
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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
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Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.
