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DVD Review: Grease [Blu-ray]: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, Kelly Ward, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly, Dinah Manoff, Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Randal Kleiser, Allan Carr, Neil A. Machlis, Robert Stigwood, Bronte Woodard, Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey: Movies & TV

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Riding the strange ’50s nostalgia wave that swept through America during the late 1970s (caused by TV shows like Happy Days and films like American Graffiti), Grease became not only the word in 1978, but also a box-office smash and a cultural phenomenon. Twenty years later, this entertaining film adaptation of the Broadway musical received another successful theatrical release, which included visual remastering and a shiny new Dolby soundtrack. In this 2002 DVD release, Grease lovers can also now see it in the correct 2:35 to 1 Panavision aspect ratio, and see retrospective interviews with cast members and director Randal Kleiser. All these stylistic touches are essential to the film’s success. Without the vibrant colors, unforgettably campy and catchy tunes (like “Greased Lightning,” “Summer Nights,” and “You’re the One That I Want”), and fabulously choreographed, widescreen musical numbers, the film would have to rely on a silly, cliché-filled plot that we’ve seen hundreds of times. As it is, the episodic story about the romantic dilemmas experienced by a group of graduating high school seniors remains fresh, fun, and incredibly imaginative.

The young, animated cast also deserves a lot of credit, bringing chemistry and energy to otherwise bland material. John Travolta, straight from his success in Saturday Night Fever, knows his sexual star power and struts, swaggers, sings, and dances appropriately, while Olivia Newton-John’s portrayal of virgin innocence is the only decent acting she’s ever done. And then there’s Stockard Channing, spouting sexual double-entendres as Rizzo, the bitchy, raunchy leader of the Pink Ladies, who steals the film from both of its stars. Ignore the sequel at all costs. –Dave McCoy

Product Description
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/05/2009 Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Pg

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Fine new Rydell Edition… Remastered Video & Audio… Delightful Extras,

By dooby -
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)
  

This review is from: Grease (Rockin’ Rydell Edition) (DVD)

I won’t go into praising the movie. It’s already an American Classic and obviously anyone who’s contemplating buying this will already love it. I felt guilty about double-dipping but the cute leather jacket was an irresistable gimmick. The following discusses mainly technical aspects of the new disc.

I did a one-to-one comparison with the older disc. The picture has been cleaned up and looks noticeably different, though not necessarily better. The tiny dirt specks and film nicks, few as they were on the first disc, have been almost entirely eliminated. There is less grain. The picture also looks brighter, due to application of higher contrast. This has both positive and negative effects. In the darker scenes; like ONJ’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” the greater contrast (deeper black levels and brighter highlights) makes it appear clearer, and I personally prefer it this way. Some viewers may not like it as the lighting now appears harder and more “artificial”. In other places, the greater contrast tends to wipe out detail in the brighter parts of the picture; you can see this at the opening beach sequence, where the scene now appears brighter and clearer but the finer detail in the sandstone rocks have been obliterated in the glare. So pluses and minuses, but overall I liked the new transfer.

The audio too has been remastered. The bass here is noticeably more prominent than on the previous DVD. It has that very satisfying visceral feel to it but there is also swamping of the underlying instrumentation. However I doubt if many people would notice or bother. What reviewers have referred to as an echoey quality on the first remix is still there. It is actually an over exaggerated reverb added to the vocal track. Most of the tracks in Grease have electronic reverb applied but some are more obvious and artifical than others; especially so in the 1998 remix featured here. The most egregious examples would be at the “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” reprise and Travolta’s “Electrifyin’” repeats in “You’re The One That I Want.” Again I liked the newer, audio remix, mainly for its richer bass extension. Like previous reviewers have said, the 2.0 Stereo featured here is not the original theatrical Stereo mix but a downmix of the later DD 5.1 remix (made in 1998 for its 20th Anniversary re-release). And purists should note that the DD 5.1 remix (1998) is actually messing about with the music itself - there are additional instrumental and vocal overlays not found on the original theatrical soundtrack. (Eg. additional bass drum in second half of “Summer Nights,” background vocals in “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” and a clap-track in “We Go Together.”) Perhaps someday the producers will see fit to release Grease with its original unembellished soundtrack.

The real delight here are the Extras. My favourite is the 15-minute long “25th Anniversary DVD Launch Party.” Exerpts from the party concert include full length versions of Olivia Newton John singing “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” Olivia and John Travolta singing “You’re The One That I Want,” and the reassembled cast singing “Summer Nights.” All fine performances packed with fun-filled nostalgia. The 11 deleted/extended scenes are all in B&W and last for just 10 minutes. Nothing earth-shattering here but good to have all the same. The Sing-Along was something I appreciated. In the previous DVD, there was no direct access to individual songs. A note about the Sing-Along subtitles. These are multicoloured, animated, karaoke-style, lyrics that accompany the songs and can be activated within the film or in a separate Sing-Along session. It apparently caused problems for some viewers. I tried it out on several DVD players, a Sony, a Pioneer and a Denon, one of which was over 5 years old. The lyrics displayed without any problem. It also worked on a computer DVD-ROM drive (Pioneer), so at least these models apparently work. Only the main feature is anamorphic (enhanced for widescreen TV - 2.35:1 OAR). All the extras are in standard 1.33:1 fullscreen.

Movie is great, DVD really stinks,

By Thomas Almy (Tualatin, OR USA) -

  

This review is from: Grease (Widescreen Edition, with Songbook) (DVD)

I’ve been waiting years for this DVD, so I bought it the first day of release. The wrapper promised high quality Digital Remastered image. What went wrong? They apparently didn’t think to clean the film of dust (there are some real whoppers that flash by), and spots reveal that the lenses were dirty as well. I’ve got DVDs of 1930’s movies that look better than this. Shame on Paramount! Rent this before you buy, check it out, and see if you really want to reward them.

Greed Is the Word,

By Thomas A. Holmes (Johnson City, TN USA) -

  

  

This review is from: Grease (Widescreen Edition, with Songbook) (DVD)

Other reviewers have noted that this DVD edition offers nothing different from the VHS version released only a couple of years ago. Note also that this edition does not come from the original film elements. Aside from the dirtiness of the print, the lack of extra scenes and the like, notice that most of the Coca-Cola ads have been “fuzzed” out. The image boost of the DVD image makes this alteration particularly clear. It’s bad enough that Paramount was willing to alter the film in order to appease a corporate partner during an earlier release of the videotape; it’s terrible that we are still saddled with the so-so, handmedown digital remastering of a corrupted print. Director Randal Kleiser has revealed in a September 2002 interview with … that Paramount plans a reissue in 2004, a version with more extras; potential purchasers who have not yet bought this version may want to hold out a little longer. I should have been more patient.
Search Grease [Blu-ray]: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, Kelly Ward, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly, Dinah Manoff, Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Randal Kleiser, Allan Carr, Neil A. Machlis, Robert Stigwood, Bronte Woodard, Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey: Movies & TV from AmAzon

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