Grease is an institution. Whether it the classic stage musical, the live television production (which landed in 2016 to rocking ratings) or the iconic movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Grease is and always will be the word. Now that the film has landed on a newly restored picture and sound Blu-Ray with never-before-seen bonus content, the time has never been more perfect to add this 40th anniversary edition of Grease to the home video collection.
Grease takes us back to the 50s when Danny (Travolta) and Sandy (Newton-John) had a summer romance to remember. Sadly, it was one that ended when Sandy was supposed to head back to Australia.
Imagine their surprise when Danny returns to school for his senior year and after a recap of their love affair is captured in the brilliantly staged Summer Lovin’, the two run into each other. What’s a guy to do? Particularly when Danny is a “greaser,” aka a gear head who runs with a slightly wilder crowd. He’s not the person Sandy fell in love with over the summer and that is going to cause some trouble for what should have been the best year of his life.
The classic boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy is too cool for school for the girl and then ultimately each change surprisingly for the other in the final act has never sounded so good on screen and on home video with that audio retool that is utterly sonically sensational.
The soundtrack has a slew of memorable tracks that have become indelible pop culture anthems over the four decades since the film premiered. From Greased Lightnin, Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee, the aforementioned Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You, Beauty School Drop Out, You’re the One That I Want and the title track, it is impossible to witness this movie in all its glory without walking away singing one or many of the songs in your head for the next week or more!
Paramount and the film’s director, Randal Kleiser, came together to bring Grease to a whole new level of vibrancy for the eyes and ears. The process of taking the original negative and having it scanned and processed to presentation formats that audiences come to expect in 2018 was painstaking. If nothing else, the film is fully restored and now can be maintained as such for posterity. The audio was cleaned up as well, taking it from its original six-track mix and broadened for those sound savvy ears of today’s home video viewers. It is a stunning alteration and for those who bought or witnessed previous “redoes” of this film, this is the one to own… there is no question. It is eye and ear candy of the highest order.
The bonus features include a slew of never-before-seen elements (over an hour’s worth!), not the least of which is fascinating, informative and entertaining interviews with writer Jim Jacobs, the director Kleiser and even members of the original cast from the Chicago musical debut where this cultural phenomenon was born.
The Blu-Ray that we received for review, came in the Rydell High “yearbook” edition. The 16-page layout recalls the yearbooks we all received in high school and is a nice touch, especially for those who hold Grease, its characters and story close to their heart.
Leading the fresh bonus features is something that must be the rarest of insights into the origins of a cultural institution. Grease: A Chicago Story looks back at the literal birth of Grease the musical on the stage in Chicago. Grease co-creator Jim Jacobs is joined by a number of members of that Chicago cast and takes us back to how it all started. For fans of Grease, and even musicals in general, the featurette’s is a breath of fresh air and an utterly fascinating look at how aspirational inspiration evolves into Broadway-bound brilliance.
There was another way that Grease was supposed to commence on the big screen. It was an animated intro and until this home video release, it sat in a vault wasting away. For this Grease 40th anniversary Blu-Ray release, Paramount restored the almost-four-minute intro and it is glorious in every way. Fans will lose their minds!
Just one of the many iconic moments in the film itself was the ending that found Sandy and Danny… well, let’s not ruin it for the two people that haven’t seen the film. For the 40th anniversary release, an alternative ending was found and lifted from its stale black and white origins and colorized. It is a singular delight.
Rydell Sing-Along is a joy and allows all those Sandy and Danny wanna-be’s to belt out Karaoke versions of songs from the smash hit. Grease Reunion 2002 is an old featurette from a previous release, but it still is such fun witnessing all our favorite Grease performers get back together to talk about the experience and how the film has impacted their careers and lives.
Another previous featurette that is included in this one is Grease Memories from John and Olivia. Hearing from the two leads is always a joy and each adds their own unique insight into the sensation that became a pop culture landmark largely due to each being in the film. Also fascinating is the John Travolta and Allan Carr “Grease Day” Interview and Olivia Newton-John and Robert Stigwood “Grease Day” Interview. Both clearly have a soft spot in their heart for all things Grease and it truly comes through on this featurette.
Deleted/Extended/Alternative scenes includes many iconic moments and to see how they were originally filmed is certainly interesting, but one can also see why they were cut/reduced to the form that made the final cut. This is a featurette that is most likely for passionate fans only.
Having a fresh audio commentary by Kleiser and choreographer Patricia Birch is also a must-see. Pairing the helmer with the choreographer was a stroke of genius. One realizes how many scenes had to be choreographed, even if they didn’t involve dancing and it becomes clear that when everyone gathered that mid-70s summer to film this classic, everyone was operating at the top of their game. That had to happen, or we would not be talking about the resounding resonance of a film like Grease four decades later.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A