In the summer of '78, GREASE was the word and a must see for movie audiences. 42 years later, it's a nostalgic classic, loaded with great music and comedy.
Watching the new 4K, Dolby Atmos version on Apple TV+ last night, it really took us back and looks newly minted!
John Travolta is effortlessly funny and cool as Danny, the greaser who falls is love with Sandy, embodied by every 70 boy's dream girl-next-door, Olivia Newton-John.
The songs are excellent, from the new title tune by Barry Gibb, "Summer Nights", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "You're the One that I Want", "Stranded at the Drive In" and the great "Greased Lightning".
Choreographer Patrica Birch delivers plenty of classic moments, especially in the National Dance off at Rydell, set to 'Born to Hand Jive".
Bill Butler (Jaws) lets his camera pull back at all the right moments to see the entire cast nailing every dance move. We all knew Travolta could dance after "Saturday Night Fever" the year before, but he and the cast blow the roof off here, staging some of the biggest dance sequences of the decade.
It's funny to see how many adult lyrics we all just sat back and enjoyed four decades ago. The world is so sensitive today, half the lyrics in "Greased Lightning" alone would probably earn an R rating and mandatory ear muffs for anyone under 14.
This was Olivia Newton-John's first and best film. She's sweet, gorgeous and the perfect foil for Stockard Channing's rough & tumble in the hay Rizzo.
Jeff Conaway (Taxi) is a great Kenickie, Edd Byrnes (77 Sunset Strip) steals every scene he's in as Dick Clark-knockoff Vince Fontaine, Eve Arden, Dody Goodman and Sid Caesar are hilarious.
With a $6 million budget and $190 million at the box office, it was the biggest film of 1978. I fondly remember seeing it at the Town & Country theatres with great friends Julie Harrison-Chilton and Jeff and Alison Messner when it first opened.
Followed four years later by "Grease 2", a mega-bomb so big that it's still considered one of the biggest flops in modern film history. I may need to go back and watch to see if the years have been kind to it. They certainly have been to the original, which effortlessly played last night with the same enjoyable, kinetic musical energy it sparked over 40 years ago.
GREASE is still the word and gets an A.
(The next time you see me, remind me to tell you my real life story about Olivia Newton-John and Elvis as told to me by a late, great friend that was there, up close & personal. It's a story best told in person for maximum laughs, just as my buddy Bob would want it shared.)
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