Grease (Rockin Rydell Edition) [Blu-
ray] starring John Travolta, Olivia
Newton-John, Stockard Channing,
Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl
Fantastic Is The Word!
Stills from Grease (Click for larger image)

Personal Review: Grease (Rockin Rydell Edition) [Blu-ray]
starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing,
Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl
GREASE" is the most successful movie musical ever created. The 1978
film was based on a musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey and
eventually caught the attention in the early 70's of producer Allan Carr who
purchase the rights to adapt the play into a film.
With the popularity of "SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER" in 1977 which help
boost the career of John Travolta, producer Robert Stigwood joined Allan
Carr to create a film based on this play. Tapping director Randal Kleiser
who worked with Travolta in the popular 1976 TV film "The Boy and his
Bubble", recruiting "GREASE" musical choreographer Patricia Birch and
hiring Director of Photography Bill Butler ("Jaws", "Stripes" and "Rocky II &
III", etc.), this team would create a film that would become a musical
ingrained into American pop culture.
Despite no respect in supporting the film by the major film studios,
"GREASE" would become the second highest grossing film in 1978 behind
"Superman" bringing in $96 million in the box office, the "GREASE"
soundtrack would achieve #1 status around the world during its release
and the film received many award nominations.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"GREASE" is featured in 1080p High Definition and I will tell you I was
blown away by the picture quality.
I've watched this film dozens of times, owned the VHS and both DVD
versions and when I started watching the High Definition Blu-ray transfer, I
was speechless. The many colors featured in the film were quite vibrant.
This film is over 30-years-old and Paramount really did a great service in
the transfer and remaster of this film. Closeups, outdoor scenes, you
name it, the film looks spectacular!
I compared my 25th Anniversary DVD to this Blu-ray and just the opening
sequence alone with the two at the beach, the colors are just absolutely
stunning on Blu-ray. I was literally in awe of how beautiful this film looked
in High Definition. The DVD video quality just doesn't compare to the Blu-
ray disc and I was quite impressed!

As for audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD and also in
French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish mono. Since music is a big part of
the film, it was important for me to test this Blu-ray out on my system.
Where the 1977 film "SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER" was just spectacular for
its High Definition audio transfer, I was hoping to have an awesome
lossless soundtrack for "GREASE".
Somehow, in the beginning of the film, it seemed as if the audio coming
from the center channel was a bit lower than my front speakers. So,
dialogue seemed as if it was being overpowered by the music. I've run a
variety of tests and I did have to increase my center channel dB a little bit
to compensate for the music coming louder but this may be due to my
audio setup for my receiver. But everything sounded well throughout the
film after the adjustment.
The dialogue was quite clear but the music really came alive and I did
notice certain sounds utilizing my subwoofer during the car and music
scenes. But overall, the music does sound great and clear via Dolby
TrueHD 5.1.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"GREASE" comes with a good number of special features. Included on
this Blu-ray disc are:
* Commentary: Commentary by Director Randal Kleiser and
choreographer Patricia Birch - This commentary is quite interesting as
Kleiser talked more about the film side of "GREASE" while Patricia Birch
talked about the choreography part of the film. Both give really good
insight of bringing the musical to film, talking about the things they had to
accomplish and how Kleiser, Birch and DoP Butler really had to work
closely with each other and the talent to make this film successful. You
learn about the challenge of filming the National Bandstand segment, the
finale during 102 degree weather and how Olivia Newton-John had to have
her tight clothing sewn on and more.
* Introduction by Randal Kleiser - A brief :24 second introduction to the
special features. Kleiser does several introductions throughout various
features.
* Rydell Sing-Along - This segment is for those who want to watch the
musical parts from the film and on the bottom of the screen is a karaoke
single along.
* Featurette: The Time, The Place, The Motion: Remembering Grease -
(22:27) This is the main featurette featuring interviews with the Director,
producers, the cast sharing their memories of working on the film, working
with John Travolta and more. How Allan Carr and Robert Sigwood made
this musical a film and put money into it despite no studio wanting to back
it, having to work with a good number of talents, John Travolta talking
about why he wanted Olivia Newton-John to play the role, how Jeff
Conaway actually played Danny in Broadway and was understudy for

several other roles with the exception of Kinickie. And many more
interesting tidbits on the making of the film.
* Additional Scenes: Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes with introduction
by Randal Kleiser (intro :13 scenes 11:55 - TRT 12:08) - Randal Kleiser
explains how footage was recently found in the Paramount vaults. The
additional scenes found are in black and white.
* Additional Scenes: 1. T-Birds Harass Eugene - EXT
* Additional Scenes: 2. Classroom Announcements - EXT
* Additional Scenes: 3. Pink Ladies and Sandy at Lunch - EXT
* Additional Scenes: 4. She's too Pure to be Pink - EXT
* Additional Scenes: 5. Intro to Summer Nights - DEL
* Additional Scenes: 6. Rydell Pep Rally - EXT
* Additional Scenes: 7. Kenickie and Danny Outside Frosty's - DEL
* Additional Scenes: 8. The Stroll - EXT
* Additional Scenes: 9. National Bandstand - ALT
* Additional Scenes: 10. At the Dance - ALT/EXT
* Additional Scenes: 11. Thunder Road - DEL
* Grease on DVD Launch Party - (15:13) The cast and crew reunited for
this DVD Launch Party back in 2002. Both Olivia Newton-John and John
Travolta performed live on stage singing a few of their classic songs that
sung with each other.
* Grease Memories from John & Olivia - (3:23) Both talent at the DVD
launch party and discussing how it was like working together and their
memories of being on the film and their favorite scenes.
* The Moves Behind the Music - (8:14) Interviews with Patricia Birch and
the talent as they discuss how they learned the dance moves and how it
important it was for Patricia to work with Director of Photography Bill Butler
in capturing the choreography for film.
* Thunder Roadsters - (5:21) Interviews with George Barris (King of the
Kistomers) and Michael Astamendi (Car Builder/Fabricator) and others in
regards to making the cars for "GREASE". How they focused on
customizing because parts for the old Chevy's are hard to come by.
* John Travolta and Allan Carr "Grease Day" Interview - (1:47) A quick
interview wi
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Grease (Rockin Rydell Edition) [Blu-ray] starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John,
Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest
Price!