The Last Days of Disco [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

As another installment of Whit Stillman's trilogy, The Last Days of Disco fits chronologically between Metropolitan (1990) and Barcelona (1994), with several cameos overlapping and linking the films. During "the very early 1980s," friends gather at a popular Manhattan disco club reminiscent of Studio 54, where getting past the velvet ropes and inside was the first step. Edgy ad-exec Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin) can sometimes get his clients in with the help of the club's womanizing assistant manager, his pal Des (Chris Eigeman), who lets them enter via the rear door. Beautiful brunette Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and her former college classmate Alice (Chloe Sevigny) move about the club during the 24-minute opening club sequence. Attorney Tom (Robert Sean Leonard) takes an interest in calm, reserved Alice. Both Alice and the opinionated, assertive Charlotte hold day jobs as entry-level editorial associates at a small book publisher. With Holly (Tara Subkoff) as a third roommate, the trio rents a railroad flat in the Manhattan's Yorkville neighborhood. Charlotte throws dinner parties in an effort to solidify a social circle as an alternative to "the ferocious pairing off" around her. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Features:
  • Audio commentary featuring Stillman and actors Chloe Sevigny and Chris Eigeman
  • Four deleted scenes with commentary by Stillman, Eigeman, and Sevigny
  • Audio recording of Stillman reading a chapter from his book The Last Days of Disco, with Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards
  • Behind-the-scenes featurette
  • Stills gallery with captions by Stillman
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • An essay by novelist David Schickler

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Chloe Sevigny - Alice
       Kate Beckinsale - Charlotte
       Christopher Eigeman - Des
       Matt Keeslar - Josh
       MacKenzie Astin - Jimmy
       Matthew Ross - Dan
       Tara Subkoff - Holly
       Burr Steers - Van
       David Thornton - Bernie
       Jaid Barrymore - Tiger Lady
       Michael Weatherly - Hap
       Robert Sean Leonard - Tom
       Jennifer Beals - Nina
       Carlos Jacott - Dog walker

• Director:

  Whit Stillman

• Producer:

  Whit Stillman

• Screenwriter:

  Whit Stillman

• Cinematographer:

  John Thomas

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Peter Afterman

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mark Suozzo

• Editor:

  Andrew Hafitz, Jay Pires

• Production Designer:

  Ginger Tougas

• Co-producer:

  Edmon Roch, Cecilia Kate Roque

• Executive Producer:

  John Sloss

• Costume Designer:

  Sarah Edwards

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Scott Breindel

• First Assistant Director:

  Cas Donovan

• Choreography:

  John Carrafa

• Casting:

  Kerry Barden, Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith

• Properties Master:

  Daniel Boxer

• Sound Editor:

  Paul Soucek

REVIEW:

• Whit Stillman films are known for being chock-full of smart, snappy dialogue and little else, and The Last Days of Disco tinkers with that formula only slightly. The third installment of Stillman's "Yuppie" trilogy, along with Metropolitan and Barcelona, finds the same character types discussing the same issues, although this time the setting is the dawning Reagan years when disco is going down for the count. Stillman uses the closing of a disco palace to delve into the drug and sex themes and symbolize the end of an era, and his main obstacle this time around is that his characters are all designed to be rather unlikable, which is a big hurdle to overcome. Kate Beckinsale, American accent in tow, is one of the more disagreeable women to grace the screen but she delivers some of the best lines in the film. Chloe Sevigny, on hand as the moral center, tries to garnish what sympathy the audience is willing to give but can't quite muster it. Stillman regular Christopher Eigeman more or less reprises his roles from the earlier films, but he too has some terrific one-liners. Even those who appear to be above the fray, like MacKenzie Astin and Robert Sean Leonard have their downsides. Everyone in this film seems way too intellectual to be true, which doesn't help matters much, but Stillman is so good at manipulating the situations that their flaws actually become hypnotic. In perhaps one of the subtlest ways imaginable, each character represents the death of disco. Surprisingly for a Stillman film, it's a bit of a downer. However, the soundtrack alone is enough to make one wistful for the days of mirror balls. ~ Dan Friedman, Rovi