The Last Days of Disco (1998)

Completing the loosely connected trilogy that also includes Metropolitan and Barcelona, writer-director Whit Stillman brings his signature style to this casually structured but acerbically witty ode to... well, to the last days of disco. Set in New York during 1980-81, the film follows its half-dozen central characters onto the strobe-lit dance floor of The Club--the anonymous name Stillman gave to the central setting, knowing at the time that his film would be released in close proximity to 54, the bigger-budget movie about the legendary and infamous nightclub Studio 54. In fact, Stillman's film captures the same period with greater accuracy, and draws us into the waning disco craze with more incisive wit and deft handling of a first-rate cast.

The film's casual plot revolves around six recent college graduates, and Stillman charts their clashes and intimacies with a keen sense of human foibles and frailties, pausing throughout for such characteristic touches as a hilarious conversation about the sexual politics of Disney's Lady and the Tramp or the homoerotic subtext in an episode of Wild Kingdom. Sharp dialogue is in rich abundance here, and through it all Stillman captures the fading glory of disco as his characters make the transition toward adult responsibilities. It's here that we see how this film is subtly intertwined with Stillman's earlier work, and where we gain a fuller and more satisfying appreciation of a filmmaker who has carved a singular niche for himself in the world of independent movies. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

IT'S ONLY ME BUT:

LOVED IT: OHH FOR THE FADING DAYS OF DISCO. BYE BYE CLUB 21. NEW YORK IN GENERAL HAS NOT REALLY CHANGED. THEY JUST DRESS DIFFERENTLY NOW, AND GO TO DIFFERENT CLUB'S AND YOU HEAR DIFFERENT MUSIC. THE DOULBE STANDARD FOR MEN AND WOMEN HAVING SEX IS STILL IN PLACE. NOT MUCH IS CHANGED. I THOUGHT THAT ALOT OF WHAT I SAW ON THE DVD WAS EXACTLY THE WAY IT HAPPENED WHEN I GREW UP. IT WAS A TRIP DOWN MENOROY LANE. JM May 31, 2008

Excellent Buy!

I purchased this CD for my boyfriend, who has been keeping an eye on it for sometime now but the prices were too high. We both feel we got the best deal/price. The CD is in excellent shape including the cover. December 26, 2007

The more things change...

...the more they stay the same. Watching this movie, I was struck by the fact that no matter how quickly fashions change in the jungle-esque hubs of the capitalist world's great metropolises: clothes, clubs, music - it's all here one day but by next week its shuffled out by the next wave of whatever - the fundamental dynamics of growing out of adolescence in these places is still the same, some twenty five years on. There are still the yuppies (then it was advertising - now its consultancy or corporate law) and the idealists trying to make it in publishing yet really focusing on the golden shilling of the bestseller. Still no one is happy in their job, trying to rent a habitable apartment on a low income is still a nightmarish task, status anxiety pollutes the consciousness of young people like a cancer making contentment impossible, and relationships continue to take on the revolving door mantle in the manner they always have done.

There has probably been more progress on the plains of the Serengeti than in Manhattan in the past three decades. December 13, 2007

Another look back to a time when clubbing was fun

This and 54 were released almost at the same time and while 54 was focused on the club Last Days focuses on the lives of the people that went to the discos. Great soundtrack and really reflects that era. December 8, 2007

Brilliant...cries out for a new DVD release!

I love this movie...it is my era and my peer-time in history. I first saw it in a theater in the 15 minutes it was in release. I broke my own "never buy a VHS tape again!" rule to get a second hand copy. The DVD is hard to find and very expensive. Other than the fact that the VHS copy is full screen, I'm happy to at least own a copy.

I think all the performances are stunning, the dialogue whip smart and the direction lovely. Sevigny made me love her in this film. I also think Kate Beckinsale does a ton of heavy lifting with some mighty rapid chatter. It isn't a sympathetic part yet she makes it warm.

I'd buy a new DVD in a heartbeat. In my dreams, The Criterion Collection puts out a triptych of the Stillman films. Do see this film if you can. It is an intelligent and marvelous piece of work.

ETA: I now own the VHS and the DVD...I highly recommend the widescreen DVD version. I think the dance/club/city walking sequences are so much better in the original ratio. September 11, 2007

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