Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English audio track sounds comfortably wide across the front stage, but there´s not much for the rear speakers to do. Despite the loud music, dialogue and singing voices can be heard clearly. Bass levels and the track´s dynamic range are not as impressive as comparative qualities with the "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" 2-disc DVD, but they are adequate for a 20-plus-year-old film.
Those of you without true Dolby Digital sound systems should opt to watch the film with the DD 2.0 surround English track, and there´s a DD 2.0 surround French track, too. Optional English and Spanish subtitles as well as English closed captions support the audio.
Extras:
Paramount created great special editions for new films such as "Mission: Impossible 2" and catalog titles such as "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", but the studio decided to take it easy (actually, take it lazy is more truthful) with "Grease". A very worn, faded, and generally beat-up theatrical trailer is accompanied by only one other extra--a retrospective featurette that was created for the 1998 20th Anniversary VHS release. There are snippets of interviews with John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing (who just won 2 Emmys in 1 evening), Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn, director Randal Kleiser, and producer Allan Carr, and there are video sequences of behind-the-scenes footage and footage from the film´s world premiere at Mann´s Chinese Theatre. However, other than relating how much fun everyone had making the movie, the featurette doesn´t have much substance.
--Miscellaneous--
A cardboard slipcase digipak (rather than the usual keepcase) houses the DVD. Chapter listings are printed on the inside cover of the slipcase, and there´s a songbook included in the package.
Entertainment Value:
The "new" "Grease" DVD is largely a simple re-issue of the 20th Anniversary VHS released in 1998. Heck, I remember working in a Blockbuster Video store taking pre-orders of the 20th Anniversary VHS during the time when I was trying to convince friends and customers to jump on the DVD bandwagon. At that time, Paramount and 20th Century Fox still refused to commit to DVD, and I remember thinking that "Grease" would be a great choice to inaugurate Paramount´s DVD line. The film has certainly taken its time to arrive on DVD. While it looks and sounds good, the DVD´s selection of extras makes you wonder what took Paramount so long to release the DVD. It doesn´t matter--DVD-philes can now marvel, at home or on the road with a notebook computer, at how young and trim John Travolta used to be.
Note: Paramount has also released a Pan&Scan version of "Grease" on DVD. As always, we at DVD Town support filmmakers´ right to have their original artistic vision presented on home video. Therefore, widescreen movies should be seen in their widescreen form, and 1.33:1 movies should be seen without being letterboxed (believe it or not, "Gone With the Wind" was once actually turned into a widescreen abomination when the film´s handlers lopped off feet and heads so that they could sell the film as a "new" extravaganza).
The Dolby Digital 5.1 English audio track sounds comfortably wide across the front stage, but there´s not much for the rear speakers to do. Despite the loud music, dialogue and singing voices can be heard clearly. Bass levels and the track´s dynamic range are not as impressive as comparative qualities with the "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" 2-disc DVD, but they are adequate for a 20-plus-year-old film.
Those of you without true Dolby Digital sound systems should opt to watch the film with the DD 2.0 surround English track, and there´s a DD 2.0 surround French track, too. Optional English and Spanish subtitles as well as English closed captions support the audio.
Extras:
Paramount created great special editions for new films such as "Mission: Impossible 2" and catalog titles such as "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", but the studio decided to take it easy (actually, take it lazy is more truthful) with "Grease". A very worn, faded, and generally beat-up theatrical trailer is accompanied by only one other extra--a retrospective featurette that was created for the 1998 20th Anniversary VHS release. There are snippets of interviews with John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing (who just won 2 Emmys in 1 evening), Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn, director Randal Kleiser, and producer Allan Carr, and there are video sequences of behind-the-scenes footage and footage from the film´s world premiere at Mann´s Chinese Theatre. However, other than relating how much fun everyone had making the movie, the featurette doesn´t have much substance.
--Miscellaneous--
A cardboard slipcase digipak (rather than the usual keepcase) houses the DVD. Chapter listings are printed on the inside cover of the slipcase, and there´s a songbook included in the package.
Entertainment Value:
The "new" "Grease" DVD is largely a simple re-issue of the 20th Anniversary VHS released in 1998. Heck, I remember working in a Blockbuster Video store taking pre-orders of the 20th Anniversary VHS during the time when I was trying to convince friends and customers to jump on the DVD bandwagon. At that time, Paramount and 20th Century Fox still refused to commit to DVD, and I remember thinking that "Grease" would be a great choice to inaugurate Paramount´s DVD line. The film has certainly taken its time to arrive on DVD. While it looks and sounds good, the DVD´s selection of extras makes you wonder what took Paramount so long to release the DVD. It doesn´t matter--DVD-philes can now marvel, at home or on the road with a notebook computer, at how young and trim John Travolta used to be.
Note: Paramount has also released a Pan&Scan version of "Grease" on DVD. As always, we at DVD Town support filmmakers´ right to have their original artistic vision presented on home video. Therefore, widescreen movies should be seen in their widescreen form, and 1.33:1 movies should be seen without being letterboxed (believe it or not, "Gone With the Wind" was once actually turned into a widescreen abomination when the film´s handlers lopped off feet and heads so that they could sell the film as a "new" extravaganza).
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]10568[/release]