Grease – 4k UHD Blu-ray Movie Review

Synopsis

Rydell High’s most famous graduating class is going back to school. A newly restored print brings the highest-grossing musical of all time, “Grease” (1978), to the big screen as a sing-along. Join Danny and Sandy with your own crew of T-Birds and Pink Ladies for a carnival ride back to those amazing summer nights! This re-master coincides with the 40th anniversary of the films debut in theaters.

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Specifications

Paramount
2018 (1978), Rated PG, 2160p with Dolby Vision and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio,
2.40:1 Aspect Ratio, 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Starring: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, & Dinah Manoff
Directed By: Randal Klieser

Rating

Entertainment:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Violence: No
Sex: No
Language: No

Commentary

Tell me it hasn’t been 40 years! For all of you fans, you’ll be glad to hear that this re-mint was done with the cleaned-up 35 mm print that not only looks good, but the original soundtrack was redone in TrueHD and it too sounds great. This movie came out at a time when the 50’s were popular again in our Pop culture (think American Graffiti, Happy Days, The Dukes of Flatbush, Eddie and the Crusiers). Some of the songs from this film play on the radio to this day, albeit, Oldies stations. Newton-John was at the apex of her popularity and Travolta was still riding high with Saturday Night Fever…plus, he’s hunky looking.

My only complaint is that on some of the songs, the characters were not really selling me on their voices. They looked like lip-synchers. Their expressions didn’t match the emotions in the song. It’s a small quibble, though. Also a few long shots show a slight softness to the top and bottom of the picture screen, but that’s not a transfer issue. The movie is fun, moves right along and concludes before it over stays its welcome. This is best I have seen and heard this film. Better than the theater!

Technical

Re-mastered from the original 35mm print, this film retains some fine grain that only gets a bit fizzy in the night pep rally scene. Colors are very bold (primaries really pop) and when the spot light comes on in the gym, it’ll almost blind you. As Travolta would say, “It’s electrifying!”. Contrast is good except for the night time pep rally scene as mentioned. Fans complained that the 20th anniversary DVD messed with the soundtrack, but it has been restored to the original version for this release. It’s plenty dynamic and active in the surrounds. Quite toe-tap worthy. Well done Paramount studios.

Extras

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Besides a BD copy, you get:

A Commentary by director Randal Kleiser and choreographer Patricia Birch
Introduction by Randal Kleiser
Rydell Sing-Along
The Time, The Place, The Motion: Remembering Grease
Grease: A Chicago Story—NEW!
Alternate Animated Main Titles—NEW!
Alternate Ending—NEW!
Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes with Introduction by Randal Kleiser
Grease Reunion 2002 – DVD Launch Party
Grease Memories from John & Olivia
The Moves Behind the Music
Thunder Roadsters
John Travolta and Allan Carr “Grease Day” interview
Olivia Newton-John and Robert Stigwood “Grease Day” interview
Photo Galleries
Theatrical Trailer

Jim Milton

Jim Milton has been interested in high fidelity since his college years in the late 70's. It was there that he first became interested in classical music. He has been part of choral music, both in opera and oratorio and is an avid collector of classical music from the Baroque through the Romantic periods. He enjoys an occasional night at Boston Symphony Hall or attending an organ concert at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME. Currently he is the director of Nuclear Medicine at the North Shore Medical Center, located just outside of Boston. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Salem State University where he teaches a course in nuclear instrumentation. During his leisure time, he enjoys listening to his music collection and an occasional movie with his wife of 30+ years. Living on the longest stretch of sandy beach north of Boston offers him plenty of opportunities to take a relaxing stroll or soak up some sun. "Remember, acquiring good A/V gear takes lots of time...but doesn't necessarily take lots of money."

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View Comments

Patrick Juvet says:

June 10, 2018 at 7:11 pm

Studios do not create video transfers from prints, except under unusual circumstances as a print is the worst possible source to use for such things. Video transfers are done from either original negatives or inter-positives which are created to protect the original negative from wear and tear.

Shouldn't a film critic know such basic things ?