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John Travolta |
Danny Zuko |
Olivia Newton-John | Sandy Olsen |
Stockard Channing | Rizzo |
Jeff Conaway | Kenickie |
Barry Pearl | Doody |
Michael Tucci | Sonny |
Kelly Ward | Putzie |
Didi Conn | Frenchy |
Jamie Donnelly | Jan |
Dinah Manoff | Marty |
Eve Arden | Principal McGee |
Frankie Avalon | Teen Angel |
Joan Blondell | Vi |
Edd Byrnes | Vince Fontaine |
Sid Caesar | Coach Calhoun |
Alice Ghostley | Mrs. Murdock |
Dody Goodman | Blanche |
Susan Buckner | Patty Simcox |
Lorenzo Lamas | Tom Chisum |
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Directed by | ||||||||||||||||||
Randal Kleiser | ||||||||||||||||||
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Ah!
From Here to Eternity? No. Grease. Even die-hard fans have a difficult
time remembering this scene in the film although it is a very simple
and clever beginning. The scene is slightly 'dangerous' because away
from the high school environments, our two leads cannot pass for teens.
(An issue throughout the film but particularly here.)
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Barry Gibb (The Bee Gees) penned this energetic number directly for the film and it is performed by Franki Valli, giving it the 50's sound that seems to be missing. The opening credits are an animated introduction of most things Rydell. |
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The song has been reduced to a small snippet of set dressing, played while the school office staff prepare for the day. |
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A study was shown that 96.3% of Americans between the ages of 14 and 35 have lip-synched to this song. Okay, I made that up, but, I would not be surprised to find it to be true. (I admit I've done it. Pretty well, if I do say so myself. All right, you were pretty good too.) Anyway, watching it with commentary in mind, I found the number still enticing. Maybe Olivia Newton John is a little bland, but not bland enough to thwart many school boy fantasies. And one great note... As the song starts winding down, Director Kleiser does a high close-up camera of Danny and Sandy creating excellent separation from the boys and girls 'down below' (or should I say 'Down Under,') |
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This comedic number
is kept small. Rizzo gets her torch song later, so this is just for
fun. A lot of fun.
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This song, written for the film, is simplistic and oh, so effective. Sandy is outside in the yard singing of Danny. Of all her singing in the film, this song is the one that benefits most by Olivia Newton-John's vocal stylings. I'm sure the simple message was heard (and imitated) by girls all across the world... |
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...While the guys were singing this... Hey, you can dance and still be cool! And it is cool. Danny and Kenickie, with undeniable charm, tear this song up in a stellar performance of 'cool.' Heck, they can even swear in rhyme! The choreography ranks right up there with "Shall we dance" from the 'King and I' for most recognizable. |
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Frankie Avalon graces the screen with the funny, fantastical number. Surrounded by a bevy of curler clad angels (including Rizzo and Marty), he croons to her and convinces her to return to High School. Like, Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee, the number is deliciously short. But, this one culminates with Sonny, Doody and Putzie flying overhead as angels. |
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Sha Na Na are the band for the big televised dance off at the gym. This is the first number and it features a brief glimpse of the energetic dancing to come. |
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Well, on stage this was Doody's character piece, but on celluloid, its just song number two of the hop. |
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Song # 3 of the pre-dance-off. Features 'the stroll.' |
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The Dance Off is on! Some High Energy Dancing. |
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A Great Dance piece. The fun they had making the film is very infectious here. Even, Olivia, admittedly not a dancer sells this well but, it is Travolta who takes over Enjoy. |
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The Champions share their spotlight dance... with 3 blue 'moons.' |
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Written for the film, (replacing a similar, but flavorless song) "Sandy" is similar in flavor to "Hopelessly Devoted to You" but is decidedly male. Travolta has won the audience over along time ago so this is a nice character piece. The camerawork, like during most of the songs, is very basic and in some cases static. I wonder if the film where done today, would the camerawork be more ambitious. With that said, the movie screen silhouette is very great. |
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Rizzo redefines herself here and opens the door up for a much deserved retribution. Channing, although obviously the wrong age and lacking a strong singing voice, does justice to the piece. |
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This reprise is oversung (Other than the Opening credits, the only song in the film that is not 'performed.') The sentiment is very sweet and Sandy is so darn sweet and innocent that it would be difficult not to feel for her. |
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Other than having an indiscernable title, the song is very well staged with Travolta having a ball and Newton-John sewn into tight black pants. The 'funhouse' background is a very creative element that provides many different solutions. The 'Shake Shack' is a picture not easily forgotten. |
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Usually,
when a musical or play makes its way to the screen it sacrifices a lot
of its 'theatrical creativity.' Grease is certainly no exception to
that, but it is one of the few that benefits from the transfer. On stage,
the piece is more of an ensemble piece, all of the TBirds have a song
of some sort and solo onstage time. Whereas the film obviously follows
the Danny & Sandy story with the Rizzo & Kenickie story as a subplot.
Additionally, the songs written directly for the film (Hopelessly Devoted
to You, Sandy, You're the One That I Want) are a better sell then their
predecessors. Other changes are evident, like making Sandy Australian
to compensate for the casting of Olivia.
One strange thing of notice... In a couple of the diner scenes, a poster behind Sandy and the jock(Lorenzo Lamas) is blurred out. I believe it is (was) a Coca Cola poster. Why was it so poorly blurred out? Product placement legal issues? Was the poster from later in the decade? Was it distracting? hmmm. |
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