| Grease | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Randal Kleiser |
| Produced by | Allan Carr, Robert Stigwood Neil A. Randal Kleiser (born July 20, 1946 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American Film director and producer. Robert Stigwood (born April 16, 1934 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian -born Impresario and entertainment entrepreneur Machlis (Associate Producer) |
| Written by | Bronte Woodard (screenplay) Allan Carr (adaptation) (based on the musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey) |
| Starring | John Travolta Olivia Newton-John Stockard Channing Jeff Conaway Didi Conn Eve Arden |
| Music by | Michael Forystek Barry Gibb Louis St. Louis & others |
| Cinematography | Bill Butler, ASC |
| Editing by | John F. Allan Carr (born Allan Solomon on May 27, 1937 in Chicago Illinois, died June 29, 1999) was a American Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE (born September 26 1948) is a Grammy Award -winning and Golden Globe -nominated English-born Stockard Channing (born February 13, 1944) is an American Academy Award - and Golden Globe Award-nominated three time Emmy Jeff Conaway (born October 5, 1950, New York City, New York, U Didi Conn (born July 13, 1951) is an American film stage and television Actress. Eve Arden ( April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an Academy Award -nominated and Emmy -winning American Barry Alan Crompton Gibb CBE (born 1 September 1946 is a singer songwriter and producer Louis St Louis is an American Songwriter, famous for songs written for Grease. Bill Butler, ASC (born April 7 1931) is an American Cinematographer, part of the New Hollywood generation Burnett |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 16, 1978 (original release) November 19, 1989 (re-release) March 27, 1998 (re-release) |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | USD $6,000,000 (estimated) |
| Followed by | Grease 2 |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Grease is a film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Jim Jacobs' and Warren Casey's musical, Grease. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Grease 2 is the 1982 Sequel to the 1978 smash hit Grease. The movie was strongly criticized by many as derivative Randal Kleiser (born July 20, 1946 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American Film director and producer. Jim Jacobs (born 1942 is an American Composer, Lyricist, and Writer for the Theatre. Warren Casey ( 1935 - November 8, 1988) was an American Theatre Composer, Lyricist, Writer, and Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. This article is about the stage musical For the 1978 film of the same name see Grease (film. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway and Eve Arden. Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE (born September 26 1948) is a Grammy Award -winning and Golden Globe -nominated English-born Stockard Channing (born February 13, 1944) is an American Academy Award - and Golden Globe Award-nominated three time Emmy Jeff Conaway (born October 5, 1950, New York City, New York, U Eve Arden ( April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an Academy Award -nominated and Emmy -winning American It was originally released to theatres on June 16, 1978. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) It was filmed at Venice High School in Venice, California. Venice High School may refer to Venice High School (Los Angeles Venice High School (Florida Venice is a district in western Los Angeles California. It is known for its Canals Beaches and Circus -like Ocean Front Walk, It was released in the U. S. on VHS during the 1980s; the latest VHS release was June 23, 1998 as 20th Anniversary Edition following a theatrical re-release that March. Events 1180 - First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan 1305 - The Flemish Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) On September 24, 2002, it was released on DVD for the first time. Events 622 - Prophet Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. On September 19, 2006, it was re-released on DVD as the Rockin' Rydell Edition, which includes a black Rydell High T-Bird jacket cover or the Target-exclusive Pink Ladies cover. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Target Corporation ( is an American Retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1902
Tagline: Grease is the word
Tagline: Grease is still the word. A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in Marketing materials and Advertising. (1998 re-release)
Contents |
The film opens with the theme song, "Grease", added for the movie and written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees and performed by Frankie Valli. " Grease " was a number one single in the United States during 1978 by the singer Frankie Valli. Barry Alan Crompton Gibb CBE (born 1 September 1946 is a singer songwriter and producer The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. Frankie Valli (born May 3, 1934 as Francis Stephen Castelluccio) is an American musician most famous as frontman of The 4 Seasons.
In 1958, during their summer vacation, and before the title credits, Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton John) meet at a beach. Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE (born September 26 1948) is a Grammy Award -winning and Golden Globe -nominated English-born Scenes from their holiday are shown, but then the summer ends, and Sandy is due to return to Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. She worries that this is the end for her and Danny and they may never see each other again.
However, Sandy's family has a change of plans and she does not return to Australia. Instead, she attends Rydell High School as a foreign-exchange student, where Danny Zuko is a student, as is Sandy's new friend Frenchy (Didi Conn), a member of the schoolgirl clique "The Pink Ladies". Didi Conn (born July 13, 1951) is an American film stage and television Actress. Danny is the leader of the boys' gang, "The T-Birds". Kenickie, second-in-command of the T-Birds, encourages Danny to tell them about his holiday experiences, while the Pink Ladies likewise persuade Sandy. This results in "Summer Nights"- Sandy and Danny describe their holidays, and it is made clear that Danny is exaggerating; at the time, however, neither is aware of the other's presence at the school. " Summer Nights " is a Popular song made famous by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Encouraged by the preppy school spirit girl, Patty Simcox (Susan Buckner), Sandy joins the Rydell cheerleaders. Preppy, also spelled preppie, is a chiefly North American adjective or noun traditionally used in relation to northeastern private University-preparatory schools Susan Buckner is an American film and television Actress. Prior to her acting career she was crowned Miss Washington in 1971 and in September went on to Cheerleading is a Sport that uses organized routines made from elements of Tumbling, Dance, jumps and stunting to direct spectators of events The Pink Ladies decide to reunite Danny and Sandy, but Danny wants to protect his cool image, and his behavior towards Sandy causes her to storm off in tears. Danny stares after her for a moment, but then quickly turns back into a cool guy and goes off with his friends.
Frenchy attempts to cheer Sandy up by inviting her to a sleepover at her house with the rest of the gang; Sandy comes along, but Rizzo soon gets fed up with Sandy's goody-two-shoes behavior: Sandy chokes on a cigarette, cannot stand the taste of wine, and is horrified at the idea of having her ears pierced. A sleepover, also known as a pajama party or a slumber party (or rarely a snoozer) is a Party where a guest or guests are A cigarette ( French "small Cigar " from cigar + -ette) is a product consumed through Smoking and manufactured Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Frenchy is insistent, and takes her into the bathroom, but Sandy vomits at the first sight of blood. Vomiting (also called throwing up, emesis) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's Stomach through the Mouth and sometimes the Frenchy announces to Jan (Jamie Donnelly) and Marty (Dinah Manoff) that she is dropping out of Rydell and going to beauty school, which she calls a very strategic career move. Jamie Donnelly (born 1947 is an American Actress. Born in Teaneck New Jersey, Donnelly is best known as Jan from the film version of Grease Dinah Beth Manoff (born January 25, 1958) is an American stage and Film Actress. Cosmetology (from Greek grc κοσμητικός kosmētikos, "skilled in adornment" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study Rizzo (Stockard Channing) has had enough and lampoons Sandy, even having Frenchy joining in, singing the sarcastic "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee". Stockard Channing (born February 13, 1944) is an American Academy Award - and Golden Globe Award-nominated three time Emmy
The T-Birds arrive outside Frenchy's house. Rizzo leaves the sleepover and she and Kenickie (Jeff Conaway) flirt, then Kenickie invites her into the car, and dumps the other T-Birds. Jeff Conaway (born October 5, 1950, New York City, New York, U Danny leaves of his own accord while Rizzo and Kenickie drive off together and the other T-Birds go for pizza. Marty, the flirtatious member of The Pink Ladies, decides to write to one of her (numerous) pen pals, while Sandy goes outside, and decides that in spite of everything, she still loves Danny, singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You", a poignant love song that was added for the movie and was a big hit as a single. Pen pals (or penpals or pen friends) are People who regularly write to each other particularly via Postal mail. " Hopelessly Devoted to You " written by John Farrar, is a Song originally performed by Olivia Newton-John.
The scene shifts to Rizzo and Kenickie making out passionately in the back seat of his new car. They plan to take things a step further, but Kenickie's condom breaks. A condom is a device most commonly used during Sexual intercourse. Rizzo, however, is unable to resist Kenickie, and they decide to have sex anyway. Sexual intercourse, in its biological sense is the act in which the male reproductive organ (in humans and other higher animals enters the female reproductive tract They are soon interrupted by Leo (Dennis Cleveland Stewart), leader of rival gang The Scorpions, who damages Kenickie's car. Born Dennis Cleveland Stewart on 29 July 1947 in Los Angeles County CA
Whilst at work repairing the car, the T-Birds fantasize about what it will look like when it has had a paint job, singing "Greased Lightning". Greased Lightning is a Broadway song from the musical and film version Grease. Soon Danny gets the other T-Birds convinced that the rickety old car could actually be a "major piece of machinery". Danny meets Sandy at the Frosty Palace, and tries to apologize for his actions. He sees that Sandy is sharing a soda with Tom Chisum (Lorenzo Lamas), a jock, and decides that if that's the sort of man she likes, he's going to join the jocks to impress her. Lorenzo Lamas (born on January 20, 1958 in Santa Monica California) is an American actor
We next see Danny's disastrous performances in basketball, wrestling, and baseball, where he keeps losing his temper when he loses. Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m Wrestling is the act of physical engagement between two people in which each wrestler strives to get an advantage over or control of the opponent Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each He finally finds his ideal sport in running, until the sight of Sandy distracts him, and he falls. Sandy leaves Tom Chisum to see if Danny is alright, and they are seemingly reconciled.
Danny attempts to go to the Frosty Palace with Sandy so that they can be alone and not worry about ruining his image in front of his friends. They end up discovering the T-Birds and Pink Ladies are already there and Danny finds it hard to charm Sandy without looking like a sissy in front of his friends. After everyone leaves the malt shop, Frenchy, who has been hiding her pink hair under a scarf, imagines a guardian angel to tell her what to do with her life, who turns out to be Frankie Avalon singing "Beauty School Dropout". Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone September 18 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American Actor
Later, Danny takes Sandy to the school's dance, where the TV show National Bandstand plans to broadcast live from the school. American Bandstand was a Television show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 hosted from 1957 until its final season by Dick Clark Rizzo, now mad at Kenickie, takes the rival gang's leader, Leo, to the dance, thus enticing Kenickie to take the rival gangleader's girlfriend, Cha Cha DiGregorio (Annette Charles) — Danny's ex-girlfriend. The disc jockey Vince Fontaine (Edd Byrnes) develops a sordid crush on Pink Lady Marty. A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience This article concerns the actor For the actor/director see Edward Burns. The dance features several well-known songs from the '50s covered by Sha Na Na. Sha Na Na is a well-known Rock and roll revival act Announcing themselves as "from the streets of New York" and outfitted in gold lame leather jackets and Elvis During the dance-off, Rizzo leaves in a huff, seeing Kenickie dancing with Cha Cha, and Danny and Sandy are one of the few still in the dance-off. But soon, Sonny pulls Sandy away from Danny, and Cha Cha starts dancing with Danny. Sandy realizes that Cha Cha was one of Danny's past girlfriends — and a much better dancer. Sandy leaves the gym upset, and Danny and Cha Cha end up winning the contest. When they share their spotlight dance, three of the T-Birds run in front of the camera and moon the crowd. Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare Buttocks by removing clothing e
Later, Danny takes Sandy to a drive-in movie and apologizes for leaving her. The apology means nothing to Sandy. Danny tries to remove the class ring he is wearing to give it to her, but in doing so he accidentally elbows Sandy in the chest. Danny gives Sandy the ring and she kisses him on the cheek, saying she realizes now he respects her. The scene cuts to Marty and Rizzo in the drive-in toilets. Rizzo's unprotected sex with Kenickie has come back to haunt her--she tells Marty she missed a period. One of the T-Birds, Sonny (Michael Tucci), overhears Marty accidentally proclaiming to couples making out outside the toilets to make way for the "lady with a baby", and asks Marty what she meant so she tells him the story, which leads him to tell others until the chain effect makes it common knowledge. Michael Tucci (born 15 April 1946 New York City, New York, US When Kenickie asks Rizzo why she didn't tell him about it, she lies and tells him it isn't his out of anger. He sarcastically thanks her, and leaves her standing by herself. Marty has also suffered as a result of her crush on Vince Fontaine--she reveals to Rizzo that she caught him trying to put "aspirin" in her coke.
Back in the car Danny has his arm around Sandy. His hand lingers above her chest and she sees it and he starts trying to make out with her. She screams, gets out of the car ("sin wagon", as she calls it), slams the door on Danny's genital area, throws back his ring (which she calls a "piece of tin"), and leaves the drive-in. Danny laments losing Sandy again, and reveals the true extent of his feelings for her in the song "Sandy" — he is helpless without her.
The next scene is the race between Leo and Kenickie in the Los Angeles River. The Los Angeles River is a creek flowing through Los Angeles County California, from Canoga Park in the west end of the San Fernando Valley Kenickie asks Danny to be his right hand man, and Marty gives Kenickie a lucky penny. She drops it, and as Kenickie bends down to pick it up, he gets knocked out when one of the T-Birds opens the car door. As a result, Danny has to race in Kenickie's place. Sandy sits on the hill watching the neck-and-neck race, which Danny manages to win. While she is happy to see Danny win, she has misgivings about her own image, reflected in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)". As the T-Birds and Pink Ladies celebrate with Danny, Frenchy spots Sandy and goes over to her. Sandy thinks that Frenchy can help her win Danny's heart, and asks to go over to her house to take advantage of Frenchy's suspect fashion skills.
Later, on the last day of school carnival, Danny arrives, having followed through on his track jock plans, in a preppy letter sweater. However, Sandy arrives wearing a black leather jacket, red peep-toe high heeled sandals, skintight black off-the-shoulder top, curled hair, and smoking a cigarette — no more goody-two-shoes. Danny finds her extremely attractive, falling at her feet, and then the two reunite, singing the upbeat "You're the One That I Want" (another song added for the movie, and a hit single before the movie even came out). " You're The One That I Want " is a song written by John Farrar for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. Kenickie and Rizzo get together after Rizzo has screamed from the Ferris wheel that she is not pregnant after all, and everyone sings the big finale, "We Go Together", and Danny and Sandy fly off in the "Greased Lightning" car and disappear into the sky. A Ferris wheel (also known as an observation wheel or big wheel) is a Nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas attached
Singer Olivia Newton-John had done little acting before this film. She appeared in the 1970 film Toomorrow - a science fiction musical that pre-dated her initial chart success with 1971's If Not For You. "If Not for You" is a 1970 song by Bob Dylan featured on his Album New Morning. Cast with Newton-John and three male leads in an attempt by Don Kirshner to create another Monkees, the film failed miserably; this led Newton-John to demand a screen test for Grease to avoid another career setback. Don Kirshner (born April 17, 1934) known as The Man With the Golden Ear is an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing For the group's self-titled album see The Monkees (album. For the TV series see The Monkees (TV series. For the BBC TV series see Screen Test. A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an Actor or actress for The screen test was done with the drive-in movie scene.
Two actors who were seen for the film were Henry Winkler and Marie Osmond. Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American Golden Globe Award winning Actor, director, producer Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959, in Ogden, Utah) is an American Actress, Singer, Doll Winkler, who was playing Fonzie on Happy Days, was originally chosen to play Danny, but, having twice already played similarly leather-clad 1950s hoods in 1974's The Lords Of Flatbush as well as Happy Days, turned down the role for fear of being typecast. For the similarly named Muppet, see Fozzie. Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli (also The Fonz or simply Fonzie) is a Fictional Happy Days is an American Television sitcom that originally aired from 1974 to 1984 on ABC. Happy Days is an American Television sitcom that originally aired from 1974 to 1984 on ABC. For other meanings see Typecasting. Typecasting is the process by which a film TV or stage Actor is strongly identified with a specific Osmond turned down the role of Sandy because she did not like the fact that Sandy had to "turn bad" to get the boy. Adult film star Harry Reems was originally signed to play Coach Calhoun; however, producers got cold feet weeks before filming and replaced him with Sid Caesar. Harry Reems is the stage name of one of the best-known Porn stars of the 1970s Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar (born September 8, 1922) is an Emmy Award -winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man
Dinah Manoff passed her audition without being given a singing or dancing tryout. Dinah Beth Manoff (born January 25, 1958) is an American stage and Film Actress. Her skills in those areas proved limited, so she was moved into the background during the song numbers.
Although Travolta was already famous from the movie Saturday Night Fever and the television sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, Grease reconfirmed his status as a superstar. Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 film starring John Travolta as Tony Manero a troubled Brooklyn youth whose weekend activities are dominated Newton-John's fame also reached new heights after the movie released. The movie received five Golden Globe Award nominations in 1979 and was the highest grossing (US) movie of 1978. The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and Television programs given out each year during a formal dinner The year 1978 in film involved some significant events Top grossing films (U
The movie's soundtrack was a number one album in many different countries. The song "You're The One That I Want" was released as a single prior to the film's release and became an immediate chart-topper, despite not being in the stage show or having been seen in the film at that time. [1] In the United Kingdom, the two Travolta/Newton-John duets, "You're The One That I Want" and "Summer Nights", were both number one hits and appear 6th and 21st respectively in the official all-time UK best-selling singles list issued in 2002. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The song "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was nominated for an Academy Award (1979) for Best Music - Original Song. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The movie's title song was also a number one smash hit single for Frankie Valli. Frankie Valli (born May 3, 1934 as Francis Stephen Castelluccio) is an American musician most famous as frontman of The 4 Seasons.
Grease spawned a sequel, Grease 2 (1982) (with the only cast members from the original movie being Blanche, Coach Calhoun, Eugene, Frenchy, Leo (the Scorpions' gang leader), and Principal Miss McGee) that was much less successful. Grease 2 is the 1982 Sequel to the 1978 smash hit Grease. The movie was strongly criticized by many as derivative Patricia Birch, the original movie's choreographer, directed the ill-fated sequel. It would be the only movie that she would direct. After the success of the original, Paramount intended to turn Grease into a multi-picture franchise with at least three sequels planned and a TV series in the pipeline. When Grease 2 flopped at the box office, all the plans were scrapped.
This movie was re-released to theaters in 1998 to mark the 20th anniversary. It also ranked number 21 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies. Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated as EW) is a Magazine published by Time Inc
Voted the best musical ever on Channel 4's 100 greatest musicals. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began [2]
(The song order on the soundtrack album does not match the order in the movie. The number in brackets below indicates the order from the movie. Some of the songs were not present in the movie. [3])