Grease is the Word
INTRO:
Girls, grab your poodle skirts, Guys, grab your combs, hair grease and leather jackets. “Grease is the word” and after three decades since its original theatrical run its every bit had been enthralling as it ever was.
As for the numbers, they can speak for themselves, since two remarkable theatrical releases, the first being in the summer of 1978 and a reissue in the spring of 1998 made the worldwide box office hit a staggering total of $394.5 million !.
Starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John who take the lead roles set in the shifty 1950’s of America at the famed Rydell High School, as what has to be considered to be Hollywood’s most triumphant film, thus leading to the nominations of Oscars and Golden Globes.
As mentioned, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John famously known for their lead roles, with the supporting cast containing the co T-Birds star Jeff Conaway (Kenickie) and with the female counterpart Stockard Channing (Rizzo). The key advents being the popular songs and music videos portrayed throughout the film and with all the cast singing “You’re the one that I want” at the end.
Central themes being based on camaraderie between the T-Birds (Danny’s Gang) and their female counterparts The Pink Ladies (Rizzo’s Gang). Whilst watching the film you get a sense of the camaraderie and also a sense of Danny’s peer pressure with his reunion with Sandy, however is anything but joyous – although Danny is secretly delighted to see Sandy he realizes that an overt display of joy will look bad in front of his friends so he plays it cool and lives up to Marlon Brando and the James Dean attitude on life.
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John Joseph Travolta, born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey ...
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...ase was backed with music from Sha Na Na, The group remains well-known for their tracks on the Grease soundtrack, including song like: “Hound Dog”, “Those Magic Changes”, Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay”, “Blue Moon” and many more. And the title song “Grease is the Word” sung by Frankie Valli, and “Beauty School Drop-Out” sung by Frankie Avalon”
What’s even interesting is the education the cast absorbed through the brilliant work of choreographer Patricia Birch setting the mood of the fifties in Grease.
“Grease is the Word”
Grease not only one of the most successful films in Hollywood, grease is a comedy, a light romance, and a gentle on-look of teenage life in the fifties. In part because of its high sprits, it’s a delight to watch, even after thirty years since it first appeared on the screen.
There’s one thing for certain and that is Grease is the word
The movie Grease (1978) was a musical about teens in the 1950s. It took place in Los
Grease the hit music sensation of the late 70’s and early 80’s took the Hollywood industry by storm. Not only is Grease a classic, but it was the start of theme of high school musicals. There is an enormous amount differences between Grease One and Grease two, it’s almost heart breaking. The music and theme are completely different it’s difficult to tell that it’s a Grease sequel.
A movie to relatable to anyone that has been in high school or is experiencing it. “Grease” is the word! In 1978 Grease was filmed and it become a classic. Thirty-eight years later Fox aired Grease: Live! sending an overly excited crowd. Between the two movies there were lots of differences. Extra scenes, getting to know each one of the characters, lines taken out or switched around, and new songs.
"Mrs. Robinson, you are trying to seduce me," says Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman). The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols in 1967 is an influential satire/comedy film about a recent East Coast college graduated who finds himself alienated and aimless in the changing, social and sexual general public of the 1960s, and questioning the values of society. The theme of the film is of an innocent and confused youth who is exploited, mis-directed, seduced (literally and figuratively) and betrayed by a corrupt, self-indulgent, and discredited older generation (that finds stability in “plastics”) that I found to be quite clear and understanding, while also capturing the real spirit of the times and allows America's youth to perceive onscreen an image of themselves which they can both identify with and emulate. The Graduate is a significant film even today due to its use of abstract camera angles, telephoto lenses, excellent cinematography, and great acting. Few visual effects were used, however, matting and numerous point of view shots were used. These characteristics and the fabulous use of mis-en-scene, great writing and the era of the film all made The Graduate what it is today, magnificent.
...rokaw, Rosanne Cash, Wally Lamb, James Mcbride, Anna Quinden, Richard Russo, Scott Turrow, Oprah Winfrey, and Andrew Young. FirstRun Features, 2011. Film.
Ostlere, Hilary. “Taming The Musical.” Dance Magazine 73.12 (1999): 84. Expanded Academic ASAP. Westfield State College Library, MA. 15 April 2005.
Ever since Christopher Columbus vacated the director's seat, the film adaptations have been getting progressively sharper and more fascinating. The latest even features Jarvis Cocker and members of Radiohead vamping it up as the Weird Sisters at a school ball.
Fortuitously, the movie has turned out to be one of the best motion pictures of the year. Once again, Clint Eastwood surprises us all with his work as a film director. He gives the audience a chance to consider life from another viewpoint. The movie makes one think about what he or she has achieved in life and Maggie shows us that it is never too late to have a dream fulfilled. After all, this is why we are actually born and live to fulfill our dreams.
John Singleton’s view of social problems in South Central Los Angeles happens in a tale of three friends growing up together. Doughboy and Ricky Baker are half-brothers and have opposite personalities. Ricky is a football player who hopes to win a scholarship and spends most of his time playing football. On the other hand, Doughboy is a young man who looks upon his environment for guidance. He is involved in violence, abusing drugs, and participates in violence. In between is their friend Tre, who actually has a father to teach him what is right from wrong. Furious Styles, who is Tre’s father in the film does everything in his strength to keep his son from becoming another startling statistic. As you can see, it is always important for parents to be a part of their child’s life because it can make a big difference not only in their life but also their child’s future.
‘Lad flicks’ or ‘lad movies’ is a type of film genre that emerged in the late 1990s. They are defined as a “‘hybrid of “buddy movies”, romantic comedies and “chick flicks”, which centre on the trials and tribulations of a young man as he grows up to become a ‘real man’. ‘Lad flicks’ respond in part to the much-debated ‘crisis in masculinity’” (Benjamin A. Brabon 116). This genre of film explored what it meant to be a ‘real man’ in the twentieth century and in order to do so, they would have to grow up and leave their juvenile ways behind to enter the heterosexual world. Gender relations in ‘lad flicks’ portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category hiding behind a humorous façade and also rely greatly on a knowing gaze and irony. The two ‘lad flicks’ that will be analyzed are The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005) and Role Models (David Wain 2008).
This goes back to Danny and Sandy. Their relationship was extremely confusing and dramatic. Danny wanted to be with Sandy but didn’t want to lose his bad boy reputation. He knew, though, that if he didn’t try to change a little that he might lose Sandy. While Sandy obviously wanted to be with Danny too, she wasn’t confident in going against her parent’s morals and the way she was raised. The Pink Ladies had a huge influence on Sandy considering they were her only friends at her new school. By the end of the movie, she conformed to the way Danny, the guys, along with the Pink Ladies, dressed and
Of all the 1980’s films, that can be described as “Eighties Teen Movies” (Thorburn, 1998) or “High School Movies” (Messner, 1998), those written and (with the exception of “Pretty In Pink” (1986) and “Some Kind of Wonderful”(1987)) directed by John Hughes were often seen to define the genre, even leading to the tag “John Hughes rites de passage movies” as a genre definition used in 1990s popular culture (such as in “Wayne’s World 2” (1994 dir. Stephen Surjik)). This term refers to the half dozen films made between 1984 and 1987; chronologically, “Sixteen Candles” (1984), “The Breakfast Club” (1985), “Weird Science” (1985), “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” (1986), “Pretty In Pink” (1986) and “Some Kind Of Wonderful” (1987) (the latter two being directed by Howard Deutch). For the purpose of this study, “Weird Science” and “Some Kind of Wonderful” shall be excluded; “Weird Science” since, unlike the other films, it is grounded in science fiction rather than reality and “Some Kind of Wonderful” as its characters are fractionally older and have lost the “innocence” key to the previous movies: as Bernstein states “the youthful naivete was missing and the diamond earring motif [a significant gift within the film] was no substitute” (Bernstein, 1997, p.89). Bernstein suggests that the decadent 1980s were like the 1950s, “an AIDS-free adventure playground with the promise of prosperity around every corner … our last age of innocence” (Bernstein, 1997, p.1). The films were very much a product of the time in terms of their production (“suddenly adolescent spending power dictated that Hollywood direct all its energies to fleshing out the fantasies of our friend, Mr. Dumb Horny 14 Year Old” Bernstein, 1997, p.4), their repetition (with the growth of video cassette recorders, cable and satellite with time to fill, and also the likes of MTV promoting the film’s soundtracks) and their ideologies.
At the beginning they Sandy & Danny start off with a great relationship. They meet at the beach during summer break. Thinking they would never see each other again they went their separate ways. But Sandy ends up moving and goes to the same high school as Danny. They don’t know that the other is at the same school until Rizzo, one of the “pink ladies” introduces them to on another at the football pep rally. This is when all the conflict starts. Danny and Sandy are so excited to see each other, but all of sudden Danny changes his tone of voice, as well as attitude toward Sandy. Sandy is taken back by the way Danny is acting. She asks him, “What is wrong with you?” Then he replies “What’s the matter with me, What’s the matter with you?” Going on she calls him a fake and a phony and says she wishes she never laid eyes on him. The T-Birds, Danny’s friends start giving Danny a hard time about Sandy. So in a nutshell he treats her like she is just an ordinary person and not a girl that he cares for. On one day Sandy is at the local restaurant with a guy that happens to run track and Danny keeps watching her. When Sandy goes to the juke box she walks by Danny and does not acknowledge his existence. Danny then approaches Sandy and begins to give her a hard time about the guy that she is with. Sandy is very short with Danny and does not let on that she is upset.
Almost everyone in America today has seen one of John Hughes’ iconic 1980’s teen movies. From Pretty in Pink, to Ferris Buellers Day Off, these iconic 80’s hits are still viewed as pop culture even two decades after their release. None of John Hughes movies has had as great an impact on society in America as The Breakfast Club. The 1980’s in America were filled with nuclear threats from the Cold War, President Reagan’s war on drugs and an increasing gap in wealth distribution. Even with America experiencing these heightened tensions, American teenagers were able to be more carefree, in a large part due to the draft being over, and worry about “teenage” problems. The Breakfast Club was able to capture this newfound freedom among teenagers as well as the feelings of anxiety, fear, and drama that came with high school. The film showed that one’s parents don’t determine your life, that breaking out of a label is possible, and that the emotions and issues that take place during this period of life aren’t any less important than the ones you face later on. The Breakfast Club by John Hughes was so impactful on 1980’s American culture because it gave hope for social class mobility, fought against the conservative politics of the era, and was one of the first movies to be shot from an accurate teenage perspective.
Valenti, F. Miguel., Les Brown, and Laurie Trotta. More than a Movie: Ethics in Entertainment.