New York City, 1979: working class Jersey City teenager Shane (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions) becomes infatuated with Studio 54, a lavish Manhattan nightclub known for decadence. Shane’s time at 54 introduces him to a cast of characters including real life nightclub owner Steve Rubell (Mike Myers, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery), busboy Greg (Breckin Meyer, Clueless), coat checker Anita (Salma Hayek, Traffic), and actress Julie (Neve Campbell, Scream).
Written and directed by Mark Christopher, 54 was originally heavily re-shot ahead of its theatrical release in 1998 before being re-assembled in a long awaited director’s cut in 2015, with over forty minutes of different footage used. Anchored by an impressive, star-making, performance from Ryan Phillippe along with a bombastic, period appropriate soundtrack, 54 is an essential ode to old New York that’s ripe for re-discovery. Cinématographe is proud to present the definitive release of 54, including a new 4K restoration of the 1998 theatrical version (on both the 4K and blu-ray discs) as well as the 2015 director’s cut (blu-ray disc only), offering an exemplary case study in how drastically different a film can be between two different edits.
For thoughts on 54, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:
Video Quality
Cinématographe presents the original Theatrical Cut of 54 with a gorgeous 2160p Dolby Vision/HDR transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K restoration of the 35mm Original Camera Negative. This version of the film was previously released on Blu-Ray in 2012 courtesy of Lionsgate, but we don’t have this disc for direct comparisons. The lovely natural film grain appears properly organic and consistent without any semblance of unwanted manipulation as everything resolves beautifully. There has been obvious care taken to clean this up as much as possible as there are no signs of print damage or stray specks lingering. This also avoids digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, and any other such shortcomings.
The texture present in the period clothing and the production design is very inviting. The utilization of Dolby Vision for refined color output is a notable benefit for this particular production. There is incredible depth to the titular club and other spaces that really come through on this format with HDR. Bold colors saturate the screen and unleash a level of complexity that allow the film to look better than ever. The contrast is ideal with deep black levels free of crush and firm highlights with no blooming. Cinématographe has done great work with the 4K UHD release of the film.
While the Theatrical Version of the film has received its best release to date, things are a bit more complicated when it comes to the Director’s Cut of the film, which first premiered on Blu-Ray back in 2016 from Lionsgate. This version of the film is greatly preferred by many audience members, as writer/director Mark Christopher was forced to recut and reshoot much of the movie for the theatrical release. For the DIrector’s Cut, a reported 30 minutes of reshoots were removed and around 45 minutes were restored, although not in great quality. The master created at the time was a mixture of an existing HD master for the material shared with the Theatrical Cut, restored 35mm trims, and even a few minutes of standard definition video material. The quality of the master is a bit inconsistent to say the least, but fans at least get to see a closer version of the movie that Christopher intended to release.
With this fresh release from Cinematographe, fans initially got their hopes up that the Director’s Cut would also be restored in 4K UHD, but disappointment quickly set in when they realized this cut was only presented on Blu-Ray. Hope still remained that there could still be improvements to this version even on Blu-Ray, but the master used for this release is the same one that was first seen on the 2016 Blu-Ray, only given a fresh encode from Fidelity in Motion, which is a small victory. The main frustration comes from the fact that, in an ideal world, the footage shared with the Theatrical Cut could be presented from the fresh 4K remaster, even if the other footage may not be as flawless (or downright bad looking in some moments). We understand that this would have been a Herculean effort of time, money, and dedication, but seeing the theatrical footage look so weak compared to what we see is possible from the 4K remaster is unfortunate. The director’s cut itself is still great, but it has not been revised to look revelatory. Despite this, Cinematographe has treated the Theatrical Cut very well and the Director’s Cut as decently as the current reality allows.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of the film comes with the original DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that translates the film to disc perfectly. One of the best parts of the film is the soundtrack, and every piece of music fills the room with a striking presence and peerless fidelity. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without being overshadowed by the sound effects or music. Every environment is brought to life with a parade of sound that flows through to provide some immersive ambient details. All of the various sounds in the mix seem carefully rendered so that nothing ever feels out of sorts. The film is not action-packed, but it makes good use of the low end in the music and other key moments. This presentation is free of any hiss, humming, or other age-related wear and tear. Cinématographe has done strong work here. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Special Features
The Limited Edition version of 54 comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer slipcase that opens up to a MediaBook that includes a bound booklet featuring new essays by writer Sean Abley, author of Queer Horror: A Film Guide; film programmer Alex Gootter and Dan Mecca, editor of The Film Stage, plus select archival photo reproductions. These essays delve into the film from multiple angles and provide a great analysis in a thoughtfully written style. The on-disc special features are as follows:
Disc One (4K UHD – Theatrical Cut)
- Audio Commentary #1: Writer/director Mark Christopher provides an informative new commentary track moderated by Cinématographe’s Justin LaLiberty in which he discusses the production process, the differences between the theatrical cut and the director’s cut, the casting decisions and people who were nearly cast, the shooting locations, the origins behind some of the music choices, and more that is well worth a listen.
- Audio Commentary #2: Filmmaker and writer Drew Burnett Gregory provides a fun new commentary track that takes a more historical and analytical approach as he explores the production and release history of the film, where this fits into the life and career of Mark Christopher, details about the shooting locations, the set design, the background of the performers, and much more that puts things into context.
Disc Two (Blu-Ray – Theatrical Cut (1:33:12) & Director’s Cut (1:45:58))
- Audio Commentary #1 (Theatrical Cut): Writer/director Mark Christopher, moderated by Cinématographe’s Justin LaLiberty
- Audio Commentary #2 (Theatrical Cut): Filmmaker and writer Drew Burnett Gregory
- Audio Commentary #3 (Director’s Cut): Writer/director Mark Christopher, moderated by Cinématographe’s Justin LaLiberty
- Audio Commentary #4 (Director’s Cut): Writer/director Mark Christopher and director of photography Alexander Gruszynski
Disc Three (Blu-Ray – Bonus Features)
- Interviews: New interviews are provided with many of the key creative figures behind the movie in which they share some extremely interesting anecdotes that are often very candid and enlightening for fans. A brief array of archival interviews are also provided from the time of the film’s release.
- Interview with Writer/Director Mark Christopher (41:37)
- Interview with Editor Lee Percy (17:43)
- Interview with Producer Dolly Hall (9:05)
- Interview with Associate Producer Jonathan King (32:48)
- Interview with Director’s Cut Editor David Kittredge (18:40)
- Interview with Director of Photography Alexander Gruszynski (14:33)
- Archival EPK Interviews (15:19)
- Behind the Scenes: A collection of archival materials are provided that give a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the film.
- The Making of 54: The Director’s Cut (12:21)
- Behind the Scenes Footage of the Director’s Cut Sound Mixing Session (1:07)
- On-Set B-Roll from the Production of 54 (13:21)
- Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
- Director’s Cut Premiere Photo Gallery
- Deleted Scenes: A 67-minute selection of unused footage is provided in very rough, raw form.
- Finding Yourself – A Video Essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas: A nearly 13-minute video essay goes into the time and culture in which the film was released, the differences between the two cuts of the film, the themes of the story, the careers of the performers at this times, and more.
Final Thoughts
54 is a film with a production and release history that is nearly as dramatic as the movie itself. With a core clash between a filmmaker with a clear creative vision and a studio with no faith in its artist, audiences were left with two notably different versions of the film once the dust was settled many years after the initial release. The Theatrical Cut of the film is creatively compromised, but it is still pretty entertaining with plenty of redeeming qualities, yet there is no denying that the Director’s Cut is the one most would choose if they could only have one. Neither version is a stone cold masterpiece, but they are both stronger than their reputation would have you believe. This one is well worth your time. Cinématographe has delivered a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring an exquisite A/V presentation for the Theatrical Cut, a mixed bag for the Director’s Cut, and an absolutely stacked assortment of special features. Recommended
54 is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Cinématographe has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
