54 [Region 2] | ![54 [Region 2]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51F6TAWX6SL._SL500_.jpg)
| Director: Mark Christopher
Actors: Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Sela Ward, Breckin Meyer, Sherry Stringfield
Category: DVD
This item is no longer available
Rating:  109 reviews
Format: Anamorphic, Full Screen, Ntsc
Languages: French (Unknown), English (Unknown), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
EAN: 3384446008729
ASIN: B00004VYD1
Theatrical Release Date: August 28, 1998
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Saturday Night Fever it's not--call it more like Sunday Morning Leftovers. This portrait of the legendary Manhattan disco and its colorful cofounder, Steve Rubell, plays like the outtakes of a much more interesting film--where's the sex, the drugs, the classic disco music? (It shouldn't surprise viewers that Miramax and writer-director Mark Christopher had a falling-out over the final cut of the film; Miramax prevailed.) Considering that the essence of Studio 54 was about the rich and beautiful, it seems a bit unwise to focus on the poor and only-somewhat-beautiful, namely Shane (Ryan Phillippe), a Jersey boy who gets taken in by the razzle-dazzle of the disco era. Crossing the river, Shane finds another, more exciting life at Studio 54 as a shirtless bartender, and soon finds himself partying with the creme de la creme--and smitten with comely soap star Julie (Neve Campbell). The permutations of the story are familiar; if you've never seen VH1's Behind the Music documentary take on Studio 54 you'll find this film enjoyable, but unlike that exhaustive portrait, too many elements are missing. Most of Phillippe's performance seems to have ended up on the cutting-room floor (although his chiseled torso gets maximum exposure), Campbell's role is basically a glorified cameo, and Breckin Meyer and Salma Hayek, as Phillippe's only true pals, are wasted. The one true gem of the film, though, is Mike Myers's take on the late Steve Rubell, an inspired high-wire performance that balances humor and tragedy without ever giving in to camp or pathos. Had this been a more well-received movie, he'd be remembered come Oscar time--his drunken proposition of Philippe is a minor treasure. The soundtrack does feature some unknown chestnuts and a few new remixes, including an inspired disco version of--believe it or not--Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind." --Mark Englehart
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| Customer Reviews: Read 104 more reviews...
 All That Glitters Is Gritty April 26, 2009
David Baldwin (Philadelphia,PA USA)
I grew up in the Seventies but the Studio 54 mentality kind of flew under my radar. Now if you're talking about another famed New York nightspot, CBGB, you're talking my language. Regardless, I found "54" eminently intriguing and watchable. The film is not so much a celebration of the nightlife but rues the decay that ended the party. Makes you wonder if the makers of the film were partisans or foes of the disco lifestyle. Ryan Phillippe is quite good as Shane, a working-class Jersey kid, who is seduced by the artifice of easy sex and drugs that 54 offered. The performance that is a real eye opener is Mike Myers as owner Steve Rubell. This is probably the best work Myers has ever done onscreen. His Rubell can best be described as a decadent ringmaster who uses hedonism to orchestrate his debauched circus. Studio 54 is a mere footnote in the culture but this is a good film.
 More like the fake Studio 54 in Vegas February 20, 2009
Jolar70 (Queens, NY)
How can an eleven year old movie feel more dated than its decades older subject matter? When it chooses to concentrate the zeitgeist of a decade into a simple-minded "don't do drugs" morality tale. In addition, the film is cynical, naive, historically incomplete, borderline homophobic, and regionally offensive to both New Jersey and New York City! No plot point is fully explored, and some are just abandoned mid way through (the father?!). And despite the critical accolades, I thought Mike Myers portrayal of Steve Rubell was just another vampy facet of his Austin Powers or Cat in the Hat character. He played it as more of a klutzy impression than a living person with real flaws. Had any single uncomfortable scene with Rubell, and there were many, been given more than five minutes of screen time, it might have been a very different and effective film.
In the end, "54" doesn't have a leg to stand on. It can't successfully moralize against the supposed slick emptiness of disco because it is far emptier at its core, and the story it's trying to tell us is older than the hills. All this movie did was make me long for a time when everything wasn't so corporate and sanitized. My favorite character is probably the recreation of the giant half moon face, with the automated light up coke spoon, hung above the stage in the club. Just imagine telling your investors you want one of those today!
 Please release the original cut!! July 20, 2008
jon cortez (Reseda, Ca)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The original cut does exist. In fact, it was shown last week in Los Angeles at "Outfest", the gay and lesbian film festival. Hopefully they are planning to release it soon, maybe for the 10 year anniversary edition??
Depressingly entertaining, and you can't look away from the screen. July 14, 2008
J. Arena (Williamsburg, VA)
This is a movie to just let wash over you. Just take in that scene and realize that this was reality. I knew peoople just like this. I could only watch as they blew their time away on nothing of real importance, and blew their brains and cash away on white powder to put up their noses... all the time thinking that they were on the fast track to something, but really going nowhere. It was only losers who were outside the scene.
It's the death of elderly Dottie out on the dance floor that lets you know the party is really over. The lights are turned on to show her dead on the dance floor, blood streaming out of her nose, lying amid the piles of litter on the floor that moments before had passed for glittering streamers. The club's owner has the lights turned back off as Dottie's body is carried out, and the music begins anew. Moments later, the IRS arrives. When Steve Rubell is asked if he is "going to get out," he replies: "Where would I go?"
If there is anything really brilliant here, it's the riveting performance by the actor who seems to have captured the essence of Steve Rubell, Mike Myers.
For me, this is a movie I have to watch every year or so to remember the bad old days and how they only seemed to glitter in the dark. Some of us got out alive.
 Studio 54 February 17, 2008
Patrick R. Hancock (Seatac, WA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great movie/documentary! How very true all of this was. Those were the days my friend! At times I'm surprised I survived it all.
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