The Last Days of Disco (1998)

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writer:

Whit Stillman (written by)

Release Date:

29 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

History is made at night.

Plot:

Story of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.

Plot Keywords:

Disco | Love | Drugs | Book | Friend

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Chloë Sevigny	...	Alice
Kate Beckinsale	...	Charlotte
Chris Eigeman	...	Des
Mackenzie Astin	...	Jimmy
Matt Keeslar	...	Josh
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Tom
Jennifer Beals	...	Nina
Matt Ross	...	Dan (as Matthew Ross)
Tara Subkoff	...	Holly
Burr Steers	...	Van
David Thornton	...	Bernie
Jaid Barrymore	...	Tiger Lady
Sonsee Neu	...	Diana (as Sonsee Ahray)
Edoardo Ballerini	...	Victor
Scott Beehner	...	Adam
Zachary Taylor	...	Backdoorman
Neil Butterfield	...	Rick
Michael Weatherly	...	Hap
James Murtaugh	...	Marshall
John C. Havens	...	Steve
Amanda Harker	...	Model 1
Brandi Seymour	...	Model 2
Leslie Lyles	...	Sally
Cate Smit	...	Helen
Kathleen Chalfant	...	Zenia
Jan Austell	...	Bob
Robin Miles	...	Josephine
Carolyn Farina	...	Audrey Rouget
Taylor Nichols	...	Charlie / Ted Boynton
Bryan Leder	...	Fred
Dylan Hundley	...	Sally Fowler
Debbon Ayer	...	Betty
Mark McKinney	...	Rex
Linda Pierce	...	Real Estate Lady
Carlos Jacott	...	Dog Walker
Sharon Scruggs	...	Justine Prashker
Ajay Mehta	...	Pharmacist
Norma Quarles	...	Anti-Disco Rally Reporter
George Plimpton	...	Clubgoer
Anthony Haden-Guest	...	Clubgoer
Kimball Chen	...	Clubgoer
Désirée La Valette	...	Clubgoer (as Desiree Von La Valette)
Ivy Supersonic & The Groovy Girls	...	Clubgoer
Bunny Beekman	...	Clubgoer
Inmaculada de Habsburgo	...	Clubgoer
Redman Maxfield	...	Clubgoer
Jack Staub	...	Clubgoer
Elizabeth Strong Cuevas	...	Clubgoer
Isabelle Townsend	...	Clubgoer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Albanese	...	Creep on Subway (uncredited)
Will Kempe	...	Rick von Sloneker (uncredited)
Adrian Lee	...	Heart Patient (uncredited)
Jessica Pimentel	...	Clubgoer (uncredited)
Rio Puertollano	...	Disco Dancer (uncredited)
Rohan Quine	...	Marie Antoinette Clubgoer (uncredited)
Michael Rothberger	...	Thug #3 (uncredited)
Jack Serra	...	Cocaine Dealer (uncredited)
Nick Stellate	...	Hot Rod Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Whit Stillman

Writing credits
Whit Stillman		(written by)

Produced by
Edmon Roch	....	co-producer
Cecilia Kate Roque	....	co-producer
John Sloss	....	executive producer
Whit Stillman	....	producer

Original Music by
Mark Suozzo

Cinematography by
John Thomas

Film Editing by
Andrew Hafitz
Jay Pires

Casting by
Kerry Barden
Billy Hopkins
Suzanne Smith

Production Design by
Ginger Tougas

Art Direction by
Molly Mikula

Set Decoration by
Lisa Nilsson

Costume Design by
Sarah Edwards

Makeup Department
Jean Block	....	hair stylist
Fern Buchner	....	makeup artist
Colleen Callaghan	....	hair stylist
Kymbra Callaghan	....	assistant makeup artist
Ardis Cohen	....	hair stylist
Mary A. D'Angelo	....	hair stylist
Joseph Farulla	....	makeup artist
Linda Hensching	....	makeup artist
Michelle Johnson	....	hair stylist
Eva Polywka	....	makeup artist
James Post	....	assistant hair stylist
Cassandra Saulter	....	body makeup
Cassandra Saulter	....	makeup designer
Michael Wasula	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Cecilia Kate Roque	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cas Donovan	....	first assistant director
Peter Leto	....	second assistant director (as Peter Herman Leto)

Art Department
Julia Barraclough	....	charge scenic
Daniel Boxer	....	property master
Robert Covelman	....	assistant props
Daniel Finn	....	key construction grip
David Scott Gagnon	....	lead man (as D. Scott Gagnon)
Brent Haywood	....	construction coordinator
Eryka Seimona Henderson	....	construction buyer
Duncan Hoxworth	....	shop craft
Roberto Jiménez	....	construction gaffer (as Robert Jimenez)
Chris Jordan	....	set dresser
Celia Landegger	....	art department intern
Martin Lasowitz	....	property master
Michael Leather	....	key set dresser (as Mike Leather)
Hank Liebeskind	....	set dresser
Alexandra Mazur	....	assistant set decorator
Eric M. Metzger	....	set dresser (as Eric Metzger)
Janine Michelle	....	third props
Celia Parker	....	scenic artist
Addison Pettit	....	graphics
Steven Richetts	....	camera scenic artist (as Steven Ricketts)
Jeffrey Rollins	....	on-set dresser (as Jeff Rollins)
Chinyere Ryan	....	shop coordinator
Amy Safhay	....	key set dresser (as Amy Shafay)
Pat Schneider	....	construction grip
Phillip Schneider	....	scenic foreman (as Phil Schneider)
Joe Taglairino	....	on-set dresser
Richard Tenewitz	....	shop foreman
Artemis Willis	....	art department coordinator

Sound Department
Murphy Birdsall	....	group adr editor
Scott Breindel	....	sound mixer
Patricia Brolsma	....	boom operator
Danielle Capawanna	....	audio post coordinator
Eric A. Christoffersen	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Rick Freeman	....	dialogue editor
Mick Gormaley	....	supervising assistant sound editor
Kenton Jakub	....	adr editor
George A. Lara	....	foley engineer (as George Lara)
Jeff Livesey	....	cable operator
Jamie Lowry	....	assistant sound editor
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Michael W. Mitchell	....	sound effects editor
David Novack	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael Scott	....	sound recordist
Paul P. Soucek	....	supervising sound editor
Bill Sweeney	....	foley editor
Brian Vancho	....	foley artist
Steven Visscher	....	foley editor (as Steve Visscher)
Daniel Ward	....	sound editing intern
Doug Roberts	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Todd Wolfeil	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Michael Ventresco	....	front titles and opticals: The Effects House

Stunts
Peter Bucossi	....	stunt coordinator
Mark Castellano	....	stunts
Victor Chan	....	stunts
Bob Colletti	....	stunts (as Robert Colletti)
Ralph Ferrara	....	stunts
Shannon McGann	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Tom Anderson	....	electrician
Donald M. Angst	....	electrician (as Don Angst)
John Billeci	....	electrician
James Boniece	....	rigging key grip (as Jim Boniece)
Paul Candrilli	....	grip
Matt Chubet	....	grip (as Matt Chubert)
Phil Cohen	....	first assistant camera
Andrea Dorman	....	Steadicam assistant
James J. Ferris	....	electrician (as Jim Ferris)
John Gilgar	....	electrician
Craig Paul Harris	....	electrician
Timothy Healy	....	electrician (as Tim Healy)
Dan Hersey	....	camera loader
Richard C. Kerekes	....	dolly grip (as Rich Kerekes)
David Lee	....	still photographer
Mitchell Andrew Lillian	....	key grip (as Mitch Lillian)
Bruce MacCallum	....	camera operator
Charlie Marroquin	....	best boy grip
Douglas Martines	....	video assist operator (as Doug Martines)
Gary Martone	....	key grip
Jim McConkey	....	Steadicam operator
Michael 'Flash' McDonald	....	electrician (as Michael McDonald)
Jason Micallef	....	electrician
Monique Mitchell	....	best boy grip
Don Muchow	....	gaffer
Adam Novich	....	grip
Rocco Palmieri	....	electrician
Andrij Parekh	....	camera intern (as Andrew Parekh)
Lance E. Phox	....	electrician (as Lance Phox)
Adam Putnam-Thomas	....	second assistant camera
Mike Reed	....	electrician
Johnny Santiago	....	grip
Mark Schwentner	....	best boy electric
Dustin Smith	....	dolly grip (as Dusty Smith)
Derrick Still	....	electrician
Barry Wetcher	....	still photographer
Nina Zarnett	....	grip (as Nina Zarnet)
Abe Schrager	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Mark Bennett	....	casting associate
Kristine Bulakowski	....	extras casting assistant
Deborah Maxwell Dion	....	casting associate: Los Angeles
Meredith Jacobson	....	extras casting
Jennifer McNamara	....	casting associate
Irene Stillman	....	special club extras casting
Janice Wilde	....	extras casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Daniel J. Adkins	....	additional wardrobe (as Dan Adkins)
Jill E. Anderson	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Jill Anderson)
Denise Andres	....	additional wardrobe
William A. Campbell	....	additional wardrobe (as Bill Campbell)
Kate Edwards	....	wardrobe supervisor
Patricia Eiben	....	additional wardrobe supervisor
Erin Folsey	....	assistant to costume designer
Sharon Globerson	....	costume design assistant
Marcia Patten	....	additional wardrobe
Michael Anzalone	....	set wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Colin Dwyer	....	editing intern
Elliott Gamson	....	negative matcher: Immaculate Matching Inc. (as Elliot Gamson)
Mark Ginsberg	....	color timer
Tina Pacheco	....	apprentice editor
Tia Schellstede	....	assistant editor
Joe Violante	....	dailies advisor
Robin Whittaker	....	apprentice editor (as Robin Quinn)
Michael Yetter	....	negative cutter
Josh Cramer	....	editing room assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Peter Afterman	....	music supervisor
Johnny Coppola	....	music consultant
Joe Lisanti	....	music editor
Josh Rosenblum	....	conductor
Paul P. Soucek	....	supervising music editor
Ted Spencer	....	score mixer
Ted Spencer	....	score recordist
Mark Suozzo	....	conductor
Elizabeth Wendel	....	associate music supervisor
Margaret Yen	....	assistant to music supervisor

Transportation Department
Theodore Brown Jr.	....	driver
Theodor A. Brown	....	transportation coordinator
Juan Bryan	....	driver
Robert Dean	....	driver
Charles Fay	....	driver
Timothy Garrett	....	driver
George Holtzer	....	driver
John Lalor	....	driver
Daniel Palmer	....	driver (as Danny Palmer)
Jean Presendeli	....	driver
John Hart Queeney Jr.	....	driver (as John Queeney)
Barry Sweeney	....	driver
George Washington	....	driver
Erik W. Wickstrom	....	driver (as Eric Wickstrom)

Other crew
Rina Anoussi	....	travel services: The Travel Business
Fabian Blue	....	dancer
Mark Bodnar	....	location scout (as Mark Bodner)
Paul Brennan	....	legal services: Sloss Law Office P.C.
Brian Cahill	....	dancer
John Carrafa	....	choreographer
Jean-Paul Cummings	....	additional set production assistant (as J.P. Cummings)
Demetri Detsardis	....	location scout
Liz Dykhouse	....	production accountant (as Liz Dykehouse)
Meryl Emmerton	....	assistant production coordinator
John B. Finn	....	post-production accountant (as John Finn)
Jene Fleming	....	dancer
Angelo Fraboni	....	dancer
Betsy Friedman	....	additional set production assistant
Ginger Gonzalez	....	set production assistant
Jen Graves	....	additional set production assistant
Jamie Harris	....	dancer
Tappan Heher	....	location assistant
Eryka Seimona Henderson	....	location assistant (as Eryka Henderson)
Rodney 'Bear' Jackson	....	additional set production assistant (as Rodney Jackson)
Denis Jones	....	dancer
Jean Kalanzi	....	assistant accountant
Vincent Lacey	....	accounting assistant
Al Lamberti	....	location assistant
Patti Lane	....	additional set production assistant
Melanie LaPatin	....	dancer (as Melane Lapatin)
Gabe Marano	....	assistant to producers
Jodi Ellen Melnick	....	dancer (as Jodie Melnick)
Tony Meredith	....	dancer
David Moy	....	location assistant
Andy Muller	....	additional set production assistant
Anne Nevin	....	production coordinator
Julie Oppenheimer	....	script supervisor
Jim Osorino	....	dancer
Patricia Porter	....	payroll accountant (as Pat Porter)
Gregory L. Qualles	....	parking coordinator (as Greg L. Qualles)
Jeff Robinson	....	set production assistant (as Jeff C.S. Robinson)
Judy Rotardier	....	dancer
Bethann Schebece	....	set production assistant (as Beth Schebece)
Kate Schultz	....	location coordinator
Ted Shields	....	set production assistant
Michael Sibley	....	assistant location manager
John Sloss	....	legal services: Sloss Law Office P.C.
Allison Stander	....	dancer
Daniel Strol	....	location manager
Andy Walker	....	craft service
Alexander Wei	....	production runner (as Alex Wei)
Stan Wiencko	....	set production assistant
Tim Wilson	....	stand-in: Mackenzie Astin
Leonard John Bruno	....	clearance (uncredited)
Leonard John Bruno	....	promotions (uncredited)
Peter Pamela Rose	....	adr loop group (uncredited)

Thanks
Therese Casaletta	....	thanks (as Terry Cassaletta)
Paul Davis	....	thanks
Paul Degen	....	thanks
Peter Galman	....	thanks: Impact Product Placement
Anthony Haden-Guest	....	thanks
Ann Landers	....	thanks
Bill Nisselson	....	thanks
Robert Andrew Parker	....	thanks
Russell Pennoyer	....	thanks
Eric Rayman	....	thanks
Bret Schundler	....	thanks: mayor, city of Jersey City
Pat Scott	....	thanks: commissioner, NYC Mayor's Office of Film, Television and Broadcasting (as Patricia Scott)
Jean-Jacques Sempé	....	thanks
Arthur Weinstein	....	thanks
Colleen Weinstein	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Castle Rock Entertainment
• Polygram Filmed Entertainment
• Westerly Films

Distributors

• Gramercy Pictures (I) (1998) (USA) (theatrical)
• REP Distribution (1998) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1999) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1999) (France) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• PolyGram Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• PolyGram Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some elements involving sexuality and drugs

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Canada:14A | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R | Finland:K-8 | Iceland:L | Australia:M | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Third feature film of director Whit Stillman. Metropolitan (1990) and Barcelona (1994) were the earlier works. This movie is the third film in director Whit Stillman's "Doomed-Bourgeois-in-Love series", these other two pictures being the other films in the series. This film includes a number of cameo appearances from characters that appeared in the two earlier movies.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: As Alice and Charlotte walk down the hallway at the publishing company.

Quotes:

Des McGrath:Group social life has its place, but at a certain point other biological factors come into play. Our bodies weren't really designed for group social life. A certain amount of pairing off was always part of the original plan.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in When Disco Ruled the World (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I'm Coming Out

Aiiiee, almost no reviewer here quite gets it ...

1) There is no action in this movie. If you need *something*, then avoid this movie like the plague. And while one may think to themself, "dayam, those actresses look fine", there are no gratuitous skin shots. Its not a movie like "Honey", where you turn off the volume and just stare at Jessica Alba.

2) Its not really about the End of Disco (despite the title). The soon to be dead Disco era is a BACKDROP for the theme of the movie. Casablanca was not about WW II. It was a romance movie, and the War was a backdrop. No one bitches about the authenticity of the airplanes, uniforms, historical details of the politics or legal procedures, or portrayal of the Moroccan culture. Yes, I wish the filmmaker was a bit more zealous about period dress and music. Oh well. And while there are reminiscent touches, its not a movie who's focus is dedicated to capturing the Disco period. If what you want is an homage to Disco, then you won't like this movie.

3) It IS a "Coming of Age" movie. It is about vapid, just-out-of-college Americans starting out in the real world. The movie mostly skewers them, but I can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia and loss for a period of life that will never come back to me (early twentysomething). I strongly suggest you avoid the movie if you're under 35. You do not need to have lived through the disco period to appreciate the movie, but you do need to be an old fogey. Definitely a movie for adults, in the non-NC17 way.

4) The actors put on superlative performances. They were portraying vapid, witless, bland, soon to be full-blown yuppies. The time period is perfect for reflecting on the contrast of soon-to-be-over perceptions of life and the world from youth to early adulthood. You can almost see their worldview evolve within the one(?) year time period of the movie. There's nothing sucky about the acting. The characters are mostly sucky people; that's why they seem wooden, vapid, and lame. (And Kate Beckinsale does an AWESOME American accent; because she's British, and there isn't a hint of her native tongue.) Yes, their dancing seems lame, because the general public are generally lame dancers. People did not break out like John Travolta on the dance floor every night. Its not a movie about dancing.

5) One should be appreciating the dialogue from a detached distance, and be struck by its wit and humor. Not living through these people in a first person perspective. This is for people who can appreciate reading James Joyce, Harold Pinter, or Evelyn Waugh, or any great novelist/playwright who doesn't beat you over the head (usually with a voice-over) with the meaning of every aspect of a scene. (Apologies if these writers aren't good examples; I'm having a problem recalling an ideal choice.) If the movie seems to drift and be aimless, its because life is not a continuous series of epiphanies, and this is not a typical Hollywood feature. If you need something more obvious, you WON'T like this movie.

Its actually a bit hard to like this movie, but I do. I have met people who have lived through the Disco era and waxed poetic like Josh towards the end of the movie. They're actually yearning for the illusions of their youth; which is kind of what the movie is about.