The Last Days of Disco (1998)

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

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writer:

Whit Stillman

Stars:

Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Last Days of Disco loosely depicts the "last days" at a disco palace, where drugs, sex and weirdness ran rampant. The story centers around a group of friends who frequent the disco and each other. All the characters are searching for something to make their lives more fulfilling. Some are searching for everlasting love and some are just wanting something different. As the disco is closed, they all wonder can disco ever really be dead?

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Plot Keywords:

disco | friend | friendship between women | cigarette smoking | friendship | 

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Taglines:

History is made at night.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some elements involving sexuality and drugs

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

A diszkó végnapjai

Filming Locations:

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$277,601, 31 May 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,987,297, 9 August 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment,Polygram Filmed Entertainment,Westerly Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film for which Kate Beckinsale had to effect an American accent.

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Goofs

In scenes where the main characters are seen riding the subway, the subway cars are immaculately clean and graffiti free. During the early 1980s (the time this film takes place), subway cars were notoriously gritty looking with graffiti covering the inside and outside of the cars. Police officers were also a common sight as crime on the subway was at an all time high. During the late 1980s, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) which oversaw the city's subway services purchased a newer model from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier that was made of graffiti-proof alloys and had a different seat layout from previous trains. This model is the one seen in the film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alice Kinnon: I hear you have a much better chance of getting in if you come by cab.
Charlotte Pingress: You're really worried about getting in?
Alice Kinnon: Yes.
Charlotte Pingress: I thought you've been here several times before.
Alice Kinnon: Not the front way. They were private parties. We came in through the back.
Charlotte Pingress: We look real good tonight. I'm sure we're gonna get in.
[Alice and Charlotte round the corner and see a large crowd waiting outside the Disco Club]
Alice Kinnon: [beat] Let's get a cab.
Charlotte Pingress: Yeah.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: What Dreams May Come/A Night at the Roxbury/Snitch/Antz (1998)

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Soundtracks

The Tide Is High
Written by John Holt, Tyrone Evans, Howard Barrett
Performed by Blondie
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records, A Division of EMI
Under License from EMI - Capitol Special Markets

User Reviews

Wonderful and sardonic view of yuppie/disco life

Another winner from Whit Stillman! This is a very clever, well-written film in the Eric Bogosian or Hal Hartley style of a play for the screen. This film really does feel like theater in many ways, especially the funny and clever, tightly written dialogue.

Superb performance by almost the entire cast (the one exception being McKenzie Astin, who was fairly awful, but was barely onscreen so it was shrugable), raised the film to a level above its potential. Kate Beckinsale was the perfect bitch, so annoying that I wanted to pull her out of the screen and shake her repeatedly;) Christopher Eigeman nearly stole the show as Des, he played the character perfectly, his voice and tone always on edge, the defensiveness and womanizing, the stories he told, all a brilliant package. But Chloë Sevigny more than held her own, with her best performance that I've ever seen...everything from her line release to her body language stuck out; she became Alice.

This film is a definite must see...a great soundtrack, great sets, brilliant writing and better acting. It's a bit long, some scenes feel unnecessary, and at times he seems to be over-hammering his point, but Stillman has still provided us with a near-masterpiece, 8/1.