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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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Save
the Last Dance
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Reviewed
by: |
Rachel
Hughes |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
Widescreen
Anamorphic |
| Audio: |
5.1
Dolby Digital Surround |
| Language: |
English
and French |
| Subtitle: |
English |
| Length: |
1hr
52mins |
| Rating: |
PG-13 |
| Release
Date: |
6-19-01
|
| Studio: |
Paramount |
| Commentary:
|
Featuring
Director Thomas Carter |
| Documentaries:
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None |
| Featurettes:
|
"Making
of Save the Last Dance," and "Save the Last Dance: Retrospective" |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Original
Theatrical Trailer |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
Four
Deleted Scenes |
| Music
Video: |
"Crazy"
by K-Ci and JoJo |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Julia Stiles,
Sean Patrick Thomas, Terry Kinney, and Fredro Starr |
| Screenplay
by: |
Story by
Duane Adler, screenplay by Duane Adler and Cheryl Edwards |
| Produced
by: |
Robert W. Cort and David
Madden |
| Directed
By: |
Thomas Carter |
| Music: |
Mark Isham |
| The
Review: |
"Save
the Last Dance" is the story of Sara (Julia Stiles) who grew
up with a single mother in Vermont. Her dream is to become a
prima ballerina and attend Julliard. When her mother tragically
dies Sara goes to live with a father she never knew in the South
Side of Chicago. With the loss of her mother Sara has given
up on her dream. In her new predominately black neighborhood
Sara feel further alienated until a classmate Chenille and her
brother Derek befriend her. Derek and Sara connect over dance,
and their friendship blossoms into romance. However now they
both have to face negative views everyone has about their relationship
on top of all the pressures of growing up and figuring out what
to do with the rest of their lives. In the 1980's director John
Hughes introduced us to the teen movie with such hits as "The
Breakfast Club" "Sixteen Candles" and "Pretty in Pink." Since
then the art form of teen drama has dramatically fallen. Luckily
Thomas Carter has resurrected it. "Save the Last Dance" has
everything you would expect from a teen drama. There is some
comedy, lots of teen angst, and the basic moral of "stay true
to yourself." However Carter has done something that few other
directors have been able to achieve. He delivers all of this
without pandering or patronizing. He treats his audience as
the young intelligent adults they are. This makes "Save the
Last Dance" a truly unique and enjoyable movie. The only word
of caution I offer about this movie is that those older viewers
may not connect with this film. One of the main plot lines of
the film is an interracial relationship. However 20-30 years
ago things like this wasn't discussed openly, and they rarely
happened. Fortunately times have changes. Even though things
are getting better the fact that a movie, which focuses of the
difficulties of interracial couples, can be made, and the fact
that it is a reflection of contemporary society shows us we
still have a long way to go. |
| Image
and Sound |
The image
comes through well in this movie. The use of color and texture
were used to great effect and come through well. To emphasize
the cold Chicago nights there are a lot cold blues lighting
the distance. This nuance of color use is wonderfully transferred
on this DVD. There are just a few spots in the movie where there
are a few blips on the screen. However this isn't frequent and
isn't too distracting. The sound is great in this movie. The
songs played during the dance are treated like dialogue and
will give your speakers a fine workout. However there are a
few spots in the club where the music is just too loud and you
can't hear the actors. The musical score is barely noticeable
compared to the dance music. |
| The
Extras |
Besides
the incredible commentary this DVD has the normal list of extras.
There is the "Making of" special. This was probably made for
MTV to promote the film. It runs about 19mins and features members
of the cast and crew talking about the experiences on making
the film. The most interesting section on this special is the
section that deals with all the work it took to make the dances
look so effortless. There is also a piece included on the making
of the video by K-Ci and JoJo. The next extra is listed as Cast
and Crew Interviews, but when you select it the title of the
piece is "Save the Last Dance: Retrospective." This runs about
12 ½ mins and features the director, Stiles, and Thomas talking
about the movie, their remembrance of the shooting, and why
they were so attracted to the film. There really isn't any additional
information here. Included on this DVD are four deleted scenes.
These scenes were probably cut for time, and explore other relationships
in the film. Another nice extra is the video "Crazy" by K-Ci
and JoJo. This is a neat video and goes beyond the standard
clips of the movie and the singers. While it has that, there
is also a mini-plot that closely mirrors one of the main plots
of the movie. Finally to round it all off is the original theatrical
trailer. |
| Commentary |
There is
a commentary by the director Thomas Carter. He spends most of
the beginning of the movie explaining the method of casting
the movie. You learn a lot of interesting information about
the cast. There are a few gaps in the speaking where you can
tell he has gotten caught up in the movie, but not too much.
Carter is also an intelligent thoughtful man. He offers a lot
of personal opinion of the state of racial relationships today,
and how he hopes it progresses. There is also a lot of information
about the music contained in the film, and what he thinks of
it. Overall this is a wonderful commentary that provides a lot
of insight into the movie. Any fan of the movie will truly enjoy
it. |
| Final
Words: |
This is
a surprising mature intelligent film. If you passed it up because
you thought it was juvenile, then please give it a second chance.
It is a great movie that slowly draws you in, and you don't
realize how close you have become to the characters until the
end. Anyone who enjoyed this film the first time around will
love this DVD. The commentary adds an extra depth to the film,
explaining some of the relationships we didn't have time to
explore in the movie. The extras are typical, but interesting.
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