Product Details

• Actors: Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman, Mackenzie Astin, Matt Keeslar
• Directors: Whit Stillman
• Writers: Whit Stillman
• Producers: Whit Stillman, Cecilia Kate Roque, Edmon Roch, John Sloss
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Polygram Video
• VHS Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305128960
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,826 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Completing the loosely connected trilogy that also includes Metropolitan and Barcelona, writer-director Whit Stillman brings his signature style to this casually structured but acerbically witty ode to... well, to the last days of disco. Set in New York during 1980-81, the film follows its half-dozen central characters onto the strobe-lit dance floor of The Club--the anonymous name Stillman gave to the central setting, knowing at the time that his film would be released in close proximity to 54, the bigger-budget movie about the legendary and infamous nightclub Studio 54. In fact, Stillman's film captures the same period with greater accuracy, and draws us into the waning disco craze with more incisive wit and deft handling of a first-rate cast.

The film's casual plot revolves around six recent college graduates, and Stillman charts their clashes and intimacies with a keen sense of human foibles and frailties, pausing throughout for such characteristic touches as a hilarious conversation about the sexual politics of Disney's Lady and the Tramp or the homoerotic subtext in an episode of Wild Kingdom. Sharp dialogue is in rich abundance here, and through it all Stillman captures the fading glory of disco as his characters make the transition toward adult responsibilities. It's here that we see how this film is subtly intertwined with Stillman's earlier work, and where we gain a fuller and more satisfying appreciation of a filmmaker who has carved a singular niche for himself in the world of independent movies. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Whit Stillman is back on home ground-Manhattan-in the last of a trilogy of romantic comedies, the chronological missing chapter between "Metropolitan" and "Barcelona." Two Hampshire College graduates in the early eighties-Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and Alice (Chloë Sevigny)-share lowly jobs in book publishing and a consuming desire to hang out at what is referred to, totemically, as "the club." There they meet a number of Harvard graduates eager to take advantage of the scene after, as one character puts it, "the terrible wasteland of our college years." These include Des (Chris Eigeman), the club's lightly amoral manager, who claims to be gay when he wants to break up with a woman; Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin), who's desperate to impress his advertising clients; and Josh (Matt Keeslar), a junior prosecutor who's capable of deconstructing any subject, including the true meaning of disco fever. The recognizable Stillman touches are all here-the way the characters leap into ardent dialogue, the instant nostalgia for the moment as it happens-but the film doesn't leave much of an imprint. -Daphne Merkin
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Witty Film about the Disco Era, June 30, 2001

By 

Luis Hernandez (New York, New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Days of Disco (DVD)

Directed by the amazing Whit Stillman ("Barcelona"; "Metropolitan"), "The Last Days of Disco" examines the life of several young, upward, professionals (or "yuppies" for short) during the early 1980's, when the disco craze was dying and the Decade of Decadence was beginning.

Alice (Chloë Sevigny of "Boys Don't Cry") and Charlotte (Kate Beckisndale of "Brokedown Palace") are two young publishing assistants who live as roommates in the city. Living on a love/hate relationship with one another, both girls decide to socialize with New York's club elite at the most popular club in the city.

There, they meet up with the likes of advertising execs and employees, odd club characters such as the Tiger Lady (played by Drew Barrymore's real-life mother, Jaid Barrymore) and others who give the film a unique flavor when it comes to recreating the disco era of the late 1970's/early 1980's.

While I really can't give away the details that moves the film to its' conclusion, all I can say that this film blows away the only other disco-era film that was released around the same time, "Studio 54." While the latter tried to recreate the final days of New York City's most infamous nightspot, it failed to capture the energy that disco era was well-known for. Unlike "Studio 54," instead of revolving around the life of one character, "Last Days" focuses on the lives of several young professionals, which gives it more flavor and attraction.

Personally, Whit Stillman simply is one of the best American directors out there. His films all involve wit, energy, love, and the elements that plague young adults now and then. In one I consider to be one of the best-written scripts in recent years, Stillman pours plenty of wit and insight on what it is to be young and successful in a large city.

Another great thing about this film is its' excellent disco-era soundtrack. Covering such classics such as "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross and "Everybody Dance" by Chic, I almost felt that I was transported to the club in the film. If you loved this film, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the soundtrack.

If you love Disco and/or films about life in New York City, I highly recommend this film. It is one of the best films of 1998, and after watching it I can't wait for Whit Stillman's next project.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good antidote to exploding helicopter movies, December 2, 1999

By 

Michael Laursen "Mike Laursen" (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Days of Disco (DVD)

If you can't stand to watch another exploding helicopter, "Disco" and the other two Whit Stillman movies are a good antidote. The characters actually say interesting things.

You may want to watch "Metropolitan" before watching "The Last Days of Disco" to understand the world the characters come from. You may be a little misled by watching "Metropolitan" first, though. It's a simple, gentle story while "Barcelona" and "Disco" are sexier and set in more exotic locales.

Some reviewers didn't like these movies because the characters speak articulately in fully-formed, grammatically-correct sentences. I can see where they might mistake it for bad writing or acting. The bio commentary on the "Disco" DVD talks about the film crew being impressed by the Sevigny and Beckinsale's ability to recreate New England prep school speech - an indication that preppies really talk that way. I'm from California where we're all inarticulate, so I wouldn't know. Ultimately, I don't care - people don't break out singing in real life, either, but you wouldn't want to do away with musicals. Notice that the non-preppy characters in these movies talk like "normal" people.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Stillman, January 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Days of Disco (DVD)

After Metropolitan andn Barcelona, one would expect the acting in The Last Days of Disco to be atrocious. That's not the case. For perhaps the first time, Stillman has managed to fuse a reflective story with decent acting. The result is, I think, a movie that just gets better each time you watch it. The more you watch, the more you realise it's just like a Fitzgerald or Hemmingway novel. The conversation about lady and the tramp, the bitchiness of Kate Beckinsale... it all adds up to a great movie. If you have a bit of time to spare, and you're willing to pay attention to it, watch the movie. Whilst Metropolitan and Barcelona were both great (I'm a big Stillman fan), I think The Last Days of Disco shows the director at a new level of maturity.