|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
A coming of age fable set in
the Catskills, this is the film that made Patrick
Swayze a household word, shot Jennifer Grey to the
top of the world and had the entire country
singing "I've Had the Time of My Life." The plot
tells the story of Frances 'Baby' Houseman (Grey),
a naive rich kid who goes slumming on the wrong
side of the tracks with Johnny Castle, a poor
dancer (Swayze) working off a debt as a dance
instructor and sometimes gigolo. The wrinkle;
Johnny's actually a great guy who's being used for
his prowess both on and off the dance floor.
Through Baby's eyes Johnny begins to believe in
himself and the prospect of settling down into a
life and love that is truly the time of both their
lives. However, when Johnny's dance partner, Penny
Johnson (Cynthia Rhodes) becomes pregnant, and
then suffers a botched abortion, Baby's father,
Jake (Jerry Orbach) naturally assumes that Johnny
was the father. The resulting animosity between
Jake, his daughter and her boyfriend is, of
course, eventually resolved in the film's
climactic ending that erroneously supports the
myth that true love conquers all.
"Dirty Dancing" has been made available on DVD in
three different transfers. The first two, film
only and "collector's edition" were not
anamorphically enhanced for widescreen
televisions. The newly remastered "Ultimate
Edition" exhibits a really solid, anamorphically
enhanced video presentation. Colors are fully
saturated, rich and vibrant. Fine detail is
beautifully rendered. There is a hint of film
grain detected, as well as edge enhancement and
the ever so slight shimmer of fine details but
these do not distract. The soundtrack has also
been remastered and cleaned up.
There are a lot of extras -- but oddly enough,
none of them include either interviews with
Patrick Swayze, or other cast members speaking to
his immense contributions on the film. It's as if
the movie happened without him! -- Bizarre!!!
There are two documentaries, one chiefly about the
film's creation, the other a tribute to the camera
work involved. There's also a teaser for "Dirty
Dancing: Havana Nights," and a video version of
the stage "sensation" that is genuinely dull and
tacky. There are also some theatrical trailers and
stills to go through. |
