The Last Days of Disco (1998) - The Criterion Collection

Synopsis

The Last Days of Disco is a clever, comic return to the nighttime party scene in early eighties Manhattan from director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan). At the center of the film’s roundelay of revelers are the icy Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and the demure Alice (Chloë Sevigny), by day toiling as publishing house assistants and by night looking for romance and entertainment at a premier, Studio 54–like club. The Last Days of Disco is an affectionate yet unsentimental look at the end of an era, brimming with Stillman’s trademark dry humor.

Cast

Alice	Chloë Sevigny
Charlotte	Kate Beckinsale
Des	Chris Eigeman
Jimmy	Mackenzie Astin
Josh	Matt Keeslar
Tom	Robert Sean Leonard
Nina	Jennifer Beals
Dan	Matthew Ross
Holly	Tara Subkoff
Van	Burr Steers
Bernie	David Thornton
Tiger Lady	Jaid Barrymore
Hap	Michael Weatherly

Credits

Director	Whit Stillman
Screenplay	Whit Stillman
Producer	Whit Stillman
Cinematography	John Thomas
Editing	Andrew Hafitz and Jay Pires
Executive Producer	John Sloss
Co-producers	Cecilia Kate Roque and Edmon Roch
Composer	Mark Suozzo
Production Design	Ginger Tougas
Costumes	Sarah Edwards
Choreography	John Carrafa
Music supervisor	Peter Afterman

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION

New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Whit Stillman
Audio commentary featuring Stillman and actors Chloë Sevigny and Chris Eigeman
Four deleted scenes with commentary by Stillman, Eigeman, and Sevigny
Audio recording of Stillman reading a chapter from his book The Last Days of Disco, with Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards
Behind-the-scenes featurette
Stills gallery with captions by Stillman
Original theatrical trailer
PLUS: An essay by novelist David Schickler

From the Current

DISCO 2.0

Sep 4, 2009

What would The Last Days of Disco’s Charlotte and Alice look like in today’s New York? On the occasion of Criterion’s release of Whit Stillman’s stylish look back at the early eighties, http://www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/2009-08-31/costume-update-new-days-for-disco . . .

PRESS NOTES: WHIT STILLMAN, MAN-ABOUT-TOWN

Aug 27, 2009

Known for creating some of American independent cinema’s chattiest characters, writer-director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan) is apparently feeling rather talkative himself this week. Stillman has popped up all over New York in interviews marking Criterion’s new special edition DVD release . . .

The Last Days of Disco:
Pop Paradise

by David Schickler Aug 25, 2009

Whit Stillman took a risk to set his third film during (and title it after) the disco era, whose erstwhile existence, from almost the moment it ended, has seemed . . .