Behind the Scenes with Whit Stillman
April 21, 2016
Film Info
- United States
- 1998
- 113 minutes
- Color
- 1.78:1
- English
- Spine #485
The Last Days of Disco, from director Whit Stillman, is a cleverly comic look at the early 1980s Manhattan party scene from the vantage point of the late nineties. 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 Studio 54–like club. Brimming with Stillman’s trademark dry humor, The Last Days of Disco is an affectionate yet unsentimental look at the end of an era.
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 |
| Written and produced by | Whit Stillman |
| Cinematography | John Thomas |
| Edited by | Andrew Hafitz and Jay Pires |
| Coproducers | Cecilia Kate Roque and Edmon Roch |
| Executive producer | John Sloss |
| Music | Mark Suozzo |
| Production design | Ginger Tougas |
| Costumes | Sarah Edwards |
| Casting | Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith and Kerry Barden |
| Choreography | John Carrafa |
| Music supervisor | Peter Afterman |
| Sound editor | Paul Soucek |
Disc Features
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Whit Stillman, with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Audio commentary by Stillman and actors Chris Eigeman and Chloë Sevigny
- 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
- Trailer
- PLUS: A new essay by novelist David Schickler
Cover illustration by Pierre Le Tan, based on his theatrical poster
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My Criterion
“Resonates today. One of the first in a much copied lost twenty somethings film theme.”
