Studio 54

Matt Tyrnauer's fine documentary about the famed NYC Dance Club. I liked that they didn't make it simply about the "glory days" of the club (complete with wall to wall disco music; The tunes are there, but, they are tastefully integrated). It is more a portrait of club owners Steve Rebell and Ian Schrager with Studio 54 as the hook. The fact that Schrager is there to tell the story (although, he remains coy about certain details) is what elevates above other docs on the club, and it will likely remain the most definitive movie on the club for that reason.

Also, credit that it doesn't spend the bulk of its runtime covering the 'glory days' and the celebrity culture aspects (although there's plenty of both). It shows the birth of the club all the way from it's conception to the fall - and even afterwards.

P.S. Bonus points for largely respecting the Aspect Ratio of most of the vintage footage.

Entertaining documentary from director Matt Tyrnauer catches up with Ian Schrager, once the co-founder of New York City's infamous disco Studio 54, which crashed after 33 months of late-'70s drugs and decadence. One might rightly ask: Is there anything left to learn on this much-discussed and dissected subject? Probably not, but Tyrnauer charts the unusual friendship and business relationship between Ian and the flamboyant, often unnerving and unlikable Steve Rubell with great aplomb. *** from ****

Chemistry and night life. The story being told in this documentary is more about how people live and breath than what makes them tick or some breakdown of any particular matter of interest. It's just telling you how it was, which I love whole heartedly. Enthralling!

Solid documentary on what the rise and the fall of the historic Studio 54.

This is a first hand look into the inside of the amazing Studio 54. Co-Founder Ian Schrager looks back and gives an intimate run-down of the disco's creation and rise to complete wonderland, and it's ultimate demise as it came crashing down quicker than a snort of blow. This documentary explores the experiences, first hand accounts, from many of the employees caught up in the whirlwind of this Xanadu on New York's 54th Avenue. The photo's and videos from inside the club are as much eye-opening as they are fascinating. Studio 54 was a place to feel safe and feel free, a place to live life to it's fullest every night and escape the prejudices, injustices, and cruel world of reality outside its doors. It drew the likes of Liza Minelli, Michael Jackson, Liz Taylor....and so many more from the global A-List of Celebrity in the late '70's. It was a time and experience like no other in recent history, and the place to be (if you could only get in the door). Don't miss this exceptional inside account of the iconic discotheque Studio 54.