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Save The Last Dance
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
If not without some definite flaws, "Save The Last Dance" at least is a teen movie that at least occasionally succeeds due to strong casting, while the cliches of the genre keep it going over familiar terrain instead of breaking out into something more engaging.
Sara Johnson(Julia Stiles) finds herself forced to live with her father in Chicago's inner city, which is a definite change from her formerly suburban life. Sara, formerly interested in persuing a career as a ballet dancer, finds enjoyment in hip-hop and dancing with new friends like Chenille and her brother Derek(Sean Patrick Thomas, "Cruel Intentions"), who she begins to fall for.
The movie tries to be a lot of things, and doesn't particularly succeed at any one issue - if anything, the unorganized nature of the movie often ends up slowing the pace up. Stiles and Thomas are very good together - I would have liked to have seen a genuine romantic comedy/drama with the two and when the two are together, "Save The Last Dance" works and it works well, but when the film feels the need to add several other subplots into the mix, it's less interesting than simply focusing on these two people trying to realize their dreams. I will give the film credit for doing more than I would expect from an MTV production in terms of looking at real-life issues and bringing fully-realized characters into the mix. But the unfortunate part is that the romance occasionally functions on stereotypical plot devices.
Stiles has done quite a few movies lately, not quite "saving" them, but certainly bringing a great deal to the proceedings - enough to make films like "Down To You" and "10 Things I Hate About You" at least mildly watchable. She does the same with "Save The Last Dance", providing a mature, enjoyable performance that often impressed me. If only one of this new generation of actresses went on to have a bright career, I would be shocked if it wasn't Julia Stiles. Thomas is very good as well and when the film, which is often busy with various problems going on between the characters, just focuses on them, it works. Also very good in a supporting role is Kerry Washington as Chenille.
There's films where you can walk out without much opinion because they're not good and didn't have the potential to be. I'm dissapointed in "Save The Last Dance" not because it's a bad film - it's simply an occasionally entertaining one - I'm dissapointed because it had the potential to be overall as good as several of its scenes.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a very enjoyable presentation from Paramount, showing the film in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Although not without a few minor flaws, this is one of the better presentations I've seen from the studio in recent months. Sharpness and detail are often perfect, with a smooth "film-like" image that was very pleasing. With the exception of a few interior scenes that appeared ever-so-slightly soft, the image remained very consistent.
There were some slight problems that popped up, but really nothing that I became too concerned over. A couple of scenes provided a very slight hint of edge enhancement and there were a handful of marks on the print used. A few scenes also displayed a very minimal amount of grain. Other than that, the picture looked terrific, and at its best, there was very nice depth to the image.
Colors looked excellent as well; well-rendered and nicely saturated. Although the outdoor scenes have a rather subdued color palette with a cold blue tint, other scenes such as the club and school scenes have a warmer range of colors. Flesh tones looked accurate and natural, and aside from a few minor flaws, the film looked excellent. Very nice work from Paramount and exceptional cinematography by Robbie Greenberg.
SOUND: "Save The Last Dance" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The track provides exactly what I would expect from the material, audio-wise. It's not a particularly agressive track in any way, but it remains active throughout much of the movie, as both the school sequences and outdoor sequences have a good helping of ambient sounds in the backgrounds delivered by the surrounds.
There's a few scenes that present a more active audio environment, mainly the club sequences. During the club sequences, hip-hop/rap music plays on the soundtrack and the music sounded terrific. Clear, crisp and with tight bass, the beats flow through the room quite nicely. Surrounds re-inforce the music superbly, as well. Mark Isham's score serves to underline the dramatic moments when the actors are often good enough to involve the audience on their own without the help of the score, which is the same way that I felt about the composers work on the recent "Men Of Honor". Last, but not least, dialogue sounded natural and easily understood. An audio presentation that didn't provide many suprises, but certainly delivered quite well throughout.
MENUS:: Usually, Paramount does not provide animated menus, but here, they at least offer a very nicely done animated main menu. Sub-menus are nicely done, with film-themed images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Thomas Carter. The director provides a mixed track; some of the comments that he has to share are interesting and engaging tidbits about the plot, such as early on when he travelled to different schools to do research. Although there's a number of informative details, much of the rest of the track has the director pointing out what's going on in the story at that particular moment. Although the track has some pauses of silence during the opening half, things pick up a bit more as the track goes on. It's an enjoyable commentary, worth a listen for fans of the film.
Making Of "Save the Last Dance": This is generally a promotional featurette talking about the film's story. Interviews with the actors provide some minor tidbits about the production of the movie, but the first 8 minutes or so are dedicated to talking about the movie and each one of the main characters. It's not until about 10 minutes into the nearly 20 minute documentary that the information finally starts coming in as we find out more about the dance practice that had to be done before the movie as well as other behind-the-scenes information. It's worth a look, but some may want to fast forward a bit if you've already seen the movie.
Deleted Scenes: 4 deleted scenes are provided, but do not include commentary to discuss why they were deleted. These aren't bad scenes and a couple of them are actually quite good, but apparently they might have been taken out for pacing reasons.
Cast and Crew Interviews: Interviews with various members of the cast and director Thomas Carter are included here. While Paramount's cast/crew interview section is usually everyone involved congratulating each other (or, most hilariously, director Nora Ephron seriously talking about "one of the great women's parts of all time" for Lisa Kudrow in "Lucky Numbers"). For "Save the Last Dance", though, the stars discuss their performances and what they did to prepare, as well as their feelings about working on the picture. It's an enjoyable watch and informative rather than spending the whole time talking about how wonderful everyone was.
Also: The film's theatrical trailer (1.85:1/2.0), music video "Crazy" by K-Ci and JoJo.
Final Thoughts: Personally, I thought there was a lot to like about "Save The Last Dance", but there's also some areas whete I didn't think the movie worked as well and a more simple plot focusing more on the two leads might have been even more successful. Paramount really did a very nice job on the DVD and I'd hope that they will continue with the kind of effort displayed here. If you haven't seen "Save The Last Dance" it's a very good rental and if you have and enjoyed the film (and many seem to be fans with the 85 million gross), then the DVD is most certainly worth picking up.
If not without some definite flaws, "Save The Last Dance" at least is a teen movie that at least occasionally succeeds due to strong casting, while the cliches of the genre keep it going over familiar terrain instead of breaking out into something more engaging.
Sara Johnson(Julia Stiles) finds herself forced to live with her father in Chicago's inner city, which is a definite change from her formerly suburban life. Sara, formerly interested in persuing a career as a ballet dancer, finds enjoyment in hip-hop and dancing with new friends like Chenille and her brother Derek(Sean Patrick Thomas, "Cruel Intentions"), who she begins to fall for.
The movie tries to be a lot of things, and doesn't particularly succeed at any one issue - if anything, the unorganized nature of the movie often ends up slowing the pace up. Stiles and Thomas are very good together - I would have liked to have seen a genuine romantic comedy/drama with the two and when the two are together, "Save The Last Dance" works and it works well, but when the film feels the need to add several other subplots into the mix, it's less interesting than simply focusing on these two people trying to realize their dreams. I will give the film credit for doing more than I would expect from an MTV production in terms of looking at real-life issues and bringing fully-realized characters into the mix. But the unfortunate part is that the romance occasionally functions on stereotypical plot devices.
Stiles has done quite a few movies lately, not quite "saving" them, but certainly bringing a great deal to the proceedings - enough to make films like "Down To You" and "10 Things I Hate About You" at least mildly watchable. She does the same with "Save The Last Dance", providing a mature, enjoyable performance that often impressed me. If only one of this new generation of actresses went on to have a bright career, I would be shocked if it wasn't Julia Stiles. Thomas is very good as well and when the film, which is often busy with various problems going on between the characters, just focuses on them, it works. Also very good in a supporting role is Kerry Washington as Chenille.
There's films where you can walk out without much opinion because they're not good and didn't have the potential to be. I'm dissapointed in "Save The Last Dance" not because it's a bad film - it's simply an occasionally entertaining one - I'm dissapointed because it had the potential to be overall as good as several of its scenes.
The DVD
VIDEO: This is a very enjoyable presentation from Paramount, showing the film in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Although not without a few minor flaws, this is one of the better presentations I've seen from the studio in recent months. Sharpness and detail are often perfect, with a smooth "film-like" image that was very pleasing. With the exception of a few interior scenes that appeared ever-so-slightly soft, the image remained very consistent.
There were some slight problems that popped up, but really nothing that I became too concerned over. A couple of scenes provided a very slight hint of edge enhancement and there were a handful of marks on the print used. A few scenes also displayed a very minimal amount of grain. Other than that, the picture looked terrific, and at its best, there was very nice depth to the image.
Colors looked excellent as well; well-rendered and nicely saturated. Although the outdoor scenes have a rather subdued color palette with a cold blue tint, other scenes such as the club and school scenes have a warmer range of colors. Flesh tones looked accurate and natural, and aside from a few minor flaws, the film looked excellent. Very nice work from Paramount and exceptional cinematography by Robbie Greenberg.
SOUND: "Save The Last Dance" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The track provides exactly what I would expect from the material, audio-wise. It's not a particularly agressive track in any way, but it remains active throughout much of the movie, as both the school sequences and outdoor sequences have a good helping of ambient sounds in the backgrounds delivered by the surrounds.
There's a few scenes that present a more active audio environment, mainly the club sequences. During the club sequences, hip-hop/rap music plays on the soundtrack and the music sounded terrific. Clear, crisp and with tight bass, the beats flow through the room quite nicely. Surrounds re-inforce the music superbly, as well. Mark Isham's score serves to underline the dramatic moments when the actors are often good enough to involve the audience on their own without the help of the score, which is the same way that I felt about the composers work on the recent "Men Of Honor". Last, but not least, dialogue sounded natural and easily understood. An audio presentation that didn't provide many suprises, but certainly delivered quite well throughout.
MENUS:: Usually, Paramount does not provide animated menus, but here, they at least offer a very nicely done animated main menu. Sub-menus are nicely done, with film-themed images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Thomas Carter. The director provides a mixed track; some of the comments that he has to share are interesting and engaging tidbits about the plot, such as early on when he travelled to different schools to do research. Although there's a number of informative details, much of the rest of the track has the director pointing out what's going on in the story at that particular moment. Although the track has some pauses of silence during the opening half, things pick up a bit more as the track goes on. It's an enjoyable commentary, worth a listen for fans of the film.
Making Of "Save the Last Dance": This is generally a promotional featurette talking about the film's story. Interviews with the actors provide some minor tidbits about the production of the movie, but the first 8 minutes or so are dedicated to talking about the movie and each one of the main characters. It's not until about 10 minutes into the nearly 20 minute documentary that the information finally starts coming in as we find out more about the dance practice that had to be done before the movie as well as other behind-the-scenes information. It's worth a look, but some may want to fast forward a bit if you've already seen the movie.
Deleted Scenes: 4 deleted scenes are provided, but do not include commentary to discuss why they were deleted. These aren't bad scenes and a couple of them are actually quite good, but apparently they might have been taken out for pacing reasons.
Cast and Crew Interviews: Interviews with various members of the cast and director Thomas Carter are included here. While Paramount's cast/crew interview section is usually everyone involved congratulating each other (or, most hilariously, director Nora Ephron seriously talking about "one of the great women's parts of all time" for Lisa Kudrow in "Lucky Numbers"). For "Save the Last Dance", though, the stars discuss their performances and what they did to prepare, as well as their feelings about working on the picture. It's an enjoyable watch and informative rather than spending the whole time talking about how wonderful everyone was.
Also: The film's theatrical trailer (1.85:1/2.0), music video "Crazy" by K-Ci and JoJo.
Final Thoughts: Personally, I thought there was a lot to like about "Save The Last Dance", but there's also some areas whete I didn't think the movie worked as well and a more simple plot focusing more on the two leads might have been even more successful. Paramount really did a very nice job on the DVD and I'd hope that they will continue with the kind of effort displayed here. If you haven't seen "Save The Last Dance" it's a very good rental and if you have and enjoyed the film (and many seem to be fans with the 85 million gross), then the DVD is most certainly worth picking up.
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