GREASE STARTED AS A HIT SHOW at a converted trolley barn in Chicago and became a hit movie. Since it first appeared on big screens across the world in 1978, Grease has been rereleased on TV, DVD, and Blu-ray. It has been an Emmy-winning live production broadcast as well as a sing-along happening, and it seems as if every school has put on a production. Fans who watched the movie again and again in 1978, singing along with the catchy lyrics, now watch it with their children and even grandchildren. So many people know the songs and dialogue by heart and have told me that when they are changing channels and come across it, they get hooked and watch it again.
I am often asked to show my movies at film schools and have noticed a pattern in the students. During the question-and-answer period after screenings, some students come across as lofty critics, as if they know everything there is to know about film. I’ve come to expect this uncensored criticism in students just starting out in their studies. But, many years after the original release of Grease I was astounded by the students’ response to it at both the American Film Institute and the University of Southern California. The students were watching it, wide-eyed and open-faced, like little kids. I couldn’t figure it out at first, then I realized: although they had seen it numerous times, it was always on the small TV screen. I asked the group in the USC class how many had never seen it before on a big theater screen. Four hundred hands went up. Then I asked if they noticed, this time, all the raunchy references. Their response? A big cheer, applause, and laughter.
“Fun” is the word that comes up in cast interviews. And it was a lot of fun. The whole experience of making Grease was like going through high school again—in a good way. We learned a lot and had a great experience all around. That energy and joy comes out whether someone’s watching it on a big screen or streaming it onto a phone. The movie is based in the Hollywood musical tradition, but it also arrived at the start of the music-video age. Perhaps one of the things I love best about having been involved in Grease is the fact that the community we created in the fictional halls of Rydell High has continued to remain a tight circle of friends. For four decades we’ve reunited at premiere parties, rerelease parties, sing-alongs, and anniversaries. It’s true: “We go together.”
