Dirty Dancing

Like Footloose and Flashdance before it, Dirty Dancing is a critic-proof pop culture phenomenon. Set in 1963, this coming-of-age romantic drama about a pampered daddy's girl's first love with a bad boy Catskills dance instructor struck a major chord--spawning a chart-topping soundtrack, a dance craze, a stage show, and a short-lived TV series. The film's fervent followers, who know all the dialogue ("nobody puts Baby in a corner") and the scandalous moves by heart, will, of course, want to put this double-disc set on their dance card. But they may be somewhat disappointed by this so-called "Ultimate Edition" that features neither Patrick Swayze nor Jennifer Grey on the commentary track (an exhausting, humorless affair from the choreographers, director of photography, and costume and production designers) or even in archival interviews. Fortunately, the second commentary track with screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, who based the film on her own dreamy Catskill summers, is more lively and personal. Among other extras, Grey's screen test is a nifty find, but her DVD introduction ("Hi, I'm Jennifer Grey. Welcome to the Dirty Dancing DVD") is a joke; and the 90-minute Dirty Dancing: Live in Concert stage show has to…well…be seen to be believed. Of course, those who cherish this film--now in its third iteration on DVD and still looking pretty average--will have the time of their lives. Recommended, for those who don't own an earlier edition. (D. Liebenson)[DVD Review—May 29, 2007—Lionsgate, 2 discs, 108 min., PG-13, $19.98—Making its fourth appearance on DVD, 1987's Dirty Dancing (Twentieth Anniversary) sports a fine transfer and 6.1 DTS-ES, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo sound. DVD extras on this two-disc set include an audio commentary with writer Eleanor Bergstein, a 19-minute interview with Bergstein, a 16-minute interview with choreographer Kenny Ortega (16 min.), a 14-minute tribute to director Emile Ardolino (14 min.), a 13-minute “Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze” interview with the star, 11 deleted scenes (12 min.), an 11-minute interview with star Jennifer Gray, six extended scenes (8 min.), a seven-minute tribute to actor Jerry Orbach, “The Classic Story on Stage” featurette on the stage show (6 min.), five minutes of original screen tests, three alternate scenes (3 min.), two multi-angle dance sequences (3 min.), a brief gag reel, music videos for the soundtrack songs “Hungry Eyes,” “She's Like the Wind,” and “(I've Had) The Time of My Life,” a trivia track, and a photo gallery. Bottom line: if your budget hasn't been dirty danced to death, this is the preferred version.][Blu-ray Review— May 11, 2010—Lionsgate, 105 min., PG-13, $34.99—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, 1987's Dirty Dancing sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 7.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (the first with writer/co-producer Eleanor Bergstein; second with choreographers Kenny Ortega and Jeff Jur, costar and co-choreographer Miranda Garrison, costume designer Hilary Rosenfeld, and production designer David Chapman), a “Live in Concert” vintage stage show (83 min.), interviews with costar Jennifer Gray, Bergstein, Garrison, and Ortega (59 min.), a “Tributes” section with an “In Memoriam” featurette and specific tributes to director Emile Ardolino and costars Patrick Swayze and Jerry Orbach (37 min. total), deleted/alternate/extended scenes (24 min.), the featurettes “Dancing to the Music” (17 min.), “The Phenomenon” on the popularity of the film (14 min.), “Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze” (13 min.), “The Rhythm of the Dancing” (4 min.), and “Kellerman's: Reliving the Locations of the film” (13 min.), a fan reel (7 min.), a vintage featurette (7 min.), two multi-angle dance sequences (3 min.), screen tests (3 min.), brief outtakes, the music videos for “Hungry Eyes” by Eric Carmen, “She's Like the Wind” by Swayze, and “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, pages from the script, a trivia track, trailers, and a 48-page photo book, as well as a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a winning Blu-ray follow-up, although most libraries will be fine with the earlier Blu-ray release.][Blu-ray Review—May 8, 2012—Lionsgate, 2 discs, 210 min., PG-13, $19.99—Making its third appearance on Blu-ray, 1987's Dirty Dancing sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 7.1 sound. Extras are identical to the previous Blu-ray release, including two audio commentaries (the first with writer/co-producer Eleanor Bergstein; second with choreographers Kenny Ortega and Jeff Jur, costar and co-choreographer Miranda Garrison, costume designer Hilary Rosenfeld, and production designer David Chapman), a “Live in Concert” vintage stage show (83 min.), interviews with costar Jennifer Gray, Bergstein, Garrison, and Ortega (59 min.), a “Tributes” section with an “In Memoriam” featurette and specific tributes to director Emile Ardolino and costars Patrick Swayze and Jerry Orbach (37 min. total), deleted/alternate/extended scenes (24 min.), the featurettes “Dancing to the Music” (17 min.), “The Phenomenon” on the popularity of the film (14 min.), “Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze” (13 min.), “The Rhythm of the Dancing” (4 min.), and “Kellerman's: Reliving the Locations of the film” (13 min.), a fan reel (7 min.), a vintage featurette (7 min.), two multi-angle dance sequences (3 min.), screen tests (3 min.), brief outtakes, the music videos for “Hungry Eyes” by Eric Carmen, “She's Like the Wind” by Swayze, and “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, script pages, a trivia track, and trailers. Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 7.1 sound. Extras are identical to the previous DVD release, including audio commentary by producer Sarah Green and choreographer/co-producer JoAnn Jansen, a “making-of” featurette (24 min.), the “Baila! A Dance Piece” behind-the-scenes featurette with dance auditions, interviews, and rehearsals (11 min.), 10 deleted scenes (12 min.), two multi-angle dance sequences, the music video “Guajira (I Love U 2 Much)” by Yerba Buena, and trailers. Bottom line: given the disappointing sequel, most collections will be fine with the previous Blu-ray release of Dirty Dancing alone.][Blu-ray/DVD Review—Feb. 7, 2017—Lionsgate, 101 min., PG-13, DVD or Blu-ray: $14.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1987's Dirty Dancing features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 7.1 soundtrack. Extras new to this release include a “Happy 30th Birthday” featurette (29 min.), a “Patrick Swayze: Uncut” interview (14 min.), “Patrick Swayze: In His Own Words” (13 min.), “Eleanor Bergstein: Thoughts on a Lifetime of Dirty Dancing” with the co-producer (7 min.), a collection of archival featurettes, and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: although the transfer is the same as the 2010 release, this edition does add some solid extras.]