Grease 40th anniversary edition

Director: Randal Kleiser

Cast: John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, Stockard Channing

Rating: (PG)

IT has been 40 years since John Travolta and Olivia NewtonJohn sang and danced their way through the corridors of Rydell High, but their efforts are as entertaining today as they were four decades ago. There’s been plenty of time to secondguess the selection of the film’s two stars, but each viewing only fortifies the argument they were the best selections.

Another big reason the production is so strong is the lineup of musical

hits, including Greased Lightnin, Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You,

Beauty School Dropout and Grease.

One or two hits would be a win for any musical, but this one is loaded.

The film has been available for years and plays on television regularly. The anniversary edition offers more because both the 4K Ultra HD and Bluray combo packs also feature more than an hour of previously released bonus material including a singalong, interviews with the cast, deleted scenes and more. Plus, the Bluray combo comes in collectible packaging, with 16 pages of images laid out like a high school yearbook.

If that is not enough, Paramount worked with director Randal Kleiser to restore the film to its original vibrancy, with the highest quality sound, picture resolution and colour. The original negative was scanned and received extensive cleanup and colour correction using previously unavailable digital restoration tools, such as high dynamic range technology. In addition, the audio was enhanced from a sixtrack mix created for an original 70mm release, giving the music more clarity.