Grease, one of the great, most loved, and successful musical film adaptations of all time, celebrates its 35 anniversary today.

Brimming with memorable set pieces, song numbers, consummate dancing, a smart script, and of course, the lead performance by John Travolta, fresh off his superstar status in Saturday Night Fever and arguably elevating that star status even to a higher plane with the success of this film, Grease still remains a benchmark in cinema, a rare striking an iron red hot of a meshing of casting, production, and creation. It’s pretty much ingrained in the American fabric in this current age we live in, and even if there is a slight polarization regarding the film, there’s no denying its power. Like Saturday Night Fever, Grease remains almost like two films which are recognized by the viewing public: the pushing the envelope original PG version which has some mild but albeit adult themes in it, and the watered down, readily accessible for the ABC Family, Disney Channel, VH1 Classic mindset and demographic and thus, the real intention of many of its characters are slightly askew and the original story remains in a slight flux. But regardless of that, it’s still the feel good charm and energy that Grease radiates which made it a success in the cinema and beyond, on the lighted stages of live productions, which now transcend to being performed around the world.

Actor Jeff Conaway passed away yesterday, May 27, 2011, at the age of 60. Geek fans will remember him from television shows such as Babylon 5 and Freddy’s Nightmares, but he is also more popularly known from Grease and Taxi.

Conaway’s passing is a sad long story… At the beginning of May he was apparently dealing with pneumonia, and was taking a lot of medication to deal with the illness. Several days later, he was found unconscious on May 11, where it was discovered he had overdosed on painkillers (some media outlets have speculated other prescription medications as well) almost 10 hours before being found.

He was placed in a medically induced coma in the hospital, and was subsequently taken off life support on May 26. The following day, he died.

Grease
Rockin’ Rydell Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Randal Kleiser
Starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Release Date: May 5, 2009

It’s hard to imagine there’s anybody out there who has not seen this landmark piece of American cinema. Forget Troy and Gabriella, they’ve got nothing on Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) and Grease will always be the original high school musical. Even 31 years after its original release, Grease is still regarded as the definitive American musical and a masterpiece of a film.

The Blu-ray release, however, is not as ground-breaking as the film itself. Though long-time fans of the film may jump at the chance for a high-def version, if they already own the DVD “Rockin’ Rydell” edition, there is little reason to repurchase.

Even as Blu-ray technology becomes more widespread, it seems a vast majority of people who use it are videophiles who want the absolute best. Unfortunately, the picture quality on the Grease Blu-ray leaves a bit to be desired. The disc contains a 1080p high-def transfer of the film, but seems spotty at points. Though the film’s vibrant colors really pop in high definition, many scenes lack the crispness one has come to expect from Blu-ray. This is especially noticeable when skipping chapters, as one scene may look great but the next looks practically blurry by comparison.