Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1643 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-07-02
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
As with Grease (1978) and Footloose (1984) before it, Dirty Dancing was a cultural phenomenon that now plays more like camp. That very campiness, though, is part of its biggest charm. And if the dancing in the movie doesn't seem particularly "dirty" by today's standards--or 1987's--it does take place in an era (the early '60s) when it would have. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey, daughter of ageless hoofer Joel Grey), vacationing in the Catskills with her family one summer, falls under the sway (as it were) of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a pampered pup, but Johnny is a man of the world. Baby's father Jake can't see the basic decency in greaser Johnny that she can. It should come as no surprise to find that Baby, who can be as immature as her name, learns more about love and life--and dancing--from free-spirited Johnny than traditionalist Jake. Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series and a stage musical. It may be predictable, but Grey and Swayze have chemistry, charisma and all the right moves. It's a sometimes silly movie with occasionally mind-boggling dialogue--"No one puts Baby in a corner!"--that nonetheless carries an underlying message about tolerance and is filled with the kind of exuberant spirit that is hard for even the most cynical to resist. Not that they would ever admit it. --Kathy Fennessy

On the DVD: The information outlined on the package makes the special features appear very appealing: you too could "Learn to Dirty Dance". However, all the DVD actually teaches you is how to move from side to side with a slow "cha cha cha"--not exactly "dirty". Other additional features include the obligatory scene selection and a directors commentary from Eleanor Bergstein, offers interesting snippets of trivia, but overall is dull and stuttering. There's also the original theatrical trailer plus a very poor selection of filmographies for the cast and crew which (none of whom aside from Swayze ever amounted to much) which is difficult to read due to the italic scrawl they insist on using across the whole features section. That being said with a 1.78:1 ratio and Dolby Digital 5.1 this release is the closest you will get to reliving those 1980s school discos and back-seat cinema rows. --Nikki Disney

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Learn to Dirty Dance
Audio Commentary from Creator "Eleanor Bergstein"
Filmographies
Closed Captioned English Subtitles
Trailer

Synopsis
Headstrong 17-year-old Baby Houseman hardly expects her family's usual summer vacation in the Catskills to be momentous. But then Baby spies Johnny Castle, the resort's dance instructor from the wrong side of the tracks. Johnny's facing a crisis: his dance partner and friend Penny is pregnant and has reluctantly decided to get an abortion. This leaves Johnny a solo act--until Baby agrees to take Penny's place. She has to learn how to dance first, however, and as Johnny teaches her the choreography's sexy, seductive moves, the two fall in love. But Baby's father believes that Johnny is the creep who got Penny pregnant, and he furiously orders Baby to end the relationship. Baby knows that Johnny's innocent--and with her feisty idealism and his dance talent, the two will prove to Baby's father that their love is worth fighting for.

Customer Reviews

Best Kept Original
This movie is amazing the music and the dancing. People buy this and be amazed. Value for money 5 Stars

Guys Review
This is definately a girls only film. As a guy i saw this and thought to myself, ok this is a film about a fairly unattractive couple getting it on and learning to dance. Sorry for the cynicism, but it was bland for me.

All my girl friends love it, but guys dont waste your time.

it is definitely a classic
i was only about twelve years old when i first watched this movie. my nephew and my niece were 7 and 9, respectively. we had then a laser copy of the movie and we would watch it every single day, several repeats per view. it was a favorite at that time, save for another one, the little mermaid...

the movie penetrates the heart. the story was simple yet superb. it is that type of movie that u feel u are a part of and not merely an audience.

i never realized that this movie would actually be a part of my interest in dancing many years later. i became an entertainment consultant of a popular dance club [ballroom] in the philippines in 2001. i had to be in close monitoring of the dance activities and the dance instructors because of the promotional gimmicks we cooked up to further spice up the club's offerings. i had new dance instructors trained, the old ones reevaluated and i found myself, with both left feet, on the dance floor.

after two months, i danced like i never danced before. dancing in the club had more soul. and whenever i put on my dancing shoes, the inspiration that always dominate my thoughts would be the last dance scene of patrick swayze and jeniffer grey...

watching this movie will make a lasting impression. the movie was able to pour out its real meaning. dancing isn't just movement and toes on the dance floor; it is the language of the heart and soul manifested through the language of the body.

i have watched a lot of other dance movies. not one got near this wonderful movie, Dirty Dancing...