Review by Roger Carpenter
For 33 months in the late 70’s New York City became the epicenter for perhaps the most famous nightclub in the world. Birthed from the dreams of a couple of twenty-somethings and miraculously constructed in mere weeks, the rise and ultimate fall of the hottest discotheque in the world—Studio 54—is the stuff of legend.
Originally constructed as an opera house in 1927, there were a succession of owners until CBS Studios purchased the property in 1943. There the studio broadcast some of its most famous game shows like What’s My Line? and The $64,000 Question, as well as The Jack Benny Show and even Captain Kangaroo until they moved to a new location and started shopping the property around.
Enter two young hotshots named Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, who purchased the property and proceeded to renovate it with the backing of Jack Dushey. Rubell was a brash entrepreneur while Schrager, a lawyer by trade, was much more introverted. Rubell sought the spotlight while Schrager avoided it whenever possible. Together, the due formed an unlikely alliance and had already opened two smaller nightclubs when they hit upon the property at 54th Street (hence the name of the club), deciding to take the plunge into the bigtime. Never in their wildest imaginations would they have believed that Studio 54 would take them to the top of the world before landing them in prison only three years later.
Of the two, Rubell clearly had the bigger dreams and the vision to go along with them. He hired some of the top architects and interior designers as well as some of Broadway’s most famous lighting directors, to make use of all the sets and lighting rigs left over from decades of theatrical and television shows that had been performed in the building. The result was a re-envisioning of the club scene that pushed Studio 54 to international fame as well as notoriety. Sparing no expense, the pair kept professional lighting directors on the payroll so, while most nightclubs were quite dark, Studio 54 was not only bright enough to allow attendees to see each other and interact more, but the light shows themselves became part of the attraction. Along with the lights, the fly rigs and sets were used to actually change settings during the evening. The result was an interactive experience which quickly became the hottest ticket in town. In 1977, 78, and 79, Studio 54 was where everyone wanted to be.
Rubell absolutely adored the spotlight. Never without words, he bragged to every media outlet he could about his and Schrager’s new club. With attendees the like of Warhol, Bowie, Minelli, Stallone, and Jagger, the club was quickly filled to capacity each night. International stars jetted across the world to come to Studio 54. The money started rolling in, as did the drugs. In fact, the open use of drugs in the nightclub, as well as the legendary sexual encounters in the mezzanine level, which was refurbished and included in the nightclub’s design, ensured the club was a constant topic, not just on television news and in the papers, but also in gossip on the streets. Rubell also loved power. Though he had a doorman to the club, Rubell himself could routinely be seen at the door hand-picking the lucky few to get in. The number of levels in which customers could be divided was dizzying. There were the non-paying stars, like Jagger, as well as the stars allowed in but whom had to pay, for instance, like the rest of The Rolling Stones. Rubell could be infuriatingly arbitrary as well, picking people out of the crowd who had “the look,” whatever that was, but also picking people out to crush with comments like, “Get a haircut and come back,” or “I can’t let you in looking like that. Go put on some nice clothes and we’ll talk.”
Perhaps Rubell’s biggest mistake was bragging to the newspapers about the money he and Schrager made, famously commenting that only the Mafia made more money than he did. Comments like these didn’t make Rubell any friends. Worse, comments like these raised the eyebrows as well as the ire of governmental agencies such as the IRS. Early in 1979, Studio 54 was raided. Inside were hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash, all undocumented in the accounting books. Included in the find was cocaine sprinkled across the floor from the previous night’s festivities. It wasn’t long before Rubell and Schrager were arrested and the doors to Studio 54 were shuttered. The pair did 13 months in prison for tax evasion and the end of an era was over. Ironically, disco’s biggest club died right around the time disco itself was in its death throes.
The life of Studio 54 remains a short but fascinating era not just for New York City, but all around the world. Director Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emporer; Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood) has crafted a fascinating documentary which tells the story of the rise and fall of the club and the people who built it. Using contemporary news footage, never-before-seen footage from both inside and outside the club, and interviews with Ian Schrager himself (sadly, Rubell, who was gay, died of AIDS-related illnesses in 1989), Tyrnauer capably traces the steps from Rubell’s and Schrager’s humble beginnings and fateful first meeting to the development of the Studio 54 concept. Along the way the film explors the race to renovate the building as well as the shenanigans pulled to ensure liquor could be served even as the club’s liquor license was held up by the slow wheels of state government. Through this footage and Schrager’s candid interviews, viewers will see the glitz and glam, the power plays and, eventually, the demise of the club.
Studio 54 remains a topic which fascinates people all over the globe. For those who didn’t live the era or weren’t a part of the Studio 54 scene, this documentary lays bare both the good and the bad that was Studio 54. It’s an engaging history told in straightforward and bluntly honest terms and is always entertaining.
Studio 54 has recently been released by Kino Lorber. You can purchase the disc, on standard DVD or Blu-Ray, directly from Kino Lorber at kinolorber.com or through Amazon.
