Musical Globe

Director chronicles the rise and fall of this nightclub’s founders: two best friends from Brooklyn, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, who conquered New York City only to have it crumble before their eyes. With rare footage, a parade of colourful patrons and staff, and brutally honest interviews with Schrager himself, Studio 54 is a riveting study in contradictions. Inside the palatial theatre-turned-disco, the crowd revelled in an atmosphere of total acceptance, whether drag queen, octogenarian, waiter, or celebrity. Yet outside, a frenzied, excluded mob yearned to be noticed by the doorman and ushered into the sanctum of pulsating love. Schrager and Rubell’s glittering creation sprang from carefree naiveté and unbridled ambition – yet  those same instincts managed to destroy it.