THE PLOT THUS FAR
As the owner of legendary hotspots like Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium, and Club USA, Peter Gatien was the undisputed king of the 1990s New York City club scene. The eye-patch-sporting Ontario native built and oversaw a Manhattan empire that counted tens of thousands of patrons per night in its peak years, acting as a conduit for a culture that, for many, defined the image of an era in New York. Then years of legal battles and police pressure-spearheaded by Mayor Giuliani’s determined crackdown on nightlife in the mid-’90s-led to Gatien’s eventual deportation to Canada and to the shuttering of his glitzy kingdom.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Limelight” examines the career of New York club owner Peter Gatien, whose run-ins with the law eventually had him deported to Canada. Through Gatien, viewers are treated to a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of New York’s wild nightlife. It mainly functions as a time capsule for New York City in the 1980s. However, I feel that the glamorizing of the club kids and drug scene went beyond Party Monster levels of ridiculousness. I have a hard time calling Alig and his cronies anything more than E riddled bisexuals that loved way too much house music.
While it’s no “Cocaine Cowboys”, the level of detail is astounding for this production. There’s something to be said for the level of editing on display here as we piece together an intricate timeline of Peter Gatien’s rise and fall. It’s not that Gatien was a bad person, he just enabled a lot of illegal activity that made his club popular. There’s nothing that illegal about owning a property where people can go do to blow. You’re not making them shoot up or trade sex slaves on the property. You’re just a business owner trying to make a profit. Then, damn Rudy Giuliani has to come and ruin everything.
The DVD comes with deleted scenes and a trailer. The A/V Quality is strong enough for standard definition, but there’s nothing that will really blow you away. It’s a documentary made up of video and audio taken from many sources. I’ll have to wait until I see an HD broadcast before I pass judgement on the cinematography choices. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
