Read the book. Early on in Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary about the famous/infamous New York City discotheque, co-founder (and chief talking head) Ian Schrager is shown the galleys for a mammoth, photo-rich book about the place he just calls “Studio.” And the best things about the film are the black and white stills that undoubtedly live between its covers. It’s almost strange: motionless, they crackle with more energy than the many clips of folks dancing druggily with themselves; monochromatic, they burn with the color of the crazy times. The movie tries hard to make the story of the club’s rise and fall emblematic of an era, but in the end, it’s about a couple of old friends from the neighborhood who got lucky, got greedy, and got caught. After that, one got sick and the other got rich. (2018) — Matthew Lickona
This movie is not currently in theaters.