Limelight

Released by: Magnolia Films
Released on: January 24, 2012.
Director: Billy Corben
Cast: Peter Gatien
Year: 2011
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The Movie:

Peter Gatien, born and raised in Cornwall Ontario, immigrated to the United States after making some decent money selling his nightclub in his home town. He went to Atlanta and found success with a similar enterprise there, but it wasn't until he bought an old church in Manhattan that he got a serious taste of success. Dubbed The Limelight, this massive space quickly became New York City's hottest club, and before you knew it Gatien had a veritable empire of Manhattan nightlife under his thumb with not only the Limelight bringing in big bucks but also The Tunnel, Club USA and the Palladium.

At his peak, Gatien claims to have been employing over a thousand people and bringing in profits of over five hundred thousand dollars a night. The mysterious man with the eye patch liked to stay behind the scenes, but when drug problems arose in his clubs, the NYPD under the control of Mayor Rudolph Guiliani made things very public indeed. After a few battles with the cops he was eventually freed of any wrongdoing in the drug related charges but shortly after was busted for tax evasion and deported from the United States. Despite the fact that he was married to an American woman and that they had children together, he was never and has never been allowed back into the country.

Billy Corben's 2011 documentary lets Gatien tell his story in his own words but also manages to interview a lot of the people who worked with him and knew him. The man known as Lord Michael openly admits to coordinating parties at The Limelight for the sole purpose of selling Ecstasy tablets at exorbitant prices while Moby notes that were it not for the NYC club culture of the era, electronic music would not be what it is today. We get the good with the bad here, though the film does tend to favor Gatien's side of the story over anyone else's (in Corben's defense, that's probably because Gatien does appear to have been set up). Crooked cops, dopey federal agents, backstabbing snitches and murderous acquaintances all play a part in this bizarre true crime story that is as interesting as it is, at times, rather unbelievable (though completely based on facts).

Ultimately, this isn't the type of film that you're going to want to watch over and over and over again unless you've got a super boner for the club scene that is no more, in which case the archival footage will certainly float your boat. However, if you're interested in the workings of city politics and how those in power can and do abuse that power under the guise of doing what's best for the public, the same public that generally doesn't pay attention in the first place, give this one a shot. It's an interesting mix of biography, expose and true crime story with a bizarre case of characters that proves true once again the old adage that truth is surely stranger than fiction.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is a bit of a mixed bag. The archival footage and news clip footage looks soft as it was taken from various old tape sources while the newly shot interview clips look nice and clean. Overall the good outweighs the bad and things are perfectly watchable even if this isn't really demo material.

The only audio option on the disc is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix, in English, with no alternate language options provided and subtitles available in Spanish. The surround activity is basically limited to the techno and club music made use of by the soundtrack, with the interview bits understandably coming at you from the front of the mix. It isn't an overly fancy track but it gets the job done without any issues and it suits the movie well enough.

Extras are limited to a trailer for the feature and trailers for a few other unrelated Magnolia releases, menus and chapter stops.

The Final Word:

Limelight is an interesting enough documentary that will likely appeal more to those with an interest in the club culture of the nineties than anyone else, though there are some interesting aspects to the political side of things here. If the DVD is devoid of any substantial extras at least the movie itself is worth checking out.