The most notorious fan theory suggests that Sandy is in fact dying throughout the movie and the story only plays out in her imagination. Arguably one of the most famous movie theories of all time, it offers a completely different perspective on the movie's otherwise mostly upbeat tone, adding darkness to the musical's joyous light. And while the theory has its detractors, it remains incredibly popular, because it is tied to the film's strangest mystery: what its end really means. It is precisely because of that ending's weirdness and one particularly pertinent line from Grease's first big musical number - "Summer Nights" that a fan theory suggested a grim undercurrent to the classical musical including a dying teenage girl living her last moments "down in the sand". The fantasy sequences of "Greased Lightnin'" and "Beauty School Dropout", which very much play out in the imaginations of the characters singing those songs. The former is the T-Birds imagining their triumphs and how well the car will boost their boyish boasts of machismo, while the latter is Didi Conn's Frenchy imagining the bleakness of her future if her dream fails. Both are very much tied to dreams, but that makes the final sequence of Grease all the more confusing, because when Danny and Sandy fly off from the carnival in Greased Lightnin' it happens in real-time in the real world. Sandy's shock is nothing compared to that of the audience, who have just watched a fairly conventional high-school musical that operates within normal rules of reality end with a car literally flying off into the distance. In that respect, it was no wonder that there was an opportunity for a fan theory to fill in the gap in logic. The starting point of the theory, which was initially posted on Reddit, is one of the lines in "Summer Night" dedicated Sandy and Danny telling each of their listening audiences what happened during their holiday romance at the beach. While the Grease prequel, 'Summer Lovin', will tell the actual story of what happened during that tryst, the only account the audience can trust is the mention of the young couple bowling in the arcade, holding hands, and drinking lemonade. Crucially, the lyrics suggest that Danny and Sandy met when she got a cramp while swimming and Danny saved her from drowning, before showing off "splashing around". While it might sound like empty bragging, the theory suggests that Sandy actually did drown and everything that follows is Sandy fantasizing about what her life could have been as she dies. From the prolog onwards, every event that happens plays out in Sandy's mind, and the reason everything wraps up so perfectly for every character, despite all of the conflict on the way to the finale is that it's all Sandy's tragic wish fulfillment. As a newcomer to Rydell High, Sandy would have been an outsider, but her reality plays out just as a dream would; she is immediately accepted by the coolest group (the Pink Ladies), meets the boy of her dreams (again), and overcomes every issue. And it's not just her: Rizzo's pregnancy scare, the dance competition that Danny wins (albeit with Cha-Cha), the drag race on Thunder Road Everything ends with a happy ending, no matter what the seeming obstacles. It's all a little too convenient and then when Greased Lightnin' takes off for its maiden flight, the reason becomes clear. It's all a fantasy. The theory also suggests that Sandy's mournful reprise of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and the final two lines "Take a deep breath and sigh, Goodbye to Sandra Dee..." specifically secretly confirm that Sandy lost her battle to live. In that respect, the image of Greased Lightnin' flying off with Danny alongside Sandy at the end of Grease is actually symbolic of her ascending to the afterlife and her transformation is not one of self-realization, but of death. That metaphorical rise, then, is her rising to heaven in the final moments of her life eking out with her final breaths on the sand. It's tragic and dark, but there is a hint of beauty to it. The theory gained enough attention that stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John both commented on it. The former called it fun, though told USA Today that he knew "the writers of Grease, and I was around in the original days. I can't take it too far." Sandy's actor, Olivia Newton-John herself called it "hilarious" and reveled in the idea of Grease being the first ever zombie musical. Unfortunately for fans of the theory, the most notable respondent to the theory was Grease creator Jim Jacobs, who wasn't as big a fan and poured water on the idea of Sandy being dead. He told TMZ that "Whoever made up the theory must have been on acid. Sandy was very much alive." But then, it's rare that the wishes of the creator are taken into account when fans come up with theories, and this one in particular actually does improve the Grease viewing experience, true or not.
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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We Own the Night 2007
A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.
We Own the Night features suspense, harsh, stylized, captivating and serious style.
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Brooklyns Finest 2009
Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPDs sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and ...
Brooklyns Finest features tense, realistic, suspense, neo noir and hood style.
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The Warriors 1979
Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New Yorks gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting a rival leader kills Cyrus but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus ...
The Warriors features neo noir, grindhouse, futuristic, stylized and suspense style.
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Gangster Squad 2013
Los Angeles 1949. Ruthless Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs the guns the prostitutes and if he has his way every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it ...
Gangster Squad features rough, tense, exciting, stylized and serious style.
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Black Rain 1989
Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. In Japan however he manages to escape. As they try to track him down ...
Black Rain features suspense, neo noir, detective, exciting and tense style.
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Code of Silence 1985
A Chicago cop is caught in a middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Code of Silence features exciting, cult classic, suspense, detective and realistic style.
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Shaft 1971
Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Shaft features grindhouse, stylized, tense, harsh and neo noir style.
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Serpico 1973
The real-life struggle of an honest New York City cop against a corrupt system.
Serpico features suspense, realistic, serious, neo noir and psychological style.
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Shaft 2000
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial confident his money and influence ...
Shaft features stylized, suspense, intense, hood and realistic style.
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Boiling Point 1993
Red is an aging scam-artist whos just been released from prison together with Ronnie a young and not-so-bright hoodlum who is easily manipulated. Their new business is to organize fake-money sales and then kill the buyer to take his money ...
Boiling Point features suspense, exciting, neo noir, suspenseful and tense style.
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Training Day 2001
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isnt what he appears.
Training Day features neo noir, tense, realistic, harsh and suspense style.
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8MM 1999
A small seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate ...
8MM features psychological, suspense, disturbing, psychological thriller and suspenseful style.
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Snapdragon 1993
An erotic amnesiac lures a police psychologist into a world of lust and danger.
Snapdragon features erotic, tense, realistic, psychological and disturbing style.
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Three Days of the Condor 1975
A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
Three Days of the Condor features political thriller, tense, suspense, atmospheric and exciting style.
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Magnum Force 1973
quotDirtyquot Harry Callahan is a San Francisco Police Inspector on the trail of a group of rogue cops who have taken justice into their own hands. When shady characters are murdered one after another in grisly fashion only Dirty Harry can stop ...
Magnum Force features suspenseful, tense, intense, harsh and serious style.
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U.S. Marshals 1998
U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard is accompanying a plane load of convicts from Chicago to New York. The plane crashes spectacularly and Mark Sheridan escapes. But when Diplomatic Security Agent John Royce is assigned to help Gerard recapture Sheridan it ...
U.S. Marshals features exciting, suspense, suspenseful, serious and entertaining style.
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The Getaway 1972
A recently released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.
The Getaway features neo noir, exciting, suspenseful, suspense and road movie style.
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The Enforcer 1976
Dirty Harry Callahan returns again this time saddled with a rookie female partner. Together they must stop a terrorist group consisting of angry Vietnam veterans.
The Enforcer features neo noir, suspenseful, detective, grindhouse and perverse style.
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Street Kings 2008
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer he is forced to go up against the cop culture hes been a ...
Street Kings features suspense, neo noir, detective, hood and harsh style.
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Shaft 2000
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial confident his money and influence ...
Shaft features stylized, suspense, intense, hood and realistic style.
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
The Detective - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts
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