56
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- Rather than simply charting the rise and fall of disco to a thumping soundtrack, the film presents an unexpected school of thought – that disco was actually a vehicle of liberation, a revolutionary tool used to end the oppression of women and black and gay people in 1970s America.
- 75Portland OregonianMarc MohanPortland OregonianMarc MohanDisco scholars convincingly analyze lyrics and fashions as presenting bold expressions of sexuality and democratic hedonism, while Kastner doesn't skimp on the vintage clips, which range from unintentionally hilarious to surprisingly impressive.
- 70Village VoiceErnest HardyVillage VoiceErnest HardyThe film isn't as smart on the issue of race as it needs to be, and its feminist read of the music and scene feels forced in places, but as an entry-level conversation starter, it gets the job done.
- 70The New York TimesDavid DeWittThe New York TimesDavid DeWittThe Secret Disco Revolution, however limited, is one smart documentary. It’s so clever that it makes fun of itself.
- 63Slant MagazineSlant MagazineJamie Kastner bows fully to hedonism in lieu of all the scholarly theories on disco's lasting impact--a tidy but gutless way of tying together so many disparate arguments by such disparate people.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSome may still be surprised at this fun, well-informed chronicle of what was happening in the U.S. as lighted floors, boogie shoes and Saturday night fevers were the rage.
- 50New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithIts priceless clips from the disco era aside, The Secret Disco Revolution laughably fails to turn Barry White and Donna Summer into the Che Guevara and Emma Goldman of the dance floor.
- 30Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenLos Angeles TimesMark OlsenThe movie feels like a flakey, off-the-cuff blog post that somehow transmogrified itself into a feature-length documentary.
- 20Time OutMichael AtkinsonTime OutMichael AtkinsonKastner’s history is simplistic, his pacing is glacial and his film is laboriously constructed around a campy fictional trio of caricatured gay-black-girl “masterminds” planning the “revolution,” thumbing through a “manifesto” and sprinkling glitter ritualistically on a mirror ball.