Saturday Night Fever (1977)

A Brooklyn youth feels his only chance to get somewhere is as the king of the disco floor.

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Nik Cohn (story), Norman Wexler (screenplay)

Stars:

John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Tony Manero
Karen Lynn Gorney	...	Stephanie
Barry Miller	...	Bobby C.
Joseph Cali	...	Joey
Paul Pape	...	Double J.
Donna Pescow	...	Annette
Bruce Ornstein	...	Gus
Julie Bovasso	...	Flo
Martin Shakar	...	Frank Jr.
Sam Coppola	...	Dan Fusco (as Sam J. Coppola)
Nina Hansen	...	Grandmother
Lisa Peluso	...	Linda
Denny Dillon	...	Doreen
Bert Michaels	...	Pete
Robert Costanzo	...	Paint Store Customer (as Robert Costanza)

Storyline

Nineteen-year-old Brooklyn native Tony Manero lives for Saturday nights at the local disco, where he's king of the club, thanks to his stylish moves on the dance floor. But outside of the club, things don't look so rosy. At home, Tony fights constantly with his father and has to compete with his family's starry-eyed view of his older brother, a priest. Nor can he find satisfaction at his dead-end job at a paint store. However, things begin to change when he spies Stephanie in the disco and starts training with her for the club's dance competition. Stephanie dreams of the world beyond Brooklyn, and her plans to move to the big city just over the bridge soon change Tony's life forever.

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Plot Keywords:

disco | dance | bridge | moving | priest | 

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Taglines:

Where do you go when the record is over...

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, sexuality/nudity and some drug content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

16 December 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Saturday Night

Filming Locations:

221 79th Street, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$94,213,184 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 113 min (PG)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Norman Wexler's screenplay was adapted from the "non-fiction" magazine article written by Nik Cohn. Years later, Cohn admitted that the story, supposedly a fact-based account detailing the lives of Brooklyn teenagers in the early days of the disco craze, was a complete fabrication.

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Goofs

When Tony interrupts a dance class to ask the instructor about Stephanie, you can see the boom mic reflected in the mirror towards the right.

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Quotes

Joey: You had coffee with Joe Namath?
Stephanie: Yeah! He asked me what it was like to be 21, and I told him I didn't know, 'cause I was just twenty.
Joey: Then what?
Stephanie: That's all.
Tony Manero: [with his mouth full] Ain't that enough?
Joey: Hey, don't you never chew, Tony? Don't you never chew?
Tony Manero: [annoyed] Hey, when my mother dies, I'll give you the job, all right?

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Connections

Featured in When Disco Ruled the World (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Night On Disco Mountain"
Adapted by David Shire
based on "Night On Bald Mountain" written by Modest Mussorgsky
Courtesy of RSO Records, Inc., Stigwood Music, Inc. and Ensign Music Corp. BMI

User Reviews

You Should Be Dancing!

Saturday NIGHT FEVER (1977) **** John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Joseph Cali, Barry Miller, Julie Bovasso, Val Bosoglio, Donna Pescow. Quintessential film about the Seventies' disco craze that made Travolta an American icon (Best Actor nominee) and superstar as Brooklynite Tony Manero, a free-wheelin' Italian kid who loves to dance but doesn't know what he wants from life despite his talent and some eye-opening advice from dance partner Gorney. Directed on location with gritty realism by John Badham this blockbuster features songs by the ultimate trio The Bee Gees.(My favorite: "How Deep Is Your Love?"). Look for Fran Drescher and Denny Dillon in the dance sequences. For the film vault: a snake-hipped, lupine Travolta cutting loose to "You Should Be Dancing."