Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Nik Cohn (magazine article "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night")
Norman Wexler (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 December 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Disco | Dance | Bridge | Teenager | Moving

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Jan. 3

11:00 AM

TVLAND

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

Saturday Night (USA) (working title)
Tribal Rites of Saturday Night (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, sexuality/nudity and some drug content. (2002 version)

Runtime:

118 min | USA:113 min (PG version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Spain:18 | Canada:14A (re-rating) | Italy:VM14 (uncut) | Iceland:L | Netherlands:16 (orginal rating) | Brazil:12 | New Zealand:R16 | UK:A (re-rating) (1979) (cut) | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (re-rating) | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:AL | Norway:16 (cut) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (cut) | USA:PG (edited version) | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (edited US version) | Canada:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO)

Trivia:

When they shot the first bridge scene, director John Badham kept secret from Donna Pescow the fact that when 'the guys "fell off" the bridge they actually landed on a platform a few feet below. Badham and the other actors didn't tell her about the platform because they wanted a genuine look of horror and anger on Annette's face when Tony, Double-J and Joey appeared to fall off. Therefore Donna's reaction to them falling, and her facial expressions turning from horror and shock to outright anger, were real, and her next line, "YOU FUCKERS!", was not scripted.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before Tony gets off the subway train the first time, "45th Street" station signs are visible from inside the car. After he's gotten off the train, he is waiting for a train at "53rd Street". Neither station is a transfer point in the NY subway.

Quotes:

Joey: Hey Tony, Double J's been in the car twenty-five minutes with some chick!
Tony Manero: So?
Joey: So, I can't get the selfish prick out!
Tony Manero: [to Annette] These guys can't do nothin' without me.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Saturday Night Live: O.J. Simpson/Ashford & Simpson (#3.12)" (1978)

Soundtrack:

A Fifth Of Beethoven

Dazzling.

I suppose you could say that Saturday Night Fever is John Travolta, and vice versa. You couldn't have anyone else playing Tony Manero and have the same impact that the film has. This film, which on the surface doesn't seem to have much in the way of a plot, is a dazzling piece of cinema, made so by Travolta and the legend he created. But it's also a very sad story, one of a young man and his confusion and frustration about living a life he's not happy with. Dancing at the local discotheque is all that Tony has to make himself feel special and wanted, as he doesn't get it from his family. The arrival of Stephanie, an older woman who is just as good a dancer as he is, lights a fire inside Tony and he sees his life as having a purpose. But things don't turn out as he had envisioned. Saturday Night Fever is a phenomenal film, with so many different aspects that make it so. Of course, there is Travolta, sizzling across the screen as the main attraction. But there's also some nice supporting turns from Karen Lynn Gorney as Stephanie, Barry Miller as Bobby C. and Donna Pescow as Annette. They all bring their characters to life, and they make you want to know what happens to them as well, not just Tony. But, in the end, Saturday Night Fever is John Travolta, and vice versa, and sitting there, mesmerised at the screen, watching Travolta shimmy across that dancefloor to that funky disco music, makes you realise that this film is like no other. It is, quite simply, amazing.