Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Anxious about his future after high school, a 19 year old Italian American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco.

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Nik Cohn (story "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night"), Norman Wexler (screenplay)

Stars:

John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 11 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 small paint store. However, things begin to change when he spies Stephanie Mangano 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 Manhattan just over the bridge soon change Tony's life forever.

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Plot Keywords:

disco | dancing | the bee gees | dance contest | disco music | 

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Taglines:

It is now rated PG because we want everyone to see John Travolta's performance... Because we want everyone to hear the #1 group in the country, the Bee Gees... Because we want everyone to catch Saturday Night Fever.

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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:

94th St. and Fifth Avenue, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,878,099, 18 December 1977, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$94,213,184

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$237,113,184

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

A group of Hasidic Jews, who were against the crew filming in their neighborhood, tried to disrupt filming and even tried to turn over one of the cars used in the production.

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Goofs

The night they take the priest to the club, Tony starts dancing solo (to the song "You Should Be Dancing") and the dance floor clears. His dance partner Connie (the woman in the green dress) is stood up by the stage and standing in place, as are the rest of the dancers off the dance floor as they watch him dance. The lady in the green dress briefly disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pizza Girl: Hi ya, Tony. Two or three?
Tony Manero: Two. Two. Give me two. That's good.

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Crazy Credits

When the title appears on screen, it is done in the style of a neon sign. The word "Fever" is blinking.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Martin Short/No Doubt (1996)

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Soundtracks

More Than a Woman
Courtesy of RSO Records, Inc., Stigwood Music, Inc. (Unichappell Music, Inc.) BMI and Bros. Gibb, B.V.
Written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb
Performed by The Bee Gees

User Reviews

Living Vicariously Through the Weekends.

An uneducated Brooklyn teen (John Travolta, in an Oscar-nominated role) lives in a dream world over the weekends as the king of a disco dance floor. Disillusioned, quietly upset with where his life is, Travolta finds solace by dancing in public to Bee Gee's music and finds love with his newest dance partner (Karen Lynn Gorney). The duo practice for an upcoming contest that could mean total success at last for Travolta and the opportunity to get discovered doing what he really loves. Travolta and his friends seem destined to go down a path of destruction though as a soap opera develops for all the key people found within. "Saturday Night Fever" is a total over-achiever as it could have fallen to exploitation tactics of the 1970s, but becomes one of those iconic films that still stands the test of time. Travolta is a revelation in arguably his greatest role. The other players are adequate and the screenplay is deceptively smarter than it appears on the surface. The movie also works as a time capsule to a part of contemporary American history where discos and bell-bottoms were all the rage. Still one of the finer films of the time period. 4.5 out of 5 stars.