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:

intolerance | dancing | homophobia | love | sex | 

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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:

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:

Paramount Pictures, 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

Ray Liotta and David Caruso auditioned for the role of Joey.

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Goofs

When Bobby asks Frank (the former priest) about getting a papal dispensation for an abortion, the camera angle changes so that the side of Bobby's face is shown and all of Frank's can be seen. Frank answers Bobby and then Bobby says "Well maybe you can, maybe you could do it for me." At this point, Bobby's mouth is clearly not moving except once, which indicates that his retort was dubbed in over a one word retort.

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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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Alternate Versions

In Belgium, due pressure from younger audiences, the 'rape' scene was cut. This permitted people younger than 16 to go and watch the movie. This happened a few months after it's initial release, giving Saturday Night Fever a second life.

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Connections

Referenced in Tucker: The Family Tree (2000)

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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

Stayin' Alive

Who doesn't remember that song?¿? ah ah ah stayin' alive stayin' alive. Yeah! this movie was a classic!.If we are here to compare it with such movies as The Godfather,Apocalypse Now or Gone with the wind,of course most of the people or cinema critics will think this movie as a joke.But it isn't.Saturday Night Fever was considered in 1977 for liberal or funky people an icon movie such as Rebel Without A Cause was for young people in the 1950's.Today it can even be considered a cult movie.Of course that's only my opinion,but i can tell u i'm also a fan of The Godfather.John Badham made a great job directing this movie.He didn't made only a serious discomusic movie about,but also a movie where problems of young people were having on those days.John Travolta made the lead character of one of those young guys.With his ups and downs during the whole movie Travolta expresses a guy who have urges on being "someone" in this world,and yeah,he did a great job.So good that he was even nominated that year for Best Lead Actor.Need to say more...