Saturday Night Fever

This article is about the film. For the stage musical, see Saturday Night Fever (musical). For the soundtrack album, see Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack).
Saturday Night Fever

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Badham
Produced by Robert Stigwood
Screenplay by Norman Wexler
Based on Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night
by Nik Cohn
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Ralf D. Bode
Edited by David Rawlins
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • December 14, 1977 (1977-12-14)[1]
Running time
 118 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $3.5 million[2]
Box office $237.1 million[3]

Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 American drama film directed by John Badham and starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, a working-class young man who spends his weekends dancing and drinking at a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as Stephanie Mangano, his dance partner and eventual confidante; and Donna Pescow as Annette, Tony's former dance partner and would-be girlfriend. While in the disco, Tony is the king. His circle of friends and weekend dancing help him to cope with the harsh realities of his life: a dead-end job, clashes with his unsupportive and squabbling parents, racial tensions in the local community, and his general restlessness.

A huge commercial success, the film significantly helped to popularize disco music around the world and made Travolta, already well known from his role on TV's Welcome Back, Kotter, a household name. The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, featuring disco songs by the Bee Gees, is one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time.[4] The film showcased aspects of the music, the dancing, and the subculture surrounding the disco era: symphony-orchestrated melodies; haute couture styles of clothing; pre-AIDS sexual promiscuity; and graceful choreography.

The story is based upon a 1976 New York magazine article by British writer Nik Cohn, "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night". In the mid-1990s, Cohn acknowledged that he fabricated the article.[5] A newcomer to the United States and a stranger to the disco lifestyle, Cohn was unable to make any sense of the subculture he had been assigned to write about; instead, the character who became Tony Manero was based on a Mod[6] acquaintance of Cohn's. In 2010, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The sequel Staying Alive (1983) also starred John Travolta and was directed by Sylvester Stallone.

Plot

Anthony "Tony" Manero (John Travolta) is a 19-year-old Italian American man from the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Tony lives with his parents (Val Bisoglio and Julie Bovasso), and works at a dead-end job in a small hardware store. The stagnant monotony of his life is temporarily dispelled every Saturday night when Tony is "king of the dance floor" at 2001 Odyssey, a local disco club. Tony has four close friends: Joey (Joseph Cali); Double J (Paul Pape); Gus (Bruce Ornstein); and the diminutive Bobby C. (Barry Miller). A fringe member of his group of friends is Annette (Donna Pescow), a neighborhood girl who longs for a more permanent physical relationship with Tony.

Tony and his friends ritually stop on the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge to clown around. The bridge has special significance for Tony as a symbol of escape to a better life on the other side—in more suburban Staten Island.

Tony agrees to be Annette's partner in an upcoming dance contest at 2001 Odyssey, but her happiness is short-lived when Tony is mesmerized by another woman at the club, Stephanie Mangano (Karen Lynn Gorney), who executes intricate dance moves with exceptional grace and finesse. Although Stephanie coldly rejects Tony's advances, she eventually agrees to be his partner in the dance competition, provided that their partnership will remain strictly professional. Tony's older brother, Frank Jr. (Martin Shakar), who was the pride of the Manero family since he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest, brings despair to their parents when he tells them that he has left the priesthood. Tony shares a warm relationship with Frank Jr., but feels vindicated that he is no longer the black sheep of the family.

While on his way home from the grocery store, Gus is attacked by a Hispanic gang and is hospitalized. He tells Tony and his friends that his attackers were the Barracudas. Meanwhile, Bobby C. has been trying to get out of his relationship with his devoutly Catholic girlfriend, Pauline, who is pregnant with his child. Facing pressure from his family and others to marry her, Bobby asks former priest Frank Jr., if the Pope would grant him dispensation for an abortion. When Frank tells him this would be highly unlikely, Bobby's feelings of despair intensify. Bobby lets Tony borrow his 1964 Chevrolet Impala to help move Stephanie from Bay Ridge to Manhattan, and futilely tries to extract a promise from Tony to call him later that night.

Eventually, the group gets their revenge on the Barracudas, and crash Bobby C's car into their hangout. Tony, Double J, and Joey get out of the car to fight, but Bobby C. takes off when a gang member tries to attack him in the car. When the guys visit Gus in the hospital, they are angry when he tells them that he may have targeted the wrong gang. Later, Tony and Stephanie dance at the competition and end up winning first prize. However, Tony believes that a Puerto Rican couple performed better, and that the judges' decision was racially rigged. He gives the Puerto Rican couple the first prize trophy, and leaves with Stephanie. Once outside in a car, she denigrates their relationship and he tries to rape her. She resists and runs from him.

Tony's friends come to the car along with a drunk and stoned Annette. Joey says she has agreed to have sex with everyone. Tony tries to lead her away, but is subdued by Double J and Joey, and sullenly leaves with the group in the car. Double J and Joey rape Annette. Bobby C. pulls the car over on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge for their usual cable-climbing antics. Typically abstaining, Bobby gets out and performs more dangerous stunts than the rest. Realizing that he is acting recklessly, Tony tries to get him to come down. Bobby's strong sense of alienation, his deadlocked situation with Pauline, and Tony's broken promise to call him earlier that day—all culminate in a suicidal tirade about Tony's lack of caring before Bobby slips and falls to his death in the water below them.

Disgusted and disillusioned by his friends, his family, and his life, Tony spends the rest of the night riding the subway into Manhattan. Morning has dawned by the time he appears at Stephanie's apartment. He apologizes for his bad behavior, telling her that he plans to relocate from Brooklyn to Manhattan to try and start a new life. Tony and Stephanie salvage their relationship and agree to be friends, sharing a tender moment.

Cast

Production

Donna Pescow was almost considered "too pretty" for the role of Annette. She corrected this by putting on 40 pounds (18 kilograms) and training herself back to her native Brooklyn accent, which she trained herself away from while she was studying drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After production ended, she immediately lost the weight she had gained for the role and dropped the accent.

John Travolta's mother Helen and sister Ann both appeared in minor roles in the beginning of the film. Travolta's sister is the pizzeria waitress who serves him the pizza slices (and delivers the first dialogue), and his mother plays the woman to whom he sells the can of paint (after being late).

John G. Avildsen was signed to direct but was fired three weeks prior to principal photography over a script dispute with producer Robert Stigwood. Despite this, Travolta's character has a Rocky poster in his room, a film directed by Avildsen.

Filming locations

All of the filming locations are in Brooklyn, New York, mainly in the southwestern Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, and Bensonhurst:

Soundtrack

  1. "Stayin' Alive" performed by Bee Gees – 4:45
  2. "How Deep Is Your Love" performed by Bee Gees – 4:05
  3. "Night Fever" performed by Bee Gees – 3:33
  4. "More Than a Woman" performed by Bee Gees – 3:17
  5. "If I Can't Have You" performed by Yvonne Elliman – 3:00
  6. "A Fifth of Beethoven" performed by Walter Murphy – 3:03
  7. "More Than a Woman" performed by Tavares – 3:17
  8. "Manhattan Skyline" performed by David Shire – 4:44
  9. "Calypso Breakdown" performed by Ralph MacDonald – 7:50
  10. "Night on Disco Mountain" performed by David Shire – 5:12
  11. "Open Sesame" performed by Kool & the Gang – 4:01
  12. "Jive Talkin'" performed by Bee Gees – 3:43 (*)
  13. "You Should Be Dancing" performed by Bee Gees – 4:14
  14. "Boogie Shoes" performed by KC and the Sunshine Band – 2:17
  15. "Salsation" performed by David Shire – 3:50
  16. "K-Jee" performed by MFSB – 4:13
  17. "Disco Inferno" performed by The Trammps – 10:51
With the exception of (*) track 12 "Jive Talkin", all of the songs are played in the film.
The novelty songs "Dr. Disco" and "Disco Duck", both performed by Rick Dees, are also played in the film but not included on the album.

According to the DVD commentary for Saturday Night Fever, the producers intended to use the song "Lowdown" by Boz Scaggs in the rehearsal scene between Tony and Annette in the dance studio, and choreographed their dance moves to the song. However, representatives for Scaggs' label, Columbia Records, refused to grant legal clearance for it, as they wanted to pursue another disco movie project, which never materialized. Composer David Shire, who scored the film, had to in turn write a song to match the dance steps demonstrated in the scene and eliminate the need for future legal hassles. However, this track does not appear on the movie's soundtrack.

The song "K-Jee" was used during the dance contest with the Puerto Rican couple that competed against Tony and Stephanie. Some VHS cassettes used a more traditional Latin-style song instead. The DVD restores the original recording.

The album has been added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress.[8]

Distribution

Theatrical releases

Movie poster of the PG version of Saturday Night Fever

Two theatrical versions of the film were released: the original R-rated version and an edited PG-rated version. (The PG-rated re-issue was in 1979; the middle-ground PG-13 rating was not created until 1984.)

The R-rated version released in 1977 represented the movie's first run, and totaled 118 minutes.

After the success of the first run, in 1979, the film's content was re-edited into a toned down, PG-rated version and re-released during a second run, not only to attract a wider audience, but also to capitalize on attracting the target audience of the teenagers who were not old enough to see the film by themselves, but who made the soundtrack album to the film a monster hit. The R-rated version's profanity, nudity, fight sequence, and a multiple rape scene in a car, were all de-emphasized or removed from the PG version.

Producer Robert Stigwood said in a recent interview on "The Inside Story: Saturday Night Fever", about the PG version: "It doesn't have the power, or the impact, of the original, R-rated edition."

The PG-rated version was 112 minutes. Numerous profanity-filled scenes were replaced with alternate takes of the same scenes, substituting milder language initially intended for the network television cut. To maintain runtime, a few deleted scenes were restored (including Tony dancing with Doreen to "Disco Duck", Tony running his finger along the cables of the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge, and Tony's father getting his job back).

In 1980, Paramount Pictures paired up the PG-rated version of the film as a double feature along with its other John Travolta blockbuster, Grease.[9]

When Saturday Night Fever premiered on HBO in 1980, they aired both versions of the film: the PG version during the day, and the R version during the evening (HBO had a programming rule of only showing R-rated films during the evening. This was before switching to a 24-hour-a-day operation, while still under their old broadcast standards concerning R-rated films). The premiere of the R-rated edition occurred at midnight on January 1, 1980.

Home media

Both theatrical versions were released on VHS, Laserdisc, and CED Videodisc. But the R-rated version never saw wide release until its Laserdisc (in limited edition) and DVD issues. The R-rated special-edition DVD release includes most of the deleted scenes present on the PG version. The DVD release also includes a director's commentary and "Behind the Music" highlights. Starting in the late 1990s VH1, TBS, and TNT started showing the original R-rated version with a TV-14 rating. The nudity was removed/censored, and the stronger profanity was either edited or (on recent airings) silenced. But this TV edit included some of the innuendos from the original film that were edited or removed from the PG version. Turner Classic Movies has aired the film in both versions (the R-rated version is commonly seen on their normal lineup, while the PG version has appeared on TCM's "Funday Night at the Movies" and "Essentials Jr." program blocks.)

The network television version (which premiered on November 16, 1980 on ABC) was basically a slightly shortened form of the PG-rated version, but contained several minutes of out-takes normally excised from both theatrical releases to make up for lost/cut material. It is among the longest cuts of the film.

On May 5, 2009, Paramount released Saturday Night Fever on Blu-ray Disc in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This release retains the R-rated version of the film along with many special features new to home media.[10]

Reception

Critical response

Saturday Night Fever received positive reviews and is regarded by many critics as one of the best films of 1977.[11][12][13][14] Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected reviews from 43 critics to give the film a score of 88%.[15] At Metacritic the film was given a score of 77/100 (mostly favorable) based on reviews from 7 critics.[16] It was added to The New York Times "Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made", which was published in 2004.[17] In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Film critic Gene Siskel, who would later list this as his favorite movie, praised the film: "One minute into Saturday Night Fever you know this picture is onto something, that it knows what it's talking about." He also praised John Travolta's energetic performance: "Travolta on the dance floor is like a peacock on amphetamines. He struts like crazy."[18] Siskel even bought Travolta's famous white suit from the film at a charity auction.[19]

Film critic Pauline Kael wrote a gushing review of the film in The New Yorker: "The way Saturday Night Fever has been directed and shot, we feel the languorous pull of the discotheque, and the gaudiness is transformed. These are among the most hypnotically beautiful pop dance scenes ever filmed...Travolta gets so far inside the role he seems incapable of a false note; even the Brooklyn accent sounds unerring...At its best, though, Saturday Night Fever gets at something deeply romantic: the need to move, to dance, and the need to be who you'd like to be. Nirvana is the dance; when the music stops, you return to being ordinary."[20]

Awards and nominations

Award wins:

Award nominations:

American Film Institute Lists

John Belushi parodied the film as "Samurai Night Fever", one of his "Samurai" sketches on Saturday Night Live. Belushi also spoofed it again in the film Neighbors, during a scene in which tilted camera angles show Belushi combing his hair in front of the mirror as "Stayin' Alive" plays in the background. Ironically, the oft-repeated phrase in the movie, "Can you dig it? I knew that you could", had been made famous on Saturday Night Live during a stand-up performance by Billy Crystal.

The Children's Television Workshop published a record album of music from Sesame Street under the title Sesame Street Fever, the cover of which spoofed the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack album cover, with muppet Grover wearing the white three-piece disco suit in the famous Travolta pose and Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster taking the place of the Bee Gees. Robin Gibb (of the Bee Gees) sings on two tracks for this album, "Sesame Street Fever" and "Trash", and has a dialogue with Cookie Monster on the intro for "C Is For Cookie."

On April 17, 2012, Fox aired series Glee's episode 16, "Saturday Night Glee-ver", which pays tribute to the film and features various songs from its soundtrack (especially the songs performed by the Bee Gees), covered by the series' cast.[21][22]

The Red Hot Chili Peppers 2016 music video for their song "Go Robot" is heavily inspired by the film and recreates the opening scene and classic characters from the film who are portrayed by each band member.[23]

References

  1. ↑ History.com
  2. ↑ Loftis, Ryan (December 12, 2012), Saturday Night Fever Turns 35. Suite101. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Saturday Night Fever, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  4. ↑ Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb dies. USA Today (January 12, 2003).
  5. ↑ Leduff, Charlie (June 9, 1996). "Saturday Night Fever: The Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  6. ↑ Saturday Night Fever: The Life by Charlie LeDuff, New York Times. June 9, 1996
  7. ↑ Shore Road Park. Retrieved from http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/shoreroadpark.
  8. ↑ Richards, Chris. "Library of Congress adds 'Saturday Night Fever,' Simon and Garfunkel, Pink Floyd to audio archive – San Jose Mercury News". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  9. ↑ Gold, Aaron (1979-03-27). "Tower Ticker". Chicago Tribune. pp. A7.
  10. ↑ Terrence, Sir (May 8, 2009). "Saturday Night Fever Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Gene Siskel's Top Ten Lists 1969–1998". Alumnus.caltech.edu. February 20, 1999. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Greatest Films of 1977: "melodramatic, out-dated blockbuster"". Filmsite.org. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  13. ↑ MaryAnn Johanson (May 25, 2007). "The 10 Best Movies of 1977 – Movies". Film.com. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  14. ↑ "The Best Movies of 1977 by Rank". Films101.com. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Saturday Night Fever". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ EvanW. "Saturday Night Fever". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made". The New York Times. April 29, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  18. ↑ Gene Siskel, The Chicago Tribune, December 16, 1977
  19. ↑ Ebert, Roger (March 7, 1999). "Saturday Night Fever (1977)". Chicago Sun-Times.
  20. ↑ "Critics' Corner – Saturday Night Fever". Tcm.com. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  21. ↑ Harnick, Chris (April 13, 2012). "WATCH: 'Glee' Goes Disco". Huffington Post.
  22. ↑ Entertainment News, Photos and Videos – HuffPost Entertainment
  23. ↑ Ivie, Devon (September 9, 2016). "Anthony Kiedis Makes a White-Painted Saturday Night Fever Homage in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Go Robot' Video". Vulture.
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