Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5714 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-10-01
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 114 minutes

Synopsis
Director John Badham's hit film propelled John Travolta to stardom, made white polyester suits an instant fashion craze, and garnered praise for its portrayal of blue-collar life. Nineteen-year-old Brooklyn native Tony Manero (Travolta) 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 (Karen Lynn Gorney) 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. This portrait of young Brooklyn natives struggling to escape their sheltered lives for freedom and adventure in the big city of Manhattan defined a generation of disco dancers and 1970s youths rebelling against the more traditional expectations of their parents. Set to the popular dance music of the Bee Gees, this instant cinematic sensation revealed the fashions and aspirations of an underground culture to the world.

Synopsis
Re-discover the celebrated motion picture that turned John Travolta into a household name, and turned the world on to polyester suits, platform shoes, and the Hustle.

More than a celebration of all things disco, Saturday Night Fever is also a gripping story about a young man’s struggle to transcend the confines of his humdrum existence.

Travolta was nominated for an Academy Award® for his sensitive portrayal of Tony Manero, a Brooklyn store clerk who finds escape from a dead-end life on the disco floor. Set to the classic Bee Gees soundtrack, Saturday Night Fever is a legendary icon of American culture and cinema.

30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES:

Disc One: Commentary by Director, John Badham / 70s Discopedia

Disc Two: Catching The Fever / Back To Bay Ridge / Dance Like Travolta With John Cassese / Fever Challenge!

Customer Reviews

THE FILM IS STILL SURPRISINGLY ENGROSSING
Few films can claim the status of creating a national (international, even) phenomenon upon release, but this one can. It offers a glimpse into the restless, nowhere lives of a group of young Brooklyn men, particularly Travolta, an hourly employee in a paint store who burns off steam on the dance floor every weekend. At home, he's considered worthless, but in his favorite dance club, he is monarch of all he surveys with men admiring him and women throwing themselves at him (even offering to dab his sweaty brow!) All important to him is an upcoming dance contest which he feels will propel him into another level of notoriety and prestige and he sets out to win it any way he can, constantly practicing his slickest moves. Gorney plays a social-climbing girl who has laid the ground work for getting out of Brooklyn and, though she is attracted to Travolta, is repulsed by the common qualities he represents. He becomes fascinated by her and considers her his way out of his current surroundings. Meanwhile, Travolta's friends dabble in booze, drugs, sex and gang warfare as they wallow in the stew of their existence. It all builds up to the big night of the contest where things may not turn out as expected. Travolta is magnetic in this, his first major film role. He worked tirelessly to perfect the dance moves which (though, at times, look rather silly today) are a highlight of the film. He also, however, brings much heart, charisma and commitment to the dramatic side of his not-always-sympathetic character. Gorney (who is easily a decade too old for her role) is a good counterpoint to Travolta and ably embodies her tacky, but desperate-to-change, character. She attempts to be as classy and refined as possible, yet her accent and crackling chewing gum belies her past. Their somewhat complex relationship adds some depth to what could have been a very shallow film. Travolta's friends are played with much authenticity and verve. Oddly, these actors continued with only marginally successful careers while Travolta went through the stratosphere. Another carefully etched performance is turned in by Pescow as one of Travolta's devoted followers. She goes a tad overboard near the end, but otherwise presents a solid, though pitiful, characterization. (She was one of the few actors in the film to achieve any sort of success afterwards and even that was limited. Gorney fell off the cinematic map entirely!) Travolta's family is played by more believable and well-textured actors. The music of the film (the soundtrack of which was one of the all time top sellers) is inherent to the story and is a compilation of some of the best that disco had to offer (though some might say even the best was still horrible!) Even the "Disco Sucks" crowd cannot deny the impact that this film had on the country as it set trends everywhere. Interestingly, some of the group numbers in the disco bear a striking similarity to the more recent country line dancing craze, only with more arm movements. The language of the film is tough, but necessary and realistic. There are two gut-wrenchingly suspenseful scenes atop the Verrazano Narrows bridge. It's a time capsule of a hedonistic and free-wheeling era (pre-AIDS) but with insightful examination of class structure and economic barriers, the nature of friendship among young men and the cost of inhumanity towards one another. A rancid and ludicrous sequel (which is good for some unintentional laughs) can not tarnish the spirit of the original film which still holds up today.

Fantastic Film!!!!!
One of the best films EVER!
One of the best soundtracks EVER!
I first saw this film 30 years ago when I was 18 and it still hasn't lost one ounce of it's appeal. If you didn't see it then buy this bargin NOW!

Slow beyond the dancefloor, and that bonus dvd, well...
This film is accompanied with a bonus DVD with a featurette called 'How to Dance Like Travolta'. For your information, this does NOT show you how to carve up the dancefloor like a women-magnet. Instead it shows the slow smoochy dance that is toward the end of the film.
The film isn't bad. The dance scenes are absolutely awesome, but the rest of the film is quite slow. Actually it's all a bit depressing: Young lads with no money, struggling with their families, and a cringeworthy scene where a woman is forced to have sex with two guys. All that followed by a suicide.
I'd watch the first half of the film then turn it off. At least you'll be smiling.