Saturday Night Fever (5/10)

[Michael_myers]

Saturday Night Fever
1977
Directed by: John Badham
Starring: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali, Paul Pape
**1/2/*****

Plot crunch:
John Badham makes John Travolta a star while cashing in on the sucess of disco with this raunchy, depressing outing. Travolta falls in love and makes his name dancing in the disco halls of New York city. I hate disco.

Critique:
Maybe it was because I didn't get it. I never got what was up with the disco craze, and this movie damn near put me to sleep. It's dirty, it's overrated and it's just plain boring. Travolta does what he needs to do, and his friends provide some minor chuckles, but the rest of the cast is annoying and nerve racking. The little girl, the women and Travolta's father get annoying. The constant disco, which is basically the movie was really bad, but featured some groovy hits. Gotta love that song Staying Alive. The story is decent, with a few good parts here and there. Intended violence cause it's well new York. Also some jiggling stripper tits in a few scenes. They were big and tasty. Mmm-mmm. I realize this movie is dated, and I'm being a bit harsh on this product of it's time, I respect it for being groundbreaking and bringing so many people joy. I simply didn't find it all that great. I did on the other hand enjoy Grease and found it to be a much superior time piece.

[inglourious basterd]

**********spoilers*************

I actually caught the R-Rated version of this film on Friday. I thought that it was brilliant.

As with many movies, this is another movie that is misunderstood. The film is not about disco. It is not a music video. Disco and dancing are devices used to illustrate the sexual tone of the film.

Over the course of the movie, Tony changes. The film is about Tony and his realization that there is more to life than sex, dancing, and having a good time on Saturday nights. He sees Annette get worked, he witnesses his friend get mortally hurt, and he wonders where his life is headed. In the end of the film, he "learns" to befriend a girl. Can he actually have a female friend that is not a sexual partner? This final question that Tony asks is what highlights the ambitions of the film.

This movie is a coming of age story that takes place in the period that it was filmed in.

It is about the race conflict between whites and non-whites. (Recall the Puerto Rican Dancers). It is about the class conflict between women and men. (The movie makes the clear point that it is okay for men to be aggressive, but, when women are agressive, they are "cunts". Another example is that it is okay for men to "dance around", but it is not permissible for women to do the same). It uses dancing as a symbol that reveals these conflicts. It uses dancing to explain sexuality, racism, and camraderie within its atmosphere.

You may think that it is "dirty" and "overrated". But I don't think that you saw the same picture that I did. I think that anyone whom recieved "joy" from this movie should be psychologically evaluated. (Either that or they really had no grasp as to what this film was about..) This film had rape, death, and very sexual themes. But, perhaps, the "normal" PG-13 version differs in content from the rated R version that I saw (I was told that there was a difference).

[Sad man]

I hated this movie. It was soooo bad.

3/10.

[inglourious basterd]

Originally posted by Sad man
I hated this movie. It was soooo bad.

3/10.

Could you please elaborate why?

[Dude]

Loved Saturday Night Fever. Loved the Soundtrack. If I had to name ONE movie that takes me back to the cusp of my pre teen years, its this film which lasted til the 80s. The clothes, the guys....these were the guys I grew up with..we dressed like that and acted like that...not as bad ...but we DID have our "rumbles" with the mexicans and blacks...in the good old days of one on one with buddies standing by on both sides to make sure it was a FAIR FIGHT....never saw one gun or knife pulled either.....thats until Urban Cowboy came along and then I went WESTERN! ...LOVE the movies! SNF and Urban Cowboy were VERY prolific at the time in what music folks listened to and how we dressed....2 VERY trendy films indeed.

[Arathon]

I wasn't impressed at all 1/10

[Golden Ghost]

Fucking hell. 1/10? I though 5/10 was bad enough.

It's one of my all-time favourites. John Travolta was terrific. Well, of course we had constant scenes with the disco, that was the basis of the film. It's all about Travolta's character struggling with the pressure of being successful in his lifetime. But the only thing he's really good at is dancing. It has a great feeling towards itself aswell. The 80's feel. The clothes, the music, the hair, the drugs and of course...the DISCO'S.

[Sad man]

Originally posted by psudoazn
Could you please elaborate why?

Sure.
The acting was bad. Travolta looked like a wax doll. The soundtrack was pretty good, but only because of the Bee-Gees. The plot of the movie was pretty stupid. The movie moves really slow, really slow. Nothing happens, I was just sick about Travolta and his girlfriend. The same dance rutines are donde over and over. The final showdown is supposed to be great and spectacular(Like the one in "Bring it On". But that has nothing to do with it). But it was soooooooo lame, I mean they practiced a lot of time just to do that...and they even win. It was stupid. I know it was supposed to be that way, because the black couple danced better. But still the movie was just point less and stupid. I don't know what else to say. Just that I was bored to death and I even watched it with my friends. A big disappointment.