Directed by John Badham
Written by Norman Wexler based on a story by Nik Cohn
1977/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Tony Manero: You make it with some of these chicks, they think you gotta dance with them.
Ugly story. Fantastic music.
Tony Manero (John Travolta) lives in Brooklyn with his critical family, hangs out with his scumbag friends, and works selling paint. The high point of his week is Saturday night when he is the undisputed best dancer at the local disco and the object of lust for all the ladies. There is to be a contest with a $500 prize for the best couple. He badly wants to win this. So he starts practicing with his adoring usual partner Annette whom he won’t give the time of day to off the floor.
Then he meets Stephanie, an upwardly mobile secretary who happens to be just his type and a fantastic dancer to boot. They start practicing.
This is an extremely misogynistic movie and I really don’t care to discuss all the disgusting things that happen in it. Stephanie may be the only thing that can save Tony from being as bad as the rest of his friends.
I put this on for the music. The plot was just as melodramatic and awful as I remembered it to be from the other times I have seen it. I recommend buying the soundtrack album.
John Travolta was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar and was excellent both in his character and as a dancer.
You and I had exactly the same response to “Saturday Night Fever.” When I saw it in 1977, it made me sick to my stomach. Then, there’s the music. . . .
Two of us. I’m surprised at how beloved this movie is by some people. Granted it is a feast for the ears except for the some of the dialogue.
Haven’t watched this movie for ages. Mostly I remember it as… boring, but I was probably too young for it at the time.
We’ll have to see what you think next time.
I love your web and your job to divulge cinema classic.
In addition, we usually agree on opinions and tastes.
But with this film, we disagree. It is normal, we cannot agree on everything.
It is not the same that the characters in a film are misogynistic as the movie is. The movie reflects the machismo of these horrible men obsessed with their masculinity. He does not criticize them directly, it is enough to show them to make us disgust.
It is also a social movie about the low expectations of the working class whose lives are reduced to working long hours and dancing at the disco and trying to get sex.
From Europe we clearly see it as a criticism of the American way of life where only the rich can have a good life.
Warm regards from Spain
What a boring place the world would be if everyone agreed! And I can see your point. The movie is probably showing this behavior so that we can see and condemn it. On the other hand, there are just movies that make me feel like I am being dragged through the mud. This is one of them.
Interesting about the European view of America. The American view of America is that almost anyone who is willing to work hard can improve their lot in life. There are many examples of this. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
By the way I love Spain. I’ve been there several times. De donde eres? Viva España!
Thanks for commenting.