La Fièvre du samedi soir

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...

Saturday Night Fever is thoughtful, engaging, and sometimes brilliant. While some might call it one of the greatest films ever, I must disagree. But along the lines of a groundbreaker, yes it is. The film does for disco what Suburbia did for punk. And the film gives John Travolta, the cool Italian guy from Engelwood, NJ a good break. He plays a paint guy who at nights (and sometimes days) has a love for dancing, which he is absolutely excellent at (those dance scenes are quite memorable). Not always on the money, but when it is, it delivers the goods. Bee Gees provide songs here that everybody likes (I would have to assume from Wayne Campbell's statement in Wayne's World). A-

... this is a product of my generation. I was the age that Travolta's character Tony was in 1977, although in a completely different part of the US. Probably the disco era is the only one in the history of film in which people in street clothes look like they are going to a costume party. The pointy collars, the shoes, the hair so full of hairspray that it looks like it would shatter if it brushed up against something, and those jackets that are so full of holes - big ones - they look like they were attacked by moths and why are we calling them jackets anyways?

So Tony (Travolta) is a New York City born and bred Italian American with only a high school education, an employee at a dead end job - selling and mixing paint - in a store that is now extinct - the neighborhood hardware store that is about to get replaced by the big box hardware stores such as Harbor Freight. Dad is used to being the head of the family, but now he has been laid off in middle age. Suddenly Edith is talking back and disrespecting Archie and he doesn't like it one bit. And the only thing that makes Tony feel alive is Saturday nights on the dance floor of the local disco where he is the best.

And then he meets a girl - Stephanie. She is everything that I, a Texan, was told that New Yorkers are - loud mouthed, self important, snooty. And yet Tony follows her around like a puppy because he is in love. Annette (Donna Pescow) follows Tony around like a puppy because she is in love. It's funny how Tony doesn't like how Stephanie treats him, yet he turns around and treats Annette the same way. But Tony turns out to be much more self aware than you would think. And Stephanie - there is much more to her story than her being just another stuck up Manhattanite.

There is so much casual sex going on here that it answers the question "Where did herpes come from?". But it is so much more than glittering disco balls. it is a love story. A story of a guy learning about the friendship component of love. It is a tragedy. It is a story of young people at a crossroads. And last but not least, it has probably one of the great soundtracks in motion picture history and gave the Bee Gees a second act. I'd highly recommend it. Just try to ignore your probable first reaction "Yikes those clothes!!!!"".

I first watched this as a teenager and I just thought Tony was a cool guy doing cool things, Annette was a stupid piece of ass and Stephanie was classy. I realized there were subplots like Frank and Bobby C's story but most of that went over my head.

As I've been rewatching this from time to time over the decades, I now see there is a lot more there. It's actually pretty nihilistic, the family drama is reasonably intricate, as is the love story. On top of that, it's an interesting view on 1970's NYC, perhaps not in the same league as Midnight Cowboy or Taxi Driver, but nevertheless sharing an origin. At times, it's as gritty and dark as these two films.

The music is stellar and the disco scenes are iconic. Not a masterpiece as it sometimes is cringeworthy and shallow, but on the whole it's a culturally important piece of film history.

I am 31 so I was 3 when this movie came out. The first time I saw Saturday Night Fever was the "Edited For Television" version probably when I was 6 or 7 years old. At that point, it was about the music, the dance scenes and the clothes.

It wouldn't be until years later that I understood what a great story this is. It's a coming of age movie. It's a modern day tragedy. It's a love story.

The first thing that people think about when they hear Saturday Night Fever is disco and bell bottoms, but the story is timeless. Travolta plays Tony Manero, a loser in a nowhere job who only feels alive when he is on the dance floor at the local disco. There he is adored by his friends, by women and by strangers. There he is king. Everywhere else he is nobody. Even at home.

Tony becomes infatuated with a woman named Stephanie. On the surface Stephanie appears to be much better off than Tony. For the most part Stephanie is a big talker, but Tony is bothered by her observations.

"Let me guess. You work all week long at some dead end job and then you go and blow it at all at 2001 (the disco) on the weekends. You're a cliché. You're no one, going nowhere." As much as Tony is upset by her words he can't argue with them. Soon Tony becomes frustrated with his "station in life" and tells Stephanie he wants out (of Brooklyn).

What makes Saturday Night Fever work so much for me is Tony is very typical of a lot of males who would rather have a good time and party now than build something toward the future. Bars are full of guys like Tony. Guys who are super stars in their local drinking establishments, but have no life outside of the night life.

And of course there's the superb dance scenes that most people remember Saturday Night Fever for. The soundtrack is also one of the best out there.

For whatever reason, Saturday Night Fever also has my favorite closing shot of all time. It's really nothing special, but I get choked up every time I see it.

Saturday Night Fever is also a snapshot of a period in recent American history. The movie took place in 1977. The country was a mess after the Vitenam war ended and before Reagan stormed Washington and once again instilled a sense of pride in Americans. There was no longer a war to protest, but the average American didn't have much faith in our country. I think Saturday Night Fever does an excellent job of capturing what was probably a common attitude among young adults during the late 70's. Live for the moment because the future is pretty bleak.