Mania Grade: A
Disc Grade: B
Reviewed Format: DVD
Rated: R
Stars: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali, Paul Pape, Bruce Ornstein, Donna Pescow
Writer: Norman Wexler, based upon a story by Nik Cohn
Director: John Badham
Distributor: Paramount Home Video
Original Year of Release: 1977
Retail Price: $24.99
Extras: widescreen anamorphic; Dolby Digital 5.1; 2.0 Dolby Surround; commentary; deleted scenes; highlights from BEHIND THE MUSIC; French Dolby; English and Spanish subtitles
Buy it now!

Related Links

0

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

I remember going with my cousins to see a GREASE/SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER double bill when I was around ten or so. Every kid loved the PG-rated GREASE back then, but SATURDAY NIGHT FEVERa seemingly perfect double-feature match for GREASE, with the singing and dancing John Travolta connectionwas decidedly new, R-rated territory for me and my cousins. And it wasn't at all for kids, as it turned out.

That afternoon of would-be fun has stuck with me all these years because of what we found after the bubblegum strains of GREASE ended and the dark tale of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER began. Gang fights, domestic strife, defrocked priests, suicide, date rape... this was no "Greased Lightning," believe you me.

John Travolta, already known to TV fans as the addled Vinnie Barbarino from Welcome Back, Kotter (not to mention as the original Bubble Boy), offered a star-making turn as Tony Manero, an Italian-American Brooklyn boy on the road to nowhere who transforms at night into the Adonis of the local club scene. He's a disco-dancing machine, worshipped by the local Bay Ridge girls and his posse of provincial pals alike. But Tony is an angry young man, trapped in a dead-end job, mired down by a controlling, dysfunctional family (his brother is the hero of the brood because he's a priest, while Tonywho is supporting hit out-of-work father, mother and sisteris considered a roustabout), and increasingly frustrated by the limitations of his friends and surroundings.

The one thing Tony has going for him is his dancing, something that he truly takes to heart and that seems to elevate him above the teeming masses when he's doing it. He finds a kindred spirit in Stephanie (newcomer Karen Lynn Gorney, who would barely be seen again), another blue collar Brooklynite who has taken her frustration with her upbringing a step further than Tony and found a secretarial job and apartment in nearby Manhattan. She's a rough-around-the-edges sort, prone to drop the names of the fancy celebrity clients who visit her office, but Tony can see through her airs. Besides, she's a dancer too, and though the two often don't get along, they quickly form a bond and decide to compete together in the local dance competition. But that won't be enough for Tony to break his Brooklyn ties and find his true calling in life, a fact that becomes increasingly clear as his world starts to fall apart around him.

Like those kids who went to see the GREASE/SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER double feature years ago, those expecting a grand old disco time with this DVD should stand warned. For while the garish fashions and funky dance moves of the late '70s are on full display here, the film has a lot more going for it than just that. Yes, Travolta's white-suited disco dancer became an instant iconic image, and this film served to push the disco phenomenon into overdrive, but one is surprised by how much time isn't spent dancing in this picture.

Instead, what you have is a very compelling and dark story of a guy who, coming from nothing, working with nothing, and knowing nothing, is trying to become something. Director John Badham and screenwriter Norman Wexler pull no punches with these characters; they're often stupid and ignorant, angry and violent. This includes Travolta's Manero, though somehow the actor manages to maintain a charisma and vulnerability throughout it all. Another actor might have turned Manero into a brute, but Travolta rises above that caricature, and as a result the film, however disturbing and tragic it might get at times, is much more than its disco reputation has made it out to be over the years.

Sporting a new anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, the film looks and sounds excellent. The disc doesn't go all out in terms of extras, but Badham's audio commentary is a good start. A few deleted scenes are also interesting, though it would have been nice to hear the director's thoughts on why they were cut. Lastly, there's about 30 minutes of highlights from VH1's BEHIND THE MUSIC about the film.

Editor's Note: A PG-rated version of the film was released after the R-rated version, and this was probably the cut that MacDougal saw that day with his cousins alongside GREASE. Perhaps his parents weren't as negligent as they seemed.