Saturday Night Fever (1977) || Thursday Weekly 35mm Movie Night
Thursday, October 11th
8pm | $10
Director: John Badham
An uneducated Brooklyn teen, Tony Manero, (John Travolta, in an Oscar-nominated role) lives in a dream world over the weekends as the king of a disco dance floor. Disillusioned, quietly upset with where his life is, Tony finds solace by dancing in public to The Bee Gee's music and finds love with his newest dance partner, Stephanie (Karen Lynn Gorney). Saturday Night Fever is a total over-achiever as it could have fallen to exploitation tactics of the 1970s, but becomes one of those iconic films that still stands the test of time. Travolta is a revelation in arguably his greatest role.
Saturday Night Fever is a gritty urban drama with a music back-drop that takes a decidedly unglamorous contemporary look at the lives of a group of young city youths. Part of the reason folks sometimes forget SNF's true form is that a heavily circulated PG version of the film was released in cinemas very soon after its extremely popular soundtrack started selling millions.
This surprisingly unique movie dramatizes a wide range of social issues that still plague society today. These issues include alienation, racial strife, family discord, class conflict and other symptoms of social pathology that if anything have intensified. The movie's power is further enhanced by the excellent acting and timeless music that together with a compelling story make this movie something special, not just another commercial product but a work of art, a true classic.