Saturday Night Fever

Rating:
Summary: Lazy sound remastering
Review: After waiting for years for this DVD to be released, I was rather dissapointed with the 5.1 sound remaster. This movie's music is as important as the actual story, maybe more - and the sound engineers could have done a better job of remastering than what sounds like a simple transfer and addition of the extra 5.1 track. I was hoping for a total revamp and digital "cleansing" of the sound track, but i guess not.
It looks nice though.

Rating:
Summary: Travolta at his best!
Review: I've been waiting for the release of this classic film for over 5 year's.This truly is a masterpiece,and a cult classic of all time.the story line has a deep and meaningful twist to it,although you probably wouldn't think it by the front cover.Travolta for me play's his best role ever and is outstanding in his dance routine's.Once again a absolute must for Travolta fan's.And it's about time too!!!

Rating:
Summary: a fever for Saturday Night
Review: FINALLY, Paramount has given this classic the transfer it deserves. You know the plot...kid from a poor family tries to better himself with his natural talents. But this DVD BLOWS AWAY all previous home video versions. Chuck that video tape, make a clock out of that old laserdisc.

This widescreen transfer looks great. Shadow detail is good, overall detail is good for a 70s movie (you can almost count all the hairs on Travolta's body in the bedroom prepping scenes) and the soft focus scenes, many with floor fog, come across just like I remember from the movie at the theater. And the sound has been given special treatment...music is spread throughout all 5.1 channels and really sounds great. Ambient surrounds (mostly outdoor traffic) sound very realistic. Only the dialogue comes across as strained at times. Plus the Brooklyn accents can be hard to follow.

Great performances aside (and Travolta has never been better) this is a wonderful slice of movie history. It ushered in an era of true dance fever when the US was really in need of something to forget their woes (see the VH-1 documentary which is excerpted on this release). Travolta became an icon. This fantastic DVD release shows why.

Rating:
Summary: Catch The Fever
Review: Saturday Night Fever was not only the film that made John Travolta a superstar, but also it defined the style of a generation. Disco started to infiltrate the music scene as early as 1974 (with hits like "Rock Your Baby" by George McRae). Discos were wildly popular in New York City by 1976 and they provided an outlet for the youth of the city to escape reality and dance away the night amid drinks, drugs and sex. Inspired by an article in the New Yorker magazine that described the scene, producer Robert Stigwood wanted to capture it in a movie. He realized the music is what drove the discos and he recruited his biggest act, The Bee Gees to record songs for the film. This proved ingenious as the soundtrack and the movie are inseparable. Although the band does not physically appear in the film, they are the co-stars of the film with Mr. Travolta. The film and soundtrack became huge hits in late 1977 and into 1978 and disco moved from the urban cities to the heartland of America. The film itself seems a bit dated, but it is saved from being a complete period piece by Mr. Travolta's superb acting. He completely embodies the character of Brooklynite Tony Manero who works in a paint store during the week and lives to dance at the local disco on the weekends. At work and at home, he's a nobody, but at the disco, he is the king. The dancing scenes are classics and often imitated, but Mr. Travolta is the real deal on the dance floor. Mr. Travolta earned the first of his two Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film and it was richly deserved. The soundtrack went on to spend 24 weeks at number one, spawn 4 number one singles and for a time was the biggest selling album in music history.

Rating:
Summary: Finally on DVD
Review: Its good to finally have Saturday Night Fever on DVD. I saw this movie (the R rated version which is what the DVD carries) in theatres in 1978 when I was just 13 years old. Loved the film, loved the music, loved the dancing. The DVD includes commentary which is a nice bonus along with part of the VH-1 Behind The Music episode (I wish they had included the whole thing). There are also three deleted scenes that add up to about three or four minutes - to be honest, I can see why they were cut as they add very little to the finished product. The DVD loses a star for two items: the cheaper package (I prefer the plastic cases as they are more durable) and the missing original theatrical trailer (that really wouldn't have taken up that much space now, would it?).

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST NOSTALGIA THAT VINTAGE HAS TO OFFER
Review: Man, Man, Man, I have nothing but great things to say about Saturday Night Fever.

I was seven years old when the film came out and I grew up with this film not to mention the greatest soundtrack of all time which still stands out today. With songs like Stayin' Alive, How Deep is Your Love, Night Fever, More Than a Woman, If I Can't Have You, Disco Inferno and You Should Be Dancing, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER was not only a great film, but it was also about the Bee Gees music and John Travolta's dance moves.

When the film returned to the big screen for the first time in 1996, the theatre was packed, people cheered throughout the whole film, were even doing the dance moves when the scenes popped up and wuld clap when a dance number was over. This was phenomenonal and could I mention, revolutionary. I went to see the film 14 times on the big screen since then. I also have the big movie poster along with the vinyl album foldout both hanging up on my wall at home. I just love SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.

Today, I went out to the store and I bought my very own copy of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER on DVD and man, was I ever happy and this 25th Anniversary Edition of the DVD is actually quite pleasing and worthy of every penny.

This revolutionary film stars John Travolta, Karyn Lynn Gorney and Donna Pescow. The story revolves around Tony Monero (Travolta), a part time paint store worker who is the dancing king of the disco and befriends a girl (Gorney) in the process. The story is very crisp, the dialogue is realistic and sharp and the dance scenes are very vibrant. Blend all that together and you have a revolutionary film of the 1970's which still stands out in todays' standards. This film also marked the debut of Fran Drescher (The Nanny) who asks Johnnie if he is as good in bed as he is on the dancefloor.

The DVD is great. The packaging is vibrant, the disc design is colourful and overall great packaging. The picture quality is so good, although some soft filters may appears which I think adds more appeal to the film. Also, the print is free from scratches, dust, dirt and grain, the film seems like it is 25 minutes old and not 25 years. Paramount also put a little boogie woogie into the sound department as the sound is fresh, crisp, vibrant and sharp in the way SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER needs to be heard.

As for Extra Feautures, included are 29 minutes of "highlights" of VH1's Behind the Music, 3 Deleted Scenes which were interesting to see which could have blended in with the story but after watching them, I could see why they were left out. There is also an audio commentary by director John Badham. Oddly, there were no theatre trailers but, Paramount has put out a great DVD package that makes SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER worth having.

As the movie posters' tag line was "Where do you go when the record is over?", I would have to say, "Where do you go when the DVD movie is over?"

So go boogie, put on your boogie woogie dancing shoes and get your copy of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER on DVD today and feel the Night Fever !!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Disco rules again
Review: This film is very special to me and many people[especially New Yorkers]and the 70's Generation of fans who experienced this film the first time around during that era. It was a magnificent time with terrific music to move and groove to. this is a timeless fantastic look at how we lived and enjoyed life. I hope watching this film gives you the happy care-free feelings that we loved back then.

Rating:
Summary: The 70's come ALIVE!!!
Review: Saturday Night Fever, was the movie that started a national dance craze, and music movement that lasted until the early eighties. It also caused a fashion craze, where people would actually dress flashy, sophisticated and stylish, if a bit over the top, with all the polyester. It is the story of one Tony Manero, a 19 year old Brooklynite in '77, who worked as a paint salesman by day, and on the weekends, was the King of the 2001 Odessy, the local NY hotspot, where you only went if you were "in", hip, and happening. Out on the streets of Brooklyn, he was a mere nobody, but when he hit the nightclub scene, "The crowd would part like the Red Sea, for he and his posse, the "Faces". And when he hit the dance floor, it was absolute, magic. Manero's moves were choreographed by none other than Danny Terio(?) of "Dance Fever". The women were all about sex, and one night stands were the order of the night in the pre-AIDS late 70's era. Look fast,and you'll see Fran Drescher try to pick up on Tony....but alas, he has eyes only for sexy Stephanie Mangano, because, in Tony's own words, "She can move...she's got the wrong dance partner of course, but she can move."....but eventually, his rough around the edges charm wins Stephanie as well, but he is a product of the rough streets, and she is a sophisticated socialite from Manhattan, too old for Tony, but the world stops when they hit the dance floor. A very interesting sidestory involves Tony's ex-priest brother, and little Joey, who cant seem to ever get things right. The plot centers around Tony's growing up, his complex relationship with his idiot friends, and Stephanie, and around the big Dance Contest, that he must win to show his dominance of Brooklyn's dance floors. But he has other lessons to learn along the way, about life. Of this movie I can only say one thing....I deeply regret not being in my twenties, and not living in NYC during the fabulous 70's, when people knew how to dress,dance, and play and the music (The Bee-Gees, Chic, Heatwave, Ohio Players, ect, ect.) completley blew away much of the asinine crap played at the clubs today. I would have been in my element....SNF is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Coming of age in the Disco era
Review: I saw this movie when I was 10, yeah I know it was rated "R", but I didn't notice all the sex and violence , I just saw the incredible dancing. This movie more then any other was responsible for the Disco Phenomenon. Come on you know you wanted to dance like John Travolta. This movie made him an instant star. This is a great American movie. We are still dancing to the sound track today. The music was great, the dancing was great. This movie made me want to be a DJ. Ok I admit I did have a wihte sute like that, but there are not photos of me in it, ok. Just enjoy this movie because its a good one.

Rating:
Summary: Another Perspective
Review: This film was unnecessarily trashy. That detracted from it to a significant degree. The dancing accurately captured the comical energy of those days, but the plot and characters were all somewhat shabby. The moments with the family were humorous, but the aimlessness of the characters was depressing.

What happened to Karen Lynn Gorney after SNF? It was her introductory movie, a national blockbuster, and we never heard from her again.