Saturday Night Fever

[assydingo]

I expected the movie to be lighthearted and romantic...

This might be one of the darkest mainstream movies I've seen. It also wasn't romantic at all but I don't think they were trying to be.

The movie is great, don't get me wrong. The soundtrack is fantastic and the acting is good. I'm just stunned by how many issues it deals with and how tragic it is... and yet it helped popularize disco at the same time.

Opinions?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by assydingo

[IMG]I expected the movie to be lighthearted and romantic...
This might be one of the darkest mainstream movies I've seen. It also wasn't romantic at all but I don't think they were trying to be.

They weren't--
It was based on a real-life 70's New York Magazine article ("Tribal Rites of the Saturday Night") about how nights at the disco was all some aimless Brooklyn folk HAD in their lives at the time, which is how they could turn it into so much of its own subculture.

"Urban Cowboy" tried to replicate the same "trend/subculture" formula for Travolta, but it just didn't have that same dirty-70's-NYC sense of being Across The Bridge.

[Sonny]

This is a good old flix, I'll pick it up whenever.

[Moefiz]

Never owned this movie in any format it was ever released in, seen it more time than I can remember but will be picking it up on Blu for sure.Good movie with and excellent soundtrack.

[Belloche]

One of my favorite Seventies movies. It always gets marketed using the dancing and fashion but there is a whole lot more going on in this movie.

[Heart&Soul]

The music is great, but I still enjoy the story, too.

[yankees3]

i like his shoes & hair style...lol

[apollo92178]

This movie is the symbol of the 70s. I was also taken aback on all the issues and things going on in the movie, when I first saw it as an adult. Theres a scene about winning a dance competition that I always use to say was the definition of honor to my troops when I was in the service. Now, after all these years of seeing on that god awful Standard Definition on VH1, I am hoping it gets a great transfer.

[madmojo]

I owned the PG-rated version when I was 12 years old. It was a VHS copy because that was before DVD.

I look forward to updating to the R-rated Blu-Ray when this gets released. I love the whole feel of it. It's really not just a showcase for disco music. That's just the whipped cream on top.

I love the scene on the bridge.

[andyman1970]

I wish they'd include a sampler soundtrack CD from the movie in with the BD release.

[Moefiz]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

I wish they'd include a sampler soundtrack CD from the movie in with the BD release.

That would be awesome, listening to the Bee Gee's soundtrack in HD....gotta love it

[flyboy66]

Finally my day is almost here. This was one of the 10 best films of that decade. This film was to my generation what Rebel without a Cause was for my parents generation. I hope and pray that we get a CLEANED UP print for this film and Grease as well. It has been terrible how Paramount has treated quite a few of their titles. I also hope to god that they get someone over the age of 35 or 40 on this site to review this disc.

[assydingo]

I need to see Rebel Without A Cause. Maybe I'll blind buy it.

I bought the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack before the movie. My favorite is "How deep is your love?"

[peter008]

that movie made travolta a star and it also gave a chance to a very young actress name fran drescher (the nanny) she has a small part in it.

but that movie is definitly a symbol of it's era the seventy were not all fun and games and that movie give us a small glimpse of that it' not as romantic as many may think but it's a good music and dance movie and over time you could say it has become a musical classic.

[kndy]

Finished watching my review copy of the Blu... but all I'm going to say is that it's definitely worth owning for SNF fans but do NOT throw away your DVD's.

The featurettes included on the Blu are awesome because former cast (minus Travolta) inc. the BeeGees are interviewed for the 30th Anniversary. But for those who have the original DVD, the "Highlights from VH1's Behind the Music" is not included.

The VH1 special featured interviews with John Travolta, Roger Ebert and many more plus John Avidsen's video footage of Travolta learning the dance moves but most of all, the story how Travolta's girlfriend Dianna Hyland died and how it affected him during filming. You get the real scoop of the making of this film from this featurette but on the 30th Anniversary Blu-ray, the tone was more lighthearted and how John Travolta was great around everyone and never put himself higher than anyone. If anything the BD version celebrates the film and how it stands out as a 70's disco film of that period.

I would imagine the reason it wasn't added is that for the 30th Anniversary...for them having interviewed everyone all over again, surprising to say...everyone looks older and much different from the VH1 featurette.

But I will say after comparing the first DVD release and the Blu-ray is like night and day. The Blu-ray's picture quality is absolutely beautiful compared to the original DVD which seems dark, a bit aged.

[nycomet]

Because the music is a major part of the movie, I want to know how well it sounds in TrueHD. Anyone?

[Disciple of Vedder]

Every time I try to champion this movie to the uninitiated, they are under the mistaken impression that it's some crappy musical. It has a lot to say about disillusioned youth and the transition to adulthood but it is often pigeonholed as a chick flick. Those of us who have seen it know that it is anything but... can't wait to see it in BLU...

[assydingo]

The DVD does look pretty bad up-converted so I imagine this one should be worth getting on Blu-Ray.

On another note, avoid the sequel, Staying Alive, at all costs.

[kndy]

Originally Posted by nycomet

Because the music is a major part of the movie, I want to know how well it sounds in TrueHD. Anyone?

The music is awesome on Dolby TrueHD. Geez...even the main menu really comes out loud and clear with "Stayin' Alive"

Hehe...and if you are into disco....there are two featurettes on learning how to dance like Travolta and a Fever Challenge!

The featurette that people will dig is the "Making Soundtrack History" with the BeeGees and how they got involved with the soundtrack. They felt their careers were over since they were a 60's group but this soundtrack revitalized their career.

Oh and the feature that I think people will also dig is "Back to Bay Ridge" featuring Joseph Cali (who plays Joey) visiting many of the locations from the film in the present inc. the hardware store, pizza place, the house where Travolta's character lived and more.

[WyldeMan45]

Originally Posted by assydingo

and yet it helped popularize disco at the same time. Opinions?

To quote Hyde here "Disco is from hell man, and not the really cool part of hell with axe murders, but the lame ass part with the lawyers"